It is not recommended by medical experts to "train" your body to sleep less than it requires, as most adults need 7 to 9 hours of quality sleep per night for optimal physical and mental health. Consistently sleeping less can lead to fatigue, reduced alertness, impaired cognitive function, and long-term health problems.
In short, you cannot train yourself to need less sleep. It certainly may be possible for people to learn better coping strategies to minimize the risk of making serious errors while sleepy while performing certain tasks. In addition, some individuals are naturally more resilient to the effects of sleep loss.
The 3-2-1 bedtime method is a simple sleep hygiene strategy: stop eating 3 hours before bed, stop working 2 hours before bed, and stop using screens (phones, tablets, TVs) 1 hour before sleep, helping your body transition to rest by reducing stimulants and digestive load for better sleep quality. A more detailed version adds 10 hours (no caffeine) and 0 (no snoozing) for a 10-3-2-1-0 rule.
Try to:
The koala is famous for sleeping around 20-22 hours a day, which is about 90% of the day, due to their low-energy diet of eucalyptus leaves that requires extensive digestion. Other extremely sleepy animals include the sloth (up to 20 hours) and the brown bat (around 20 hours), with some snakes like the ball python also sleeping up to 23 hours daily.
Yes, the Navy SEAL sleep trick (an 8-minute power nap with elevated legs) is a real technique for quick rest, popularized by former SEAL Jocko Willink, that helps improve alertness and reduce fatigue, though its effectiveness depends on individual relaxation skills and it's not a substitute for full nighttime sleep. The method involves lying down, elevating your feet above your heart (on a chair or couch), relaxing facial muscles, dropping shoulders, and clearing your mind for about 8-10 minutes to promote relaxation and blood flow, preventing grogginess.
Gen Z stays up late due to a combination of technology (blue light, endless content), significant stress and anxiety (FOMO, financial/global worries), biological shifts (natural teenage circadian rhythm), and "revenge bedtime procrastination," where they sacrifice sleep for personal time, often in bed, scrolling social media. This digital-heavy, high-stress lifestyle creates overstimulation and a misalignment with natural sleep patterns, leading to chronic sleep deprivation, notes the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Health Foundation.
While everyone occasionally sleeps in, chronic oversleeping — needing 10, 11 or more hours regularly — can be linked to underlying health issues. “Conditions like thyroid disorders, anemia or sleep apnea can all lead to excessive fatigue and longer sleep durations,” says Dr. Namon.
How to survive an all-nighter
The 80/20 Rule means that you stick to your healthy, consistent sleep schedule 80% of the time. You then can make exceptions to your schedule 20% of the time. The 80/20 Rule allows you to “live life” and enjoy those special moments with your family.
In his piece, he revealed that through his years of research, he's found that rumination is the biggest thing that causes poor sleep. He says that being worried about something at night has affected his own ability to fall asleep.
Signs of poor core sleep (deep, restorative sleep) include waking up foggy, daytime fatigue/energy crashes, poor concentration, irritability, frequent illness, memory issues, and mood swings, indicating your brain and body aren't fully repairing and consolidating memories. You might also experience increased sugar cravings, slow muscle recovery, and a weakened immune system.
Depending on one's age and individual needs, the National Sleep Foundation (USA) states that adults need seven to nine hours of good quality sleep per night to remain healthy and alert. School-age children require between nine and eleven hours, while older adults may need only seven to eight.
While a good night's sleep is important for overall health, an occasional night of lost night does not do any harm. However, when all-nighters become a common occurrence, then sleep health can be compromised.
On average, Japanese sleep about 7 hours and 20 minutes a night, - the least among 33 OECD member countries. And the number of insomniacs is growing. But even as more people suffer from insomnia, help can be hard to find.
Musk goes to bed around 3 a.m. and gets about 6 hours of sleep every night. Although he's not getting eight hours a night, Musk has upped his sleeping schedule from being nearly nonexistent in the past. In May 2023, Musk told CNBC that he's no longer pulling all-nighters.
It recharges us with new energy
Your tired eyes need to close for a few hours while your brain “cleans itself up” and your body produces many new cells!
Whilst boomers and millennials may use the 😂 emoji, this has long since been deemed 'uncool' (or 'cheugy') by Gen Z. Instead, this has been replaced by the skull (💀) or the crying emoji (😭), dramatising the idea of 'dying with laughter'.
Across much of the world, it is no longer middle-aged adults who are the most miserable. Instead, young people, especially Gen Z, are reporting the highest levels of unhappiness of any age group.
The 3-2-1 sleep rule is a simple wind-down routine: stop eating and drinking alcohol 3 hours before bed, stop working/mentally stimulating activities 2 hours before, and turn off screens (phones, TVs) 1 hour before sleep, helping you transition to rest by reducing stimulants and preparing your mind and body. It's often part of a larger 10-3-2-1-0 rule, which also adds no caffeine 10 hours prior and no hitting snooze (0) in the morning.
The 5-3-3 rule is a baby sleep training method for night weaning and fostering independent sleep, involving a baby sleeping 5 hours, staying awake for 3 (for a feed if needed), then sleeping another 3 hours, and continuing in 3-hour increments, teaching them to self-soothe after the initial long stretch, though it's a flexible guideline, not strict; it aims to create longer stretches for parents while meeting the baby's needs, often used around 4-6 months.
Best survival rates were found among those who slept seven hours a night. A group sleeping eight hours was 12% more likely to die within the six year period than those sleeping seven hours, other factors being equal. Even those with as little as five hours lived longer than those with eight hours or more nightly.