I can do an all night deal here and there these days (41 now), but used to be able to go 2-3 days without real sleep. Just a few cat naps. Don't think I could pull that off anymore without proper motivation...like life or death motivation...lol.
Have found that if I sleep to much that I'm groggy all day. But no matter how much or little sleep I do need 1 cup of coffee each morning. Not first thing, but rather an hour or two after I wake up.
I've heard a lot of high performing people in the world don't sleep the "normal" amount. The 8 hours a night is nonsense IMO, but I'm not a doctor.