Q&A for How to Condition Your Body to Need Less Sleep

Go to bed and wake up at roughly the same time every night. Your body has a natural circadian rhythm that adjusts to a regular sleep/wake cycle. If you keep your bedtime and waking time the same each day, you'll feel tired naturally at night and wake up refreshed in the morning.

Everybody is naturally different. Some people function just fine with 7 hours of sleep while other people may need up to 9 hours of sleep. As a general rule, almost everyone falls within this range, though. Try to avoid sleeping in for more than 9 hours and waking up with less than 7 hours of sleep since this may disrupt your sleep schedule.

Unfortunately, there's no good way to do this. Your best bet would be to simply wake yourself up as required and then do your best to take a nap when the chance presents itself to eliminate your sleep debt. Chronically reducing your sleep can come with many negative health consequences. Whenever you can, try to keep a regular sleep schedule and practice good sleep hygiene—this ensures that you get the most high-quality sleep throughout the night.

The short answer is not very well. The long answer is that you may be able to get used to a little less sleep, but your efforts may be in vain, or you may be risking your health. If you do not get enough sleep, your body will get it anyway it can, so you will likely just fall asleep on the job, at school, or another situation where you really need to be alert, like driving a car! If you're not getting enough sleep, it will eventually catch up to you and you'll end up nodding off. Realize that a lack of sleep can lead to increased risk for a variety of health problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, and even obesity, just to name a few. On the other hand, if you feel like you have been sleeping much more than you need to, you may be able to cut it down. If you wake up feeling well-rested and don't feel sleepy during the day, you are probably ok.

Truly functioning without any sleep is impossible. Your memory and emotions will suffer quite soon if you don't get enough sleep (perhaps even sooner than your health). Plus, your anxiety can get worse, and your emotions can become harder to regulate.