About Steven Aitchison
For a few years know I have been getting by on 4 -5 hours of sleep and I didn’t realise how unusual that was until a few weeks ago when I was having a conversation with some of my work colleagues. A lot of them said something like ‘Oh I need my 8 hours of sleep every night’. It got me to thinking where this myth of needing at least 8 hours of sleep per night came from. So I done some research and found it comes down to science. It’s the scientists that say we need at least 7 – 9 hours of sleep per night depending on age, gender and working patterns.
So why do I need only 4 -5 hours and other people, like my wife, need about 8 hours of sleep per night?
I decide to try a little experiment. For the last few weeks I have been trying my hardest to sleep for 8 hours per night.
My results were strange. The first few days I kept on waking up at 4.30 – 5.00am. I forced myself to stay in bed and try to fall back asleep, I dosed on and off.
By the 5th day I was able to sleep for about 7 hours before waking up. The thing is I felt kind of groggy when I was getting up and the rest of the day felt rushed and I was trying to catch up with myself.
The last week I actually got into it and I was starting to get used to sleeping longer, on average about 7 – 7.5 hours per night. I felt less groggy and got into the swing of the day a lot quicker.
A few days ago I went back to normal and got up at 5am after turning out the lights at about midnight. I felt groggy again as my sleep pattern had been upset again however this morning I feel fine after getting my 5 hours 
of sleep.
What this has shown me is that we get by on what we are used to and our sleeping patterns will take care of itself once we have developed a sleep habit. My habit is 5 hours of sleep and I believe my sleep cycle will work itself into my habit of 5 hours of sleep.
Of course our body needs to rest and we need sleep and our sleeping cycle, REM time, delta sleep, theta sleep and alpha sleep etc all play a role in replenishing our minds and body’s. However, I believe the sleeping cycle will work itself into our own sleeping habit.
Here is how to get by on 5 hours of sleeper night
- Know your sleeping pattern just now. You will already know what time, roughly, you go to bed each night and when you wake up. Work out how much sleep you get per night.
- Decide on the pattern you would like E.G. if you would like to get by on 5 hours per night or 6 hours.
- Break the new routine into a four week block. For example if you currently get 8 hours per night just now and your goal is to get 5 hours per night. Your pattern should be
Week 1 – Get 7 hours 15 minutes of sleep per night
Week 2 – Get 6 hours and 30 minutes of sleep per night
Week 3 – Get 5 hours 45 minutes of sleeper night
Week 4 – Get 5 hours of sleeper night
- Breaking it up this way will not shock your body and make you feel as groggy throughout the day.
Now the only thing you’ve got to worry about is what to do with the extra 15 – 25 hours per week.
I occasionally have the odd dose in front of the TV for 15 minutes but it’s one of those micro-naps when I feel totally refreshed after it. I know have a lot more time to fit everything I do online into my schedule and feel much more productive throughout the day.
Some other articles you might be interested in:
How to Micro-Nap your way to success
90 Minutes sleep cycle for a better life
My Morning routine – Zen Habits
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Thanks for sharing that. I was playing with my sleep patterns a lot during the last few years and I find that I can be quite comfortable with a 6 hours pattern. If I, however, slip into a 7 or 8 hours pattern I can accommodate it very quickly, in about 3 days. So, I totally back up what you’re saying here
i would love to get by on 5 hrs of sleep a night… my body seems to like the 8-10 hours of rest i give it, though. i’m gonna try this and hopefully it’ll work out!
It’s possible for anyone to get by on 5 hours a sleep a night. Actually you can get on any amount of sleep a night that you wanted beyond the 4 hour mark however, you have to do it slowly which is the reason why the author says to do it this way:
Week 1 – Get 7 hours 15 minutes of sleep per night
Week 2 – Get 6 hours and 30 minutes of sleep per night
Week 3 – Get 5 hours 45 minutes of sleeper night
Week 4 – Get 5 hours of sleeper night
This is so your body adjusts to the change in sleep and you don’t take on effects of an alcoholic going through withdrawal in terms of emotions because he is right to just go to 8 hours of sleep one night to five hours of sleep the next night you are going to feel groggy and most likely in a bad mood if it even works at all as you seem to say you are usually an 8 hour sleeper so just do it like he says if you do do it. I will be honest I have done it in two weeks and has gotten my body used to it but I think the author just wants to give a safer way. Not to mention my body is used to interesting sleeping hours and sleeping habits.
I’ve always done better on about 6-1/2 hours sleep a night. If I get too much more, I’m groggy. Any less, dragging my feet. My body knows what I need. Occasionally, I sleep in and get 8 hours, but that’s only when I really need it. I love the early mornings when everything is peaceful.
I never really thought about changing my sleep pattern…it works for me!
