Reduce sleep without polyphasic?

[Sunakochan]

Hi everybody, I found this forum while looking for tips on how to sleep less while still being functional and I see lots of advices on polyphasic schedules. The problem is - sleeping during the day is not compatible with my habits, I often have to be out all the day and such, so what I'd like to know is how to optimize the night rest.

This both because I want to have more time for my duties and hobbies, and because the sleeping habits I have now are kind of confused.

I have a friend who has been sleeping 3 hours a night for years with no side effect and he said he just gradually reduced his sleeping time, each time resisting until the body was getting used. Has any of you tried? That sounds very appealing but I'd like to hear other experiences.

Then the issue is that I cannot say what my "starting point" is, and I also suspect my sleep quality is less than optimal to say the least.

At the moment I sleep anything from 4 to 8 hours (but most often 5-7) but not continuously.
I tried free running sleep to check my needs but it is meaningless because I could sleep all day just out of procrastination, but then feeling horribly so it says nothing on what my body needs.
I also tried to "get up once I wake up" but I usually wake up lots of time during the night, so how can I know which one is reasonable? If I wake up after 2 hours it is probably not time to get up to feel fine.

E.G.: Tonight I went to sleep at 23:30, I woke up at 3:00 and 4:00, then eventually at 5:00, when I had a tea.
Then I stayed in bed because I love reading, but at 6:00 I shut down the light because I was kind of tired and slept other 30 minutes of very light sleep... then I was feeling fine, but sounds kind of odd.

I often find that, after a night no matter how long and having being up for a while, I need a short time of light sleep to feel restored but it doesn't make sense according to what I read (i.e. that either REM or deep sleep are the most important part).

P.S.: sorry for the mistakes but I am not a native speaker.

[stanmrak]

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[Medusa locked]

I'm of the opinion that sleep should not be compromised for any reason. I think you need to work on having a deeper, uninterrupted sleep. 6-8 uninterrupted sleep will make you more effective in your waking tasks.

However, my personal experience, daily meditation helps me cope better than I used to when I do only 4 or 5 hours. I average 5-7 hours a night these days and I think its because my meditation sessions substitutes rest.

[Brutha]

I have a friend who has been sleeping 3 hours a night for years with no side effect and he said he just gradually reduced his sleeping time, each time resisting until the body was getting used.

I know a girl who sleeps often less than her 6 hours of sleep.
She thinks she sleeps enough. She thinks her mental state is "normal".
She however always looks sleepy. I think she would feel much better if she would sleep more.

In case you have money to spend and want to optimize your sleep effectively a Zeo is a good investment.

[Medusa locked]

What is a Zeo?

[reefted]

Zeo is a device which monitors your sleeping pattern. But i couldnt understand exactly how it helps us to get more effective sleep.

[stanmrak]

Originally Posted by Brutha

In case you have money to spend and want to optimize your sleep effectively a Zeo is a good investment.

I dunno... wearing a wireless transmitter on your head at night doesn't seem like a wise move. The advice I follow is to get all electrical and wireless devices away from you when you're sleeping. This device may give you valuable information, but it must also affect your sleep to some degree... I don't believe that wearing a wireless device on your head is benign.

[Brutha]

What is a Zeo?

I intentionally set a link.

[PaulDJ]

Generally, you can't train yourself to have less sleep than your body currently needs. Each person is different but most people need around 6-8 hours but some people, like your friend, can function normally on much less than that. The only way to spend less time asleep but still get the sleep you need is to increase the quality of your sleep.

You can do this by introducing naps at set points throughout the day, so you spend more of your sleeping time in the deeper stages of sleep, but that's usually overkill.

Instead, concentrate on developing good sleep timing. Go to sleep at a set time and wake up at a set time every day. By conditioning your body to sleep at set times, you'll gradually spend less time in light sleep and more time in deep sleep.

Deep sleep is much more replenishing to the body than light sleep, so as a result you'll be able to spend less time sleeping to get all the sleep you need.