Do you exercise most days?
Do you at least a similar wake up\sleep time for a month?
And another obvious about drink enough water\food?
All have a huge impact for me. I can go on much less sleep when I do hard exercise that day.
All have a huge impact for me. I can go on much less sleep when I do hard exercise that day.
Recently, though, I started a linear progress novice strength training program (Squats, Dead Lift, Bench Press, Overhead Press) - three times a week for 40 minutes. My sleep patterns immediately shifted, and I am incapable of waking up without at least 8 hours of sleep on off days, and 10 hours of sleep on the days that I lift heavy.
For the first time in my life, ever, I'm finding myself going to bed at 10:00 PM at night so that I can get up by 8:00 AM the next morning.
Starting Strength is raw lifts involving the entire muscle toolchain until you can't do anymore. It works your body in a total, basic way that most Americans haven't ever done.
So you'll be sleeping alot as your body gets used to it. You'll notice incredible increases in everyday strength--as if the entire world, including you, lost a significant fraction of its mass over the course of a few months--and the desire for sleep will subside.
Of course, I still have my original sleep problem...
(except potentially food. You are a little more efficient at processing food, but if you develop a large amount of muscle you need a lot of food to maintain it)
Experimenting with yourself is cheap, interesting and rewarding. Not always easy, but definitely worth trying.
Also, read Seth Roberts at http://sethroberts.net/self-experiment/ - he (and his reader) report about a lot of experiments regarding sleep and mood; among those I remember: - eating lots of animal fat (bacon and/or butter) improves sleep. Standing on one leg for extended periods of time improves sleep (probably the easiest way to fatigue yourself into sleeping).