# Ok on 5 hours of sleep a day or eat all you want. Which would you choose? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 22, 2011, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-on-5-hours-of-sleep-a-day-or-eat-all-you-want-which-would-you-choose/600419 "2011-10-22T03:50:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-on-5-hours-of-sleep-a-day-or-eat-all-you-want-which-would-you-choose/600419/61 "2011-10-26T15:42:24Z")
I admit I can’t understand how people manage well on less than at least seven hours of sleep a night. My baby alternates between sleeping through the night for a few days and then a night or two of wailing at 5 am for half an hour. The difference between how I feel the next morning is like the difference between between being a functional person and being a semi-zombie. I’d be so happy if were one of those people who could be just fine if I went to bed at midnight and woke up refreshed at 5 a.m. A fast metabolism and a nicer rear would also be great but not as great as having an extra two or three hours of time each day. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-on-5-hours-of-sleep-a-day-or-eat-all-you-want-which-would-you-choose/600419/62 "2011-10-26T16:06:01Z")
I’ve spent my life constantly battling my own inability to have a sensible sleeping pattern, a battle which I have now well and truly given up on. Let me get by on five hours, and I’ll gladly be a fatso. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-on-5-hours-of-sleep-a-day-or-eat-all-you-want-which-would-you-choose/600419/63 "2011-10-26T17:56:19Z")
Let me eat whatever I want, and weigh what I want, without having to exercise. Exercise, for me, at its very best, is boring. It gets worse from there. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-on-5-hours-of-sleep-a-day-or-eat-all-you-want-which-would-you-choose/600419/64 "2011-10-26T18:58:15Z")
Surprisingly, considering my well-documented love of food and my struggles with obesity, this is not an easy question to answer, because being able to be rested and ready on 5 hours of sleep is really the equivalent of having more time on earth, more life. And since I am now 8 months into a way of eating that eliminates a lot of longing for food (45 pounds and counting!), I might actually pick less sleep, because fatigue is a really frustrating barrier in my life right now, and fighting the desire to pig out is not. So yeah, sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-on-5-hours-of-sleep-a-day-or-eat-all-you-want-which-would-you-choose/600419/65 "2011-10-26T19:27:36Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > I literally cannot comprehend that the answer can be anything other than ‘eat’. I mean it. I never felt such a disconnect to anyone as pronounced as I feel to anyone posting anything other than ‘eat’. With you. I love sleeping, I don’t mind sleeping 7 or 8 hours. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-on-5-hours-of-sleep-a-day-or-eat-all-you-want-which-would-you-choose/600419/66 "2011-10-26T19:34:36Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > With you. I love sleeping, I don’t mind sleeping 7 or 8 hours. Yes, but is it really _the sleeping_, or _the falling asleep_? I don’t feel like I am really aware of the time I sleep while I’m doing it, only the falling and waking, then residual effects of too much, too little, or just enough. If you could rise from bed feeling exactly the way you do after 7 or 8 hours, isn’t that the same? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-on-5-hours-of-sleep-a-day-or-eat-all-you-want-which-would-you-choose/600419/67 "2011-10-26T19:50:53Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Yes, but is it really _the sleeping_, or _the falling asleep_? I don’t feel like I am really aware of the time I sleep while I’m doing it, only the falling and waking, then residual effects of too much, too little, or just enough. If you could rise from bed feeling exactly the way you do after 7 or 8 hours, isn’t that the same? Yes, but I still would prefer the food thing. You’re right in that I don’t remember the sleeping part, but snuggling down into a big comforter in the winter is my most favoritest thing ever, and I also love waking up at say, 6 am and knowing I have plenty more time to be able to sleep, and rolling over and falling back asleep. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-on-5-hours-of-sleep-a-day-or-eat-all-you-want-which-would-you-choose/600419/68 "2011-10-26T20:08:11Z")
Sleep is the obvious choice. I intentionally miss meals on occasion just for the fun of it. Other times, I miss them because I’m too busy to eat. Last night, I went straight from work to the airport to go flying. I got back home at midnight, so I didn’t even eat dinner. I just went to bed, thinking “I’ll eat in the morning.” Conversely, my wife and I routinely get 8 hours of sleep and always want more. We were jet lagged for a day and remarked how astonished we were that the _average_ American walked around like that all day, every day. How do you people tolerate wanting to close your eyes all the time and not having any energy?! Maybe that’s a reason why America is so fat. The point is, there are two things that get in the way of doing fun, productive things- sleeping and eating. Both just cost time. So obviously, if I could get three hours a day back _and_ be able to get up for work in the morning, that’d be awesome. I see no benefit to being able to eat all I want. > [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > I literally cannot comprehend that the answer can be anything other than ‘eat’. I mean it. I never felt such a disconnect to anyone as pronounced as I feel to anyone posting anything other than ‘eat’. Forgive me if I’m wrong, but aren’t you one of our incredibly overweight Dopers? ---
**Author:** ![Galileo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Galileo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galileo)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-on-5-hours-of-sleep-a-day-or-eat-all-you-want-which-would-you-choose/600419/69 "2011-10-26T20:13:05Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > I literally cannot comprehend that the answer can be anything other than ‘eat’. I mean it. I never felt such a disconnect to anyone as pronounced as I feel to anyone posting anything other than ‘eat’. Perhaps I can explain. If I eat whatever I want, I’m more likely to lose weight, or at best, maintain my weight. I have to make sure that I eat regularly so that I maintain my weight. It’s not a huge chore but I need to be aware of it. I can’t function very well unless I have seven hours of sleep. Eight is even better. I can function for two or three days on five hours sleep but by the third or fourth day, I get tired, I get a headache, and all I want to do is lie down and sleep for 12 hours. If I could feel the same after five hours of sleep as I do now after seven, I would have another 14 hours a week. That’s worth a lot to me. