In an ideal situation who wouldn’t want to sleep for at least 8 hours? After an exhausting day, you look forward to unwinding and sleeping at night. Sleep and rest go hand in hand. You know that you need that sleep and feel that it is not an option. Yet in this fast-paced world with a million things demanding your attention it’s tempting and of times necessary to sacrifice your sleep. So, the question arises, how to sleep less? Sleep is the first thing you cut in your lifestyle when faced with a time crunch. But this can lead to a host of problems both mental and physical. The trick is in understanding how you can reduce sleep without compromising your body’s requirements.
How Much Sleep Is a Must-Have for Your Body?
Before you embark upon trying to get by with less sleep you need to first figure out how much sleep you personally require. This will act as a benchmark for when you try to figure out how to sleep less from your current lifestyle. As an adult, you need anywhere between 7 to 9 hours of undisturbed sleep to refresh your mind and body. Some people can also survive on as less as 5 hours and others need a full 9 hours. Healthy Sleep lists certain factors:
- Age
- Genetics
- Health
- Sleep environment
Your Personal Sweet Snooze Spot
With all the numerous factors playing a role, it can become daunting to understand your individual sleep needs. A simple process to figure your idyllic sleep period is:
- Chart your current sleep hours
- Go to sleep 15 minutes early daily till you hit the 7 hrs mark
- Now reduce your sleep daily by 15 minutes till you can get by the day without any adverse effects.
When you start feeling sleepy or lethargic during the day, have mood swings and are irritable you know you are forcing your body to sleep less. You must stop reducing more sleep hours at this point and start training yourself to get by with those optimal reduced hours. This is the basic point on how to sleep less.
How to Sleep Less and Wake up Fresh?
Some people are predisposed to sleeping short hours, but you cannot change your body genes and suddenly become a short sleeper. By sleeping better, you can save time on the tossing and turning. You can hence work on your sleep routine and train your body to optimally accept reduced sleep. Some tips to help you improve your sleep quality thereby helping you in how to sleep less are:
- Winding down before hitting the bed
- Make sure all the electronic devices are turned off including your cell phones and tablets.
- Ensure a peaceful and quiet sleep environment
- Keep the bedroom temperature low
- No caffeine post 6 in the evening
- Make a night-time routine and follow it religiously
- Use relaxation techniques like a warm bath or a calming book
- Exercise
All these suggestions aim at helping you sleep better. The fact is that you cannot function without sleep. Sleep is a must. Improving your quality of sleep is the only way your body will allow you to get by with fewer hours of sleep. You need to understand that sleep quality and quantity after some hours are inversely related.
How to Tackle Oversleeping?
It’s frustrating when you are trying to figure out how to sleep less and end up sleeping more instead. You know you are oversleeping if you are clocking more than 8 to 9 hours of sleep regularly. This could be a temporary situation where:
- Your body is fighting an illness or gearing up to fight one
- It could also be a serious medical condition like depression, thyroid and heart complications.
Mostly oversleeping is the direct result of poor sleep quality. You spend a better part of the night tossing and turning and so cannot get out of bed in the morning.
Is Your Body in Sync with Your Sleep Hours?
Once again, the stress is on your body needs. You must make sure your body is in alignment with your goals. Understanding your circadian rhythm is the first step to regulating your body. If you are serious about how to sleep less train your body to make do with fewer hours but know when to hit the stop button. You snooze you lose applies perfectly here. Sleeping less is alright but the waking up during the sleep cycle is not. Your body will rebel if it’s disturbed in the sleep cycle zone. The trick is to make sure you get those minimum number of sleep hours but don’t have to loiter around in bed to get them.
Time to See a Doctor
Your body is an amazing tool. It gives you warning signs whenever you get out of sync. As per a study by Columbia University early warning signs of sleep deprivation are:
- Impaired memory
- Drowsiness
- Fatigue
- Lower immunity
If you cannot cope physically, cannot fall asleep or find it difficult to get out of bed without 10 to 12 sleep hours in the mornings you need to consult a doctor. It could be a serious underlying medical condition. Lifestyle changes can help to a certain extent but if you find that they are not leading to any positive changes then it’s time to knock on the doctor’s door.
Easing your Doubts
Some the most common queries now plaguing you must be along the lines:
- How Do You Feel More Energetic While Sleeping Less?
- Can You Survive on Just 5 Hours of Sleep?
- The Effects That Lack of Sleep Can Have on Your Body
- Is It Even Possible to Train Your Body to Sleep Less?
The answers are simple. Sleeping less will affect your body if the sleep being compromised is your quality and optimal sleep hours. When training yourself on how to sleep less you have to focus on the number of hours spent just lazing around in bed without sleeping. The hours spent counting the sheep. By cutting the sleep hour clutter and focusing on sleep quality you not only get the optimal sleep benefits but also the hours. And “yes” you can survive with 5 hours. Jump out of bed, get moving, drink coffee and energize yourself. But remember it’s not just about surviving. It’s about a lifestyle shift to healthy options without compromising on body needs.
End Result
Wanting to sleep less is fine but you have to judge your limitations wisely. Make sure your mind and body are aligned to your wishes. Sleeping less is not only possible but a change that can positively contribute to your health and fitness regime if you only take the proper approach to it. Listen to your body and sleep accordingly. In no time you will have aced the concept of more rest on less sleep.
