The Sleepless Elite comprise one to three percent of the population:
Natural “short sleepers,” as they’re officially known, are night owls and early birds simultaneously. They typically turn in well after midnight, then get up just a few hours later and barrel through the day without needing to take naps or load up on caffeine.
They are also energetic, outgoing, optimistic and ambitious, according to the few researchers who have studied them. The pattern sometimes starts in childhood and often runs in families.
More people think they belong to the sleepless elite:
Out of every 100 people who believe they only need five or six hours of sleep a night, only about five people really do, Dr. Buysse says. The rest end up chronically sleep deprived, part of the one-third of U.S. adults who get less than the recommended seven hours of sleep per night, according to a report last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
My mom ran on ~4 hours a night for 20+ years. Then she got Lyme disease, and now needs to sleep 6-7 to be healthy. And that’s with substantial exercise: walking 5-10 miles a day with her 4 dogs, and doing yardwork, building sheds, etc. at age 60.
I’m stuck with reduced functionality if I run on much less than 6 for more than a few days. 5.5h+ I can maintain indefinitely I think, less’n I’m sick.
Going without sleep is not one of my superpowers.