I think it's more likely some people can just power through lack of sleep. I've recently started trying to sleep more 6-7+ hours after a decade of doing the 3-5 hours thing.
I just feel better now with more sleep and while I certainly could perform at a high level with less sleep I had to exert more energy the longer the day went on to stay focused.
Genetic? Maybe, or just really good discipline and work ethic?
It isn't work ethic, the difference for me between full night sleep and 6 hours is night and day-- my memory barely works if I have 6 hours, doesn't matter how hard I want it to work, I simply cannot recall words for things that are trivial to bring forth when I'm operating on 8 hours.
I just feel better now with more sleep and while I certainly could perform at a high level with less sleep I had to exert more energy the longer the day went on to stay focused.
Genetic? Maybe, or just really good discipline and work ethic?