I remember back in high school, can't remember which year, when our drama teacher (do they still have those in high school or have budgets axed such non-essential programs?) set up a visit from a freelance cameraman crew. It was all very exciting to meet some people working in the industry that we had our eyes on. But something the main guy said struck me. "We never get more than four or five hours of sleep. If you want to do this job, you've got to be available for long hours."
I knew then that I wanted nothing to do with being a cameraman.
Then as now, I am just no good at all if I don't get a good 7-8 hours of sleep. I've come across scores of individuals since then who claim to only need 4-5 hours of sleep per night. My reaction is either one of jealousy or suspicion. If I only get four or five hours, the subsequent day is mostly suffering, though I can suck it up and fake my way through it. I've always wished I could get by on fewer hours, but I've learned that for me, it's just not true.
Then last night on 60 Minutes, they did a whole segment on sleep deprivation. Every creature on the planet sleeps. From the smallest insect to the largest mammal, we all need to shut down for part of the day. If it's unnecessary, it would be evolution's biggest mistake since we are all vulnerable to predators while sleeping. It seems to be very necessary as they showed the effects of sleep deprivation on a variety of animals. Take the rats for example. They kept rats awake for five days and then they just started dropping dead. Sleep deprived fruit flies stopped mating. Clearly sleep is important, though the purpose still eludes researchers.
The whole time I was watching, I was cheering as though at a sporting event. I guess it's because I feel vindicated. I guess I felt ashamed of my need for substantial sleep, but now I can see that I shouldn't be and further, that those who claim to need far less sleep are, simply put, bullshitting me. If I have to get up at five, I will go to bed at nine. Nine is really early and I've been ridiculed more than once about leaving some social event early to make sure I get my sleep. It used to bother me, but never again!
28 comments:
Six hours, no kidding. If I go to bed earlier, I just get up earlier. I haven't used an alarm in my daily life in over ten years, as I wake up sometime between 0400 and 0500 during the week.
I stayed up on Saturday night and watched SNL to the end. I woke up at 0645 Sunday morning.
There were some myth that great people slept only 3 hours a night and that's enough for them.
Martha Stewart said on her show that she slept for 3 hours. Maybe that's why she got a lot done :p
I can't stay awake past Eleven no matter what. I'm a morning person. There are those who stay up all night and sleep all day. I just can't sleep when the sun is shining. Ed
I have always gotten 7-9 hours of sleep. I cannot function properly without it.
As an educator, I am appalled at how little sleep some of my students are getting. Many elementary children are only receiving 4-5 hours of sleep per night! I blame parents for this. My mom and dad always had us in bed by 9:00 pm, until I was in high school. Then I could stay up till 10:00!
Zzzzzzzz
I'm with you. 7-8 hours. I'm one who also adjusts bed time according to wake time. Right now my common pattern is in bed by about 9 because the alarm goes off at 5.
I've always been one to bear the social pain/sigma for my sleep patterns. In college I became known as the "great pumpkin" because I turned into a pumpkin at 10. But I was the one who got a good night's sleep and I was the one who did well on exams, etc.
I've also found (for me) that I am not a "napper". I sleep at night. I rarely sleep during the day. Very distinct bio-rhythms.
I've always gotten by on little sleep until the last few years. I now sleep 7 to 8 hours and get way more done because I'm better rested and more focused. A power nap is good too in the middle of the day. I'm with you, I'm suspicious of those who say less!! They're either exhausted or crazy, and sometimes both!
What david said- exhausted, crazy, or both. I need more sleep. I need more sleep than I often allow myself to get. Really I should go to bed at 8, because I get up at 4:15. My kidlets are supposed to go to bed at 8, but are rarely settled in by then. If I go to sleep before them, and no one else is home to make sure they stay in bed, they'll get up and turn on the TV and stay up until they drop. I have rotten little kids.
I like to nap, though. I do well if I get 6-7 hours at night with a 1-2 hour nap in the middle of the day. That's my favorite way to get all the sleep necessary. I don't get to do that as often as I'd like.
Good for you, Torn, going to bed on time in the face of ridicule. Those misinformed hecklers don't know squat.
I like my sleep too. Always have. And I'm not one to sleep in either. Just can't do it. Once I wake up, I wake up.
However, I believe the siesta should be incorporated into our societal norms; Right around 2-3 every afternoon? I could really use a little nap.
I've been sleeping poorly for the last week or so and I feel like an about to drop dead rat.
Tonight, I'm hitting the Gravol.
I am amazed at how much better I feel at work when I get 7 or 8 hours of quality sleep. When I am well rested, I also drink less coffee during the day which further enhances my well being.
I thought we were supposed to need less sleep as we age. That does not seem to be the case for myself.
The 9PM - 5 AM rule is one that I personally know is used by my older neighbours, along with a couple of guys I know who start work very early. As for the importance of sleep, researchers have proven that sleep is important to brain function: e.g. studies were done with 2 groups of students. Both were asked to study a text; one group was sent off for a good night's sleep, the other was sleep deprived. The group that slept remembered the text better the next day. (Tell your students to get lots of sleep before exams! All-night cramming is actually proven to be not good for them!)
