Surviving on less sleep?

[BerberElla]

Is it possible to train your body to require less sleep than what it currently requires, and would doing so be in anyway detrimental to your health?

I am finding that I never have enough time in a day to do all the things I enjoy/need to do do, and it frustrates me that my body fails to keep up at times because it needs sleep.

Also knowing that I am sleeping away half of my alloted time on this planet bugs the hell out of me.

Currently 6-7 hours of sleep makes me feel rejuvinated, but I often grab about 3 hours of sleep when I really try to push it, sometimes I feel alert after such a small amount of sleep, but sometimes I am still unbelievably tired.

So do you think it's possible, is it bad for your health, have you trained your body to require less sleep?

[Elaur]

My sleep schedule is all off :( I stay up too late and end up taking naps at weird times of the day. I know it works for some naturally-needing-sleep people, I think they are just strung up on caffeine and are always tired.

[BerberElla]

My sleep schedule is all off :( I stay up too late and end up taking naps at weird times of the day. I know it works for some naturally-needing-sleep people, I think they are just strung up on caffeine and are always tired.

I'm sure I've run across people who claim they only need a couple hours sleep a night, it's just at the time I wasn't interested so didn't really digest any of the information lol, but they didn't appear tired or strung up on caffeine.

Then again they could have cracked by now so who knows. :D

[prplchknz]

I can survive on 3 hours of sleep but i eventually crash. the longest I've been awake was a week i finally took some sleeping pills.

[nomadic]

u get used to it

but u do notice urself starting to get unhealthier slightly

i noticed more drier skin, more tired look on my face, and looking older...

then when i get a grip of sleep, its back to normal. but then again, it might also be because i started working out consistently this week...

but yeah, i tend to go in cycles. get little sleep for periods of time, like 3-5 hours of sleep, then lately this past week, been averaging 8 hours of sleep a day.

[BerberElla]

I can survive on 3 hours of sleep but i eventually crash. the longest I've been awake was a week i finally took some sleeping pills.

Wow, most I have ever stayed awake was 4 days, and that was in my teenage years and a very long raving weekend, I was shattered afterwards and slept for over 24 hours.

Ideally I want to get to a stage where my regular sleep pattern is 3 hours max, that way I could get more done.

[BerberElla]

u get used to it

but u do notice urself starting to get unhealthier slightly

i noticed more drier skin, more tired look on my face, and looking older...

then when i get a grip of sleep, its back to normal. but then again, it might also be because i started working out consistently this week...

but yeah, i tend to go in cycles. get little sleep for periods of time, like 3-5 hours of sleep, then lately this past week, been averaging 8 hours of sleep a day.

I noticed that too, but I figured it was just age catching up on me.

[The Third Rider]

I need at least 7 hours of sleep if not I feel extremely anxious as well as tired. It also doesn't help that I have sleeping problems I go to the gym and weak up murdered the next day.:doh: So at least for me I can't do it, if you can than god bless you you are a better person than me.:jew:

[Darjur]

Get your body used to sleeping at the same intervals.

It's better to go to sleep at 11.30 and wake up at 6.00, than sleep at 10-12 and wake up at 6-7.

If your body gets used to the idea that it's going to bed at that and that hour and wake up at that and that hour. It tends to get the most of the sleep.

[BerberElla]

I need at least 7 hours of sleep if not I feel extremely anxious as well as tired. It also doesn't help that I have sleeping problems I go to the gym and weak up murdered the next day.:doh: So at least for me I can't do it, if you can than god bless you you are a better person than me.:jew:

When I was going to the gym a few months back, I found I slept better and felt better the next day, even if it was that I was still stuck on the whole 6-7 hours of sleep need thing.

Get your body used to sleeping at the same intervals.

It's better to go to sleep at 11.30 and wake up at 6.00, than sleep at 10-12 and wake up at 6-7.

If your body gets used to the idea that it's going to bed at that and that hour and wake up at that and that hour. It tends to get the most of the sleep.

So it won't be in anyway detrimental to a persons health to train their body to require less sleep?

The interval thing sounds like the way I would have gone about it, so I;m set to try anyway.

[whatever]

Everything I've read has said that you need at least 6 or 7 hours of sleep in order to look young and refreshed- any less and your skin starts to age rather quickly. Of course going back to a full sleep schedule will reverse this :)

[BerberElla]

Everything I've read has said that you need at least 6 or 7 hours of sleep in order to look young and refreshed- any less and your skin starts to age rather quickly. Of course going back to a full sleep schedule will reverse this :)

Really? oh, well bollocks to that idea then.

[MacGuffin]

Polyphasic sleep - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphasic_sleep)

You can take naps as short as 30 minutes several times a day, increasing your wake time.

The downside is you have to be very regimented, you are training yourself to go into REM almost immediately. Skip a nap and you'll crash hard.

