Got a good question from a reader about sleep. One of my goals is to sleep less than 8 hours/night
Hello, and thanks for inviting your blog visitors to email you directly. I just came across your site today, and got some good reading out of your "top stories" list. What compelled me to write, though, was a trend I noticed on some of your "goals" posts: sleeping less than 8 hours per night.
It caught my attention, because at first glance it looks counter-intuitive. Yet I understand exactly what you mean.
Cut. Return to monologue later. Get to the askin':
How is it working out for you?
Okay, lessee. Here's my results since late June when I started calculating this. First week listed is "Week of 23 June to 28 June" - Last one is "Weekly review: 21 August to 27 August" - the rest fall in between in order.
What was my hours per sleep on average this week? 8.14 hours of sleep per night on average. Could be a little lower, but pretty good.
What was my hours per sleep on average this week? 8.5 hours average - 7 11 hours, 6, 14 (wow...), 7, 8, 7
What was my hours per sleep on average this week? 8 and a half - 8, 8, 10, 8. Interesting that last week I did a similar average with more days below eight, but then one 14 hour day... wonder if that's related.
What was my hours per sleep on average this week? 7.15 (6 hours, 7 hours (plus nap), 6, 8, 8, 8 and a half, 6, 8 - average 7.15)
What was my hours per sleep on average this week? 7, 5 and half, 9, 9, 10, 9, 5, 5, 4 and half.... 64 hours total over 8 days, 8 hours total
What was my hours per sleep on average this week? 9 hours/night on average. 12, 7, 10, 10, 8, 7, 10, 5, 10, 10 = 89.
What was my hours per sleep on average this week? 53.5 hours over 8 days = 6.7 hours per night (10, 4, 7, 7.5, 8, 5, 5, 7)
What was my hours per sleep on average this week? 8.5 hours night (7, 10, 7, 9, 9, 10, 8 = 60)
What was my hours per sleep on average this week? 7.9 hours per night: 6, 6, 5, 12, 4, 12.5, 9.5 = 55/7 = 7.9 hours
I see myself gradually trending mostly downwards... after a few very short nights, I crash for 12-14 though. Actually, I seem to get more done by alternating low sleep and larger amounts, I think - take that with a grain of salt, I haven't run analysis yet, just my intuition. I could check in more detail, though since my work changes all the time I don't really have any objective criteria for "good work" - I could cross-reference it with some other stuff if there's anything in particular you're curious about though. Diet, exercise, writing, or something.
Two observations:
1. Honestly, I do feel like hell when I get up after particularly low sleep, but then after about 30 minutes awake and a cup of coffee I'm good to go. I do feel really awful when I'm starting, but then it doesn't really affect me during the day, except...
2. I really zone out hard for between 20 minutes and an hour when on low sleep. I just roll with it and meditate, half-nap, stare at nature, go for a walk, sit in a cafe, or get a massage during that time. Also, I go through hyper-sharp moments when I'm sleeping less, where my concentration seems much sharper than normal - but that might not be real, it might be just the contrast with the low sleep state.
I can cross-reference this with other things I track if anyone is curious. Let me know.