Sleep Questions, Answers need Awakening

Correction to a post above.  You CAN and need to catch up on lost sleep.  Studies have shown that lost sleep needs to be made up hour for hour.  For people who are chronically sleep deprived, this can almost never happen until you go on a week's vacation (or longer), or you retire, or something like that). 

For people who ARE regularly getting 8 hours of sleep a night, you will notice that if you sleep only 6 hours one night, sleeping 9 over the next 2 nights, or 10 on one night will get you back to feeling pretty good.

All adults need a very narrow range of sleep very close to 8 hours.  Athletes need more.

There is a great book called "The Promise of Sleep" that will answer all of your sleep questions. It is written b y one of the men credited with discovering REM sleep while doing research as a medical student...he knows a lot about it.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0440509017/qid=1130604241/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-4034368-9861526?v=glance&s=books

Amazon.com
"We are a sleep-sick society," says William C. Dement, M.D., Ph.D. According to Dr. Dement, "sleep science" has yielded a great deal of scientific knowledge about sleep--yet the general public, and even doctors, aren't aware of it. Sleep disorders are routinely misdiagnosed or ignored, sometimes resulting in medical tragedy and death, frequently leading to chronic exhaustion. In The Promise of Sleep, Dr. Dement aims to remedy that by making the latest sleep information accessible to health professionals and lay readers. He describes the sleep cycle and gives a short history of sleep research. Then he dives into clear and detailed explanations of concepts and conditions we've all heard about, but that few of us understand: sleep debt, biological clock, circadian rhythm, insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy. He discusses why we need sleep (sounds obvious, but it isn't) and the role of dreams. After 300 pages of sleep facts, Dr. Dement teaches you how to "reclaim healthy sleep" in your own life. You learn to assess your personal sleep situation by keeping a sleep diary, measuring your sleep debt, and evaluating your risk of sleep disorders; find appropriate treatment; manage sleep crises; and adopt a "sleep-smart lifestyle." A three-week "sleep camp" program at the end helps you put all the strategies together. This book will put you to sleep--and that's meant as praise! --Joan Price

I log my sleep from when I go to bed to when I get out of bed in the morning.  Yes, I might have a little "extra" time in there from falling asleep time, but it gives you a good indicator.

If you are awake less than 10 minutes (get up, go to the bathroom, go back to bed) I wouldn't worry about deducting it from your sleep time.  If you are having an insomnia episode and are awake for an hour or two, then yes deduct it.

I find I really need about 7 hours regularly.  I can go less than that for a few days, but then I get really tired and find myself going to bed at 8:00 pm so I can "catch up."  On heavy training weeks I usually find myself catching a 2 hour nap on Sunday which seems to work pretty well.