I believe some cellular repair and growth also happens during sleep. I think I saw that on some science channel or other.
Like you, I wish I could get by on less sleep. About a year ago I vowed to rise early every morning, but that didn't last long. I was living in the heart of cottage country in a beautiful lakeside setting that made me want to enjoy the early-morning peace, the sunrises, etc. But in the end, 7 a.m. was pretty much the earliest I could stand.
I am so with you in the sleep thing. In fact, sleeping is one of my favorite things to do. If I don't get about 8 hours, I am not worth crap the next day. If I don't get eight hours for several days in a row, I am guaranteed (and I mean guaranteed) to come down with a cold.
Coincidently, I just finished reading this study. Apparently if you want to be skinny, you must sleep more than 5 hours per night.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/080313/health/health_lifestyle_japan_obesity_diabetes
You could be their poster boy!
When I was in high school one of my close friends mentioned that his 3 favorite things were:
"Food, sleep, and chicks who touch me where I pee."
When he told a girl this her reply was a strange look and a question, "Why do you want a girl to touch your toilet?"
But, much like you-- I'm a big fan of sleep. I CAN function with less than 6 hours-- just not that well and ideally I like to get 8-10... but sometimes that can be too much. I believe ideally I need 6-8 hours/sleep night. Although I have discovered my sleep cycle is about 3 hours. If I get 4-5 hours I feel far more tired than I do on only 3 hours. Because with 3 hours I'm finishing a sleep cycle, not waking up in the middle of a deep sleep cycle which is particularly exhausting.
I'm so with you on this. I apologize to no one for sleeping. I love your reaction to the camera guy.
For me its not about the number of hours, but rather, what time I go to bed. If I go too much earlier than 11pm, I can't sleep and will toss and turn. Yet I can also go at 1am and still wake up at the same time in the morning without an alarm.
Mark :-)
During the week I only get between 4.5 and 5 hours a night. It's not that I wouldn't like to get 7-8 hours, it's just that there aren't enough hours in the day for it. So far I haven't killed anyone or gotten fat. I do tend to zone out on the freeway on the way home but so do many others I've talked to. Studies can say whatever the want, you do what you have to do and sleep when you find the time.
It suits you, Sleeping Beauty, but do you find, as I do, that when your day is stress-free, you need much less sleep?
When I was in my residency, we often went for 48 hours without a proper sleep, just cat naps because we were on call. I hated those shifts and it often took an entire day in bed to recover.
Now, I tend to sleep in two shifts with some "on time" for an hour or so around 3 AM. It works.
Common refrain: "Get a good night's sleep before an exam; it beats cramming."
I admit it, I cram. But my response to this is how does sleeping beat cramming if you haven't studied or reviewed anything in the course? Cramming beats going into the exam knowing nothing about the subject at hand. And that's why I cram. Sleep is only better if you're a better student than I.
I don't, however, like being a crammer. It goes hand in hand with not getting enough sleep. I don't think I've gotten a really good night's sleep since last year sometime. I'd love to have 8h between 10pm and 6am, but I can never find the time. I average 5-6h/night. It's my own fault. But I do well in school... hopefully I'm not chopping years off the end of my life or something.
PS I had a drama program in high school, and I graduated in '04.
I need at least 9 hours to feel decent but typically get 3-4 hours a night. I don't like to think of the size of my sleep deficit. I am sure I have brain cells dying as I type this. Insomnia sucks.
I agree with Cooper, you would make a hot poster boy... a naked skinny poster boy!!!
I usually have to have at least 8 hours of sleep. Although, it often gets interrupted an fitful when I'm stressed. And the next day is a disastrous feeling. I think it's the mind and body's method of decompressing and recharging.
-C
I aspire for 8 but usually settle for 6-7. To those who say they naturally wake up after 5-6 hours, it's not that they need less sleep, it's that their bodies have been trained to wake up at a certain time. If I get only 6 or less for several days, my body will also wake up automatically, but I'm still tired. If I continue sleeping or even resting in bed, I feel better.
On the flip side, the 60 Minutes report also noted that too much sleep creates the same effect as too little. 9-10 hours isn't better for you than 7-8.
I couldn't find where to comment on the pooch post above so i will do it here!...The video was adorable..Hmmm well maybe for those viewing it & not those who had to endure...My moggie has been throwing up furballs lately and she always finds the carpet amongst the many sqaure meters of tiling around the house..Argggh!
Studies also showed that people who were driving while sleep-deprived were as dangerous as if they were stinking drunk. That's a rather loose reporting of the study, I'm pretty sure they used statistics and numbers and stuff. Still, it was further ammo for the "get more sleep" argument. I'm happiest with 7-8 as well. I recent years I can sleep much past 6:30, unless I am really exhausted.
Yay for sleep & Leslie Stahl! I loved the French researcher.
seven is ok, but 8 is great and 9 is divine.
I try to get around 8 if possible.
here, at the end of this, is my proclamation that the 17th of March is my birthday.
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