Switch from 20/4 to 18/6

I depends on your growing conditions. If you're doing everything perfectly then you could literally give them 24 hours of light. But I highly doubt it unless you're a commercial grower. They don't require a dark period, but that is when these girls repair themselves. If you were totally healthy you'd do just fine with 4 hours of sleep because you're body doesn't really need to heal. But that's hardly the case in today's day and age because we get exposed to the world which we've been screwing up since the beginning. Growing indoors these girls don't get exposed to all the bad things in the world. You can control everything. But to fully answer your question I'd highly recommend 18/6 or 16/8 depending on your setup and skill set at this point my friend. Hope this helps!

It will be fine, and yes, 18/6 is optimum. Cannabis can only grow so much during any 24 hour period and this growth tops out at about the 18 hour mark, meaning running your lights longer than 18 hours is basically a waste of electricity. Plants also need a dark period to function properly and to have a correctly functioning metabolism and a complete photosynthesis cycle, and I personally think 4 hours is just not enough "dark time". Whatever you do, do not fall into the trap of thinking 24/0 is fine, no plant on Earth can grow properly without sleep, and just like humans, have a need for a "circadian rhythm", which is essential for every aspect of normal functioning and overall health. I like to think of the 6 hours of darkness as 2 hours to recover from the day, 2 hours to rest and 2 hours to get ready for the day ahead, and this is basically what occurs during a plants' sleep/dark time. Hope this helps, Organoman.

i run 16/8 with auto and it work fine (check my purple kush CBD auto), i also once had an auto mixed with my photoperiod and so on runned it 12/12 and it also growed well (check my Hazeberry). My concern is similar as yours i need to sleep, i have the extractor off at night cause it make too much noise to fall asleep well, that's why i run 16/8 with auto if you want to know more about day/night cycle search for "circadian rythm for plant" with google

I have been 20/4 all the way on current grow and I am very happy with my results with about a week or so to harvest on one and another 2-3 weeks on the other. With autos, keep the cycle consistent to avoid stress, stick with 20/4 this time, try 18/6 next time and see what results you prefer - bearing in mind some swear by 24/0

I have run both light schedules and did not see a difference in yield. I use the PPFD charts available online to set my light's brightness so the plants end up getting about the same amount of photons per day with both light schedules.

I’ve been running 18/6. My ladies appreciate the extra sleep- and I feel they are less easy to stress out 🌱

It’s totally up to you!! You will see growth slow. I run 18/6 because it easier on my electric bill.