By Hope Imaka – EMTV Online
The widely accepted total number of sleeping hours for humans is seven to eight hours.
However, about 1% of the world’s population seem to operate on full functionality with just 4 hours!
How is this possible?
Though it isn’t officially diagnosed, these sleep habits are consistent with those of a condition known as “short sleeping.” These short sleepers need only a short amount of sleep every night instead of the average 7-8 hours.
Short sleepers share a few characteristics like:
- They tend to be more optimistic and upbeat than most.
- They tend to wake up early, even on vacation or weekends.
- They have a family member who is also a short sleeper. Since short sleeping is also linked to genetics, the behaviour that accompanies it often runs in the family.
- They are physically active.
- If they sleep longer than they need, they tend to feel groggy.
- They say they tend to avoid caffeine or don’t need it to feel energized.
Hugely successful short sleepers include the likes of CNBC’s Mad Money Host and Co-Founder, Jim Cramer, Leaders such as Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, and even President Barack Obama.
Having some of these traits does not necessarily mean you are a short sleeper, and neither does not having some of these traits mean you aren’t.
This is a relatively new area of study with more research going into what’s known about the genetics behind short sleeping.
Even though it has no apparent negative health effects, short sleeping is considered a sleep disorder. And although many people think they can get by with just four hours of sleep, for the most part, they aren’t true short sleepers; they’re just chronically sleep deprived.
