'Short sleeper' or 'long sleeper' : Which is healthier?
Dantist Dr Uchenna Okaye gets up every day at 4:30 a.m., weekends and holidays concluded. it's not because she's bad sleeper. And it's not because she starts work early-her dental surgery doesn't open until 8:30. And she's not one of those people who are always in bed by ten-in fact, she usually goes to bed after midnight. She gets up at this time because she's a 'short sleeper' -a person who can live happily on much less than the seven or eight hours of sleep that most of us need. And, amazingly, Uchenna is energetic all day. Dr Okoye works eight hours at her dental surgery 'London Smiling', she appears regularly on the TV programme Ten Years Younger, she does regular work for charity and she even has time for piano lessons! 'People are often surprised when they get emails from me last at night, or early in the morning... but I never need much sleep, and I always feel good on it. It's just the way I am,' says Uchenna, 41.
Many short sleeper, like Dr Okoye, are energetic and successful in life. Famous short sleepers include Leonardo da Vinci, John F. Kennedy and Madonna. Being a short sleeper has other advantages too-you have 15-20 percent more time to do things, and short sleepers are often slim too. But here's the bad news. Only about 3 percent of people are short sleepers-for of us, sleeping for only three or four hours a night just isn't enough.
In contrast, there are 'long sleepers' - people who regularly sleep ten hours or more a night . (In fact, before the invention of electric light in the 19th century most people slept for ten hours.) Babies are the biggest long sleepers- they sleep up to 18 hours a day in the first few weeks of life. Teenagers also typically need ten hours' sleep. Many people believe that long sleepers are less healthy than short sleepers. But the latest research shows there are no important differences in health or personality between the two groups.