cant sleep the night after 8 hours of sleep

[Heather-McD]

Hey folks. I've been attempting to have a consistent wake/sleep time give or take an hour.  In the past few weeks I've fallen into this weird pattern where I'll have a great 8 hours of sleep for one or two night but then for the next couple nights I'll have a lot of trouble getting to sleep and will get 4 to 6 hours. And then those couple nights of deprivation will make it that I can then easily get a couple nights of 8 hours again, and the cycle continues (sometimes it trades off night to night).

I've started to wonder if this means my body may need 7 to 7.5, and that 8 hours is a bit too much and throws off my circadian rhythm. Has anyone ever encountered something like this? Any thoughts? It's not a huge problem but I'd like the situation to improve nonetheless. Thanks!

[SunsetRunner]

Hi @Heather-McD - As you guessed, we do not all need the same amount of sleep. I myself am one of those 7 to 7.5 hours folks. You can always google for more info. How are your sleep scores on those nights of less sleep? 

[Heather-McD]

Sleep scores are pretty good on nights between 7 to 7.5, in fact about the same as when I get 8 (score is worse when I get below 7 and I also feel worse, so I know at least 7 is what I should shoot for). Thanks for your thoughts! I'll adjust my schedule for the next week to aim for no more than 7.5 and see if that helps the nights of insomnia go away.