Tim Ferries has been my idol for a long time. I read two and a half books of his. What fascinates me the most about him is how he hacks apparently common methods of approaching certain tasks in a completely different way than the average person would.

He is confident that everybody can learn to speak a new language fluently within weeks or learn how to dance on a world class level in a couple of months, whereas others think they need a lifetime. The way he does it is not to learn every single nuance but rather only the essentials of each task to a very high degree. He does this by talking to experts in every field he is interested in, figuring out what is truly important about their field of expertise and what is just background noise.

In his second book “The 4-Hour Body” he tries to hack sleep. For many nowadays, sleep seems to be an obstacle to get through. Many are reducing sleep to a minimum every night – or day, just the amount needed to get the brain going again. Tim experiments with different sleep patterns and different amounts of hours slept. Most people have a monophasic or biphasic sleep pattern, meaning that they get their daily sleep all at once or in two phases of sleep – like the Spanish with their siesta. Tim’s verdict is that no matter what sleeping pattern you follow, it is important to get enough REM sleep (2 hours) a night, which is when all the sorting of your brain structure happens. I’m a little skeptical if that is all a functioning body needs in the long run.

Quite a number of people are not getting enough of it

Too many things hold us back from going to bed, and many of them wake us up before our internal clock deems the hours slept to be sufficient. Before the advent of electricity and, with it, artificial light, sleeping cycles were bound to night and day. This wake-sleep behaviour is reflected by hormones, serotonin and melanin being two of them. The latter is released into our bloodstreams, calming us down and helping us fall asleep, when the sun goes down. Serotonin is its counterpart that makes us more alert. It is released in the later hours of the night to get us to wake up again. The release of the two is coupled to the day-night rhythm or circadian rhythm.

Before the advent of electricity and, with it, artificial light, sleeping cycles were bound to night and day. This wake-sleep behaviour is reflected by hormones, serotonin and melanin being two of them. The latter is released into our bloodstreams, calming us down and helping us fall asleep, when the sun goes down. Serotonin is its counterpart that makes us more alert. It is released in the later hours of the night to get us to wake up again. The release of the two is coupled to the day-night rhythm or circadian rhythm.

The amount of sleep one needs is different from person to person. Hence there is no general formula of how many hours of sleep are necessary for proper refreshment.

Why should you get enough of it?

Sleep, especially REM sleep, is essential to improve mental and physical well being. It improves concentration throughout the day and helps to control emotions and to get along better with others. It sorts out what we have experienced during the day by forming the necessary neural pathways in our brain. This process of reliving the day, which might be one reason for dreams, enhances memory and other cognitive abilities.

Sleep is just as important to our physical health as it is to our mental health. Most of the repair work is done while we are sleeping. Our bodies calm down during the night and muscles and other body tissue are not used as much as when we are awake. This time of rest is used to repair and heal damaged tissue and vessels all over the body. Muscles that are sore, due to micro cuts, heal and grow to prepare for future stress – in other words, they get stronger. This takes time and is the reason why I disagree with a sleeping schedule that tries to reduce sleep time to just REM sleep, like the uberman does.

Sleep helps the body maintain a healthy balance of hormones that influence the perception of hunger (controlled by leptin and ghrelin) and the release of insulin, which controls the amount of glucose (dissolved sugar) in our blood. Ever felt abnormally hungry after a night with insufficient sleep? An upset hormonal balance might be the cause.

The benefits of sufficient sleep are better concentration and repair of muscle, tissue and bone, which all contribute to better performance – not only at school or work, but also during sports. Hormones that make us happy are also released and they keep us interested and motivated.

The right number of hours of sleep differs for every living being. It is dependant on many factors including genes, age, gender and level of activity, just to name a few. This makes it particularly hard to give a recommendation. Everybody has to experiment for him or herself.

How many hours do you sleep at night?

Do you usually feel refreshed in the morning?

When do you go to bed?