How Stuff Works takes on the question: can humans negotiate their sleep needs?

Wozniak discovered that many people who were attempting the polyphasic sleep schedule were motivated to do so because they were dealing with various sleep disorders. In these cases, he shows a great deal of sympathy as people who are trying to find a way to get the rest they need seek out possible solutions. But based on the evidence he saw, polyphasic sleep isn’t a viable approach. (If you’re as curious about polyphasic sleep as we were, be sure to read our longer HowStuffWorks article dedicated to it.)

Dr. Wozniak isn’t the only expert to advocate for getting enough sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, which conducted a meta study of scientific literature on sleep in 2014, the number of hours of sleep a person needs decreases with age, but there’s a limit. Sleeping too much or too little can lead to serious health complications.

Meanwhile, people who struggle to sleep are still looking for relief. From ASMR videos to gadgets claiming they will help you get the deep sleep you need, there’s a growing market for sleep solutions, as the HowStuffWorks team discusses in the video above. The best advice experts have is that people having trouble sleeping should consult their physicians and proceed from there.

See the video and read the rest at www.now.howstuffworks.com