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So this is their secret: the people who function superbly on a few hours of sleep

8 hours a night is the ideal, 6 hours is the minimum - but some people can settle for four hours a night and it will not hurt them at all.

What is short-term sleep syndrome and how will you know if you have it?

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• Sleep

• Insomnia

• Awakening

Walla!

health

Sunday, 22 August 2021, 13:59 Updated: Tuesday, 24 August 2021, 07:53

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From a very young age we are taught how important sleeping hours are to our proper functioning during the day, with the rule of thumb recommending an ideal 8 hours of sleep a night.

As we get older, our commitments multiply and the burden of life increases, and then we try to at least reach the minimum threshold of 6 hours of sleep a night.

There are quite a few studies that show how sleeping less than a minimum of 6 hours can be detrimental to our health and quality of life in a variety of ways and areas - from concentrating and affecting hunger and metabolic mechanisms in the short term to shortening life expectancy and increasing the risk of serious medical conditions such as stroke and dementia.

But there are people who can function really well even with less than six hours of sleep, without suffering from consequences like fatigue, drowsiness and lack of concentration during the day.

Who are they and what do they know we are not?

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To the full article

People with Short Sleeper Syndrome have the privilege of sleeping 4-6 hours a night and still function excellently.

It is not a very common syndrome, estimates speak of about one percent of the population having the syndrome, but some of the people who claim to belong to this group are probably very familiar to you: Former US President Barack Obama, the mythical lifestyle priest Martha Stewart and also Jack Dorsey, the founder Of Twitter.

There are quite a few people who sleep less than six hours a night, most of them do not have this syndrome.

Woman with blindfold (Photo: ShutterStock)

Although a high percentage of people report that they routinely settle for a night sleep of less than 6 hours, only a few of them actually suffer from short sleep syndrome, at least clinically. The reason is that not everyone who is used to sleeping less than six hours is really functioning at its best level the next day. Dr.

As mentioned, the main symptom that characterizes the syndrome is people who regularly and consistently sleep less than six hours a night and do not suffer from a decrease in function during the day and feel completely fresh from their short nightly rest.

In addition, according to Williams, "they are characterized by hypomania, impulsivity and a higher than average reward urge. They also tend to take part in activities with a high stimulus threshold, which help them overcome fatigue or drowsiness."

Dr. Williams explained that short-term sleep syndrome is very different from other sleep disorders such as insomnia. For example, people with insomnia will also suffer from high levels of anxiety: "People with insomnia often report fatigue, lack of freshness and lack of satisfaction. From their short sleep, "she said.

How is it diagnosed?

The truth is, most people with short-term sleep syndrome will not turn to a specialist for a diagnosis for the simple reason that it does not obscure their lives and does not significantly harm their health, according to Dr. Lynn Schoenberg, a psychiatrist and lecturer at Yale University School of Medicine.

However, she says, for those who sleep less than six hours a night regularly it is still advisable to consult a professional to rule out other sleep disorders.

Even less than six hours is enough for him.

Barack Obama (Photo: Reuven Castro)

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When it comes to diagnosing short-term sleep syndrome, your doctor or doctor will look for common behaviors related to the syndrome:

• Short sleep has been their normal sleeping pattern for most of their lives, starting from childhood or adolescence and it characterizes their night’s sleep even when they break a routine (e.g. on weekends or vacations, where you can sleep more).

• They do not use external aids to fall asleep - they fall asleep naturally at the same time more or less every night, sleep six hours or less, and wake up at the same time every morning when they are awake and fresh.

• People with short sleep syndrome usually tend to sleep a fixed number of consecutive hours.

  This is in contrast to sufferers of other sleep disorders who often report multiple awakenings at night and a feeling of fatigue in the morning.

The process of diagnosing the syndrome will begin with the family doctor, and will usually include questioning about sleeping habits and anesthesia as well as additional lifestyle characteristics.

Later it may also include a two-week sleep monitoring and even sleep monitoring in a special sleep lab that includes monitoring brain activity in sleep as well as other physical indicators.

What Causes Short Sleep Syndrome?

Not much is known about the causes of short-term sleep syndrome, but researchers have found some fairly convincing evidence that at least some of the causes are genetic.

Dr. Ying Hui Fu, a professor of neurology at the University of California, San Francisco, is probably the most senior researcher in the field of short-sleep syndrome, and she has been researching it for 25 years.

Do you have the syndrome?

Blessed are you, you can enjoy extra hours a day.

Woman wakes up (Photo: ShutterStock)

Poe and her team analyzed data from sleep studies and located people with patterns that may be appropriate for short-term sleep syndrome.

In DNA tests performed on these people, they identified a number of suspicious genetic mutations and then copied them through genetic engineering to animal models (laboratory mice and fruit flies). Have been able to identify at least 3 genetic mutations that are associated with short-term sleep syndrome, but they do not accumulate, that is, each of them individually can cause the syndrome to appear.

How is the syndrome treated?

According to the National Sleep Institute in the United States, short-term sleep syndrome does not require any special treatment. This is because those who suffer from it usually do not suffer from functional impairment due to their short sleep. "This syndrome, he will not need any treatment. These people can continue to sleep for a few hours and enjoy their good fortune, because they have the opportunity to use more hours every day - something that many of us crave."

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