BCtriguy1 wrote:
Im as amazed at people who can operate on little sleep as I am those who are pro-level fast. I need 7-8 hours a night. When I start to dip lower then that, it catches up to me. The longer I dip in to that 'sleep debt' the longer it takes me to recover from it. When I was training for IM, I would get 7 hours a night, and one night a week I would get a good, solid 11 hours. That seemed to keep me in check.
I can't imagine what living on 4 hours would be like. I guess if you're used to it, more power to you... but I would imagine you're taking years off your life by taxing your body so much. IM training takes a lot out of you. 4 hours isn't sleep, that's just a long nap ;).
It depends on the reason's for the lower than usual volume of sleep!
It's not a feat of endurance or willpower if you simply don't feel the need for it.
When I used to sleep very little it wasn't that I was depriving myself in order to use that time to do other things. So living on 4 hours sleep for some people is probably the same as living on 8 hours is for you. No imagination required.
The only thing I can remember that might not be familiar to regular 8hr sleepers is spending several hours alone most nights when everyone else was asleep. When I was younger I read books in bed, as a teenager I'd either read, watch TV on headphones or indulge in other quiet hobbies. As an adult, it makes no huge difference. My evenings are just longer than yours.
As a kid I'd go to bed at a normal time but wouldn't feel tired so I'd read until maybe 3am (unknown to my parents). I'd wake up nice and early the next morning feeling refreshed and alert and generally didn't need an alarm clock. I don't believe I was sleep deprived. Regarding the suggestion I'm taking years off my life. I don't know of any conclusive studies to demonstrate that except in the case of insomnia/sleep deprivation which I don't think apply to me. It could be true but there's not much I can do about it. And there was a suggestion by someone else that low volume of sleep would make one susceptible to illness and general ill health. Well that's certainly not true in my case. I get sick less than anyone I know. In the last 15 years I can only remember 4 times I missed work due to anything health related. One was a back injury, one was a tooth ache, one was food poisoning and one was tonsillitis. I can't imagine lack of sleep could influence any of those except the tonsillitis. I generally just don't get ill aside from the very occasional mild cold or sore throat. So in my case at least, my health does not appear to be overly stressed as a result of limited sleep. IIRC sleep deprivation is one of many things that impact the immune system, but I don't think my limited sleep periods constituted sleep deprivation.....I may be wrong!
To be clear - I'm certainly NOT suggesting anyone should limit their sleep and everything will be fine. I try and get what I need. I just don't seem to need that much and used to need even less.
If you're struggling to live on 4 hrs of sleep - Get more sleep! I certainly wouldn't try and do without in order to make time for training.