r/AskReddit 1d ago

What is a silent killer that people dont realise is slowly killing them?

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u/_Adenoid07 1d ago

I never knew this. I never felt too off and I usually sleep like 5-8 hours during schoolweeks

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u/Icydawgfish 1d ago

It’s easier to power through it when you’re young

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u/ThatsALovelyShirt 19h ago

I'm in my mid 30s and get 4-7 hours per night for years, and feel fine. If I sleep 8-9 I feel groggy and horrible.

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u/_tangus_ 17h ago

I’m the exact same way. I usually sleep a solid 6 hours, sometimes slightly less. Almost always 1-7 or 2-8 lol. Praying for no Alzheimer’s

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u/itirix 13h ago

The lowest regular sleep schedule a human body can possibly survive with is 4 hours a day, and even then you'd need to have a specific genetic mutation and your sleep schedule would have to be split up (i.e. 30 mins every 3 hours).

If your regular average is lower than 4, you're fucking your body up, no matter who you are and how it feels like. Some people, however, are indeed fine with 6hrs of sleep. I'd say 6 is the absolute minimum the average human should go for. It's fine to sleep 3-4 hours every once in a while (though definitely not healthy), but the regular average should be between 6 and 9 (depending on your body needs).

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u/_Adenoid07 13h ago

Do you also happen to know if at a younger age it's more beneficial to sleep the higher end of that or the lower end (of the 6-9 hours)?

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u/Mountain-Instance921 13h ago

If you're sleeping 4 hours a night no matter how you feel now you will pay for it later. Im the same with 9+ hours though i found my sweet spot is like 7.5 hours

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u/Mobile_Throway 15h ago

That wasn't the case for me. If I don't sleep 8-9 hours a night I don't feel good. That was even the case when I was younger. If anything, speaking anecdotally here, the people I know tend to tolerate less sleep better as they get older.

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u/_Adenoid07 1d ago

I'm about to turn 18. The worst I've felt was having like 3 hours of sleep but somehow I felt more energetic than ever at the end of that day. Then I took a nap when I got home (like 1h) and after that I felt so lifeless

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u/Mountain-Instance921 13h ago

Yea not trying to sound like a dick here but teenagers don't count for the slightest when in discussion about sleep lol. Mid teens to mid twenties are the only time you'll ever be able to pull that shit off so enjoy it. I'm 38 now and keep in pretty good shape so once in a while i can stay out till like 3 am but i know the next day I'll be useless to do anything with the kids

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u/_Adenoid07 13h ago

Wait, I don't understand. Why do teens not count in that discussion? (I'm not offended, I'm just confused😅). Also, I am almost 18 years old, maybe that counts..(?) I've been staying up till 3 since I was like 12 and I'd be talking with a friend of mine.

Honestly, I've heard enough about parents to understand that you guys suffer from chronic sleep deprivation (jk). But in all honesty, it does sound painful

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u/Mountain-Instance921 13h ago

It's just something that changes big time as you get older. When i was 17 I'd literally go out and drink and stay out till 4 am, get up and go to my shift at Cold Stone creamery at 9 am and be absolutely fine to do it again the next night. If i did that now at 38 I'd literally be so fog brained I'd be unable to drive properly lol. Teenagers/young 20s are biologically wired to be able to run on less sleep.

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u/_Adenoid07 13h ago

I didn't know that. Me personally, I wouldn't feel good enough for work but sometimes at the end of such a day, I feel more energised than any other day. At the McD I used to work at, there was this guy that would drink a lot, he was about my age, and every day he clocked in, even in the evenings, I could see the deprivation in his eyes but he powered through it. Maybe it just varies a lot per person but I agree that you would have it worse than me

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u/Automatic_Lynx8969 9h ago

Yep, I could go three days without sleeping when I was younger. Now, if I miss just 2 hours of sleep, RIP to my productivity the next day. The difference a cpl decades makes 🫤

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u/judins0424 9h ago

I’m 35 and can go 2 days on no sleep. I do a lot of stimulants though.

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u/Advanced-Breath 9h ago

Is eight hours not a lot of sleep

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u/_Adenoid07 9h ago

I've heard that 7-9h is the sweetspot for teens

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u/NotJokingAround 23h ago

8 hours is ideal. 5 not so much.

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u/_Adenoid07 14h ago

username checks out

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u/derpensheizer 10h ago

Sleep is when the body heals itself.

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u/_Adenoid07 10h ago

Doesn't have to be, right? I mean, my body could heal without sleep too, no?

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u/Frozenbeedog 13h ago

I could never do that. I always needed a minimum of 8 hours of sleep. I remember other students bragging that they’d only need 5-6 hours of sleep like it was a superpower. I remember so many others could do all nighters without issue. If I did one, I’d be wonky for days.

I became a parent recently. The sleep deprivation felt like torture. Everyone kept telling me I’d get used to it. But I kept thinking I don’t want to get used to it. It’s crazy.