While some people need to sleep through the night and enjoy uninterrupted rest to feel their best, you can sleep just a few hours and have boundless energy from morning till night. You've never experienced sleeping in and you don't even have a sleep debt. Scientists believe this is a gift (or a burden) of genetics.<\/p>\n
Your friends and family see you as an alien and suspect you're taking the opposite of sleeping pills. They need five alarms to get out of bed and groan in annoyance with every ring<\/a> . They sleep until dawn and get the same amount of sleep as growing teenagers. If they were to be reincarnated, they would undoubtedly take the form of groundhogs.<\/p>\n While everyone else is snoring, you're already busy with your day and going about your business. You wake up at the crack of dawn before the sun even rises, and you don't have a single dark circle under your eyes. Far from being sleepy or foggy-headed<\/a> , you're fully ready to go for a hike or run a marathon.<\/p>\n You've already tried sleeping longer, at least to follow the doctors' recommendations, but to no avail. It's almost torture waiting on the mattress, hoping Morpheus will catch you. However, this nocturnal resistance has its advantages. You recover very easily from a sleepless night and regularly wake up before your alarm, while others can barely stay awake despite pints of coffee<\/a> .<\/p>\n And this characteristic, which helped you a lot during your student years and university nights, is a rarity. You belong to the very small percentage (between 1 and 3%) of people who only need six hours of sleep or less. In the scientific community, you even have a nickname: the "short sleepers." The reason for this difference? A genetic mutation.<\/p>\n We often hear that you absolutely need eight hours of sleep a night to be healthy\u2026 but the reality is a bit more nuanced. Researchers have discovered that some people are naturally programmed to sleep less and still feel perfectly fine. This explains why you're as lively as a bug while others are dragging their feet.<\/p>\n Dr. Ying-Hui Fu and his team<\/a> have identified rare genetic mutations that influence our internal clock, the so-called circadian rhythm. For example, some people possess a variation of a gene that allows them to function perfectly well on just six hours of sleep, without fatigue or any negative impact on their health. Others, even rarer, can even manage with just four hours a night.<\/p>\n But be warned: these cases remain exceptional. Even if many people sleep little, it doesn't necessarily mean they emerge unscathed. For the vast majority of us, reducing our sleep time is not without consequences, even if we feel like we're "coping."<\/p>\n While some people seem to have a natural ability to get up early without suffering the rest of the day, this is still the exception. It's a superpower of the human body, but it's far from the norm. You can be a "morning person" but nod off during the afternoon soap opera or show signs of drowsiness at your desk.<\/p>\n In a society that views late risers as lazy and praises "miracle mornings"\u2014those "wellness" routines that begin at dawn\u2014we almost feel guilty about getting up at eight o'clock. To comply with this demand, which doesn't benefit night owls, we impose a rhythm on ourselves and condition our bodies, even though they are sometimes already overloaded. It's our "survival" mode<\/a> that makes us think we are "forces of nature."<\/p>\n Midday fatigue, irritability, difficulty concentrating, or uncontrollable cravings: our bodies are trying to tell us something, but we need to listen. Even those who don't need much sleep should pay attention to these indicators to avoid mistaking fleeting energy for lasting balance. Rather than trying to replicate idealized routines, the goal is to find our own rhythm\u2014the one that allows us to get up without struggling, get through the day without exhausting ourselves, and fall asleep instantly. <\/p>\n Ultimately, whether you're a tireless early bird or a fan of sleeping in, the key isn't the number of hours on your alarm clock, but the quality of your rest. Because sleeping well isn't necessarily about sleeping more, it's primarily about sleeping the right amount. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While some people need to sleep through the night and enjoy uninterrupted rest to feel their best, you...","protected":false},"author":8340,"featured_media":437454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable_msn":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5639],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-437452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bien-etre"],"image":{"medium":["https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/dormir-peu-ADN-200x113.jpg",200,113,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/dormir-peu-ADN-500x281.jpg",500,281,true]},"custom":{"td_video":"","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/dormir-peu-ADN.jpg","author":{"name":"\u00c9milie Laurent","avatar":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-2f5d8c00d5d5c27f8ce4d9b3f9015467-96x96.png"},"categories":[{"term_id":5639,"name":"Well-being","slug":"bien-etre","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5804,"taxonomy":"category","description":" The Well-being section of The Body Optimist shares practical advice on staying active, sleeping better, managing stress and understanding everyday aches and pains. Written for women of every size and body type, it starts from a simple idea: taking care of your body works best through enjoyment and consistency, not pressure or guilt.