The myth of the eight hour rest: Do we really need to sleep so much?

The myth of the eight hour rest: Do we really need to sleep so much?

Sure, we’re all tired — exhausted even. But do we really need the oft-quoted eight hours of sleep a night in order to be at our best during waking hours? Or is the pressure to get so many sleeping hours under our belt actually making us more stressed and contributing to the problem of insomnia?