The 4am Blog

How much sleep do you need? I used to get wrapped around the axle about sleeping eight hours every night and for the last 26 years I probably needed that much shut eye.  But during the last two years (especially since having John) I have watched myself function and learn to live with much less sleep. It's amazing what our bodies can still do and how well they continue to function with little to no sleep. I am always amazed at the adaptability of the human body. And since my body decided to get up at 0345 this morning let's talk about sleep and how getting too much or too little can effect you.

I watched an interesting documentary a few months back called 'Who needs sleep' about the long hours people in show business have to endure when filming movies. They of course are arguing against the whole concept of sleep deprivation after a popular camera man was killed in an accident on his way home from an 18 hours shift. Many workers in the industry complain of the terrible schedule and having to endure extra long hours while on the set of a show. They must be staying in the business for some reason; working with celebrities, traveling to beautiful places to film, or maybe they just really like movies.

Another proponent of sleep I found is David Dinges, the head of the Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory at the Hospital at University of Pennsylvania. In what was the longest sleep-restriction study of its kind, Dinges and his lead author, Hans Van Dongen, assigned dozens of subjects to three different groups for their 2003 study: some slept four hours, others six hours and others, for the lucky control group, eight hours — for two weeks in the lab. The study showed how poor performance was a common denominator in folks that slept less and less each day. Results also supported the law of diminishing returns with people that habitually slept less and less as their cognitive ability to stay alert and remember things got worst with each night they didn't get around 8 hours. Check out the full story from the NYtimes here http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sleep-t.html?_r=0

So let's evaluate an opponent for less sleep. Margret Thatcher anyone? Or Abe Lincoln, Vince Van Gogh or even Isaac Newton were all notorious insomniacs. But could it be genetic? I've read several sources to support the idea that some people just have sleeplessness in their genes.  The military has several training events that require soldiers to push their personal and physical limits by going days with little to no sleep as to test the true character of oneself. And to this cause I believe little to no sleep has an important place. Sometime in your life you will be forced to push yourself through a day or week or maybe a whole year with little sleep and when that season comes will you be able to function? I think we have to take advantage of those days we can get adequate sleep and considerate it preparation for those days we won't be able to rest.  It's probably a good idea to also explore the limits of your endurance, perseverance and stamina. I'm the type of person who loves a challenge and hates to be told I can't do something.

So today I encourage you to live a little more and sleep a little less. Don't make a habit of it, but get up earlier that normal once or twice a month and invest that extra time into doing what you love. Time is our most valuable resource and we never seem to have enough of it. But you already knew that; in fact you probably can't find enough time in the day to kiss your kids and read the news. So if that's your story I applaud your work ethic and trust that you are not wasting any time reading blogs and browsing your favorite department store's online sale :) We are only as good as our best intentions. Take the time to be intentional today, even if it means sleeping an hour less.