Hello. 23M here. Upon considering my routine, I found out that If I need to do well in my studies and overall life, I can allocate myself only 4 hours of sleep at most. And I need to continue this for at least 4 years.
Though I had been skipping sleep for all sorts of loser-oriented reasons, from my high-school days. Binge watching a series or gaming all night etc. But never too strongly on a regular basis that can be considered as insomnia or anything.
Scientists, upon researching individuals with sleep found out various life-concerning symptoms and outcomes when they weren’t getting “Enough” sleep on a regular basis. Even though symptoms weren’t reflecting that quickly, but some brought devastating outcomes later on life. These results are found in journals and research papers.
But I want opinions and advices from people who weren’t a part of the research. Just regular guys who chose to focus on life too seriously by less prioritizing sleep.
My question is specifically towards the elderly people. Those who used to sleep less, around 4-5 hours daily for some years in their teenage, post-teenage years like me.
Did any of you guys face concerning health complications later in life that were then diagnosed as a lack of sleep in your teenage era?
Additionally, I have a slight memorization problem. I can’t remember more than 90% of what happened to me back in my high-school era( 2016-2021 ). I used to vaguely remember until 2023 when I started to forget.
So I don’t want to have any more cognitive complications by sleeping less hours in my thriving time.
Considering that I only need to continue this for at most 4 years and not more, How severe of a health complication I might face in future?
Planning to only sleep 4 hours max every night for four years is a terrible fucking idea, especially since you seem to wanting to do it “productively” for college…
You’re forgetting shit because you’re chronically sleep deprived, and whatever you think is so important that you’re not sleeping is doing more harm than good.
Like, why the fuck would someone do this, realize it’s bad, read empirical evidence it’s bad, then ask random social media for ancedotal evidence to feel better about ignoring research?
Like, what are you even going to school for, what program accepted you? I feel like there’s a very high chance you’re being taken advantage of someway
I’m kinda in a situation of “The world can go fuck itself but I need to grind.” Not physically, but mentally.
I had a dispute with my parents 2 days ago. They’re the typical parents who doesn’t even know the existence of mental health and don’t know that it is an actual concern, plus they bring down trauma of their parents by picking on their children( me ).
They have been doing this for years and only yesterday, I decided that I won’t tolerate their behavior.
That’s when I edited my current routine and changed it into the one I wrote in the post.
I decided that I need to get a stable grade first, no matter what. Then I need to increase my financial income.
Only then, I’m hoping that they MIGHT stop picking on me and then I can focus on myself, for myself.
Anyway, increasing the sleeping hours isn’t impossible. It’s just that, after getting put under their demeaning spotlight, I don’t find it worthy to have a good sleep for myself anymore and probably there’s not much of a convincing method that’ll shift my mindset to think otherwise. Probably…
Perhaps I’ll change my decision after 1 week…
I’m still at a “whim of the moment” position. I’m determined enough to stick to a 4 hour sleep routine, but not sure enough if that is an ideal decision for me. Also I don’t have enough willpower to atomically divide down and re-edit my schedule to increase it in a 7-8 hours sleep schedule. At least, not for now.
I might give an update after 5-6 days.
They have been doing this for years and only yesterday, I decided that I won’t tolerate their behavior.
You write you won’t tolerate their behaviour anymore, but only 2 sentences later you write that you’re hoping that they’ll stop picking on you if you do this. That’s not just tolerating their behaviour, that’s encouraging it.
I decided that I need to get a stable grade first, no matter what.
Depriving yourself of sleep will be extremely detrimental to your mental and academic performance. That’s just biology and no amount of “grindset” can change that.
I decided that I need to get a stable grade first, no matter what. Then I need to increase my financial income.
Only then, I’m hoping that they MIGHT stop picking on me and then I can focus on myself, for myself.
It won’t work. They won’t stop picking on you. It’s not how it works.
Your plan might sound good on paper but you will burn out eventually.
To recover from mental health damage you NEED to be safe. Move out of your parents by any means necessary. If you are in collage get a room in a dorm.
Step 0. Get to safety
Step 1. Focus on yourself and recover
Step 2. …
Step 3. Have a successful life.Depending on your circumstances pausing the university or aiming for bearly passing grade and simultaneously focusing on yourself would be better that loosing sleep.
Research VS Reality…?
Research IS reality. Academic consensus from a field of experts is far more reliable than any anectodes you’re going to find here.
Maybe you’re an exception. Sure, that’s a possibility. A doctor who knows your medical history and can meet with you over time will be able to tell that. You can do “virtual visits” if you’re low on time.
Other than that, you’re in danger of just latching on to whatever anectode tells you what you want to hear.
You will not be able to last on four hours of sleep and you are going feel that a lot sooner than four years from now.
I only got four hours of sleep last night, and it’s miserable after only one night.
This isn’t about health complications you might face in the future.
Your priority is your studies, right? They WILL suffer from you not getting enough sleep. If you want to prioritize your studies, you need sufficient sleep.
