CATCH17;3897759 said:
8 hours but even if I go to bed @ 4am I still wake up around 830.
Weird, that's how I am, too. It's not the time so much as the sunlight... I guess I'm very sensitive to it, because when the sun comes up I pretty much wake up no matter how late I went to bed. Pretty frustrating in the summer when the sun comes up really early.
Anyway, I don't agree with josh... I think it's all individual. I've always needed at least 8 hours, and usually more like 9, to feel normal the next day. In college, I was never one of those people who stayed up all night cramming for tests, because I'd be worthless the next day.
There's a school of thought out there that you should sleep with the seasons -- in the winter when it's mostly dark, you should get lots of sleep, while in the summer you need less. I've tried it out and found that it works great for me, especially in the winter and especially when I let it get really cold in my bedroom. It means I might sleep 10 hours in the winter, but I do feel great the next day. Of course, like most people I don't actually go to bed early enough because it just feels weird.
Right now I've got a sprained knee and I can't work out or do much of anything, so I need less sleep.