Changing sleep habits - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

micah67 · 08-13-2003, 01:43 PM

As I stated in another topic on being a picky sleeper: I don't sleep well. I find that it take a long time to get to sleep but once there I'm OK.

One of my "wishes" is to be able to thrive on far less sleep. You hear stories of people (like executives) who get only 4 hours of sleep a night. I want to be like that; There's so much more I want to do. My friend finished a bio-psychology class where they mentioned that most humans need only 5.5 - 6.5 hours a night. I want that.

So I'm training myself. I am now only going to bed when I'm exhausted and end up falling asleep almost instantly. I only sleep for six hour before I force myself up. The theory is that I'll get to the good sleep faster and that's what you need to be rested. From what I've been told, it'll take a couple of weeks for it to "stick" then I can play with subtracting from that six hours until I find my optimum.

So far I haven't needed an alarm clock to wake me. I seem to naturally come awake momentarily around the 5.5 hour mark. In the past I would have fallen back asleep for another 3+ hours but I seem to be doing fine with just that amount.

Any one else try anything similar?

lafemmefatale · 08-13-2003, 04:35 PM

I haven't tried anything similar on purpose but after the school year i still find myself waking up at 7 30 without an alarm clock regardless of what time i fell asleep. Recently work has forced me to wake up by 6 45 [groan] and despite the fact that i feel like shit, my body remains insistent on keeping it that way...which i suppose is a good thing but it just feels like hell.

micah67 · 08-13-2003, 10:00 PM

Yes, I agree: deep, restful, comfortable sleep is very important. However, that wasn't happening. I'd toss and turn for a couple of hours before the real sleep kicks in. Now I go to sleep and I'm out. And I can spend the extra time doing constructive things.

EROK81? · 08-13-2003, 10:18 PM

I agree completely. Although I have tried this several times. But alas, that snooze button is just too tempting.

hobo · 08-13-2003, 10:53 PM

I've always wanted to reduce my required sleep, but I have only done it so far our of necessity for studying and stuff. MY problem is that I don't have a set bedtime and wake-up time, so I never get used to any pattern. I need to get into a pattern so that my body can get used to it.

daoist · 08-14-2003, 01:16 AM

i sleep odd hours. snooze is my friend.

I wish I could wake up, but usually when I wake up I feel even more tired than when I go to sleep. it's weird.

absorbentishe · 08-14-2003, 05:34 AM

When I worked 3rds, I could get by with like 4 - 5 hours of sleep a day. I wish I could still sleep with that schedule. Although, I'm a total insomniac now, I can't fall asleep before 2, then up no later than 7. It sucks, and my body doesn't like it.

ssander9 · 08-14-2003, 07:04 AM

I wakeup at 5am no matter when I go to sleep. Have never been able to sleep over 6 hours at a stretch. I don't even have an alarm clock.

theinfamous · 08-14-2003, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ssander9
I wakeup at 5am no matter when I go to sleep. Have never been able to sleep over 6 hours at a stretch. I don't even have an alarm clock.

i'm in the same position. i have to wake up at 5am for work, but i usually can't fall asleep until around 11pm. on weekends and off days i try to sleep in, but i always end up wide awake after 6 hours. it sucks not being able to sleep in...

funbob · 08-14-2003, 08:36 AM

I have never slept well. For one reason or another, sleep has always seemed like a grand waste of time. I work out of my home, so going to sleep and waking up has never been an issue. I get maybe 3 to 4 hours of sleep per night. I have never been cranky, never felt tired or un-rested. Some people need sleep, some people don't. If my wife doesnt get her 8 hours, she is a raving bitch (as an example, and it is not reflective of her wonderful nature) Maybe it is genetic, my father never needed to sleep either.

micah67 · 08-14-2003, 09:59 AM

Ditto. My gf needs 8 hours a night (and another 4 hours a day). Otherwise, well, let's just say home-life becomes more interesting.

dadioflex · 08-14-2003, 12:52 PM

Um...when I was younger I hated getting up early (say, 7:30am). Honestly never got used to the idea until I left home and had to do it on my own. Nowadays I seem to be getting up earlier and earlier- it's like I don't want to miss the day I die. The sad thing is everything hurts now when I roll out of bed so I've just got more of the morning to enjoy the pain.