A well rested mind performs better, and sleep is actually pretty important on its own for the learning process.
Upon considering my routine, I found out that If I need to do well in my studies and overall life, I can allocate myself only 4 hours of sleep at most. And I need to continue this for at least 4 years.
Then you need to reconsider your lifestyle and not your basic biological need for sleep. Ignoring the latter will make you miserable and ill very quickly, along with being so detrimental to your academic performance that any time gained will be worthless.
Having suffered with untreated sleep apnea for several years (I have a CPAP now, thank God), I can tell you that you’re not gonna be able to do this for four week, let alone four years. Sleep deprivation won’t kill you instantly but it will make you feel like you’re dying, and also make you want to be dead. Whatever the solution to your problems is, this ain’t it.
Having operated on major sleep deprivation for years on end (babies are hell), I can tell you without a doubt that you should follow a healthy sleep schedule and get a regular 8ish hours of sleep. Sleep deprivation has cumulative impacts on the body, including a suppressed immune system, suppressed healing abilities (if you exercise, your body will take longer to recover), and absolutely diminished memory and brain function. Sleep is your body’s time to heal and clean cellular waste out of your brain. Sleep deprivation has similar effects to being inebriated when it comes to brain and motor function, especially if driving or operating machinery. Be safe, be healthy, and get some sleep, yo.
I did something similar during highschool. I get more sleep now, but I’m usually clocking six hours a night.
I notice I get sick more often than my wife and kids. Stuff like colds and flu.
Get more sleep.
My experience from my teens and early 20s was that I simply did not understand that the unhealthy aspects of my life were making me feel bad. It was only once I corrected them for a long period of time, and felt better, that I realized how problematic the irresponsible behaviors were.
If you get to a point where you start experiencing depression, burnout, really have no motivation for your studies and want to drop out… it’s because you’re not taking care of yourself. You’ll need to learn to balance life with work.
This is my unified reply to all of you guys giving enlightening advices.
This post, or my decision on starting a 4 hour sleep routine is still just a strong decision. I haven’t acted upon it yet… Hence this post to get what the elderly and experienced people have to say who did maintain this kinda routine when they were in my age.
It isn’t that I don’t understand the underlying biological damage that would have caused on me if I really were to stick on this routine for long.
I was angrily gritting my teeth( imaginatively ) against the people( my parents ) who ( kind of ) made me to push myself to this negative extreme. That’s why I suppose, was taken back by my ego or something like that and decided to make this self-damaging routine to follow.
I had other plans in this routine that’d suffice in the psychological way( meaning, to avoid burnout, crashing out, snappy temper etc ).
But, after reading your comments, who are experienced and lived through this kinda phase, I realized that for my mental health, maintaining other sorts of psychological assistance while avoiding enough sleep is like, feeding my stomach with side dish like salad dressing instead of eating actual salad.
From where I am, now it’s night time. Tomorrow is a big day for me. And after reading all of your comments, I’ve decided to fully drown myself in sleep without setting an alarm. I’ll let myself be.
Probably I’ll wake up with a clear head, and with a reason not to keep myself deprived of sleep that much.
I’ll give an update. Thank you everyone.
My ex used to pull this kind of stupid shit. Staying up late in some kind of masochistic urge to “improve her skills” which was really about feeding her massive fucking ego. It resulted in some serious mental health spirals and poor decisions on her part (hence the “ex”). Getting enough quality sleep will not only improve your mental and emotional resilience, it will help you be more prepared to achieve whatever kind of live goals you have in mind. If you really feel like you have to sacrifice your need for sleep to make time for whatever it is you’re trying to do, then I have to think this is a time management problem. on your part. Getting enough good sleep is non-negotiable.
I generally advocate against these absolute recommendations like when people say “you need at least 8 hours of sleep”. Bullshit, some people need 6 or 7 and feel refreshed. But I think this post reads like you’re planning a very unhealthy lifestyle. I can say with full confidence that you will burn out and you will perform worse without enough sleep (and without enough downtime).
I recently read a great book called Do Nothing, which advocates for a better work/life balance. It points out that research shows that you need idle time to be healthy and happy. In fact, the idea of even working as much as we do now is only 200 years old, and it’s led to a sharp decrease in happiness and even productivity. Humans require downtime and relaxation, and those things will literally help you achieve more.
Throughout all of human existence until the industrial revolution, we’ve worked FAR less than we do now, yet almost all the technological inventions we benefit from today were invented and built with such a lifestyle. You’re not going to be more productive on that much sleep. It won’t even be close, you’ll be far less productive than you would if you rest enough to feel relaxation.
None of this seems healthy and even asking this question is a sign that you need help. See a therapist and doctor as soon as you can.
Better off planning on eight hours, even if that means you stretch it to eight years.
I can do a week of sleeping 6 hours per night before starting to feel bad emotionally.
4 hours? Shit will hit the fan pretty fast. Just try it first for a few days just to know how it feels if you want, but don’t make any plans around it because it will end badly.