I agree to the doctor who says that every person uses to sleep 7/8 hours every day for good health
This really intrigues me because I’m a mess on too little sleep. For years when I swam regularly my morning times would always be down on my evening times.
I’m now 46 and have decided to go with the flow so to speak and stop fighting my natural inclinations.
There is research that suggests people that only get about 4 hours of sleep a night have mortality rates 2.5 times higher than people that get 8 hours. Having said that people that sleep over 10 hours have a mortality rate 1.5 times higher.
I’m not even sure what I’m saying other than I think it’s highly individual and needs tweaking for the individual.
Intersting thoughts Steve.
There are some important variables I don’t think you’ve taken into account here. For instance, people who sleep around four hours per night will, in general, probably lead much more stressful lives than those who get by on (and have time for) the typical seven- to eight-hour sleep pattern.
Similarly, those who sleep for nine hours or more are probably more likely to lead very sedentary lifestyles, and could of course be obese or simply inactive exercise-wise.
Just a couple of thoughts for your consideration anyway – I realise I’m more than a couple of years late, but only just stumbled across this article!
Tom
As for me , I always envy those who can sleep only 5 hours,
I have no time left for self education , only work and home , that is very frustrating to me
I have no control over how much I sleep anymore.
It’s all down to my delightful children!
Pertinent article for me right now — have been trying to change my night-owl tendencies off and on for years because the world is much more accepting of the early bird. I’ve succeeded for only short time periods, and usually just end up a zombie, then catching up on weekends and missing out on much of life around me. I plan to try the above and see how it goes. Thanks for the good info.
I couldn’t do it. I need at least 9 hours of sleep a night.
I think we should go to sleep at 9:00 pm to 10:am. for completely rest.
Hi Sherry, good luck with the new schedule, let us know how you get on.
I have trouble if I’m on less than 9 hours sleep.
Maybe it’s about melanin levels. Maybe because my apartment is noisy but I’d love to do 5 hours sleep.
I have no control over how much I sleep anymore.
Excellent article, very interesting read. I only get about 6 hours sleep max, have done for pver the past 2 months but i don’t feel good for it and need to get into a better routine. I am knackered in the morning and say to myself, i’m definitely going to bed earlier tonight, then when the night comes i feel fine and end up staying up past 1am
Hi Steven,
I get on fine with 6-7 hours of sleep every night. But I just have problem becoming an early riser. Gotta work more on that.
Great blog you have here!
Cheers~
Mark
“Nice Article”
But in my opinion 6 hours sleeping is good and stress free sleeping.
Sleep is also a time of rest and repair to neurons. Neurons are the freeways of the nervous system that carry out both voluntary commands, like moving your arm, and involuntary commands, like breathing and digestive processes.
I will try this. I get about 8-9 hours a night and feel that my best time for productivity is early morning. If I could gain more early morning hours that would help me get more good things done.
Nice post…with a 4 year old son, I find it hard to get enough sleep!
Great information. Im 16/17 & i read alot that teenages should be getting at least 8hours if not more sleep a day. Well i love sleep, but strangly i hate going to bed. On weekends i can lay in my bed till the afternoon geting 12hours sleep. But when i go to college i get about 7hours sleep on avaerage. Going to bed about 12:30 & waking up (VERY TIRED) at 7:30. But even though im extreamly tired in the weekday mornings I still love staying up till the erly hours. I find you post very intresting & i would love to get 5/6 hours sleep WITHOUT feeling extreamly tired in the morning. Maybe if i continue this pattern through my weekends it can work. Ill give it a go & let you know on the results
Luke.
Luke,
Our sleep rhythms change throughout our lifetimes. In the teen years, you need (on average) more like 9-10 hours of sleep to give your brain time to do what it needs to do at night. But, the timing of your sleep changes. Teens’ biological clocks keep them up later at night, and they want to sleep in later. That’s why some school systems are getting smart and starting school later. Even 30 minutes later start can produce pretty big improvements in academic performance!
I used to sleep 7-8 hours/day. Now I’m thinking of following your suggestion so as to bring down the sleeping hours to about 5-6 hours/day. Thanks for your points!
c
I have been sleepless for 2 nights. Thanks for your sharing, very helpful
I’ve functioned on 5-6 hours since 2001. 4 years of grad school and then 2 kids… I just drink lots of diet coke!
This is similar to the amount of time I sleep. I agree that what your used to ends up working. The higher mortality rate seems to make sense too.
From what I understand, most people’s hearts just have a certain amount of beats. If you are awake longer in your lifetime and your heart beats faster when you’re awake, it makes sense that you’d die sooner. But (to be dramatic) how much did you live?!
That being said, you can train your heart to beat less fast when you’re awake if you exercise regularly and eat well.
I try to stay away from caffeine too. I work at a coffee shop and yet I still keep that junk out of my system
. Ever since I gave it up and dealt with the whole detox thing, I’ve never felt so awake in my life.
