My sleep varies. I only get up for work early 3 days a week and then get to sleep in until the kids get up at 7:30 the other 4 days. So on my early days I get about 5 hours of sleep and on my late days I get 7-8 hours. In my world, there just isn't enough time in the day to get everything I need to get done and get enough sleep! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
But I definitely think sleep plays a major role in health. I wish I had more time to sleep, and I notice that on the days that I only get 5 hours of sleep that I am very groggy and miserable. I just feel very worn down. If I let that pace catch up to me, I would for sure get sick with a lung infection. This is what happened to me when my second baby was born. The lack of sleep and exhaustion caused my PFT's to drop about 40%! So that's enough proof to me that it has an effect on health.
My opinion is that we probably need slightly more sleep than the average person since our bodies are constantly fighting infection, etc.