August 25, 2025
Sleep is one of the most powerful things that you are probably underutilizing for your health. Good sleep hygiene can improve brain health, immune health, metabolism and mental well-being. Sleep is freely available but underappreciated. Saurav Luthra, MD, is a sleep medicine specialist at The University of Kansas Health System. He has answers to common sleep questions that can help you achieve better health, sharper thinking and a happier life.
1. One in 3 adults reportedly doesn’t get enough sleep. Is that increasing? And why?
Sleep disorders have always existed, but some factors have contributed to more people experiencing and reporting sleep issues.
There has been an increase (in sleep disorders) with the tech getting closer to our bedtimes, smartphones, social media companies using your behavior patterns, your interest to provide you the reels and the shorts. That has definitely, I think, eroded a good amount of sleep hygiene. I think I also see an increased uptake in sleep patients because there's more awareness. We've also noticed that in the last couple of years, health influencers, people who talk about longevity or your athletes that you might idolize, they're all talking about sleep a lot more because they're all understanding that sleep is a vital part of your recovery and that, I think, has also put a greater impetus on sleep, and now people want to improve their sleep.
2. How many hours of sleep does a person need? Is it possible to sleep too much?
Every person’s sleep requirement is different.
“We are like on this bell-shaped curve,” says Dr. Luthra. “The majority of people require 7 to 9 hours of sleep. If a 6-hour person sleeps 8 to 9 hours, they may feel more tired. But if your requirement is 8, and you're getting 6 and you get a couple of extra hours one morning, you will feel a lot more rested.”
There are also some people who can thrive on very few hours of sleep. There was a study done on one US family that functioned well on only 4 hours of sleep. Researchers found they had a gene that gave them that short sleep type of capability. But that is not common.
“In general, I say don't sleep more than 9 hours or spend more than 8 to 9 hours in bed, because it's typically not helpful after that time, and if you are needing that, then there is some hypersomnia condition,” says Dr. Luthra.
3. What is hypersomnia?
Hypersomnia is when someone is sleeping enough, or more than enough, but still feels tired during the day.
“They can take naps easily, which can become a dangerous situation if you're driving or doing something that requires hyperacute focus, and you cannot maintain that (focus),” says Dr. Luthra. “That could be a dangerous work situation.”
It’s often treated with medications that suppress the sleep-creating hormones or ones that promote daytime wakefulness.
4. What is good sleep hygiene?
The basics of good sleep habits include a nighttime routine, consistent times for waking up and going to bed, sleeping in a dark, quiet environment, staying away from electronics 1 hour before bed, avoiding fatty meals before bed, less stress, more exercise and less caffeine.
And for any households that fight over the thermostat, Dr. Luthra says the ideal temperature is about 66 to 68 degrees for optimal cortisol and hormonal secretion at night.
5. Do we need to keep bedtimes and wake times consistent even on weekends?
It’s common for people to have different schedules on the weekend when they are off work or school. However, minimizing changes to your sleep schedule is best.
There is some elasticity in our system, so we can tolerate 1 or 2 hours of change over the weekend and still bounce back to a regular schedule. But if you go beyond that, let's say we are a 10 p.m. sleeper, and one weekend we are up till 2 a.m., this will have a downstream impact on your coming week, and you will take a longer time to bounce back to a consistent schedule after that, because it affects the timing of your melatonin secretion in the brain.
6. Why is it important to avoid electronics before bed?
The blue light spectrum emitted by electronic devices can suppress melatonin secretion. That means you won’t fall asleep as easily. There are also issues with the content you may be consuming.
“If you think of what you see when you are scrolling, it will get your mind thinking, and you don't want that kind of psychological stimulation right before bedtime,” says Dr. Luthra.
Dr. Luthra does say that reading on a Kindle is preferable to a tablet or phone because it emits less light.
If you think about how social media companies have designed these reels, they learn your behaviors. They know what you're interested in. So that media feed is always giving you stuff that is getting your mind attached to that. You are having a surge of dopamine, other neurostimulatory hormones, which you don't want during sleep time. It would also lead to an addiction if you're doing that every night and your brain expects that kind of stimulation around bedtime.
7. Does good sleep hygiene fix every sleep issue?
Good sleep hygiene can help a lot of things, but it will not address every medical issue affecting sleep.
These good sleep habits should be a lifestyle, and then they'll help you sleep tremendously, but they'll not take care of every medical sleep problem. So, if you have underlying sleep apnea, restless legs, circadian rhythm disorder, hypersomnia, then you would need to see a sleep medicine person. But just like when we exercise and when we eat better, when we follow good sleep hygiene, we are overall doing better in our health and sleeping better. And it can take care of a lot of sleep issues, but not all of them.