As for the ladies who enjoy their sleep, I say let them! The fairer sex has a whole heck of a lot of stuff to put up with without worrying about early starts. Let THAT be a lesson to you guys!

kris · 08-16-2003, 02:26 AM

i usually find myself going through cycles of sleep. In summer time, I will fall asleep later and later until it rolls back around again. It usually takes about 3 weeks to make a full cycle. Anyone else experience this?

yournamehere · 08-16-2003, 09:49 PM

Well - it made for a funny <i>Seinfeld</i> episode when Kramer tried it - but I wouldn't recommend it.

buka · 08-17-2003, 07:50 AM

I am studying at university for the past fortnight I've been getting like 2.5-3hrs of sleep a night. The most sleep I've had in that period is about 4.5hrs.Been very busy with a project. Some of my friends can't understand how I can do it. I feel tired and all, but I am able to function fine, performing complex calculations accurately and so on. I think your body gets used to it in a way.

Shpoop · 08-17-2003, 02:29 PM

whether i go to sleep at 8 or 3, i wake up anywhere from 7 to 9... and im fine most of the day... i love it

But my dad was talkin to me one day a while ago, and he said that he was the same way. He loved it back then, but as you get older and you need more sleep, you dont get it and you start backing up, and its a bitch.... so i guess theres a good side to each way

fuzzix · 08-17-2003, 05:37 PM

I don't feel good unless I get 10 hours sleep :/ I can function quite well on about 7, but getting up is VERY hard. Anything under 7 and I have a short fuse, and short attention span.

tehblaed · 08-18-2003, 10:22 PM

You know, there *are* ways you can train your circadian rythym to conform to your schedule. It only takes about a week, I remember talking about it in Psych.

A thing that confuses me about some people's sleep methods is their inability to get their lazy asses up out of the bed. All it takes is some strong will and just 3 2 1 JUMP THE HELL OUT OF BED. I've had to do it many many times and it works, I'm up and ready the instant I thrust myself forward. Usually the reason you wake up tired and unable to get out of bed is because you come out of an REM with the alarm, hit the snooze. Then your body starts to drift back down towards the REM and it's really hard to get out of it unless you take control of yourself. All you gotta do when that alarm goes off in the first place is just get the fuck outta bed, it will be so much easier once you get the hang of it

numberfive · 08-19-2003, 12:12 AM

I used to think I could function on low amounts of sleep, then I noticed myself dozing during the day 'till about lunch time when I was fully awake. So I try to be in bed by 1:30, that way I'm up fresh in the morning.

meff · 09-11-2003, 11:26 AM

I used to sleep whacky hours when I worked for an ISP in Oregon, staying up wayy too late coding and such. A few times I even had to take meth, which I won't do anymore (accept I have to take (prescription)meth in a small dose to stay up) but anyways getting that much sleep sucks. You'll have to watch yourself and make sure you aren't really hurting yourself by doing this! Keep a clear mind and watch your habits, if you start disassociating or hallucinating you need MORE SLEEP!

Good luck.

micah67 · 09-11-2003, 12:43 PM

I'm not getting as little as I was but I have cut back tramatically - getting around 7 hours a night. I found that the batteries needed filling with only 6 hr/night and that the weekends were basically shot with the extra sleep I needed.

It's easier to just get up and get going now.

djm · 09-11-2003, 02:20 PM

I've been thinking of trying to have a 48-hour sleep cycle, instead of 24. What I'm saying is that basically I will skip every other night of sleep, but when I do sleep, I will sleep for 12-14 hours. Comments/critiques?

Litespeed · 09-11-2003, 03:51 PM

"Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." - Benjamin Franklin

djm · 09-11-2003, 05:30 PM

Ben Franklin was a total nerd.

