Our society tends to admire those who refuse to go to bed. Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Edison and Margaret Thatcher – all of whom famously needed just a couple hours kip a night – are often cited as examples of how sacrificing shuteye can lead to increased productivity.



But the truth of the matter is, just as you can’t choose to be able to paint like Da Vinci, you have little say in how much sleep your body needs. It’s biologically hardwired. Between seven to eight hours a night is recommended, and for 97 to 99 per cent of the population regularly getting less than six will play havoc with your ability to function effectively. Still curious? This is what happens to your body when you can't sleep.

The other 1 to 3 per cent of that study? They are so-called ‘short sleepers’, equipped with a mutated gene called hDEC2 which allows their body to get the rest it requires from just a few hours between the sheets each night. You’ve probably met one. They tend to be thin, optimistic, high-energy types. They are relentless. Frankly, they’re exhausting.



Top Tips to Help Train Your Body to Sleep Less

For those of us not genetically predisposed to get by with little kip, there is still a way to claw back an hour or two each day, says Professor Jim Horne, sleep neuroscientist at Loughborough University. Almost everyone can cut the amount of sleep they need down to six hours a night by using the following plan.

1. First, set your alarm for the same time every morning, no matter whether it’s a weekday or the weekend. Rising at exactly the same time every day is key

2. For the first week, delay the time you go to bed by 20 minutes

3. For the second week, delay it by 40 minutes

4. For the third week, delay it by an hour

5. Continue cutting down in 20 minute increments until you are sleeping six hours a night

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After this point, you head into the murky realm of different polyphasic sleep protocols. The most popular of which, dubbed ‘Everyman’, recommends sleeping three hours in the early morning along with three 20-minute naps evenly spaced through the day.

Next comes 'Uberman', which relies on six 20-minute naps spaced evenly throughout the day. Some swear by it. Most zombify themselves trying to force their body to adapt.

Best just to get your seven hours and have another coffee, we reckon.

Ed Vanstone Ed Vanstone is Digital Director of Men's Health.

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