Ever tried polyphasic sleep?
For me 5 hours not enough.. Never.
With children ranging from small to very big and dogs, sleep !! oh yes I did get that once, mind you not sure you should be doing it on the motorway.
Have always loved the thought of trying to live without time, eat sleep etc when you need to, and not doing so based on time.
good input on sleeping pattern
skkuumar’s great blog post..listening skills on the telephone
Lots of people get by with only 5 hours sleep per night. I often wish I was one of them! However, I heard that research has shown that people who get less sleep increase their risk of certain medical conditions. (Possibly dementia among them, I can’t recall.)
I’ve read some article too that 5 hours sleep is enough to get going the next day but it never worked for me. I still feel groggy everytime I sleep less than 8 hours a day.
An adult needs 6 to 6 1/2 hours of sleep a day. That’s what I follow because it was advised by a doctor. It’s not good to oversleep also.
Great article, I’m very interested in trying this. I get about 6.5-7 hours of sleep. I’m familiar with REM and how supposedly, a human can be perfectly fine with just 4 hours of sleep. That is if they can have perfect REM sleep. I do like the idea of breaking it into segments of 3-4 weeks. I will try it out!
AJ KUmar’s great blog post..Everyone Reads My Blog: How Generalizing Can Help You
Wow, I’m going to try that
Thank you for sharing!
I am an artist and often work late with 5-6 hours sleep on average. I think the important thing is not the number of hours but the quality of sleep. 5-6 hours of deep refreshing, uninterupted sleep is much better than 9-10 hours of patchy, disrupted sleep.
I agree with you. I’ve come to the conclusion that meditating prior to going to bed each night helps improve the quality of sleep, thereby reducing the amount of hours we need. In fact, the body only needs 4 hours each night to repair itself, however the brain usually needs 6 hours. All this is dependant on the person’s state of mind when going to bed. Best advice I have is to engage in deep breathing, thought blocking activities at least 15 min prior to bedtime.
“Comment by Tim Brownson on 12 March 2009:
There is research that suggests people that only get about 4 hours of sleep a night have mortality rates 2.5 times higher than people that get 8 hours. Having said that people that sleep over 10 hours have a mortality rate 1.5 times higher.
”
remember, overall mortality rate is 100% in the end
I never understod why one wanted to change one’s THOUGHTS. Wanting to change REALITY is a understandable wish, but doing it via “thinking” is futile. Action changes things, not “mind over matter” shemes.
personally I can vary my sleep. I can get by with like 4 hours of sleep if i need to, and have like 13 hours of sleep on the weekend. So I guess i dont really have a pattern…
5 hours – I am a big time lover of sleeping in for about twice that many hours, however I normally am given only 6 hours of sleep. Although, my situation may be under vary different circumstances than you, simply due to the fact that I’m a high school junior in the International Baccalaureate Program. I would like to try this sometime but I think I’ll have to wait till summer because I have no idea when my tests are scheduled. Personally I am the same way as Kabir, able to deal with 4 (although the day would still be pretty miserable) and sleep for many hours during the weekend to try and catch up, but don’t seem to get all the stuff I want to do done either way. I would really like to get my sleep schedule under control.
haha, i’m in IB. i sleep at 12 because of all the essays we do… then i have to wake up at 5:15 for school, which actually is at 7 but my school is rather far away..
I too go to bed at midnight and awake at 4:30. I try to lay in bed till 5 and meditate. Then I get up. I have tried to sleep longer but it makes the day much harder. For me, when doing a similar experiment, it seemed that there were periods of tiredness during the day. Even one week into trying to sleep longer.
A lot of people have a problem sleeping altogether. One thing that will help is developing sleep hygiene.
One big thing is to get rid of any blue lights like from computers and electronic devices.
.-= Jon of GlutathioneDiseaseCure.com´s last blog ..Jan 30, The Detrimental Diet are the Foods and Additives to Avoid to Maintian Health. =-.
I just managed 6 hours sleep and came straight to Google to find out if any others shared this same period! I was just confused as to whether the body is able to fully function on the 6 or so hours. It’s nice to know that we can possibly “train” ourselves to sleep as long as we feel necessary.:D
I’m happy to know someone else does it. I function best on five hours of sleep a night. When i was in college, I worked from woke up at 7:30 worked from 8-12, went to class from 12:30 – 5:00, had PT from 5:30 – 7:00, cheerleading practice from 8:00 – 11:00, then did alot of homework b/c I was a double major. I delveoped a 3-5 hour sleep plan that my body was used to. If i got more sleep, I would get tired, but I’ve always functioned best on 5 hours of sleep. They’ve done research where a small amount of the population can function on 5 hours of sleep a night. These people are still considered helathy . We must be amung that small amount of people.
