Recently I have decided to focus on sleep. I promised myself that I would try to get eight hours of sleep. Counting backwards I realized I would have to go to bed by 9:30pm every night in order for me to get my eight hours of sleep. Super early in my opinion. This self made promise though launched me into an investigation on sleep. What I found was mixed information. The most commonly known and accepted information is that we need eight hours of sleep for hour bodies to recover and to have a healthy lifestyle. This is the main reason why I chose the eight hour self promise.
I began a routine of going to bed early in my opinion so I could get the eight hours recommended and needed. But I was met with frustration as I could not sleep the eight hours consistently, a lot of the times I woke up earlier. I thought to myself, I have to train my body to sleep, give it more time. My frustration continued to grow as my sleep habit was not becoming consistent, it improved but it was not a consistent eight hour sleep. I would wake before the eight hours at times but I noticed I was not tired in the day. I began to investigate further and I found other information stating that the eight hour time frame was not necessarily based on science but based on the division of the time in day, eight hours for work, eight hours for sleep and eight hours for “rest/play.” One article stated that the time of rest needed varies from person to person and the eight hour “rule” was more of a general guide or a “one size fits all” kinda rule.
I see. My conclusion: the eight hours of sleep rule is like the “you need to drink eight glasses of water a day” rule or the food pyramid idea. Not necessarily true.
So, what time to do I go to bed and wake up? Well, it varies. Lately, I have been falling asleep as early as seven or eight, which is great, but I am not hitting that eight hour goal. Sometimes I wake up at two am, or at three, or at four, or at six am. No longer am I frustrated by this as found sleep time varies person to person. I fall asleep when I fall asleep, or go to bed when I feel sleepy and I wake up when I wake up, either by myself or with the alarm (hopefully). I hit seven to eight hours usually but sometimes not.
My goal: get proper sleep and let my body dictate the time it needs, not what the “experts” say.
Everything and Nothing ...you decide. 
This is absolutely true, in my experience. I need 8-9 hours, whereas my husband only needs about 5.
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