Is it normal to need less sleep?

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DefyGravity810
DefyGravity810 Posts: 34 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Weird question and wasn't sure where this should go but this seemed like the best category. After eating better and exercising consistently for a few months I've noticed I seem to need less sleep. I know, I know that's not something to complain about and I'm not, it's just a bit odd and I can't decide if it's actually that I need less sleep or just happen to be sleeping less.

I used to need 9 hours to feel energetic and if I didn't sleep much one night I'd sleep a lot the next day almost as if to make up for it. Now, no matter what time I go to sleep or how much I slept the night before I seem to wake up exactly 8 hours later. I know this is awesome and trust me I'm not complaining but I'm still sleeping only 8 hours even if the day before was only 3 or 4 hours of sleep and I'm still tired when I actually wake up. That part doesn't feel so exciting. That part is the reason I'm asking because it's awesome generally but it's almost as if my body has decided I no longer need to "make up for lost sleep time" like I used to and it is weirding me out a bit that I can somehow be getting by such little sleep sometimes and be seemingly totally fine with it. On the bright side, if it turns out I really can survive on less sleep and easily recover from the nights where I only get a few hours of sleep just by eating well and exercising, well, that just might be more exciting than the weight loss! :wink:

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  • summerfly413
    summerfly413 Posts: 12 Member
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    Well for one thing, some people generally need less sleep than the rest of the population, or what is "recommended." I have a couple friends that just don't sleep more than 6 hours a night and feel fine.

    If your body is waking you up consistently after 8 hours of sleep I wonder if your schedule has changed since you started eating better and exercising. I know when I get into a routine for work I can go to bed anytime between 9-11pm and still end up waking up at 5am every morning usually without help from my alarm.

    As far as getting less sleep, 8 hours is a great amount of sleep. And you can't "catch up" on sleep. I don't have anything to link to that right now, but that's just not how the body works, and sometimes it can make you even more tired and mess up your internal clock/body rhythms(not drastically, just things like messing with your sleep pattern; not being able to fall asleep at a reasonable time, etc).

    I hope that wasn't too ramble-y. Basically, slightly less sleep, especially if you're getting 8 hours, is totally fine.

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