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When I was 14, I was convinced I needed 10 hours of sleep. I spoke to my mom about it, and told her that I constantly felt tired despite sleeping so much. To be fair, I was doing 6-10 sessions of football and running per week. But ten hours every night seems a bit high looking back.
My mom told me that there’s such a thing as sleeping too much. I was confused, astounded and in disbelief. She then encouraged me to try it out. Test what happens if I sleep 6 hours a night for a week. Or 7, or 8.
I’ve run a bunch of experiments on myself, some more successful than others. It’s a way for me to get to know myself, know my limits and learn more about my abilities.
I’ve come to realise that not everyone does this, and I think it’s a shame.
Sleep has been one of the integral ones, but far from the only thing I’ve experimented with. Every experiment has made me grow a little bit. Every single one, especially the miserable ones. That’s what we’re speaking about today.
→ Why experiment?
To me, the why of experimenting on yourself is self-evident. By now, it’s part of my identity to try, test and explore. But again, I’ve realised it doesn’t come as naturally to people around me.
The reason I experiment is that there are better ways for me to do things. More efficient, productive or fun.
Saying that, I don’t necessarily mean the ra-ra self help, Tony Robbins kind of better. It can be simple as it brings me more happiness or a raised quality of life.
Coming back to sleep, I know that I feel better when I wake up early. My daily rhythm is naturally waking up early, going to bed early. It’s what I did as a kid, and it’s what I do without an alarm in the morning as well.
If I’d been on the same schedule as most people around me mindlessly, I’d never have figured that out. I’d have been more tired, sluggish and miserable.
→ How to conduct an experiment
I heard a quote some while back. I can’t remember where it’s from, but here goes:
An experiment can run anywhere between a couple of minutes and 18 moths. But never longer than that, by then it’s a habit.
That’s something I keep in mind for designing my experiments. They never run further than 18 months.
I don’t go through a thorough process when designing experiments. But I do set a deadline and a commitment. As I spoke about a couple of episodes back, I make a decision and keep the streak.
When I last made an experiment on my sleep, I gave myself two weeks to feel it out. that time has come down as I’ve made more experiments with sleeping. The important part is that you give yourself room to feel the effects of your experiment.