Is sleeping a luxury?

How much sleep do we need every day? Some people will say they sleep at least for 8 or 9 hours per day. Is that possible in Hong Kong when everyone is complaining that having enough sleep is a luxury?

When I joined the teaching profession 13 years ago, I could go to bed around 11 pm and get up round 6 am as the previous school I served got an early timetable. Life was good as I still had 7 hours' sleep.

Few years later, I enrolled in a part-time PGDE program, meaning that two evenings were occupied for attending classes. Surely, on those two evenings, I would go home late and sleep late as well. During my PGDE study, I slept around 12 (midnight) and wake up around 6. It came very natural that my sleeping hours were reduced by one hour.

Now, having a family of my own, I need to sleep later than before. First, both Grace and I had to do some housework such as cooking and doing laundry though the cleaning jobs were outsourced already. With more responsibilities both in the job and family, I usually hit the sack around 1 and get up around 6:30 to catch the staff bus to office.

What will happen 5 years later? I am just worried about the deteriorating situation. Do I sleep even less if I have children or have other commitments in my profession. Can't imagine at this time!!! But one thing is sure that there are tons of side-effects having insufficient sleep such as poor memory and high blood pressure.

How can we get more sleep? I think the only answer is we should be more self-disciplined. Do not watch TV non-stop and try to finish all undone businesses as soon as possible. Having a habit to go to bed early will also make us wake up earlier... Easy said than done...