Google Steve Pavlina's blog for his successful attempt and why he gave it up to have a more normal life.

[Metamorphosis]

I used to sleep like 10 hours a day and then mbtic and vent came and ruined my life. :D

[Wild horses]

I do not sleep much and most of the time I seem to do just fine on it! I do occasionaly crash and burn though :(

[prplchknz]

Everything I've read has said that you need at least 6 or 7 hours of sleep in order to look young and refreshed- any less and your skin starts to age rather quickly. Of course going back to a full sleep schedule will reverse this :)

ah yes this is a bad thing for most people for me I look 12.

[kiddykat]

I think short-term it may work... Remember those nights where you had to cram your brains out in school?? Eventually, your body broke down in fatigue, no matter how much Red Bull or Vivarin, coffee you downed??

Yah- Balance.

If you train your body to get 3 hrs. of sleep per night, it might even compensate for hormonal functions (immunity, period, weight loss or gain, zits, instant blackouts...) I did it for almost 6 months straight, until my body gave up.. Keep the circadian rhythm in check, woman. :) Try to get as much zzz's your body needs (sometimes it fluctuates).

Good Luck!!

[Darjur]

When I was going to the gym a few months back, I found I slept better and felt better the next day, even if it was that I was still stuck on the whole 6-7 hours of sleep need thing.



So it won't be in anyway detrimental to a persons health to train their body to require less sleep?

The interval thing sounds like the way I would have gone about it, so I;m set to try anyway.

Yes and No.

It's not healthy by any means, but it's a lesser of two evils.
I'd also suggest a 30-45min nap in the day at roughly 5pm if it's possible.

But basically, even if it's not recommended, for an adult roughly 5 - 5 and a half hours of uninterrupted sleep is a doable and a manageable amount. But by no means try sleeping less than that.

I suggest giving in a week for calculations to determine when your body goes into deep sleep and when it goes out to get the most of it and get the best results. Believe me, if you plan on ~5.5 hour sleep days, waking yourself up during deep sleep will kill your motivation.




P.S. I suggest you drop any activities, if you have any, that are dependent on your bodys ability to repair itself at night (weightlifting, long distance running, gymnastics, ect...) If you do any of those, it's an absolute minimum of 7 hours of sleep a day for you.

[Shaula]

I am finding that I never have enough time in a day to do all the things I enjoy/need to do do, and it frustrates me that my body fails to keep up at times because it needs sleep.
I know what you mean. My body would rather go to sleep than finish a project I'm but I don't think the problem lies in the amount of hours you sleep but how efficient your time management is durring the day. Concentrate on finding times durring your day that you are being idle and could be doing something else to further the progress of whatever projects your trying to do. A little bit at a time is better than none at all. Also I suggest that you refrain from cutting back the amount of hours you sleep as 7-8 hours is what the body needs to rejuvinate for the next day. My friend who has been an insomniac for several years only gets 2-5 hours a sleep every night and sometimes no sleep at all which greatly diminishes the quality of her work. Also you might need to come to the conclusion that you are taking on too many things at a time. At this point prioritise what's more important for you to work on.

Tips to Increase Daily Engergy
- A good night's sleep and maintain a regular sleeping schedule.
- Regular exercise in the morning. This will also increase your metabolism for the rest of the day.
- Eat a healthy, balanced diet and avoid fast food at all costs. Fast food will make you very tired.
- Keep a clean house. Seriously, a clean house can be a motivator but a messy one can be depressing.
- Avoid energy drinks and caffeine. Although they will temporarily give you a boost, they will tire you out faster in the end.

[JivinJeffJones]

6-7 hours of sleep is a minimum for me over an extended period. 8-9 is better. When I don't get enough sleep I start saying the things I would normally only think.

I've found though that a power-nap (aka nanny-nap) after lunch for 30mins max is a good way to get by with less sleep. Even a 5min doze makes all the difference for me between miserably dragging my tired ass around for the rest of the day and feeling ok. Personally, I enjoy a good snooze too much to try to extend my waking hours. But I do envy those bastards who can happily (and smugly) get by on 30mins sleep a night. I hear you need less sleep as you get older, which I'm somewhat looking forward to.

[Tallulah]

Wow. I'd sleep even MORE if I could. Sleep is awesome. It's productivity that's overrated. :smile:

[laintpe]

I had insomnia... it was hell. I wouldn't have minded as much if there was something to do, but my mind would start to race and the only way I could feel relief was by running.... outside... in the San Rafael hills... where I would come across the occasional "well-he-looks-kind-of-freaky" person. The longer I went without sleep, the less sense/inhibitions I had. I have relapses, but for the most part I sleep much more consistently. With school starting, I haven't sleep for a little over 48 hours, but that will adjust soon. I can definitely tell that my concentration and my performance in tennis is negatively affected because of it.

