Overview
- Neurologist Conrado Estol says nodding off in under five minutes usually reflects chronic sleep debt, with 10 to 15 minutes a more typical sleep-onset window.
- Tracker-driven orthosomnia is flagged as counterproductive because chasing perfect scores fuels anxiety and worsens sleep, and roughly 40% of people still fall short of adequate rest.
- Large cohort data support about seven hours per night as optimal, while fewer than six or more than nine hours correlate with higher cardiovascular, cognitive and neurological risks.
- Age-related declines in deep sleep can impair the brain’s glymphatic clearance of waste proteins linked to disorders such as Alzheimer’s, underscoring the value of stable, sufficient sleep.
- Practical guidance includes going to bed only when sleepy, keeping a fixed wake time, getting out of bed for a quiet activity during nighttime awakenings, limiting naps to under 30 minutes, and treating apnea with CPAP; a Cambridge doctor’s 3-3-3 rule outlines when persistent insomnia warrants specialist care.