--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we didn't need eight hours of sleep…" description: "\"If we didn't need eight hours of sleep and could survive on six, Mother Nature would have done away with 25 percent of our sleep time millions of years..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cb/matthew-walker-9547_mother_if-we-didn-t-need-eight-hours-of-sleep-a_1455458.jpg" --- # If we didn't need eight hours of sleep and could survive… ![“If we didn't need eight hours of sleep and could survive on six, Mother Nature would have done away with 25 percent of our sleep time millions of years ago. Because when you think about it, sleep is an idiotic thing to do.” quote by Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cb/matthew-walker-9547_mother_if-we-didn-t-need-eight-hours-of-sleep-a_1455458.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cb/matthew-walker-9547_mother_if-we-didn-t-need-eight-hours-of-sleep-a_1455458.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cb/matthew-walker-9547_mother_if-we-didn-t-need-eight-hours-of-sleep-a_1455458.jpg) > “If we didn't need eight hours of sleep and could survive on six, Mother Nature would have done away with 25 percent of our sleep time millions of years ago. Because when you think about it, sleep is an idiotic thing to do.” [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sleep occupies a large portion of our lives despite being biologically costly, suggesting it serves essential functions beyond mere rest. **In simple terms:** Sleep takes a lot of time but is essential. Key Takeaway Recognize sleep’s vital role despite its length. Themes biology health evolution sleep Mood reflectious concerned Type scientific informative When to use this quote - night shift work - student study habits - travel across time zones - high‑stress professions Key Concepts circadian rhythm homeostasis cognitive function Questions to Reflect On - What functions does sleep fulfill that we cannot replace? - How would chronic sleep loss affect long‑term health? A Different Perspective Reducing sleep may impair memory, immunity, and emotional regulation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hours Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours-sleep/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Mother nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother-nature/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Percent Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/percent-sleep-2354138/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Sleep Survive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep-survive-3077121/) [Sleep Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep-time-242200/) [Survive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survive/) [Think Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-sleep-725527/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Years ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-ago/) ## Related quotes > [I heard endless conversations between my parents when I was going to sleep about how we would survive, how we would continue. All of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-sharapova/i-heard-endless-conversations-between-my-parents-when-i-was-going-to/) [Maria Sharapova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-sharapova/) > [Ninety percent grind, 10 percent sleep. That's our motto.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wall/ninety-percent-grind-10-percent-sleep-that-s-our-motto/) [Paul Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wall/) > [I think we perhaps are, with sleep, where we were with smoking about 50 years ago, in that we had all of the science,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/i-think-we-perhaps-are-with-sleep-where-we-were-with-smoking-about-50/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [I think sleep is probably the neglected stepsister in the health conversation today. I think we've done a good job regarding physical activity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/i-think-sleep-is-probably-the-neglected-stepsister-in-the-health/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [Based on the science, you can make somewhat clear statements: The number of people who can survive on six hours of sleep without impairment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/based-on-the-science-you-can-make-somewhat-clear-statements-the/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [Below seven hours of sleep, there are objective impairments in the body. Eight hours are recommended.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/below-seven-hours-of-sleep-there-are-objective-impairments-in-the/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [“Sleep: a time to tell yourself stories not yet written.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-lechermeier/sleep-a-time-to-tell-yourself-stories-not-yet-written/) [Philippe Lechermeier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-lechermeier/) > [I do my best stuff midmorning and superlate at night, from 1 to 5 in the morning. Some people don't need sleep. I actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mullenweg/i-do-my-best-stuff-midmorning-and-superlate-at-night-from-1-to-5-in/) [Matt Mullenweg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mullenweg/) > [“sleep whenever there was time and to eat when there was food.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-l-amour/sleep-whenever-there-was-time-and-to-eat-when-there-was-food/) [Louis L'Amour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-l-amour/) > [We spend about 20 percent of our total sleep time in a dream state. For most of us, this means we dream one and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-garfield/we-spend-about-20-percent-of-our-total-sleep-time-in-a-dream-state/) [Patricia Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-garfield/) > [I sleep all the time! I often leave an event early because I want to have a snooze.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-lycett/i-sleep-all-the-time-i-often-leave-an-event-early-because-i-want-to/) [Joe Lycett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-lycett/) > [I have a half an hour window that if I don't go to sleep in that time frame I am up all night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gemma-collins/i-have-a-half-an-hour-window-that-if-i-don-t-go-to-sleep-in-that-time/) [Gemma Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gemma-collins/) > [“Every wasted minute becomes one less minute of priceless sleep time”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodolfo-peon/every-wasted-minute-becomes-one-less-minute-of-priceless-sleep-time/) [Rodolfo Peon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodolfo-peon/) > [I'm an owl; I'm up. I probably go to sleep during the time when most people wake up. The first half of the day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremih/i-m-an-owl-i-m-up-i-probably-go-to-sleep-during-the-time-when-most/) [Jeremih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremih/) > [I was so full of sleep at the time that I left the true