How much sleep do you need to function at your peak performance every day?
This can be a tricky answer because everyone is different and their sleep needs are also different. Some must have the typical recommendation of eight hours of sleep, some need a little more – around nine hours, and others not only get by on but actually function better with six to seven hours of sleep at night. Incredibly, there are also those who need less than six and are at their best with four to five hours of sleep. How much sleep you need to be at your very best all depends on your body chemistry.

Finding your sleep sweet spot might be challenging at first, but you’ll know when you hit the right number of hours. If you’re getting too little sleep, you will know because you’ll find that you just can’t focus the next day, are feeling fatigued, constantly fighting off drowsiness and may even need a nap to get through the day, have difficulty remembering little things here and there, and your quality of work will become sloppy and disjointed.  If you are getting too much sleep, then you may be tired, feeling sluggish throughout the day, sapped of your usual energy, and find yourself just going through the motions throughout your workday. But once you find your sweet spot, you will feel energized all day, be extremely focused, and your most productive.

To help find your sweet spot we recommend you keep a sleep diary, logging the time you went to sleep and the time you woke up and some general notes about your day: how you felt, how productive you were, and how satisfied you were with the day. Once you determine your sleep sweet spot, establish a time to go to sleep and wake up that fits your schedule and allows you to stay in your sleep zone. Then stay consistent. Continue to go to sleep and wake up at these same times every day, even on weekends.

You’ll love the way you feel and never want to over or under sleep again. But don’t worry, if you do, your body will promptly remind you why you need to get back to your sleep sweet spot and get the needed amount of sleep every night that you specifically need to be at your best the next day.