Sleep: Nature's Free Beauty Treatment

I've read in multiple magazines over the years that since everyone is different, to find out how much sleep your body needs you're supposed to sleep 3 nights in a row without an alarm or anything to wake you, and on the 3rd day you wake up, the number of hours you slept that 3rd night is how many you should be getting each night.

I don't get a lot of sleep, I know  I know---it's good for your health, your looks, your weight....blah blah blah, but ever since I can remember, even as a teenager, I've slept anywhere from 4-7 hours most nights (6-7 always seems to feel best--when I get more than that I feel groggy all day) with an occasional 9 or 10 hour night when I'm completely exhausted after a trip or something. Still, I decided to give this experiment a try.

Due to the holiday weekend, I was able to do this experiment Friday, Saturday and Sunday. No alarm clock. No one to wake me. Phone turned off.


Friday night I slept 10 hours! Wow...I was tired! (and I felt tired  all day long.)
Saturday night 6 hours of sleep followed.
Sunday night I had a total of 7 hours of sleep.


So, apparently, the optimal number of hours my body needs is 7 hours. 


I realize 7 hours doesn't sound like much, but considering my addictions to Facebook, Twitter, Chelsea Lately and 2am infomercials, 7 is going to be rough! I'll do my best to cut back on those 4-5 hour nights, but no guarantees. (blame Chelsea ;)