Why do Buddhist monks sleep so little?

7 Answers

AC Surendran, Maintain http://meditationisforyou.org. Experienced many techniques of meditation - Unclutching, Transcende...

Answered Jun 18, 2012

Quality of sleep is correlated with the amount of time spent in deep sleep state (thoughtless, dreamless state). Some evidence says that people spend about 15 minutes per hour in the deep sleep state. Eight hours of sleep = 2 hours in that deep sleep state. Adept meditators are able to get into the state similar to deep sleep consciously and at will. The only difference is that deep sleep state is an unconscious state, and deep meditative state is a conscious state. Second, because of meditation - when they actually go to sleep, the amount of time per hour spent in the deep sleep state increases. As a result they get the required rest with fewer hours of sleep.

15.8k Views · 35 Upvotes

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Harry C Emberson, aka Pandita Thu'Nam, Karma Kagyu Tibetan Buddhist 30+ years.

Answered Jun 15, 2015

As a monk, I know that this varies significantly from individual to individual and by age. I can spend hours in a state of Mahamudra, but it is not a substitute for sleep. Other types of meditation such as Vajrayana type sadhanas are very active as you are utilizing your body, speech and mind for long periods of time and can be quite tiring. Shinay meditation or calm abiding meditation is supposed to wake the mind up. I just think those of us who actively spend time in meditation get a more restful sleep. There is also a type of meditation performed while dreaming. When I am in this state I am actively aware of my state of mind while dreaming. I haven't noticed this reducing the quality of my sleep. I really think there can be no general statements. Our bodies are dualistic in nature and subject to the suffering of samsara.

4.9k Views · 13 Upvotes

Kris Shankar, Director, Microsoft

Answered Mar 30, 2014

It's unclear if the average monk indeed requires less sleep than the average person.  In traditional Buddhist monasteries, a rigorous schedule is imposed (and enforced) on the monks, as a result of which they have six hours or less available for sleep.  Experienced meditators, teachers and adepts (rinpoches, lamas, and tulkus in the Tibetan system) are established for some or all the time in the 4th state of consciousness (Turiya or "natural" state) which is the state underlying deep sleep, the dream state and the waking state (yes, this is a real state).  The Turiya state is deeply restful, much more so than deep sleep, and as a result, the individual can do with far fewer hours of sleep.

4.8k Views · 2 Upvotes

Jos Buurman, Sometimes meditation goes good, sometimes it's horrible. Keep going and you'll learn

Answered Jan 7, 2015

I get an average of about 6 hours of sleep a day and it's sufficient for what I can tell. A coworker sleeps even less. For decades.
Years ago I could easily sleep many more hours. The difference? When I sleep now it's like 'light out, light on' most of the night. Only very sporadic I wake up in the night. I do dream but not in a way that I remember them (some I do though). Also, my entire thought world is different from what is was in the past. Less pondering and reverting to the same things over and over. This gives some mental stability during the day that I'd say allows for less sleep during the night.

Now consider a monk. They sit meditating, walk mediating, stand mediating, lay down meditating. This has a very calming effect on the mind. There is less need for sleep. I recall nights where I meditated for about an hour and the resulting effect was the same as a full night sleep.
I never worry about being awake in the night Awake is awake. Good time for some meditation. Just make sure sleep and meditation don't mix.
Also some monks take a small afternoon nap which helps considerably.

The western wisdom is applied to western people with western life. There is a lot of stress involved in this and not much rest between wake and sleep. My life could be a constant run between 4.30 AM (when I stand up) and 10:30 - 11:00 PM when I go to bed. Always something to do, either for family, in home or at work. Sure the mind needs to offload while sleeping, it's the only moment it gets a rest. I make sure I get my rest during the day by not overburdening my mind with the complete nonsense it often produces. Yesterday X, tomorrow Y, in a couple of hours I need to B, why did my mother say A to me two weeks ago. The mind drags our entire past and future into the present moment, sure it's heavy and tiring when it does this. If you can end the endless mindless talk the mind produces you will notice that the need for sleep becomes less. Adjust your life (become a monk is a good way) and the need will lessen even more.

6.2k Views · 18 Upvotes

Scott Paglia, I don't snooze.

Answered Apr 1, 2014

It took me a while to figure this one out in the monastery, but sleep provides only limited rest to a body - about 8% decrease in metabolic rate. 

So the average person sleeps quite a few hours but gets little rest.

In mediation it's possible to decrease the metabolic rate by as much as 28% (see Ken Wilbur among many others) so the body enters a deep sense of rest.

This little fact saved what's left of my mind.

When my daughter was first diagnosed with diabetes my wife and I woke up every couple hours to monitor her blood sugar levels, she was only 2 years old and weighed about 20 pounds so her levels changed dramatically.

Anyway it wasn't working to sleep between tests - high anxiety and a racing mind. So I meditated between blood tests and slowly restored my health and  peace of mind. 

This fact kept my family safe.

I hope it works for you and yours.

6.9k Views · 40 Upvotes

Abhrajit Bhattacharjee, studied at University of Delhi

Answered Jun 6

First of all, I would like to emphasize that 'sleep so little' has two meanings. One is regarding the duration of sleep and the other is about the duration of quality sleep. What we require is a good amount of quality sleep that depends primarily on the various psychological states of our mind. The better such states, the better is the quality of sleep.

Now if we examine the various mental states of an average person and compare with that of Buddhist monks, we would find that the mental states of the monks are far more better as compared to the former. This accounts for the better stabilization of the emotional states that results in the better quality of sleep in the monks. So, even though the Buddhist monks spend less hours in sleep, the fraction of time they are is quality sleep is very large. Whereas for an average person this fraction is far too less and so they require larger duration of sleep in order to have the optimum level of quality sleep.

Now the question arises, why do the Buddhist monks have better proportions of quality sleep? The reason being 'meditation', wherein they cultivate their minds for a superior psychological state that results to an improvement in their state of mind through generation of proper brainwaves.

400 Views · 1 Upvote

Sid Kemp, Spiritual practitioner learning from all religions for over 40 years.

Answered Apr 30, 2016

As a long time Buddhist meditator and lay monk, I have found that many meditations can either reduce the need for sleep or replace sleep. Here are some examples:

• A high-energy chanting retreat, called kido in Korean Zen, which translates into "the Energetic Way" can go up to 18 hours of loud chanting per day. The high energy and rhythm put the mind into a state where 4 hours of sleep per night are enough. You have 2 hours a day to eat and go to the bathroom. (Kido can be done walking, sitting, or standing, so exercise is not a problem.)
• Various illnesses and medications have triggered insomnia for me. I have learned that, when I have to, I can create a relaxed state of body lying in bed. I am awake and aware, but, as far as my body is concerned, I am sleeping. Thus 8 hours in bed, even if only 2 of them are actually asleep, are enough for me to sustain an ordinary life if I have to.
• When sitting formal zazen retreats, the state of clarity, intensity, and relaxation that comes with several hours of meditation per day leaves me needing only about 6 hours of sleep.

https://www.quora.com/Why-do-Buddhist-monks-sleep-so-little