Is the “four-hour sleep method” reliable? Experts remind →

Recently, Zhang Chaoyang, founder of Sohu, talked about his "four-hour sleep method" again in a live broadcast, which caused heated discussions. Previously, he had publicly recommended that people sleep less, saying that sleeping for 6 hours is best and 4 hours is perfect. In response, relevant experts said that this is not a scientific sleep method and will cause damage to health.

Zhang Chaoyang talks about the "four-hour sleep method" again

According to media reports, on the 9th, Zhang Chaoyang talked about his sleeping habits in a live broadcast and said: "If you want to have a deep sleep and fall asleep quickly, you must first shorten your sleep time. You have to sleep for 4 hours, not 7 hours. After forming a pattern, you can gradually fall asleep quickly."

He also said: "Each time I sleep, the length of sleep should not exceed three hours, just two and a half hours. Because I sleep less, it is impossible for me to not sleep, I fall asleep in seconds." He believes that 11 o'clock in the evening, 12 o'clock to 3 o'clock in the morning is the best time to sleep. If you have a deep sleep between 12 o'clock and 3 o'clock in the morning, you don't need to sleep again afterwards.

Zhang Chaoyang recently talked about the "four-hour sleep method" video screenshot

As for how to wake yourself up after sleeping, Zhang Chaoyang also has his own set of methods. He introduced in the program that you should put the alarm clock or mobile phone ringtone about 8 meters away from yourself, and make yourself "definitely awake" by getting up to turn it off, and then go back to sleep after 2 hours. He likened this process to diving, and the height of each dive is equivalent to a certain degree of fatigue.

In 2020, Zhang Chaoyang also claimed in an interview program that he only sleeps four hours a day, with an hour of full wakefulness between every two hours. He believes that the reason for poor sleep is that after we sleep for three hours, the next 3-4 hours are spent in nightmares, and we feel very uncomfortable after waking up. He recommends that everyone sleep less, and the sleep time should be 6 hours, and it is best if you can sleep for 4 hours.

Most adults need 7-8 hours of sleep.

"From a medical and health perspective, this is not very scientific." Regarding Zhang Chaoyang's "four-hour sleep method" that has been circulated online, Fan Tengteng, deputy director of the Sleep Medicine Department of Peking University Sixth Hospital, told China News Service. Fan Tengteng said that the average sleep time required by most adults is 7-8 hours. "There are indeed a very small number of people who have a short sleep time (only need 4 hours of sleep), but this is an individual case. There may not be one such 'special individual' among 1,000 people."

Regarding Zhang Chaoyang's way of waking up, Fan Tengteng said that this is a form of self-sleep deprivation. "This is not the sleep pattern under our natural rhythm. Our body's healthy biological clock should be a regular schedule, going to bed at a fixed time and getting up at a fixed time. In this way, our biological clock can also maintain a moderate rhythm, which is meaningful to our physical and mental health."

Fan Tengteng also disagreed with Zhang Chaoyang's practice of going back to sleep two hours after being woken up from a medical perspective. He said that in medicine, sleep is usually divided into non-rapid eye movement sleep and rapid eye movement sleep, and the two stages cycle alternately every night. "This is a reflection of nature's biological rhythm and should not be disrupted artificially."

Fan Tenten said that the non-rapid eye movement sleep stage is divided into N1, N2 and N3. Among them, N3 is the slow wave sleep stage, which is usually considered to be deep sleep. "The proportion of deep sleep should be moderate, not the more the better."
He also said that most dreams occur during REM sleep. If you are awakened during this period, you will often think you are dreaming. REM sleep helps us consolidate the memory of what we learned during the day and is very important for the cognitive function of the brain.

Lack of sleep may lead to a variety of physical and mental illnesses

"Without enough sleep, many physical diseases and mental and psychological diseases will come knocking on your door." Fan Tengteng introduced that previous evidence-based medical evidence shows that lack of sleep will lead to a significant increase in the incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease will also increase significantly. Peking University Sixth Hospital once conducted a study and found that sleeping less than 6 hours will cause damage to brain cognitive function. Fan Tengteng has been engaged in clinical frontline sleep medicine for a long time and found that the proportion of young people, including teenagers, suffering from insomnia has been increasing in recent years.

In this regard, he said that people with insomnia should not be too concerned about sleep, which will make the body anxious. It is recommended that everyone develop a regular habit of going to bed and getting up at a fixed time, and not making major changes in their work and rest time even during holidays. In addition, Fan Tengteng believes that aerobic exercises such as jogging, brisk walking, and yoga during the day can also help you fall asleep at night, but you should try to avoid strenuous exercise 2 hours before going to bed. High-intensity exercise during this period will excite the cerebral cortex and make it difficult to fall asleep. At the same time, stay away from electronic products half an hour before going to bed. Because the blue light emitted by the mobile phone screen will inhibit the secretion of melatonin in the brain, and melatonin is an important substance for regulating sleep.