Ah, the eternal question! Luckily physician and educator Dr. Kelvin Fernandez from Ace Med Boards could offer some insight here. "There's a multitude of factors that could be at play," he says. "We all have different sleep needs, and it's entirely possible that your body needs a bit more than the average person. However, it's also essential to consider the quality of sleep." Of course, if you're tossing and turning, even for eight hours, or waking up lots in the night, this will affect those eight hours.
He continues, "Also, bear in mind that our sleep cycles don't always neatly align with our alarm clocks. If you're jolted awake in the middle of a deep sleep phase, it's going to feel a lot harder to get up." Oh, and it goes without saying, but your all-nighters and late-night Netflix binges are always a no-no. "They can wreak havoc on your sleep rhythm over time," he notes. Perhaps, if you always get sucked into your smartphone, this is where the simplicity of an alarm clock like those above will be handy to you.