I don’t know what’s wrong with me but I need so much sleep nowadays. On weekends I can sleep upward of 10 hours.
Probably about 7-8 hrs per night. sleep is very important
In the dhyana-yoga chapter of the Bhagavad-gita it says:
“He who is regulated in his habits of eating, sleeping, recreation and work can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system.” (BG 6.17)
It’s so important to find a proper balance in sleeping. Too little sleep may result in lack of strenght and energy and maybe agitation of the mind. When I started with yoga it was impossible for me to get up before before seven to start my practice, although I tried hard because it was recommended by some teachers. But my mind just got so angry about it. At that time I always needed 8 hours sleep and sometimes more. Too much sleep is not only a waste of time, it also increases tama-guna, ignorance, inertia, dullness and foolishness. It simply results in misery and is contrary to the goals and effects of yoga.
Now I get up before 5 o’clock every morning, have an asana and pranayama practice of 30 to 40 minutes and 2 hours meditation. After that I go to work. I sleep between 6 and 7 hours. My only problem is that I run out of energy when I sleep to little, so I always include surya namaskara and kapalbhati pranayama in my practice to make sure I have sufficient energy.
It is definitely safe to say that the body knows what it needs, when it needs it and how much. The problem here though is that I think very often people ignore their bodies, they don’t know how to listen to them and they sort of overshadow/overpower them with external things that take the attention, like tv-s and laptops and iphones and blackberries, etc. I mean, it’s not like I don’t use any of those on a daily basis, but I’ve noticed that if I give myself time to switch from this mode, where some gadgets steal my focus to a mode that is more about my feelings and body, I sleep better and I can clearly sense when the moment of sleepiness arrives, i.e. I go to bed at the right time and I wake up refreshed the next morning - no under- or oversleeping. 
I probably sleep on average of 6 hours because of work which is a 12 hour shift. I need 16 hours to be totally refreshed and a minimum of 12 hours sleep to be refreshed. If the kundalini is going strong then I might wake up after 3 hours of sleep still lit up. I wish it was like that everyday.
I usually get about 6 hours of sleep due to school and work. However during the rare times I get to catch up on sleep and wake/sleep at the same time, I have found that 9 hours is usually what my body wants. Anything less or more causes me to feel either tired or over-rested.
[QUOTE=panoramix;47648]High yogis are said to sleep just two or three hours daily.[/QUOTE]
Where did you get that info from please?
I sleep about eight hours a night.
Thanks.
Hello, it’s a well known fact.
I can’t remember the sources.
I am a great lover of yoga. It is my favorite exercise. Sleep is important for all yogis. I sleep at least 8 hours in a day and in my opinion 6 to 8 hours are enough to sleep.
And I believe it is individual and has nothing to do with being a Yogi or not.
I get about six hours sleep I have very real seeming dreams ,
I sometimes like an afternoon nap
Peace
6 hours is all thats needed now sometimes 5
[QUOTE=Seeking;78837]6 hours is all thats needed now sometimes 5[/QUOTE]
You are talking for yourself I reckon …
[QUOTE=Connected;78839]You are talking for yourself I reckon …[/QUOTE]
just reporting how many hours of sleep this body needs. Others need for sleep is for them to talk about.
it is interesting to hear everyones different needs and takes on how much sleep is needed. thank you are for sharing such vulnerable information.
[QUOTE=panoramix;47648]How many hours do you sleep?
How many hours does your body/mind really need?
High yogis are said to sleep just two or three hours daily.
Can that be achieved in a short run?
How can one know what’s the appropriate number for him/her?[/QUOTE]
On average, I sleep about five hours per night through the week and about nine hours per night on weekends. I’ve always read that you need at least seven hours of sleep per night, so I don’t understand how yoga could help you get by with as little as two or three hours per night.
It’s amazing how varied the responses have been on this one. It seems that as with everything, the thoughts determine how much we need.
[QUOTE=Andelson;78806]I am a great lover of yoga. It is my favorite exercise. Sleep is important for all yogis. I sleep at least 8 hours in a day and in my opinion 6 to 8 hours are enough to sleep.[/QUOTE]
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I usually sleep around 6 hrs but there are prolonged periods in my life that I sleep for 4hrs every night. The hard part for me is to get off the bed, once I do it doesn’t matter if I slept for 4 or 6 hrs, I just have energy.
What I try to avoid is oversleeping. When I do I always feel sluggish and have no motivation to do anything physical, I just want to sit or lay in bed all day long and I even experience back pain some times. So I really try to avoid that.
I have been practicing Angamardana, Shambhavi, Surya namaskar for minimum 2 months now and my sleep has gone down to 2-4 hours.