At least that’s what I used to think I could do. Now, not so much.

The “sleep when you’re dead” mantra is common among ambitious people. And it should be. Ambition requires having orders of magnitude more output than the average person who would otherwise settle for an “average” life and lifestyle.

A biological need for a significantly-less-than-average amount of sleep is one of the few true competitive advantages in life. The “experts” say the average person needs 8 hours of restorative sleep per day but we all know someone who can thrive on 4-5 hours. Maybe they’re manic. Maybe they’re just built different. Who knows, but the math is startling.

365 days * 8 hours per day = 2920 hours of sleep per year (121.6 days sleeping)

365 days * 5 hours per day = 1825 hours (76 days sleeping)

A person who sleeps 5 hours per day has 45.6 extra days per year. Now run the numbers over ~76 years (avg life span). You get the point.

The importance of sleep is highlighted by this simple observation:

Humans need 4 things: food, water, oxygen, sleep.

You can survive without food for 30-90 days.

You can survive without water for 4-10 days.

You can survive without sleep for 3-10 days.

You can survive without oxygen for 4-6 minutes.

Survival here is the key word. Go a day without eating and you’ll be cranky—but you can still perform. Go a day without sleep and you’ll become a shell of your fully rested self.

As humans our hierarchy of needs is fixed, and while we can survive without sleep, after only one night of sleep deprivation we start to feel the effects. Your motor skills deteriorate, your cognitive function creeps to a halt. Patience, endurance, confidence…everything not required for survival leaves your body.

For the past two days I’ve slept for about 10 hours each night. That’s much more than my usual sleep requirement (~7 hrs). It was the first sign my short period of productivity, wellness and vitality was over. My energy levels fell off a cliff. Thick, dark clouds formed in the atmosphere of my mind. The brain fog is back. Yay.

A return to baseline.

My biggest fear, realized.

If I don’t rescue myself (no one else will) in 2023 I may not make it.

Here’s to giving it my best shot.

Happy almost new year 🥳