BubblegumTeflon · 09-14-2003, 11:04 PM

Normal people require 8 hours. Sorry it's true. If you sleep less than that minimum of 8 hours, the lost sleep is sleep debt. You have to make up for that sleep - sleep 6 hours, then the next day you need to sleep 10 hours to make up for the lost 2 hours. If you sleep for longer than 11 hours it makes your body more tired to continue sleeping. That's why some people go "why am I STILL tired I slept 14 hours and that should've fixed it!"

An interesting concept though is sort of BONUS sleep. Some people can do it.
If they sleep 9 hours per day, they can get little to no sleep for ONE day of the week without problems or feeling bad.

IC3 · 09-16-2003, 05:11 PM

Day Shift - 7am to 3pm
Afternoon Shift - 3pm to 11pm
Night Shift- 11pm to 7am

..So, I never have a steady sleeping habit...But I sleep best on night shift cause it tires me out so much.

When I am on day shift, After the first week..I usually start waking up about the time my alarm clock would go off...But it sucks on the weekends when I am on day shift..Cause I usually wake up early in the morning no matter what time I go to bed.

I am currently on day shift right now, And it sux..I am not a morning person at all...This shift kills me.

08-13-2003, 01:43 PM	#1 (permalink)
micah67 Thor Location: 33:08:12N 117:10:23W	Changing sleep habits As I stated in another topic on being a picky sleeper: I don't sleep well. I find that it take a long time to get to sleep but once there I'm OK. One of my "wishes" is to be able to thrive on far less sleep. You hear stories of people (like executives) who get only 4 hours of sleep a night. I want to be like that; There's so much more I want to do. My friend finished a bio-psychology class where they mentioned that most humans need only 5.5 - 6.5 hours a night. I want that. So I'm training myself. I am now only going to bed when I'm exhausted and end up falling asleep almost instantly. I only sleep for six hour before I force myself up. The theory is that I'll get to the good sleep faster and that's what you need to be rested. From what I've been told, it'll take a couple of weeks for it to "stick" then I can play with subtracting from that six hours until I find my optimum. So far I haven't needed an alarm clock to wake me. I seem to naturally come awake momentarily around the 5.5 hour mark. In the past I would have fallen back asleep for another 3+ hours but I seem to be doing fine with just that amount. Any one else try anything similar? __________________ ~micah

08-13-2003, 04:35 PM	#2 (permalink)
lafemmefatale Insane Location: Vancouver	I haven't tried anything similar on purpose but after the school year i still find myself waking up at 7 30 without an alarm clock regardless of what time i fell asleep. Recently work has forced me to wake up by 6 45 [groan] and despite the fact that i feel like shit, my body remains insistent on keeping it that way...which i suppose is a good thing but it just feels like hell. __________________ -poor is the man whose pleasure depends on the permission of another-

08-13-2003, 10:00 PM	#3 (permalink)
micah67 Thor Location: 33:08:12N 117:10:23W	Yes, I agree: deep, restful, comfortable sleep is very important. However, that wasn't happening. I'd toss and turn for a couple of hours before the real sleep kicks in. Now I go to sleep and I'm out. And I can spend the extra time doing constructive things. __________________ ~micah

08-13-2003, 10:18 PM	#4 (permalink)
EROK81? Upright Location: SLC, UT	I agree completely. Although I have tried this several times. But alas, that snooze button is just too tempting. Last edited by EROK81?; 08-13-2003 at 10:20 PM..

08-14-2003, 01:16 AM	#6 (permalink)
daoist Crazy	i sleep odd hours. snooze is my friend. I wish I could wake up, but usually when I wake up I feel even more tired than when I go to sleep. it's weird. __________________ I:IV:XV

08-13-2003, 10:53 PM	#5 (permalink)
hobo Archangel of Change	I've always wanted to reduce my required sleep, but I have only done it so far our of necessity for studying and stuff. MY problem is that I don't have a set bedtime and wake-up time, so I never get used to any pattern. I need to get into a pattern so that my body can get used to it.

