4 ms·

Answer is yes, definitely genetic. I have narcolepsy and need no more than 5 hours sleep a night. That has been proven consistently over the 28 years of my work

Answer is yes, definitely genetic. I have narcolepsy and need no more than 5 hours sleep a night. That has been proven consistently over the 28 years of my working life. I aim for 5 hours' sleep, though usually it's more like 4h45m. I am less sharp once it falls below 4h30m. I usually work in the evenings til 12:30 or 1am. I wake up around 5:20am, usually just before my alarm. I cycle to work and arrive at the office shortly after 6am. Narcolepsy is usually associated with daytime sleepiness. It is best described as a switch in my brain that turns off if I don't get enough stimulation. I was prescribed drugs for it (dexamphetamine originally, now modafinil) but I don't take them anymore. I prefer to treat it by having very high-pressure jobs (currently Chief Risk Officer for a start up, previously tech lead for an investment bank trading desk). Also I have found that computer programming provides the perfect amount of deep mental focus to beat narcolepsy. At night, narcolepsy means I fall asleep instantly. I hit the REM sleep phase within a couple of minutes. Most people need 90 minutes to reach REM sleep. So that alone means 4h30m of my sleep is equivalent to 6 hours for a 'normal' person. (Final note: This was verified clinically by an overnight stay in a sleep lab then daytime sleepiness tests the following day.)

Tomte 7y ago
> I hit the REM sleep phase within a couple of minutes. Most people need 90 minutes to reach REM sleep. So that alone means 4h30m of my sleep is equivalent to 6 hours for a 'normal' person. That would be true if REM sleep were the only sleep that counts, but light and deep NREM sleep has functions, too. Functions that REM sleep cannot perform.
NicoJuicy 7y ago
My dad didn't need a lot of sleep ( until 68 years). I don't either ( 3,5 - 5 hours). I think it's genetic also, yeah. On 8 hours of sleep, I'm tired the entire day.
malux85 7y ago
I have narcolepsy and I'm the opposite, under high stress / high pressure environments I fall asleep. Programming provides me with a stress-less job that I can work at my own pace. I take modafinil too, if I come off that I am totally hopeless, in a vague half-sleep all the time. Very interesting to hear about others conditions!
- neverminder 7y ago
  If you haven't already, you should consider Armodafinil. It's basically a refined version of Modafinil which lasts longer, feels smoother and requires smaller dose.
  - malux85 7y ago
    Wow, thank you, I will
kentosi 7y ago
Do you do any type of exercise (gym/weights) apart from cycling to work? If so, how does such comparatively little sleep affect your recovery?
- stevesimmons 7y ago
  Basically sleep, or lack of sleep, does not affect my recovery from sport. My ideal work/life balance includes 12 hours' work and 3 hours' sport a day. I'd vary sports rather than have a day off. For 4 years, when I lived in Melbourne, Australia, my usual weekday routine was: * Up by 5:30am. Marathon kayaking from 6am to 7am. Cycle to work. Start work at 8am. * Work til 7pm. Cycle to swim, water polo, or gym (which I did together with my partner). Cycle home. * Dinner with my partner from 9 to 10:30pm. Work or recreational programming til midnight. At weekends, I'd try to fit in a 2-3 hour run or marathon kayaking training. My narcolepsy would be much worse after long training sessions (due I think to dehydration and elevated core body temperature) and I'd often fall asleep, sometimes on the floor, for an hour or two. Over the last few years, now I live in London, I've dropped water polo and am focussing more on flamenco dancing. If work is not too busy, I'll manage to do 2-3 three hour classes a week. If I have time on Saturdays, I'll do 5-6 hours of sport: cycling/kayaking/cycling/water polo/swimming, or flamenco/flamenco/streetdance/streetdance, etc. Basically, my work/sport/sleep routine is not normal. It works perfectly for me. I definitely don't recommend it to anyone else.
  - marvin 7y ago
    Really fascinating that you’re managing this condition by having an activity/energy level that’s absolutely extreme conpared to the average, and that this seems to be healthy for you. I get the impression that capitalist society has a tendency to richly reward this trait when combined with some interest/skill in negotiation and marketable skills.
    - rpmisms 7y ago
      This type of behavior has been rewarded throughout history. Spending insane amounts of time and energy on things nobody else could dedicate the time to is what made Michaelangelo, Edison, Tesla, Newton, the legends that they are.
rwmurrayVT 7y ago
Modafinil is so really powerful stuff. It took me a second to realize you said you no longer take it. The whole time I was thinking of course you don't sleep, modafinil can make anyone survive on very little sleep for an extended period of time.
rjkennedy98 7y ago
Just because something is unique to you and persistent over a lifetime doesn't make it genetic (there seems to be a huge lay misunderstanding about this). It can also be epigenetic, which is basically the programmable layer on top of your genome which causes certain genes to be expressed instead of others.
- stevesimmons 7y ago
  It's definitely genetic in my case. My mum and two of her three siblings have it, as did their grandmother. Family dinners often end with half the people round the table falling asleep, and our spouses telling sleep-related anecdotes.
markus_zhang 7y ago
Oh man if only you don't get daytime sleepiness...
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
neuralRiot 7y ago
I’m somewhat similar, but I never feel sleepy even if i spend 24 or more hours awake, i will feel extremely tired but never like some people falling asleep in their desk or while driving, i need to intentionally go to sleep and it will be instant, 6hs is my optimal sleep time and most of my family from my mother side is the same.

