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What It’s Like to Need Hardly Any Sleep

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Re: What It’s Like to Need Hardly Any Sleep

#11

Post by lmnm »

mikegioia wrote: post #8
evincarofautumn wrote: post #5

Unless I’m sick, I need about 5 hours a night—typically a few hours after midnight, and another couple after dawn. Like the woman in the article, I also don’t get hangovers beyond a mild headache and tiredness. It doesn’t make me significantly more productive, but it does give me more time to enjoy life, which is not nothing. I like having people over for parties, because I can get up before everyone else and make br…

I also get about 5 a night. The best part, to me, is the 11pm to 2am "shift" when I just read stuff online, or watch videos. I wouldn't say I'm any more productive because of the fewer hours of sleep, but it's those extra 3 hours at night that really lets me learn and discover new things.

I absolutely feel the same way. While those extra few hours aren't necessarily used "efficiently" in a work/study manner, I find I can focus better during the day knowing I'll have time to have plenty of unstructured time later on.

Re: What It’s Like to Need Hardly Any Sleep

#13

Post by NathanKP »

I really wish I had that trait, but instead I have the exact opposite. I often need about twelve hours to feel fully rested, and even then usually require a coffee or two to feel productive. Some people suggested recently that maybe I have sleep apnea, so I'm planning to try a sleep study sometime soon.

Re: What It’s Like to Need Hardly Any Sleep

#14

Post by evincarofautumn »

[deleted] wrote: post #9
evincarofautumn wrote: post #5

Unless I’m sick, I need about 5 hours a night—typically a few hours after midnight, and another couple after dawn. Like the woman in the article, I also don’t get hangovers beyond a mild headache and tiredness. It doesn’t make me significantly more productive, but it does give me more time to enjoy life, which is not nothing. I like having people over for parties, because I can get up before everyone else and make br…

[deleted]

Dunno. If I sleep more, I feel like I can’t give the appropriate amount of time to all of the routines I want to keep—exercise, work, personal projects, chores, hanging out with friends, and wasting time on the internet with a glass of wine. Splitting things between days makes them harder to keep as routines, for me.

Re: What It’s Like to Need Hardly Any Sleep

#17

Post by grecy »

NathanKP wrote: post #13

I really wish I had that trait, but instead I have the exact opposite. I often need about twelve hours to feel fully rested, and even then usually require a coffee or two to feel productive. Some people suggested recently that maybe I have sleep apnea, so I'm planning to try a sleep study sometime soon.

Do you get much exercise?

For me, the more I sleep and the more coffee I drink the more tired I feel.

As soon as I throw in a bunch of exercise, I find I'm asleep within 30 seconds of hitting the pillow, and I'm awake ~5 minutes before my alarm after 8 hours, and I feel good. The more exercise I get, the less coffee I drink too, until I drink none, which is when I feel the best and least tired.

Re: What It’s Like to Need Hardly Any Sleep

#18

Post by Afton »

NathanKP wrote: post #13

I really wish I had that trait, but instead I have the exact opposite. I often need about twelve hours to feel fully rested, and even then usually require a coffee or two to feel productive. Some people suggested recently that maybe I have sleep apnea, so I'm planning to try a sleep study sometime soon.

Do it. Seriously. I can't believe the change in my life since discovering (in my 40s!) that I've suffered from sleep apnea my entire teen/adult life.

Re: What It’s Like to Need Hardly Any Sleep

#20

Post by gwern »

derefr wrote: post #7

So, the only thing I actually wanted to get from the article isn't in there: what does this genetic mutation do ? What does the responsible gene code for?

That's what the citations are for...

"This variant reduced the ability of BHLHE41 to suppress CLOCK/BMAL1 and NPAS2/BMAL1 transactivation in vitro."

What do BMAL1/2 actually do? Then you're getting deeper into the weeds and will need to look at references like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARNTL or http://genesdev.cshlp.org/content/28/1/8.shortJerome (Looks like they're responsible for kicking off a circadian cycle.)

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