08-14-2003, 05:34 AM	#7 (permalink)
absorbentishe Boy am I horny today Location: T O L E D O, Toledo!!	When I worked 3rds, I could get by with like 4 - 5 hours of sleep a day. I wish I could still sleep with that schedule. Although, I'm a total insomniac now, I can't fall asleep before 2, then up no later than 7. It sucks, and my body doesn't like it.

08-14-2003, 07:04 AM	#8 (permalink)
ssander9 Amplitude Modulator Location: US	I wakeup at 5am no matter when I go to sleep. Have never been able to sleep over 6 hours at a stretch. I don't even have an alarm clock. __________________ I never said you had to.

08-14-2003, 08:36 AM	#10 (permalink)
funbob Crazy Location: The Desert Southwest	I have never slept well. For one reason or another, sleep has always seemed like a grand waste of time. I work out of my home, so going to sleep and waking up has never been an issue. I get maybe 3 to 4 hours of sleep per night. I have never been cranky, never felt tired or un-rested. Some people need sleep, some people don't. If my wife doesnt get her 8 hours, she is a raving bitch (as an example, and it is not reflective of her wonderful nature) Maybe it is genetic, my father never needed to sleep either.

08-14-2003, 09:59 AM	#11 (permalink)
micah67 Thor Location: 33:08:12N 117:10:23W	Ditto. My gf needs 8 hours a night (and another 4 hours a day). Otherwise, well, let's just say home-life becomes more interesting. __________________ ~micah

08-14-2003, 12:52 PM	#12 (permalink)
dadioflex Upright	age and sex...erm..and sleep. Um...when I was younger I hated getting up early (say, 7:30am). Honestly never got used to the idea until I left home and had to do it on my own. Nowadays I seem to be getting up earlier and earlier- it's like I don't want to miss the day I die. The sad thing is everything hurts now when I roll out of bed so I've just got more of the morning to enjoy the pain. As for the ladies who enjoy their sleep, I say let them! The fairer sex has a whole heck of a lot of stuff to put up with without worrying about early starts. Let THAT be a lesson to you guys!

08-16-2003, 02:26 AM	#13 (permalink)
kris Upright Location: Potomac, Maryland	i usually find myself going through cycles of sleep. In summer time, I will fall asleep later and later until it rolls back around again. It usually takes about 3 weeks to make a full cycle. Anyone else experience this?

08-16-2003, 09:49 PM	#14 (permalink)
yournamehere Invisible Location: tentative, at best	Well - it made for a funny <i>Seinfeld</i> episode when Kramer tried it - but I wouldn't recommend it. __________________ If you want to avoid 95% of internet spelling errors: "If your ridiculous pants are too loose, you're definitely going to lose them. Tell your two loser friends over there that they're going to lose theirs, too." It won't hurt your fashion sense, either.

08-17-2003, 07:50 AM	#15 (permalink)
buka Upright	I am studying at university for the past fortnight I've been getting like 2.5-3hrs of sleep a night. The most sleep I've had in that period is about 4.5hrs.Been very busy with a project. Some of my friends can't understand how I can do it. I feel tired and all, but I am able to function fine, performing complex calculations accurately and so on. I think your body gets used to it in a way.

08-17-2003, 02:29 PM	#16 (permalink)
Shpoop Curious Location: NJ (but just for college)	whether i go to sleep at 8 or 3, i wake up anywhere from 7 to 9... and im fine most of the day... i love it But my dad was talkin to me one day a while ago, and he said that he was the same way. He loved it back then, but as you get older and you need more sleep, you dont get it and you start backing up, and its a bitch.... so i guess theres a good side to each way

08-17-2003, 05:37 PM	#17 (permalink)
fuzzix Psycho Location: Australia	I don't feel good unless I get 10 hours sleep :/ I can function quite well on about 7, but getting up is VERY hard. Anything under 7 and I have a short fuse, and short attention span. __________________ I'm most definately not 'lovin' it'.

