How do I sleep less?

[Annie456]

Is it possible for anyone to train themselves to get by on 6 hours of sleep a night without feeling terrible and if so how is it done??

Thanks

[Skids]

I get by on about six hours sleep a night, sometimes five.  I now wake up six hours after I went to sleep no matter what time I went to sleep.  If I don't need to wake up then, the lie-in is a bonus.  Its all about getting yourself into a routine.  I was forced into it by joining the Forces (they want the most out of you), so now going to bed late and getting up early is normal and I don't feel tired.  To train yourself set your alarm for about seven hours after you go to bed and when it goes off actually get up.  After a while you can reduce the time down to six hours.  At first its not nice, but like everything else, you get used to it.

[karabulut]

Try banging your head on your pillow six times..(six times for six o'clock...five times for five o'clock..etc..)...sounds weird but trust me,it works!

[stoo_pid]

Part of the trick is to try to always get up at the same time every day, however much / little sleep you've had.  If you get into this routine your body clock seems to 're-set' & you'll find that even if you're tired at first your body soon wakes up & you'll also be less tired during the day.

[fantastical]

greate answers! I see an accurate mix physiology and psychology. True, getting your body in a "sleep routine" will win hands down. Complementing that are the mind tricks you can play. Be careful with the "banging your head against the pillow" tactic, though it probably works. Likewise, in bed I'll repeat the time that I want to awaken the next morning over and over to myself to "set" an alarm in my thought process. This will tap into your subconcious while you are sleeping and hopefully, fairly accurately, sound an alert against your biological (mental) clock.