a tale of two sleepies

How much sleep does your body need? This question makes interesting midnight conversation, as a buddy and I approached it from two opposite sides of the coin.

I used to sleep five hours a night in JC and probably three in Army. But from the time I entered College, I always made sure I got at least seven, if not ten hours a night. Every night, even through exams and projects. Enough sleep keeps me alert. Anything less than seven and I start to doze off during the day. But now I'm so pressed for time during the week, I'm starting to wonder if I should just sleep less and do more during the waking hours.

He used to get only three hours a night in College. What with balancing computer games, ECAs and music. Now he's started work, he tries to get at least seven hours a day. Otherwise he is too fatigued to focus on work and go about with social life. He wants to sleep more.

"How do you manage to be so disciplined?" he asked me. "I have to force myself to go to sleep in time every night."

"Discipline?" I scoffed. "If I sleep late, I just didn't go to class the next morning. Talk about ill discupline."

So which model works best? Minimal or maximal sleep? More hours per day or more productive hours? Looks like we are swapping roles, will be interesting to see how this works. I figure since he's heading off to Caltech to do his PhD shortly, the lack of sleep can't be that detrimental.