Sleep zzzzzzzzz

[Xin]

Firstly, does it matter what time you get up, is there any advantage in getting up earlier, i know the self-help industry is all about waking up extremely early but does it really benefit you?

secondly, How much sleep should I get (bearing in mind that I'm still in high school) , I've heard 9 hours is optimal but would sacrificing an hour to do more studying/learning be a better decision? 

[Slade]

@Xin I’ve found that I’m able to get more done if I wake up earlier. I think it has something to do with our nature. If you’re a caveman, you go out and hunt during the day and rest when the sun goes down. I think a lot of people like to wake up early to be “ahead of the game”. 

As far as sleep goes I think it’s important to listen to your body. You’re probably still growing at your age so you may need more sleep. However, I’ve heard people say they go from sleeping 9 hours to 4 hours because they changed their diet and they have all this energy now that they don’t need to sleep any longer. One guy specifically said that once he started eating one meal a day he only needed 4 hours of sleep. Your body uses something like 40% of its energy to digest food so the less time you spend using your digestive system the more energy you free up. 

[bigzbigi]

listen to your needs.. Some people sleep 2 hours, some 14 hours...

[sarapr]

@Xin  9 is too much you need 6-8 hours more than 8 is tooo much

It has huge impact for hormonal balance due to sun exposure and even on your life expectancy and heart attack rates 

don't underestimate it

[smd]

If I have nothing to do, I'll just let my body be the alarm clock.  If I sleep too long on a given day, I'll set an alarm to at least get me up before 9am the next day.

For work days, I rarely get anything done in the morning.  Maybe with extra time, you can prepare a better, larger breakfast.