8. Are over-the-counter sleep medications, like melatonin or ZzzQuil, OK to take?
They can be helpful for specific situations and for a limited time. However, it is most important to address underlying sleep issues. These medications are usually just a bandage and not a long-term solution.
Additionally, these over-the-counter medications are not without risks, so you should discuss taking them with a healthcare provider.
I think all of these meds work to certain extent, and they work in specific situations. The problem arises when a lot of people will take them without understanding what each one of them is possibly doing. For example, melatonin is more helpful for jet lag or shift work disorder, and when you use it in that context, it is much more helpful. Similarly, if you're talking about ZzzQuil, it has an antihistamine component. If you take it, it can make you a bit more groggy. So, if you're not feeling tired or your mind is racing, you might want to take one. It might be fine, but it cannot work as a chronic sleep aid. We always have to look at the underlying sleep situation.
9. Can you build up tolerance to melatonin?
Yes, you can build up a tolerance to melatonin.
So, what is the right dose of melatonin? For certain, Dr. Luthra says that 10 milligrams is too much.
“I tell patients to start with maybe 2 or 3 milligrams. Go up to 5, but really there's not much data that beyond 6 milligram is more helpful; I feel like that actually can lead to more side effects like hangover, grogginess in the morning,” says Dr. Luthra. “I would say somewhere between 3 and 5 (milligrams) is probably an ideal dose.”
The other thing with melatonin is the over-the-counter dosing is quite big, and the companies want to put as much compound as the FDA would allow them to put in it, because they want consumers to take it and feel like it worked wonders. But you can take too much of melatonin, which will leave you with a sort of a grogginess and hangover type feeling, and over a period of time, you may find that it's not working. It can actually, when you take a big dose, suppress your internal melatonin secretion, and that can actually lead to bigger sleep problems.
10. Is it OK to take naps?
“I think naps under 30 minutes can be really helpful if you are feeling tired,” says Dr. Luthra. “I prefer that over drinking caffeine, especially in the afternoon. Instead of drinking caffeine, if you can take a 20-minute power nap, that's healthier for your system. But then also focus on why are you needing that power nap? If this is a consistent habit, evaluate whether you’re getting enough sleep at nighttime and if that sleep is restful.”
11. If I don’t remember my dreams, does that mean I’m not getting good quality sleep?
Possibly.
There are 2 types of dreams. Dreams that happen in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. If you do not have enough REM, you will not have dreams that you would recall easily. Some dreams happen in the non-REM sleep, but they are not as (common) as the REM and those dreams, even if they are happening, we don't recall. But in general, if you're feeling tired and you're not remembering your dreams, it could be because you're not getting enough REM sleep, and there may be a sleep disorder behind that.
12. Is it good to use sleep-tracking technology like smart watches?
These devices can be helpful at tracking what time you went to bed and woke up without having to remember to document it yourself. However, if they emit a significant amount of light or cause any discomfort, it might not be helpful to sleep.
“While in the phase of improving your sleep overall, it can really be helpful. It gives you important feedback that, yes, you are now sleeping, you know, 7 hours. You used to sleep 5. But if you get into a rhythm where you have a consistent routine, you are sleeping 7 to 8 hours, you don't need to wear a watch,” says Dr. Luthra.
13. How does someone get help for sleep problems?
Start with your primary care provider – that is usually a specialist in internal medicine or family medicine. They can refer you to sleep medicine if needed after initial testing.
So, you can reach out to us directly, but I would recommend: Talk to your primary care doctors. If you have any sleep disorders, there is very simple testing that every primary care physician can order for you, starting with (something) as simple as a home sleep apnea test, where you don't have to spend any time in a sleep lab. You basically get a very simple kit that has a pulse meter, something on your wrist, and a chest band to monitor your breathing, and that's it. You get a study done that rules out a number of sleep disorders, and then if there is something beyond that, the study comes back normal, but you are still struggling, then you can ask your primary care doctors to refer you to us in sleep medicine.
14. How involved is a sleep study?
Many people can do a home sleep study instead of in a lab. These are quite easy to do.
Home sleep apnea study could be a great start for him. Just talk to your primary care doctor. They'll put an order to a sleep lab. The lab will call you in a week or 2. They are covered by insurance. Most insurance plans will cover you a home sleep study. And you just basically pick up a kit from the lab, take it home, sleep with it for one single night, remove the kit in the morning, send it back to the lab. You get your results in about 1 to 2 weeks, and you don't have to be in any lab and be around any person with a clipboard.
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