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No no no no and no. You can't train your body to need less sleep. Sleep deprivation actually effects your judgment on how much sleep you need. http://serendip.b

No no no no and no. You can't train your body to need less sleep. Sleep deprivation actually effects your judgment on how much sleep you need. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1690 http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1690

nkozyra 12y ago
"Affects." Score one for the "sleep deprived." :) First, literally none of the sources in that link works. Every single one is a 404. Second, less sleep != "sleep deprivation." This assumes that people never get used to sleeping more than is physiologically necessary. I sleep 5.5 -> 6.5 hours a night. Plenty of people do. But I used to sleep 8+ hours a night in my mid-20s and anything less would leave me feeling worthless. Most topics on this talk about 6-8 hours of sleep being the "sweet spot," so it's not like I'm talking 3 hours of sleep here. I'm saying that you can move around a little bit and your body will adjust, much like it adjusts to thousands of other changes in environment. You can't go without eating, but you can eat less and your body will respond, for example. Humans are more pliable than we give ourselves credit.
- ivanhoe 12y ago
  I rarely sleep longer than that, but it's not a training, simply comes with the age (I'm 40). Real question is how long would you sleep now if you could sleep as much as you want? If every now and then you need to get a day of sleeping longer to re-energize, or you regularly have periods in night when you just can't keep your eyes open for a second longer, that probably means that you are not sleeping enough. On the other hand if you function like this in a stable manner, without sleeping "crisis", it's quite possible that you just don't need more than those 6-7h.
  - nkozyra 12y ago
    I considered the age thing, but given the rapid paradigm shift here (pre-kid, post-kid), I think that can be dismissed. That I can feel the same with 2 - 2.5 hours less sleep than I did a year and a half ago suggests to me that I have conditioned myself.
- UrMomReadsHN 12y ago
  Thats actually not the article I meant to link to but I can't find it again, oh well. Anyways, its obvious that sleep needs vary amoung different people and vary with age. Most people sleep less the older they get. Either way, sleep is very important to overall health and safety. People think they need less than they do. And I'm not actually sleep deprived, my body just is broken. I have a debilitating sleep disorder. I take (prescribed) stimulants to get through the day, but it only just takes the edge off. I wish I could wake up feeling rested.

nkozyra 12y ago

"Affects." Score one for the "sleep deprived." :) First, literally none of the sources in that link works. Every single one is a 404. Second, less sleep != "sleep deprivation." This assumes that people never get used to sleeping more than is physiologically necessary. I sleep 5.5 -> 6.5 hours a night. Plenty of people do. But I used to sleep 8+ hours a night in my mid-20s and anything less would leave me feeling worthless. Most topics on this talk about 6-8 hours of sleep being the "sweet spot," so it's not like I'm talking 3 hours of sleep here. I'm saying that you can move around a little bit and your body will adjust, much like it adjusts to thousands of other changes in environment. You can't go without eating, but you can eat less and your body will respond, for example. Humans are more pliable than we give ourselves credit.

ivanhoe 12y ago
I rarely sleep longer than that, but it's not a training, simply comes with the age (I'm 40). Real question is how long would you sleep now if you could sleep as much as you want? If every now and then you need to get a day of sleeping longer to re-energize, or you regularly have periods in night when you just can't keep your eyes open for a second longer, that probably means that you are not sleeping enough. On the other hand if you function like this in a stable manner, without sleeping "crisis", it's quite possible that you just don't need more than those 6-7h.
- nkozyra 12y ago
  I considered the age thing, but given the rapid paradigm shift here (pre-kid, post-kid), I think that can be dismissed. That I can feel the same with 2 - 2.5 hours less sleep than I did a year and a half ago suggests to me that I have conditioned myself.
UrMomReadsHN 12y ago
Thats actually not the article I meant to link to but I can't find it again, oh well. Anyways, its obvious that sleep needs vary amoung different people and vary with age. Most people sleep less the older they get. Either way, sleep is very important to overall health and safety. People think they need less than they do. And I'm not actually sleep deprived, my body just is broken. I have a debilitating sleep disorder. I take (prescribed) stimulants to get through the day, but it only just takes the edge off. I wish I could wake up feeling rested.