6 ms·

Ask HN: How to sleep less and yet stay fresh?

8 points by init0 14y ago

I can Google it, but I want your experience if any!

eshvk 14y ago
Caffeine? Illicit drugs, maybe? The whole being tired is your body telling you to lighten up and catch up on sleep.
georgechris 14y ago
Both of us, ( two developer team) we sleep very late after work yet the only thing that keeps us fresh is the exciting work the next day, saying that a wonderful coffee keeps us awake and a little nap also helps to keep fresh.
dear 14y ago
Deeper sleep, better quality sleep maybe?
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
moocow01 14y ago
There is no replacement - only temporary highs. You can get away with caffeine, drugs, etc in the short term but in the long term there will be some form of a consequence. My advice would be to practice better time management rather than less sleep.
- init0 14y ago
  Ok! Anyway i'm off caffeine for a quite some time now.
simonlang 14y ago
As others have suggested, you should definitely try Amphetamine. If you have trouble getting to sleep, just take sleeping pills. You'll be fine.
- init0 14y ago
  Amphetamine, α-methylphenethylamine, or amfetamine is a psychostimulant drug of the phenethylamine class that produces increased wakefulness and focus in association with decreased fatigue and appetite!
niggler 14y ago
Down a cup of coffee right before going to sleep. I usually get up in 45 minutes feeling alert and ready for the next day
pratikch 14y ago
"Early to sleep and Early to rise" is bottom line I try to follow. :)
hackerhuh 14y ago
Lazy way: drugs and caffeine. Hard way: intense execercise, paleo diet, no sugar - balances insulin and hormomal levels to keep mental acuity sharp but you will still need at least 6-8 hours sleep to maintain a sharp mind during work hours.
- init0 14y ago
  paleo diet oh yeah! here I come :D
nu2ycombinator 14y ago
You can experiment with Polyphasic sleep. The extreme one will let you get away with 2hr sleep per day. But you need extreme discipline.
ergest 14y ago
If you can optimize breakfast, you can get away with 4-5 hours of sleep but not for long. I've noticed that if I do that, the body will catch up with sleep the next day, like make you drowsy earlier. As far as breakfast, nothing beats a protein rich meal like eggs. Been doing it myself for over 2 decades :)
- mbbitar 14y ago
  You've been eating eggs every morning for the past 2 decades?? I really wish I could do that - if I eat the same thing at the same time for more than a week, I get sick of it and couldn't even force myself to eat it. What's your secret? Breakfast is a very complicated affair for me.
abuiles 14y ago
There are a bunch on interesting comments in this quora thread: "How do I get more out of less sleep?" http://www.quora.com/Sleep/How-do-I-get-more-out-of-less-sleep http://www.quora.com/Sleep/How-do-I-get-more-out-of-less-sle...

8 points by init0 14y ago

I can Google it, but I want your experience if any!

eshvk 14y ago

Caffeine? Illicit drugs, maybe? The whole being tired is your body telling you to lighten up and catch up on sleep.

georgechris 14y ago

Both of us, ( two developer team) we sleep very late after work yet the only thing that keeps us fresh is the exciting work the next day, saying that a wonderful coffee keeps us awake and a little nap also helps to keep fresh.

dear 14y ago

Deeper sleep, better quality sleep maybe?

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

moocow01 14y ago

There is no replacement - only temporary highs. You can get away with caffeine, drugs, etc in the short term but in the long term there will be some form of a consequence. My advice would be to practice better time management rather than less sleep.

init0 14y ago
Ok! Anyway i'm off caffeine for a quite some time now.

simonlang 14y ago

As others have suggested, you should definitely try Amphetamine. If you have trouble getting to sleep, just take sleeping pills. You'll be fine.

init0 14y ago
Amphetamine, α-methylphenethylamine, or amfetamine is a psychostimulant drug of the phenethylamine class that produces increased wakefulness and focus in association with decreased fatigue and appetite!

niggler 14y ago

Down a cup of coffee right before going to sleep. I usually get up in 45 minutes feeling alert and ready for the next day

pratikch 14y ago

"Early to sleep and Early to rise" is bottom line I try to follow. :)

hackerhuh 14y ago

Lazy way: drugs and caffeine. Hard way: intense execercise, paleo diet, no sugar - balances insulin and hormomal levels to keep mental acuity sharp but you will still need at least 6-8 hours sleep to maintain a sharp mind during work hours.

init0 14y ago
paleo diet oh yeah! here I come :D

nu2ycombinator 14y ago

You can experiment with Polyphasic sleep. The extreme one will let you get away with 2hr sleep per day. But you need extreme discipline.

ergest 14y ago

If you can optimize breakfast, you can get away with 4-5 hours of sleep but not for long. I've noticed that if I do that, the body will catch up with sleep the next day, like make you drowsy earlier. As far as breakfast, nothing beats a protein rich meal like eggs. Been doing it myself for over 2 decades :)

mbbitar 14y ago
You've been eating eggs every morning for the past 2 decades?? I really wish I could do that - if I eat the same thing at the same time for more than a week, I get sick of it and couldn't even force myself to eat it. What's your secret? Breakfast is a very complicated affair for me.

abuiles 14y ago

There are a bunch on interesting comments in this quora thread: "How do I get more out of less sleep?" http://www.quora.com/Sleep/How-do-I-get-more-out-of-less-sleep http://www.quora.com/Sleep/How-do-I-get-more-out-of-less-sle...