3 ms·
I've always been fascinated by discussions surrounding the varying amount of sleep necessary for different individuals. I feel like "unlocking" the secrets of
by lmnm 12y ago
I've always been fascinated by discussions surrounding the varying amount of sleep necessary for different individuals. I feel like "unlocking" the secrets of these folks who can get by on such little sleep would do wonders for humanity, though I'm unsure if that is even within our abilities.
As for a personal anecdote, I've experienced both ends of the sleep spectrum: in the past couple years I've had two 4-month long periods where I required little to no sleep to function as well as I ever have in both work and social settings. My personal belief is that this can be chalked up to a healthy diet, constant exercise, and an abundance of happiness. Also, I caution those who pine for the ability to function on less sleep: as the lady in the article mentions, it can absolutely cause issues in one's relationships. Other than that however, all positives in my experiences.
On the flip side, I've dealt with multiple bouts of varying degrees of depression that have caused my daily hours of sleep to skyrocket to ~10-12 hours/day. After experiencing both ends of the required sleep spectrum I'm convinced that, at least for me personally, happiness and health plays a huge role.
- Shivetya 12y agoI have found I sleep less the more I exercise and I don't have to exercise that much to affect my sleep pattern. At minimum I do 45 minutes of elliptical while watching netflix; current revisiting doctor who. If I am really into it I use the resistance machine. While I know its different for many people that is the route I follow and at times I was worried about getting too little. I just find that daily exercise imparts an incredible amount of energy in my day. I try my best to take two walk breaks at work, usually a quarter mile. Others get smoke breaks, I get a me break. Give it a try, it might work for you.
- Swizec 12y ago> I have found I sleep less the more I exercise In my experience this doesn't scale infinitely. Once I reached the average of 1.5 hours of strenuous exercise a day[1] I started needing more sleep than I did without the exercise. Sure, it keeps me mentally more engaged and productive, but I most definitely sleep more than I do when I'm working out less. [1] I do 3 boxing sessions of 1.5h per week, run about 30km per week, and do about 3 hours of lifting per week
- methodover 12y agoThat sounds like bipolar disorder to me: Long cycles of happiness (euphoria), energy and hyperactivity (lots of exercise), and a decreased need for sleep, followed by depression, lack of energy, lethargy (no physical activity, less exercise), and increased need for sleep. That's the textbook definition of bipolar disorder, I think.
- Dylan16807 12y agoWait, does it change how much sleep you feel like getting, or does it actually change the amount of sleep you need? If it's the latter I'm surprised I haven't heard about study into it.
- lmnm 12y agoThanks for the tip. I will look into that.
- totalrobe 12y agoYou might be bipolar
- lmnm 12y agoThank you, I hadn't considered that before. I will look into that.