Tomte 7y ago

> I hit the REM sleep phase within a couple of minutes. Most people need 90 minutes to reach REM sleep. So that alone means 4h30m of my sleep is equivalent to 6 hours for a 'normal' person. That would be true if REM sleep were the only sleep that counts, but light and deep NREM sleep has functions, too. Functions that REM sleep cannot perform.

NicoJuicy 7y ago

My dad didn't need a lot of sleep ( until 68 years). I don't either ( 3,5 - 5 hours). I think it's genetic also, yeah. On 8 hours of sleep, I'm tired the entire day.

malux85 7y ago

I have narcolepsy and I'm the opposite, under high stress / high pressure environments I fall asleep. Programming provides me with a stress-less job that I can work at my own pace. I take modafinil too, if I come off that I am totally hopeless, in a vague half-sleep all the time. Very interesting to hear about others conditions!

neverminder 7y ago
If you haven't already, you should consider Armodafinil. It's basically a refined version of Modafinil which lasts longer, feels smoother and requires smaller dose.
- malux85 7y ago
  Wow, thank you, I will

kentosi 7y ago

Do you do any type of exercise (gym/weights) apart from cycling to work? If so, how does such comparatively little sleep affect your recovery?

stevesimmons 7y ago
Basically sleep, or lack of sleep, does not affect my recovery from sport. My ideal work/life balance includes 12 hours' work and 3 hours' sport a day. I'd vary sports rather than have a day off. For 4 years, when I lived in Melbourne, Australia, my usual weekday routine was: * Up by 5:30am. Marathon kayaking from 6am to 7am. Cycle to work. Start work at 8am. * Work til 7pm. Cycle to swim, water polo, or gym (which I did together with my partner). Cycle home. * Dinner with my partner from 9 to 10:30pm. Work or recreational programming til midnight. At weekends, I'd try to fit in a 2-3 hour run or marathon kayaking training. My narcolepsy would be much worse after long training sessions (due I think to dehydration and elevated core body temperature) and I'd often fall asleep, sometimes on the floor, for an hour or two. Over the last few years, now I live in London, I've dropped water polo and am focussing more on flamenco dancing. If work is not too busy, I'll manage to do 2-3 three hour classes a week. If I have time on Saturdays, I'll do 5-6 hours of sport: cycling/kayaking/cycling/water polo/swimming, or flamenco/flamenco/streetdance/streetdance, etc. Basically, my work/sport/sleep routine is not normal. It works perfectly for me. I definitely don't recommend it to anyone else.
- marvin 7y ago
  Really fascinating that you’re managing this condition by having an activity/energy level that’s absolutely extreme conpared to the average, and that this seems to be healthy for you. I get the impression that capitalist society has a tendency to richly reward this trait when combined with some interest/skill in negotiation and marketable skills.
  - rpmisms 7y ago
    This type of behavior has been rewarded throughout history. Spending insane amounts of time and energy on things nobody else could dedicate the time to is what made Michaelangelo, Edison, Tesla, Newton, the legends that they are.

rwmurrayVT 7y ago

Modafinil is so really powerful stuff. It took me a second to realize you said you no longer take it. The whole time I was thinking of course you don't sleep, modafinil can make anyone survive on very little sleep for an extended period of time.

rjkennedy98 7y ago

Just because something is unique to you and persistent over a lifetime doesn't make it genetic (there seems to be a huge lay misunderstanding about this). It can also be epigenetic, which is basically the programmable layer on top of your genome which causes certain genes to be expressed instead of others.

stevesimmons 7y ago
It's definitely genetic in my case. My mum and two of her three siblings have it, as did their grandmother. Family dinners often end with half the people round the table falling asleep, and our spouses telling sleep-related anecdotes.

markus_zhang 7y ago

Oh man if only you don't get daytime sleepiness...

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

neuralRiot 7y ago

I’m somewhat similar, but I never feel sleepy even if i spend 24 or more hours awake, i will feel extremely tired but never like some people falling asleep in their desk or while driving, i need to intentionally go to sleep and it will be instant, 6hs is my optimal sleep time and most of my family from my mother side is the same.