<\/p>\n When you return to physical activity, consistency matters more than intensity. A few ways to ease back in:<\/p>\n Everyday movement counts too: walking or biking to get around, taking the stairs and gardening all add up as physical activity.<\/p>\n Here, your body isn't a project to fix. We talk about exercise for pleasure, mood and health, never as a way to \u201cmake up for\u201d a meal or to lose weight, and every tip should work for you whatever your body type. The articles in this section provide general information and do not replace advice from a healthcare professional.<\/p>\n The World Health Organization recommends that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week, such as brisk walking. It also stresses that some activity is better than none: every session counts, even a short one, and what matters most is finding a pace you can keep up over the long run.<\/p>\n Consistency is the first lever: go to bed and get up at similar times, weekends included. A quiet, dark, cool bedroom, less screen time in the evening and a dinner that isn't too late all make it easier to fall asleep. Loud snoring or waking up gasping for air is worth mentioning to your doctor.<\/p>\n Ongoing fatigue can have many causes: lack of sleep, stress or mental overload, but also iron deficiency, a thyroid disorder or depression. If it lasts several weeks despite rest, or comes with other symptoms, see your doctor to find out what's behind it.<\/p>\n Want to go further? Explore all our topics in the Health section<\/a>, follow moms-to-be in the Pregnancy section<\/a> and enjoy a varied way of eating, without restriction, with the Nutrition section<\/a>.<\/p>","parent":360,"count":1718,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":5639,"category_count":1718,"category_description":" The Well-being section of The Body Optimist shares practical advice on staying active, sleeping better, managing stress and understanding everyday aches and pains. Written for women of every size and body type, it starts from a simple idea: taking care of your body works best through enjoyment and consistency, not pressure or guilt.<\/p>\n When you return to physical activity, consistency matters more than intensity. A few ways to ease back in:<\/p>\n Everyday movement counts too: walking or biking to get around, taking the stairs and gardening all add up as physical activity.<\/p>\n Here, your body isn't a project to fix. We talk about exercise for pleasure, mood and health, never as a way to \u201cmake up for\u201d a meal or to lose weight, and every tip should work for you whatever your body type. The articles in this section provide general information and do not replace advice from a healthcare professional.<\/p>\n The World Health Organization recommends that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week, such as brisk walking. It also stresses that some activity is better than none: every session counts, even a short one, and what matters most is finding a pace you can keep up over the long run.<\/p>\n Consistency is the first lever: go to bed and get up at similar times, weekends included. A quiet, dark, cool bedroom, less screen time in the evening and a dinner that isn't too late all make it easier to fall asleep. Loud snoring or waking up gasping for air is worth mentioning to your doctor.<\/p>\n Ongoing fatigue can have many causes: lack of sleep, stress or mental overload, but also iron deficiency, a thyroid disorder or depression. If it lasts several weeks despite rest, or comes with other symptoms, see your doctor to find out what's behind it.<\/p>\n Want to go further? Explore all our topics in the Health section<\/a>, follow moms-to-be in the Pregnancy section<\/a> and enjoy a varied way of eating, without restriction, with the Nutrition section<\/a>.<\/p>","cat_name":"Well-being","category_nicename":"bien-etre","category_parent":360}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8340"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=437452"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437452\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":437465,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437452\/revisions\/437465"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/437454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=437452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=437452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ma-grande-taille.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=437452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} Too much sleep kills sleep<\/h2>\n
This information should not be generalized.<\/h2>\n
What you'll find in the Well-being section<\/h2>\n
\n
How do you get back into exercise after a long break?<\/h2>\n
\n
Our approach<\/h2>\n
Articles to get you started<\/h2>\n
\n
Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n
How much exercise do you need each week?<\/h3>\n
How can you sleep better?<\/h3>\n
Why am I tired all the time?<\/h3>\n
What you'll find in the Well-being section<\/h2>\n
\n
How do you get back into exercise after a long break?<\/h2>\n
\n
Our approach<\/h2>\n
Articles to get you started<\/h2>\n
\n
Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n
How much exercise do you need each week?<\/h3>\n
How can you sleep better?<\/h3>\n
Why am I tired all the time?<\/h3>\n