Learning to run on little sleep?

[thefonz]

Ok, so I just wrote down a list of everything I need to work on in my life and I realized how much of a serious uphill battle I have. Not to go into details but it covers relationships, and career.

So in order to get all this stuff done I'm probably going to lose about 3 hours sleep on average a night (usually get about 8 hours). Now I'm getting tired and watery eyes just talking about this, which is why I'm wondering how the **** people do this?

Can anyone tell me how I can get used to running on no sleep. There's certain things like meditating, going to the gym, and striking up conversations with strangers to name a few, that simply become almost impossible when you're dead tired. They are however integral parts of my program.

P.S - please to don't say drink tons of coffee or do drugs because I'm a health freak and I don't want to damage my body in the process.

 

[amoka]

I barely clock 5 hrs of sleep per night. You can do it.

 

[L B]

This is what works for me. I get between 5-6 hours of sleep on work days. I am easily an 8-hour sleeper in the past, but I have trained myself to sleep shorter over the years. You might want to start shorting your sleep 30 minutes every couple of days, so the lack of sleep doesn't shock your body too much. If you get too tired, catch up on sleep over the weekend.

The trick is get into a stable routine. I'm a night owl, so I work between 11pm-7am. I sleep 8am-2pm ( give or take 30 minutes each way). My free time is between 4pm-10pm.

Get a quality bed that helps you sleep through the 5 hours and not wake up every hour or 2. Also, a good bed doesnt make you feel more tired after you wake up.

Have 2 or 3 alarms set at different places in the room, so you don't play the snooze game and fall asleep on days you are too tired.

I hate running, so I have a big stationary bike in my room. I do 30 minutes a day cardio. I have adjustable dumbbells to take care of the weight exercise. (it helps being a personal trainer in the past). If I have more free time, I go to the gym.

I gave up coffee and energy drink (Monster) and picked up green tea with honey. Saves money and my body thanks me for it. Several cups of green tea is a better addiction than coffee.

 

[Scaramouche]

Dear Fonz,
I like my little cot too,but my Father believed sleep was just a habit,during the last War he had to go many times to Murmansk and Archangel with the Royal Navy....He was a gunner on an Anti Aircraft Cruiser and in the Summer months this is the land of the Midnight sun so he and his mates virtually ate and slept at their guns as the Germans were constantly harrying them...To cut a long story short he learned to live with very little sleep.He would generally only sleep between three and seven in the Morning.But,and this is the point of my reply,he used to cat nap...At work after a sparse Lunch he would stretch out on a bench and zonk himself out, almost instantly,on wakening twenty minutes later,he was fresh as a Daisy,this was repeated at 4.30PM when he came home and at about 10PM,when he would doze off watching TV...So my advice to you is to investigate self hypnosis technique and try the cat napping.

 

[ArcBound]

Edit: I realized this was the Mature forum... but if you would keep this up because this is what worked for me and I think it could work for the OP.

Really strict and efficient time management. Procrastination, doing things slowly or wrong the first time adds hours on a day. What is your program? I'm a college student and I find decent time to study, workout and go sarging..

Also like Scaramouche's father said sleep is like a habit. There are people who can sleep 4 or 6 times a day for only 30 minutes each...I can't do that lol but from my own experience I found that your body adjusts. After 2-3weeks of not getting enough sleep, your brain will start saying **** it and give you REM sleep immediately, which is what makes you feel rested. I still wouldn't cut many hours of sleep out though, your body rebuilds faster and has no stress on it when you are sleeping...Especially if you are working out you should still get adequate sleep. I remember freshman year of highschool I stayed up till 2 or 3 am messing around and then woke up 6:30 for school. What I did was take an one hour nap every other day or every three days to try and make up for it.

-ArcBound

 

[Fuglydude]

I've had sleep issues for as long as I can remember. I often only get 3-4 hours a sleep per night. 5 hours is probably my average, and I'm happy and ready to go when I get this. I've become used to getting little sleep, and can function on as little as 2 hours assuming I haven't worked out really hard the day before. I work w/ critically ill/injured patients, so I can't really make too many mistakes.

As the other poster said regarding his father, sleep is kind of a habit... I think you can learn to live on less. Obviously you'll have to be mentally tough to deal with it, but soon you'll realize you can live with it. Just make sure that you "pay off" your sleep debt on your days off. I try and sleep in as much as I can and usually get around 8 hours on my days off.

The things I find that help me to cope are as follows:

- less intense/frequent work outs. (need more sleep when you're lifting hard). Its easier to get by on less sleep when your body isnt' trying to repair itself.
- A high potency timed-release B vitamin complex taken at the start of the day and then prn.
- A good high potency multi-vitamin taken at the start and then prn.
- Good dietary habits. Eat frequently, and eat good natural foods. Stay away from processed crap.
- Stay well hydrated. 3 L water/day.

If you're constantly busy or got stuff you gotta get done you'll learn to get by on less sleep... it just sort of happens.

 

[thefonz]

Thanks fellas

L B - I like that idea of reducing sleep by 30 minutes every other night. I'll give it a go. I'll consider a little bit of green tea but I like to avoid caffiene because I'm an anxious guy. I also fear naps because I never understood people who wake up refreshed. It usually takes me 2 hours after a nap to get back to normal.

Scaramouche - Your father sounds like a man's man. My friends dad told me that he learned to live on 3 hours sleep. I want to believe it can be done and live a healthy and active life.

Fugly - I already eat pretty healthy and it certainly helps. I also lift heavy too at the gym which I may need to sacrifice to progress in relationships and career. I also think I have to be happy with the way things are going to run on little sleep. The happier I get the less I'll want to doze, but the more stressful it gets the more likely I'll want to lay down and take more breaks than I should

 

[lorekeeper]

I really want to sleep less too. I am at extreames with my sleeping. I can sleep 18 hours a day, or go almost up to a week withou sleep.

What I've heard is that once you train yourself to sleep, you only need 2 hours of REM sleep to be MENTALLY refreshed that night. (which translates to about 3-4 hours actual sleep)

I cannot comment on the effictivness of this teqnique, but I've heard the best way to do this is to wake up at a set time EVERY DAY. Go to sleep when you are tired.

Mainly I was more cincerend about waking up earlier. I wanted to start hitting the g at 5am.

 

[quicklearner]

some ideas

____

Thefonz

Here is my suggestions, speaking as a cardiologist who has put in approx 100hrs a week for the past 7 years of residency/fellowship and currently in practice.
-there is no substitute for sleep.

I know you didn’t want to hear that, but I was talking about this with a friend of mine who is a neurologist who specializes in sleep disorders/behavior.
As I can only speculate on the tasks/goals you have planned. If you cannot accomplish them with 12-16 hr works day, then you won’t accomplish them with the extra remaining hours as your efficiency and cognitive function drops significantly.

Some of my suggestions

-try to stick to a schedule no matter what happens

-take a day (vacation days) off during this process, where you have no obligation to this task

-try to eat small, low sugars meals, and stay hydrated.

-if you can, try to take small naps. Even brief 10-30min can help.

-squeeze in any activity, even something as simple as a few pushups if you can.

-good news, is that body has surprising ability to adjust within reasonable limits, but if you push it, it can decompensate rapidly.

Good luck