It is a good thing that sleeping patterns can be easily altered according to our daily routine. On the other hand, not sleeping long enough every night can have some effects on our general health condition, concentration and memory. Each person knows their needs and their limits, though, so whatever works is fine.
Hey, for some time now I ve been sleeping during the day and I am awake during the night. I sleep considerably less but somehow my body doesn’t seem to mind. That 8 hours of sleep per day is a myth, I actually feel worse when I sleep more.
Everyone needs to try and find their own “sleep pattern”. Maybe you need 4 hours of night sleep and a nap of 2 hours during the day. Maybe you need 10 hours of night time… Experiment with it and you will find your sweet spot.
Don’t sleep 8 hours a day just because someone misinformed you on the internet.
Hi there, you will all be freaked out. I am 21 and work nights as a stationary engineer, I work 12 hour nights and average 4-5 hours of sleep a night. I have been doing this for 8 months now, I go to bed at 7am right when I get off work and get up at 11, sometimes 12. I eat very well and go to the gym at 2 o clock for 2 hour sessions 5 days a week. I find the secret is to just be healthy. I never sleep more than 4-5 hours, if I sleep in longer i feel sluggish and out of sorts. I have never slept long though, always been an early riser and full of energy. I feel for all you 7-8 hour people but if you love it! you love it! I love my sleep pattern, my co-workers always complain how tired they are even when sleeping 8-9 hours a day, everyday. Thats almost double my sleep time. But when I ask of their habbits, (smokers- non athletic, eat poorly) All of these affect our sleep I don’t know this by science. I know this by personal experience.
My 2 cents
A start a new job in a week were a need be up by 3:30am this is totaly diffrent for me as am normaly up at 8am and got to sleep at midnightam hoping a can get by on 6 hours sleep a night read some good advice hete on the subject thanks
Compare two people, one who is awake for 20 hours and the other is awake for 16 hours. The one who sleeps for 4 hours, is 20% less efficient, this means he can only do about 16 hours work. Where is the gain on (lack-of)sleep?
Lately I have been sleeping from 6am-8:30am and then ~5pm-9pm and I find this cycle to be best for me. However, I am not sure how practical it is so I may need to experiment with another sleeping pattern!
Really? 5 hours of sleep? I envy that. I couldn’t
Even get by a day without at least 8 hours of rest. 5 hours of sleep is definitely not enough for me. I guess different bodies suit different sleep patterns.
This article makes no sense at all. I’d like to know if the author always slept this amount of sleep before and did it change to 5 hours, is the author still sleeping 5 hours, and are there any naps or sleeping in on weekends? The poster likes to cite that scientists have come up with 7-9 hours but where is your science that everyone can get by on 5?
I’m 22 and I sleep for 4-5 hours a night. I like to get up around 4 in the morning.
This is a case of extending one person’s subjective experience onto 7 billion people. Studies have shown that some people have a gene that allows for them to do well with under five hours of sleep. Studies have also shown that most do not fare well with this little sleep!
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Lifestyle/Wellness/Why-even-4-hours-of-sleep-is-enough/Article1-774229.aspx
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sleep-t.html
Since this still comes up high on google search I feel I need to say something. This article is based on one persons individual experience. There have been plenty of studies to show that most people can only adapt to a certain amount of sleep. Apparently about 5% of the population can get away with something around 5 hours but most people need 8 hours of sleep to perform well when they are awake.
Obviously anybody can try but I think many people kid themselves into thinking they are doing well on little sleep when really they just can’t tell. I’ve certainly been there.
Its interesting how ive stumbled on this, i recently heavily shortened my nightly sleep, for years ive worked night shift and have been like a zombie most of the time, about 3 months ago i switched to day shift, starting at the same time everyday. I started with getting my 8 hours and felt miserable and almost hungover, i got up at 4am and it wasnt till about 2pm i would settle into my day. One day i pushed my luck and stayed up late, had about 4 hours sleep and felt fresh when i woke! Ive now been doing this ever since. Some days are tough at the start with this little sleep but i still kick into my day after an hour or so.
Best accidental thing ive done.
This is actually EXTREMELY unhealthy. While you’re in sleep, your body secretes a growth hormone that isn’t otherwise secreted. Also, the longer into your sleep, the longer your REM stages get. If you only sleep 5 hours, you’re getting significantly less REM sleep than if you were to sleep for 7. REM sleep is rejuvenating to your body. It restores brain tissue and other tissue in the body. Without precious REM sleep, your immune system can suffer drastically. Getting 5 hours of sleep every night can be detrimental to your health.
I am a university student and to be fair last week I slept like 6 may be 7 hours in 2 days and I was fine on the Friday during a lecture I just dropped off on the bus and dosed myself up on caffeine
… Gotta love caffeine <3