Is getting 6 hours of sleep one night and 10 hours the next equivalent to sleeping 8 hours and 8 hours?
In: Biology
ELI5: No, you should get the same amount of sleep each night.
Not ELI5: It’s usually better to sleep the same amount each night. Consistency is key, and sleep is not a zero-sum game. But if you consistently maintained an alternating schedule It might work out. 6 and 10 probably wouldn’t be a good choice, though, and here’s why.
Sleep isn’t a matter of raw time it comes in cycles. You go through various levels of sleep during a cycle (wake, light, intermediate, deep, and REM). Generally, you need about 4-6 cycles per day, and cycles are typically 80-100 minutes.
The standard 8 hours of sleep is 5 cycles at 90 minutes with 30 mins buffer for falling asleep, waking up, and not perfectly timed cycles. So, 6 hours (4 cycles) and 9 hours (6 cycles) might work better
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