08-18-2003, 10:22 PM	#18 (permalink)
tehblaed Insane Location: land of the merry	You know, there are ways you can train your circadian rythym to conform to your schedule. It only takes about a week, I remember talking about it in Psych. A thing that confuses me about some people's sleep methods is their inability to get their lazy asses up out of the bed. All it takes is some strong will and just 3 2 1 JUMP THE HELL OUT OF BED. I've had to do it many many times and it works, I'm up and ready the instant I thrust myself forward. Usually the reason you wake up tired and unable to get out of bed is because you come out of an REM with the alarm, hit the snooze. Then your body starts to drift back down towards the REM and it's really hard to get out of it unless you take control of yourself. All you gotta do when that alarm goes off in the first place is just get the fuck outta bed, it will be so much easier once you get the hang of it

08-19-2003, 12:12 AM	#19 (permalink)
numberfive You + Me = Us Location: California dreaming...	I used to think I could function on low amounts of sleep, then I noticed myself dozing during the day 'till about lunch time when I was fully awake. So I try to be in bed by 1:30, that way I'm up fresh in the morning. __________________ P.S. Always remember: to forget is a form of suicide. (If I could only remember to forget myself.)

09-11-2003, 11:26 AM	#20 (permalink)
meff Vanishing, like I do.. Location: Austin, TX	I used to sleep whacky hours when I worked for an ISP in Oregon, staying up wayy too late coding and such. A few times I even had to take meth, which I won't do anymore (accept I have to take (prescription)meth in a small dose to stay up) but anyways getting that much sleep sucks. You'll have to watch yourself and make sure you aren't really hurting yourself by doing this! Keep a clear mind and watch your habits, if you start disassociating or hallucinating you need MORE SLEEP! Good luck. __________________ Toy-like people make me boy-like.

09-11-2003, 12:43 PM	#21 (permalink)
micah67 Thor Location: 33:08:12N 117:10:23W	I'm not getting as little as I was but I have cut back tramatically - getting around 7 hours a night. I found that the batteries needed filling with only 6 hr/night and that the weekends were basically shot with the extra sleep I needed. It's easier to just get up and get going now. __________________ ~micah

09-11-2003, 02:20 PM	#22 (permalink)
djm Upright Location: Seattle	I've been thinking of trying to have a 48-hour sleep cycle, instead of 24. What I'm saying is that basically I will skip every other night of sleep, but when I do sleep, I will sleep for 12-14 hours. Comments/critiques? __________________ Don't call my name out your window; I'm leaving.

09-11-2003, 03:51 PM	#23 (permalink)
Litespeed Loser Location: Thousand Oaks, CA	"Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." - Benjamin Franklin

09-11-2003, 05:30 PM	#24 (permalink)
djm Upright Location: Seattle	Ben Franklin was a total nerd. __________________ Don't call my name out your window; I'm leaving.

09-14-2003, 11:04 PM	#25 (permalink)
BubblegumTeflon Insane	Normal people require 8 hours. Sorry it's true. If you sleep less than that minimum of 8 hours, the lost sleep is sleep debt. You have to make up for that sleep - sleep 6 hours, then the next day you need to sleep 10 hours to make up for the lost 2 hours. If you sleep for longer than 11 hours it makes your body more tired to continue sleeping. That's why some people go "why am I STILL tired I slept 14 hours and that should've fixed it!" An interesting concept though is sort of BONUS sleep. Some people can do it. If they sleep 9 hours per day, they can get little to no sleep for ONE day of the week without problems or feeling bad.

09-16-2003, 05:11 PM	#26 (permalink)
IC3 Poison Location: Canada	Day Shift - 7am to 3pm Afternoon Shift - 3pm to 11pm Night Shift- 11pm to 7am ..So, I never have a steady sleeping habit...But I sleep best on night shift cause it tires me out so much. When I am on day shift, After the first week..I usually start waking up about the time my alarm clock would go off...But it sucks on the weekends when I am on day shift..Cause I usually wake up early in the morning no matter what time I go to bed. I am currently on day shift right now, And it sux..I am not a morning person at all...This shift kills me.