How much sleep do you really need?. While most articles on sleep suggests that you should sleep for 8 hours in order to look good and feel energized, just dig deeper on this topic and you will come across suggestions that even 5 hours sleep every night is sufficient (some even say 4 hours).
While there’s not much conclusive evidence on this topic, the takeaway from most of the articles is that things won’t go really bad (you won’t die) if you sleep less (say 4-5 hours a night).
There are many people who sleep for 8 hours everyday and still feel lethargic when they wake up, which means there’s some problem with their diet (not enough protein), or maybe its too hot and humid which doesn’t let you sleep well (a cooler weather or air-conditioned room makes it easier to sleep). Stress, over-exercising, over-eating, bad nutrition habits are reasons why your body wants to sleep for more hours at night.
It means, the quality of sleep is more important than the hours.
On the other hand if you have always been sleeping for 7-8 hours and wish to create more time for yourself to do something constructive (hit the gym, pursue hobby, learn a new craft, or devote more time to your business), the easiest way to do is to get up early.
Getting up half an hour early gives you around 15 hours extra every month, get up one hour early and you get almost a day extra every month.
Certain people are “short sleepers” because of their genetic makeup. People like Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Edison, Shahrukh Khan can sleep for 3-4 hours and still feel energetic throughout the day.
Actor Shah Rukh Khan is known to sleep just a few hours a night. In a speech at Yale University he said, “I work the dark until sunrise on most days and fall asleep as the world awakens to light. My friends call me an owl, I like to think of myself as… Batman… the prince of darkness.”
However, for the rest, you need to listen to your body, assuming 4-5 is not working for you (signs are irritability, low energy, etc.) after trying it out for a few days. In that case, you may start increasing your sleep-time by half an hour to see how you feel. You also need to remember that it takes time to form a new habit (21 days at least), so give yourself a few days before you decide that 5 hours is not working for you.
Read: Importance of Sleep
How to Cut Down on Sleep Time
So how does one cut down on the sleep hours (say someone who sleeps for 8 hours and wants to create more time for other useful activities)?
Here are some suggestions (these have worked for me):
- Set the alarm to go off half an hour earlier. Once you get used to it, reduce the sleep time further by half hour. Do this till you get your sleep time down to 6 hours.
- Have a light meal for dinner. Stuffing yourself up at night is not going to help you sleep for fewer hours. Avoid greasy, oily, fatty foods, and food rich in carbs at night.
- Eat your dinner earlier. I have my dinner by 8 pm and making this change has helped me to cut down on sleeping hours.
External Links
Here are a few related links for more information on this topic.
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