Everyone's individual sleep needs vary. In general, most healthy adults are built for 16 hours of wakefulness and need an average of eight hours of sleep a night. However, some individuals are able to function without sleepiness or drowsiness after as little as six hours of sleep. Others can't perform at their peak unless they've slept ten hours. And, contrary to common myth, the need for sleep doesn't decline with age but the ability to sleep for six to eight hours at one time may be reduced. This means that annoyingly, you may feel you need more sleep but just find it harder to get the older you are. My advice is to adjust your expectations and try to focus on quality of sleep rather than quantity. The less you think about and 'try' to sleep the more likely it is to improve but the more we worry about sleep the less we get.

For me, a good night's sleep is when you fall asleep easily, sleep until your alarm goes off and if you wake for a wee, you fall back to sleep pretty easily. People tend to expect too much from their sleep. We expect to wake up full of energy and bounce out of bed but reaslitically very few people feel like this for the whole day. For example, an afternoon lull after lunch is completely normal and does not necessarily mean you need more sleep. Try to get more energy from other sources such as exercise, healthy diet and plenty of water. Also reduce your stress levels and alcohol intake and then your energy should also improve.

However, if you are unable to stay awake throughout the day, fall asleep at your desk or feel you could nod off whilst driving then this is the best indicator that you are probably sleep deprived.

At The Insomnia Clinic we help people to understand and improve their poor sleep which in turn improves daytime functioning, physical and mental health.