An interesting article on the myth of the eight hour sleep. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16964783 I have posted a couple of articles on the subject of sleep and two blocks of four hours sleep seems alien to me. It goes against all I know of circadian rhythm. Has anyone tried this type of sleep pattern, and with what success? My own research on the subject of sleep. http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93727 http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93777
This is my standard sleep pattern. On a good night I tend to sleep for about 4 hours, wake up and either spend an hour or so thinking or 'trying to get back to sleep' or reading, and then I sleep for a further two - three hours and wake up feeling I need another hour or two.
I seem to have a pretty strict 8 hour sleep cycle. 7.5 hours and I wake up feeling like absolute death. 8 hours and I wake up feeling pretty alert.
I'm not so sure about all that. The only evidence in the article is from written accounts etc after artificial light came around. I'd be more interested to hear about the sleep patterns away from artificial light. They mention tribes in Nigeria but not information about results from them. Typical journalism.
No, that's not what this says: At the end of the day it is just a topical news article, for more information you need to look up the book and look at the author's bibliography.
I tend to take 5-7 hours during the week and then 8-10 at weekends. The idea of waking up at 3am for an hour or so sounds crazy.
I'm always suspicious of people who don't sleep at least a solid 6... and more like a solid 8. It's generally a sign of not training hard enough. On top of which I think people who are up at all hours tend to not really be at their best. In bed before midnight (preferably 11pm) and up before the sun. That is key... so for me... means 5am. If you're up at that time and get the proper meals, training and rest in... come 10pm you're dead and read to sleep. When I hear the old 'yeah I'm up all night or I sleep 2 hours a night' I'm usually looking at someone who runs at half potential and is generally trying to give the big I AM... eg. I stay out late, have huge nights and I'm so hip. Pfffftttt.... never the same lot you see training hard or smart.
I've been this way since I was 15. It isn't because I choose to do so. I just naturally wake up 4-6 hours later. I can do 4 days of sleep a week, sleeping one day then not the next, not a matter of the big I AM, a matter of I can't sleep. I train fine.
People's sleep patterns seem to be an individually varied thing IMO. Some people I know can go on like 6 hours of sleep and keep up a busy schedule and be fine, others can't think or function properly if they don't get 9-10.
I definately should get more sleep. During the week I am in bed by 10.30pm and get up for work at 4.30am. As I get older my body is demanding more sleep, getting in at 7.00pm and eating my food, talking to the wife and kids for an hour and going to bed is not appealing. I need a few hours to wind down or at least try to have a life. It is therefore important to make sleep quality sleep. Normally for me getting to sleep is not a problem, mainly due to me being done in mentally by the end of the day.
Some further reading. http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2008/01/27/relax-like-a-pro-5-steps-to-hacking-your-sleep/ http://www.lifeslittlemysteries.com/1109-bustin-the-8-hour-sleep-myth.html http://www.menshealth.com/spotlight/sleep/8-hours.php
I can get by on very little sleep (but I get extremely grumpy doing that), I can function OK on 6.5 hrs a night but my workouts start to suffer. If I let myself sleep without an alarm I will sleep for at least 8hrs a night and that seems to be what I need to keep me happy and training at a decent level.
My sleep patterns all over the place, ever since I was young. I would at times only sleep 4hrs a night for a week, then my body just craves the sleep and I can completely zonk out for 12hrs. Theres been times I really need to sleep for a early 5am start and have tried the "work out till you drop" method and found it only works sometimes...so there has been quite a few times, I'm walking around, zombie face complete with zombie walk. Oh and I snore big time. In contrast, Mrs Shroom must have at least 10hrs sleep or she wont be fully awake.
I'm pretty surprised by the responses as I'd always assumed that broken sleep, ie sleep split into segments, was normal. I've been this was as long as I can remember - right from being a small child. I just can't imagine an unbroken sleep for 8 hours!
i sleep best (ie recover more, etc) when i sleep at least 8 hours without interruption, or ideally more (which is rare). if i sleep too early i additionally tend to sleep less (without being able to easily go back to sleep after waking), which is usually hell on my sleep patterns and results in my waking up around 3-4 AM.
i should still however note that i can function on very little sleep (even as little as 1 hour or 2), but it doesn't always work as planned, and i have no idea of what determines when i wake up "active" and when i simply open my eyes, kill the alarm and go back to bed.
interestingly, i am sleepy right now (woke up at around 4:30, sleep patterns are screwed due to dehydration from a man-flu). if i went to bed, i'd sleep rather quickly, where i frequently can spend up to one hour motionless, just staring at the wall without being able to fall asleep. but if i slept now i'd probably wake up in 6 hours. i'll try to hold out until around midnight and see at what time i wake up, just for the lulz.
You see I see nothing wrong with sleeping for 5-6 hours, waking up for a while, then going to sleep for another 2 - 3 hours.
which is all well and good when you do not have difficulties falling asleep. i can only take one hour of looking at the wall before i get bored and get up to do something else.