way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/i-was-so-full-of-sleep-at-the-time-that-i-left-the-true-way/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) ## More by Matthew Walker > [“Routinely sleeping less than six or seven hours a night demolishes your immune system, more than doubling your risk of cancer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/routinely-sleeping-less-than-six-or-seven-hours-a-night-demolishes/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [You're trying to sleep off a debt that you've lumbered your brain and body with during the week, and wouldn't it be lovely if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/you-re-trying-to-sleep-off-a-debt-that-you-ve-lumbered-your-brain-and/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [“The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night’s sleep.”VII”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/the-best-bridge-between-despair-and-hope-is-a-good-night-s-sleep-vii/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [I think we perhaps are, with sleep, where we were with smoking about 50 years ago, in that we had all of the science,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/i-think-we-perhaps-are-with-sleep-where-we-were-with-smoking-about-50/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [It's simply that older adults don't seem to be able to generate sleep efficiently, and that's why they're not getting it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/it-s-simply-that-older-adults-don-t-seem-to-be-able-to-generate-sleep/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [The time of night when you sleep makes a significant difference in terms of the structure and quality of your sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/the-time-of-night-when-you-sleep-makes-a-significant-difference-in/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [Do you tend to sleep in during the weekends? That usually signals that you're trying to sleep off a debt you've accumulated during the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/do-you-tend-to-sleep-in-during-the-weekends-that-usually-signals-that/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [No one wants to give up time with their family or entertainment, so they give up sleep instead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/no-one-wants-to-give-up-time-with-their-family-or-entertainment-so/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [If sleep does not provide a remarkable set of benefits, then it's the biggest mistake the evolutionary process has ever made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/if-sleep-does-not-provide-a-remarkable-set-of-benefits-then-it-s-the/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [Your subjective sense of how well you're doing under conditions of sleep deprivation is a miserable predictor of, objectively, how you actually are doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/your-subjective-sense-of-how-well-you-re-doing-under-conditions-of/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [If you were not to set an alarm clock, would you sleep past it? If the answer is yes, then there is clearly more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/if-you-were-not-to-set-an-alarm-clock-would-you-sleep-past-it-if-the/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [Friends say, 'Shall we go out to dinner at 8?' I say, 'I can't, I'm a 10 A.M.-till-6:30 P.M. kind of guy.' I keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/friends-say-shall-we-go-out-to-dinner-at-8-i-say-i-can-t-i-m-a-10-a-m/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [I give myself a non-negotiable eight-hour sleep opportunity every night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/i-give-myself-a-non-negotiable-eight-hour-sleep-opportunity-every/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [We know that efficiency and effectiveness are increased when you're getting sufficient sleep, and it will take you longer to do the same thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/we-know-that-efficiency-and-effectiveness-are-increased-when-you-re/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [As you try to tweak your sleep one way or the other, you might be, you might be doing great - you might do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/as-you-try-to-tweak-your-sleep-one-way-or-the-other-you-might-be-you/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) [Explore all 72 Matthew Walker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) ## More Mother quotes > [My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/my-mother-says-i-didn-t-open-my-eyes-for-eight-days-after-i-was-born/) [Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [(knitting while on a motorcycle) "For several years she knitted in secret (my father would not approve; she was to concentrate on motorcycling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/knitting-while-on-a-motorcycle-for-several-years-she-knitted-in/) [Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [My mother was strong-willed, demanding, and very supportive all at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-spence/my-mother-was-strong-willed-demanding-and-very-supportive-all-at-the/) [Michael Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-spence/) > [Everything comes home, my mother used to say; every word spoken, every shadow cast, every footprint in the sand. It can't be helped; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/everything-comes-home-my-mother-used-to-say-every-word-spoken-every/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [I would give anything to be able to kick a ball with my son or read the kids a bedtime story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-burrow/i-would-give-anything-to-be-able-to-kick-a-ball-with-my-son-or-read/) [Rob Burrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-burrow/) > [Being a new mother is a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phaedra-parks/being-a-new-mother-is-a-blessing/) [Phaedra Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phaedra-parks/) > [Named after my mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-raitt/named-after-my-mother/) [Bonnie Raitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-raitt/) > [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [Surely, if Mother Nature had been consulted, she would never have consented to building a city in New Orleans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-zuckerman/surely-if-mother-nature-had-been-consulted-she-would-never-have/) [Mortimer Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-zuckerman/) > [Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God. Peace is the nurse of love. Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/) [Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/) > [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) [Browse all 24,507 Mother quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If we didn't need eight hours of sleep and could survive on six, Mother Nature would have done away with 25 percent of our sleep time millions of years ago. 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