I don’t mean to sound judgmental; I honestly find this fascinating.
And yeah, it was for a competitive advantage. Not within my school, but for college. I didn't understand how college or scholarships worked until my 10th year, which meant that I had to become competitive much quicker than other applicants.
On a side note, the worst periods were phasing in-and-out of schedule during winter and summer break (I worked a 9-to-5 on breaks), which I did three or four times.
- Wake up at around 9 am, study till around 3 pm.
- Sleep till around 7 pm.
- Study some more, till 2-3 am.
- Sleep again.
I think there is something about the sleep that organizes your thoughts and therefore it might very beneficial to sleep more often (but not necessarily less) if you are either learning something very quickly or trying to solve a difficult mental problem.
2:00 or 3:00 AM - 6:00 AM (three to four hours)
6:20 AM - 7:20 AM transit (one hour)
At least three 10- to 20-minute naps throughout the school day. I negotiated with my teachers to make this acceptable. One pre-lunch nap, one around lunch hours, and one after.
2:20 PM - 3:20 PM transit (one hour)
8:30 PM - 9:30 PM transit or at home (one hour)
I was dual-enrolling at the local college at the time for night classes. I was productive, but it was awful, and I wouldn't recommend it. It became a (benign) running joke at my school that I was more likely to be asleep than awake.
I got 7-8 hours of sleep, but it's nothing compared to sleeping like normal. Any disruption to my schedule was absolutely fatal for my productivity.