I have heard interesting things about hypnosis and sleep. Supposedly, if it's done correctly, 2 hours of sleeping while "hypnotized" is equivalent to 8. My weights instructor was in the marines and apparently they incorporated hypnosis to be more "sleep efficient". Would be pretty nifty if it is easy and successful... (I've obviously never tried).

[BerberElla]

Polyphasic sleep - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphasic_sleep)

You can take naps as short as 30 minutes several times a day, increasing your wake time.

The downside is you have to be very regimented, you are training yourself to go into REM almost immediately. Skip a nap and you'll crash hard.

Google Steve Pavlina's blog for his successful attempt and why he gave it up to have a more normal life.

Thanks for the link and the heads up, that guys blog was interesting. It sounded so appealing, but too regimented like you said, not sure if I could commit like that to something that is reliant on me to keep to a rota forever lol.

The guys an ENTJ, I'm an INFP, I doubt I'd last a few weeks with that kind of routine. :blush:

Yes and No.

It's not healthy by any means, but it's a lesser of two evils.
I'd also suggest a 30-45min nap in the day at roughly 5pm if it's possible.

But basically, even if it's not recommended, for an adult roughly 5 - 5 and a half hours of uninterrupted sleep is a doable and a manageable amount. But by no means try sleeping less than that.

I suggest giving in a week for calculations to determine when your body goes into deep sleep and when it goes out to get the most of it and get the best results. Believe me, if you plan on ~5.5 hour sleep days, waking yourself up during deep sleep will kill your motivation.




P.S. I suggest you drop any activities, if you have any, that are dependent on your bodys ability to repair itself at night (weightlifting, long distance running, gymnastics, ect...) If you do any of those, it's an absolute minimum of 7 hours of sleep a day for you.

I hate naps, sleeping in the day just seems like a waste of my precious time. Plus I wake up feeling more tired than when I went to bed.

Mind you I can see how it would be important to include one if I do this sleep reduction thing, because other times I have tried to go for too long without sleep, I have ended up walking around in a state of sleep, slipping between the two places and blurting out stuff that are part of a dream.

But I can't see myself giving up the bike riding (long distance) in favour of it. I think exercise is more important, and I'm a lazy so and so as it is, bike riding is the only thing standing between me and being fat. :smile:

Thanks for the advice though, at least I have a better idea of what is needed than I did when I concocted this little idea.

I know what you mean. My body would rather go to sleep than finish a project I'm but I don't think the problem lies in the amount of hours you sleep but how efficient your time management is durring the day. Concentrate on finding times durring your day that you are being idle and could be doing something else to further the progress of whatever projects your trying to do. A little bit at a time is better than none at all. Also I suggest that you refrain from cutting back the amount of hours you sleep as 7-8 hours is what the body needs to rejuvinate for the next day. My friend who has been an insomniac for several years only gets 2-5 hours a sleep every night and sometimes no sleep at all which greatly diminishes the quality of her work. Also you might need to come to the conclusion that you are taking on too many things at a time. At this point prioritise what's more important for you to work on.

Tips to Increase Daily Engergy
- A good night's sleep and maintain a regular sleeping schedule.
- Regular exercise in the morning. This will also increase your metabolism for the rest of the day.
- Eat a healthy, balanced diet and avoid fast food at all costs. Fast food will make you very tired.
- Keep a clean house. Seriously, a clean house can be a motivator but a messy one can be depressing.
- Avoid energy drinks and caffeine. Although they will temporarily give you a boost, they will tire you out faster in the end.

Absolutely, I mean I'm not currently the owner of a tidy house, but when I do go through my tidy phases, I am actually much more happy and relaxed within my house. Must make more of an effort to win the war against the mess.

Now, the thing is, when I said I wanted more time because I felt I never had enough time to myself, it was so that I could be idle since I enjoy being idle.

It's more a case of there never being enough time for me to just sit, stare off into space, and live my fantasy life for awhile, the day is spent doing things, kids, college, tidying, cooking, running my forum, an hour bike riding, all my day hours are taken up. I wanted to increase the time of being awake so that the new hours I gained, could be used to be idle or to write. Not sleeping, but awake and aware.

I think I'm going to go with a combination of your advice and Darjurs. :)

[Chris_in_Orbit]

I think the average person sleeps 1/3 of their life away but whose counting. :D

I always have had a problem maintaining energy. I think the problem is I wake up a lot during the night during the winter season (not sure why) I also have a roommate who likes to stay up all night and leave the light on/play videogames until like 4 am... so thats not helpful at all. I eat healthy, I exercise, though I rarely clean up my room; I'll try that out and see how it works.

Honestly I've never been one to have much energy. Not sure if I can do anything about it.