Sleeping 6 hours instead of 8 elevates my mood & energy

[Eric Tarpall]

I have no idea why this works. My theory is that the brain thinks "Oh he's sleeping less. That must mean that life is good. And exciting" 

I also think that the body gets used to being more active. And adapts to it. 

Edited November 30, 2018 by Eric Tarpall

[Lalelou123]

I have that too. I tried so hard to get my 8 hours of sleep and felt so tiered all the time that I tried to sleep even more. Than I started to shift my sleeping time week by week and write how I felt the next morning. 0:00-5:30 is the best for me. If you feel well rested, just go on with it. Some people do better on less sleep. It might even be in our genes.

[ZZZZ]

I believe it was Matthew Walker who said that there is less than 0.01% of the human population that can sustain 6 hours of sleep a night in a healthy manner. I think it was in this podcast if you are interested. Good one to listen to if you are curious about anything sleep related:
 

 

[Dan Arnautu]

4 hours ago, Eric Tarpall said:

I have no idea why this works. My theory is that the brain thinks "Oh he's sleeping less. That must mean that life is good. And exciting" 

I also think that the body gets used to being more active. And adapts to it. 

It might be that you are just more at ease than most people and thus you don't expend as much energy. As a wise guru said, what your body needs is restfulness, not sleep.

I've read Matthew Walker's book ("Why We Sleep"), and in the book, he effectively bombards you with scientific studies on every page, including one where getting 6h of sleep instead of 8 for just a week fucks your entire bodily system in many different ways. For example, decreasing the hormone that makes you feel full and increasing the one that triggers hunger and cravings for carbs.

Of course, do take into consideration that most people here on the forum do not fit the general population because they work on themselves and are not as neurotic. So, if you are an outlier, it's definitely possible that 6 hours might be just fine with your body. Personal and spiritual work can decrease sleep quota quite a lot.

I still need my 8h though, for now.

Edited November 30, 2018 by Dan Arnautu

[Eric Tarpall]

14 hours ago, Winter said:

How long have you been doing that successfully?

For over a year. I took a break from it for a few weeks and my mood & energy dropped. So I started doing it again. 

[pluto]

More sleep does not mean better, some people need 2 or 4 or 6 or 8 or more all depends on the persons energy levels. I also sleep 6 hours often sometimes 4 and if i don't rest well and sleep too long it can become a struggle.

[Solace]

Eating all or mostly Sattvic food (for your blood type) in limited quantities, while staying in meditative awareness with light exercise is the key.

When meditating on the Heart we receive non-physical energy directly from it, as well as in sleep, hence less sleep is required (until the point where you are always conscious even in dreamless sleep).

However it should not be a goal, it’s just a byproduct of awakening.

Edited December 2, 2018 by Solace