Man of Honour
I probably slept under 6 hours each night on average for 18 years.....I still sleep about 6 hours. Some people are different and as long as you get 5-8 hours a night you ain't going to die any sooner than someone sleeping 7-9 hours a night. I was reading somewhere that too much sleep is just as bad as not enough, if not worse.
I would have thought you of all people would be able to see through the fog with regards to this!
Getting enough sleep is very important, but you might just not have noticed the damage or the way in which it has been hindering you all these years. Ask anyone who exercises regularly and they'll tell you about the huge importance of sleep. If you're consistently not getting enough sleep, it follows that any sort of repair your body needs to do will be hindered.
The "getting too much sleep just as bad" thing is typical dumb logic from studies, whereby people who slept more happened to die younger and have health problems. It is far more likely that the reason someone is sleeping way over 8 hours is because of health complications and/or poor lifestyle, rather than the health complications arising from the increase in sleep.