JOLLY DAYS

Get Enough Sleep?

In Annie Hall Annie complains to Alvy that he is always worried whether he got enough sleep. Doesn't everybody? This article says 6.5 to 7.5 hours is ideal, more than 8 or less than 5 not so good.

…we can prevent a lot of insomnia and distress just by telling people that short sleep is O.K. We've all been told you ought to sleep 8 hr., but there was never any evidence. A very common problem we see at sleep clinics is people who spend too long in bed. They think they should sleep 8 or 9 hr., so they spend [that amount of time] in bed, with the result that they have trouble falling asleep and wake up a lot during the night. Oddly enough, a lot of the problem [of insomnia] is lying in bed awake, worrying about it.

I had a friend who went to Europe and her traveling companion kept complaining that they weren't getting enough sleep. She said, “We'll sleep when we get home.” And so too, our lives are rounded with a sleep.