From three hours to nine: 11 women on exactly how many hours of sleep they get every night. And why.

Is there anything more annoying than lying in bed at night, not being able to sleep as your brain calculates to the minute just how many hours you’ll get if you drift off right at that instant?

Will it be the magical eight hours? Maybe six? Just enough to function with some help from a triple shot latte?

We’re constantly being told that a balanced diet and exercise routine is key to a healthy lifestyle.

So… It sounds like we could all do with a nap. Post continues below video.

This is true, of course, but there’s a major health factor that we often ignore or just down right forget about: Sleep.

PwC’s Health Research Institute report Action required: The urgency of addressing social determinants of health surveyed almost more than 1000 Australians, and more than a third cited sleep deprivation as their top concern The Age reported. It’s not hard to believe. When life gets busy, sleep is often the first thing we compromise on.

The reports findings got us thinking about how much sleep the people around us get every night and how that compares to how much we manage.

To satisfy our curiosity, Mamamia asked a number of women to share just how much – or how little – sleep they get each night. Here’s what each of them said:

1. “I get between seven and a half and eight and a half on weekdays, and around nine on weekends. Sleep is my number one favourite hobby. I have to force myself to go to bed as early as possible because I’m a night owl, and then I get up at like 7:45am.” Lauren, 29.

2. “6.5-7 hours. I take time at night to spend with my partner and then our kids wake us up from 6:30am.” Fi, 33.

3. “At the moment I get 5-6 hours a night because I am pregnant. It used to be 8 hours. On the weekends I sneak a nap in so it gets up around 8.” Aashi, 36.

4. “My average over the past month has been 6 hours and I take 3mg of Melatonin most nights too, and track my sleep with the health app on my phone.” Martina, 21.

5. “5-6 hours in the week is because I get up very early to make myself go to the gym, but I’m physically unable to fall asleep early enough to get 8 hours with the early start. So when I know I need to be up at 5am, I could not be asleep for 9pm even for a million dollars. I go to bed at 9 but I’m lucky if I’m asleep by 10/11. On the weekends, I wake up early naturally but unless I have morning plans (which I avoid) I force myself to go back to sleep to catch up on the hours I missed in the week.” Paari, 41.

5. “7-8 hours a night but I sleep lightly so always wake up.” Ann, 60.

6. “I get about 6-7 hours a night on weeknights, I have an old cat that wakes me up without fail at 6am every morning. On the weekend, I sleep in so it’s about 10 hours.” Louisa, 26.

7.  “About 7-8 hours if all goes well, weekday or weekend is the same because kids don’t understand what weekend means.” Claudette, 43.

8. “Three to four hours a night during the week most of the time, sometimes a little more on weekends, thanks to chronic insomnia. If I take strong medication I can sometimes stretch it to five or six but that can make you feel worse the next day.” Lila, 32.

9. “I take medication that has a side effect of drowsiness so I usually need minimum 8 otherwise the next morning I am groggy and irritable. I used to be able to operate on 5-6 hours before I started taking this medication.” Adella, 55.

10. “I get 8+ hours every night. I used to get 5-6, and then my boyfriend convinced me to start going to bed at 9:30. At first, I felt forced. Now I crave it. If it’s edging towards 10pm I think about my sleep count and get anxious. I can’t believe how much better my brain functions in the morning with a solid sleep behind me!” Mya, 30.

11. “9pm (unless my phone wakes me up) to 5am EVERY DAY.” Rhiannon, 20.

How much sleep do you get each night? Let us know in a comment.