251 sats \ 8 replies \ @k00b 18 Aug 2023 \ on: What’s something new that you’re learning? meta
I’m learning how to get along with less sleep. I’ve always been a minimum 8 hours guy. I would let myself get 7 hours sometimes but not usually.
Lately I’m getting probably 6-6.5 hours on average. I think it costs some focus and willpower, and might even threaten health more generally, but it’s an interesting trial nonetheless.
Have kids lol. No, but seriously, I learnt to live with less sleep out of necessity.
I found that the amount of sleep you need is closely connected to your health. Eat healthy, stop drinking and regular exercise makes a big difference.
The rule of thumb is 8 hours but it varies wildly for each individual. And it changes as you get older. Kids and teenagers need more than adults. The elderly generally sleep less.
You can definitely do 7 regularly. Sometimes you can do 6 but pushing the limit can mean the difference between a productive day and a crappy one.
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Don't do that. Why would you do that to yourself. Just sleep as you need. Lack of sleep is not good for anybody. You gotta take care of your body.
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It gives me 8-10 more awake hours. I'm viewing it as an experiment. I know it's generally not a good thing.
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i am def a sleep maxi...feel like i cant function nearly as well without at least 7 hours. Interested to hear how your experiment goes!
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I definitely don't function as well in some ways. We probably reduce functioning without sleep in ways we're unaware. I've noticed deep work is harder, but I can get more shallow work done which is a lot of what I end up having to do most days.
It's been a couple months of this now. I'll probably give it to the end of the year.
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I tried that too, but gave up because I needed much more time after getting up to be fit and focused.
Do you do certain things to achieve this, or just try to make it a habit?
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Nothing special. I just set an alarm and wake up then regardless of when I go to bed. I walk ~2.5 miles to work everyday which might serve to wake me up but I did that when I was getting more sleep.
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I've gone extended periods with 4-5 hour averages, I verified that there is a "sleep tax" that builds up in your body and my limit for that schedule was about 6 months until I had to start catching back up with 8-9 hour averages.
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