What are growth hormones?

How can I increase my growth hormones without much sleep?

• I'm 17 and have a very busy schedule. I sleep at around 7-8pm and wake up at 12am. I only get 4-5 hours sleep. From 12am then school in the morning. So 6-7pm to 12am is the only time I get the longest period of sleep. I understand that this is very bad and that I should at least get 8 hours of sleep every night. But I can't. Would this greatly effect my growth hormones? How much damage or effect will this have on my growth? How can I increase my growth hormone levels with only 4 hours sleep. Are there any supplements I should take etc.? Are power naps any good for growth hormones. What are your recommendations.

• Answer:

  You can't. You have to sleep an adequate amount at one time. For most people, that means 7-8 hours (sidenote: ) There's no way around this. Trust me: the hormonal release pattern that resulted from millions of years of evolution is not going to be fooled (at least, not in a good way) by some special supplement/diet/exercise/power-napping-regimen/whatever regardless of the claims found on late-nite TV specials or websites-that-try-a-bit-too-hard-to-sell-you-something. Their "hacks" don't really have much basis in sound science. Sleep. It's the most underrated human activity in modern culture other than perhaps exercise.This answer is not a substitute for professional medical advic...