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-on-5-hours-of-sleep-a-day-or-eat-all-you-want-which-would-you-choose/600419/70 "2011-10-26T21:57:19Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Forgive me if I’m wrong, but aren’t you one of our incredibly overweight Dopers? Why are you asking this question? ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-on-5-hours-of-sleep-a-day-or-eat-all-you-want-which-would-you-choose/600419/71 "2011-10-26T22:43:29Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > …Forgive me if I’m wrong, but aren’t you one of our incredibly overweight Dopers?.. Yes, but still. I still marvel every day at people who aren’t as over-excited by food as I am. ---
**Author:** ![Galileo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Galileo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galileo)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-on-5-hours-of-sleep-a-day-or-eat-all-you-want-which-would-you-choose/600419/72 "2011-10-26T23:36:10Z")
But doesn’t “over-excited” mean that most people are just “excited”? And, there must be some people who are “under-excited”? ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-on-5-hours-of-sleep-a-day-or-eat-all-you-want-which-would-you-choose/600419/73 "2011-10-26T23:53:45Z")
> [@Galileo](#): > > But doesn’t “over-excited” mean that most people are just “excited”? > And, there must be some people who are “under-excited”? Well, yes. I recognize that most people don’t feel about food the way I do. But I can’t wrap my head around the idea that people would give up the opportunity to eat anything they want without consequence. I find it incredible that the gulf between how I feel about food and how others feel about it could be that wide. I mean, I _believe_ you. I just wonder at it. ---
**Author:** ![Galileo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Galileo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galileo)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-on-5-hours-of-sleep-a-day-or-eat-all-you-want-which-would-you-choose/600419/74 "2011-10-27T00:36:43Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > But I can’t wrap my head around the idea that people would give up the opportunity to eat anything they want without consequence. Just to be a bit clearer: I’m not _giving up_ the opportunity to eat anything without consequence. I already have it, for two inter-related reasons: 1. It’s difficult for me to gain weight. 2. I don’t feel like eating a lot. Not because of a deliberate decision or because of self-control. It’s just one of those things. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-on-5-hours-of-sleep-a-day-or-eat-all-you-want-which-would-you-choose/600419/75 "2011-10-27T14:13:12Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Well, yes. I recognize that most people don’t feel about food the way I do. But I can’t wrap my head around the idea that people would give up the opportunity to eat anything they want without consequence. I find it incredible that the gulf between how I feel about food and how others feel about it could be that wide. I mean, I _believe_ you. I just wonder at it. But if you take sleep, you could eat pretty much whatever you wanted and just work it off in those extra three hours you’re conscious. I don’t understand how anyone can pass up the opportunity to be _alive more_, which is essentially what going sleepless would be. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-on-5-hours-of-sleep-a-day-or-eat-all-you-want-which-would-you-choose/600419/76 "2011-10-27T18:06:17Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > But if you take sleep, you could eat pretty much whatever you wanted and just work it off in those extra three hours you’re conscious. I don’t understand how anyone can pass up the opportunity to be _alive more_, which is essentially what going sleepless would be. The idea that I would rather work out than sleep is incredible. Haa! I’m cracking up. Joke’s on me, though. Joke’s on me. ---
**Author:** ![Vihaga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Vihaga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vihaga)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-on-5-hours-of-sleep-a-day-or-eat-all-you-want-which-would-you-choose/600419/77 "2011-10-27T18:43:50Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Well, yes. I recognize that most people don’t feel about food the way I do. But I can’t wrap my head around the idea that people would give up the opportunity to eat anything they want without consequence. I find it incredible that the gulf between how I feel about food and how others feel about it could be that wide. I mean, I _believe_ you. I just wonder at it. I eat too much and I still picked the “less sleep” option. When I’m well-rested, my weight tends to go down without any particular effort on my part, and most of the times I’ve gained weight have been high-stress, low-sleep periods. If I get enough sleep, everything else just seems to fall into place. I can’t say that about food. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-on-5-hours-of-sleep-a-day-or-eat-all-you-want-which-would-you-choose/600419/78 "2011-10-27T19:08:06Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > But if you take sleep, you could eat pretty much whatever you wanted and just work it off in those extra three hours you’re conscious. I don’t understand how anyone can pass up the opportunity to be _alive more_, which is essentially what going sleepless would be. Don’t get me wrong, if both were offered I’d certainly take both. I don’t really want to spend three hours or even an hour a day exercising; I do it grumpily and with ill-grace. I’d rather be able to eat whatever I want. I don’t really mind 7 or 8 hours of sleep, whereas I do mind what I feel is boring, wasted time exercising, and watching what I eat. And I do miss meals for the fun of it. I don’t pig out. I eat regularly, and healthy, and small meals, and none of that is onerous - but I’d still prefer to never even think about it. ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-on-5-hours-of-sleep-a-day-or-eat-all-you-want-which-would-you-choose/600419/79 "2011-10-27T19:14:31Z")
I’m already fine with 5 hours of sleep, that my usual average anyways. And I already eat all I want. No vote because I may lose the other one. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-on-5-hours-of-sleep-a-day-or-eat-all-you-want-which-would-you-choose/600419/80 "2011-10-27T20:24:13Z")
> [@Who\_me\_1](#): > > I’m already fine with 5 hours of sleep, that my usual average anyways. And I already eat all I want. No vote because I may lose the other one. You cerainly have plenty to be grateful for. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-on-5-hours-of-sleep-a-day-or-eat-all-you-want-which-would-you-choose/600419.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-on-5-hours-of-sleep-a-day-or-eat-all-you-want-which-would-you-choose/600419.md?page=5)