# How to Determine Your Sleep Needs: Doctor Reveals Simple Method

Forget about complex apps and smartwatches — you can find out your optimal sleep duration without any gadgets. All you need to do is listen to your own body. This recommendation was given by Alba García Aragón, a sleep specialist at the Sleep Institute in Madrid.

As reported by TUT.AZ citing the publication Hola, the specialist debunked the popular myth about the magical "eight hours of sleep." The main indicator is not the numbers on the alarm clock, but how you feel after waking up and throughout the entire day.

The Spanish expert identified clear signs that you're getting enough sleep: waking up easily in the morning, absence of persistent drowsiness, and maintaining concentration and productivity until evening. The doctor paid special attention to the emotional component — she called a stable mood without fluctuations a reliable marker of quality nighttime rest.

Warning signs, however, look different: difficult morning awakenings, persistent fatigue, unexplained irritability, and attention problems. European sleep medicine specialists warn: these symptoms indicate either insufficient hours of rest or poor sleep quality — even if you formally spend enough time in bed.

A universal norm does not exist, the expert emphasized. Some people need only five to six hours, while others require nine to ten. The only way to find your number is to regularly monitor how you feel and draw honest conclusions.