Is 8 Hours of Sleep Really Necessary?

I'm not obsessed with sleep, I swear(!), but did you know that back in the days before electricity allowed us to extend the day into night people often slept for 10 hours? People also led a more physical existence than today so they were tired. Today I think we're more tired mentally than physically. After all, many of us spend our days behind a desk tapping away at a computer.

At any rate, sleep is a must and most of us are sleep deprived, sleeping less than we think we do. Not getting enough sleep has been linked to health problems for women, including hypertension or high blood pressure, potentially leading to cardiovascular disease and weight gain in both men and women.

On the flip side, sleeping too many hours is not so groovy either. It appears that sleeping within the zone of 7 to 8 hours is what we need. I've also read that our bodies have natural sleepy times, notably at 10PM and again at 12 AM midnight. For us working stiffs that would mean we'd better be in bed asleep around 10-10:30 at night in order to rise and shine at 6 the next morning bright eyed, bushy tailed.