Is there any *healthy* way to decrease the amount of sleep I need?

In My Humble Opinion
1

It’s like this: I’m a late sleeper. Being unemployed at the moment, I don’t have a lot of motivation to get up too early. Unfortunately, this usually results in me waking up at 10 or 11. It’s not that I don’t want to get up earlier, it’s just that I don’t have to be anywhere, so I don’t have the psychological drive to get up even if I set my alarm for 8.

I’m also more of a night owl: my house is quiet after 10, and everyone’s gone to bed, so I can get more done in the wee hours of the morning (resulting in me going to sleep at 2 or 3 a.m.). This is just how I am: I have difficulty operating in a noisy household and prefer to lose sleep to be more productive in the evening.

Still, I HATE getting up late. Short of going to bed earlier, are there any healthy, non-caffinated methods of reducing needed sleep? I’ve noticed that the Atkins diet has knocked my needs back to a solid 8 hours, but I’m wondering if I can reduce it further without killing myself.

2

Possibly not much below 8 hours, but, in addition to diet, I find that regular exercise and getting up at the same time every day does it for me. The exercise seems to help me get better quality sleep and the regular up time regulates the whole cycle somewhat. Also pay attention to the effects of alcohol, caffeine, late meals, etc.

3

Grow older. The older you get, the less sleep you need.

So hey, it’ll just happen naturally!

Seriously, though, cher3 is correct; if you want LESS sleep, address the quality of sleep.

4

I find that exercise supplimented with a healthy dose of diet Mountain Dew to work for me.

5

You know everyone says that, but elderly people seem to sleep in their chairs on and off all day, yet claim they “hardly sleep at night” well, with six hours of naps a day, no wonder! Or maybe I’m just bitter because I still need at least seven hours of sleep (on a daily basis, less occasionally is ok) to function best.

6

My grandparents are that way, elfkin, always complaining cause “I wake up at 5!”

Well, yea…you go to bed at like 9:30, you spend at least 2 hours a day sleeping in your chair, and you don’t do much to begin with.

But they don’t notice/remember/care about that when they’re all shocked that people sleep til 10 AM! OOOoooo!

7

My grandparents are that way, elfkin, always complaining cause “I wake up at 5!”

Well, yea…you go to bed at like 9:30, you spend at least 2 hours a day sleeping in your chair, and you don’t do much to begin with.

But they don’t notice/remember/care about that when they’re all shocked/complaining that people sleep til 10 AM!

8

Taking naps during the day (or whenever) is one way.

Though it is probably not as healthy as a full 8 hours; This and this describe one alternative method. I also believe that NASA tested similar patterns back in the 80s, but I have just a vague recollection of the show I saw it on.

…Just don’t blame me when the boss catches you asleep in your cubicle at 2! :o