Thomas Edison supposedly slept very little. Donald Trump also states that he sleeps only a few hours per night. It was said that John F. Kennedy did the same. Since I also sleep very little (4 - 5 hours per night), I thought I was in good company. However, in my reading on productivity, it appears my nocturnal habits may be counterproductive to my effectiveness during the day.
As we rob the night of sleep hours to get more things done, we are depriving our body of much needed time for it to repair and rejuvenate itself. Sleep is what we need to stay alert and focused on the day's activities. It's commonly known, however that, although each of us have an internal clock that is based on 24 hours, everyone's internal clock differs. Because of this we mistakenly think we can get by with less sleep. This belief is bolstered by a time of improved effectiveness because we have more time to get things done. Most of us, however, fool ourselves and don't see the diminishing returns we are getting from our efforts. In allowing sleep deprivation to creep into our lives, we don't notice that we are getting a lot done, but we could have done the same amount faster had we been refreshed and alert.
Sleep Deprivation
How does one know if they are suffering from sleep deprivation? Here are some symptoms:
"Exhaustion, fatigue and lack of physical energy are common sleep deprivation symptoms. Exhaustion and fatigue affect our emotional moods, causing pessimism, sadness, stress and anger. The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) has suggested that social problems such as road rage may be caused, in part, by a national epidemic of sleepiness."
Other medical research at Havard points to sleep deprivation contributing to an increased heart disease risk, higher risks of diabetes, and obesity.
Part of the problem is that we do not see ourselves having a problem:
"The take-home message is this: Don't rely on your own sense of whether or not you're getting enough sleep. You may very well be chronically sleep-deprived and consider that normal," he tells WebMD. "In some ways, it's similar to people in chronic pain -- they don't realize how much pain they have until it's relieved.
This self-denial may play a key role in many of the 100,000 car crashes each year in the U.S. that result from sleep deprivation. "Another study showed that 50% of the people who caused car crashes did not perceive that they were sleepy immediately prior to the crash," says Mark Mahowald, MD, director of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center and a spokesman for the National Sleep Foundation. "So if you talk to people who are sleep-deprived, half of the time they will be driving impaired but do not perceive themselves to be."
So it appears to be better for us, productivity-wise, to get the amount of sleep that we need and not short-change ourselves of that precious commodity. Strategies for getting up early (and I've written a post on that) are still good for those of us who get up to speed slowly in the morning, but the number one strategy is still getting an adequate night's sleep to begin with. Below are a list of links to help us get a better night's sleep. For me, I'm going to bed.
Sources
Related
Resources
One of the time management books I read (I think by Jeff Davidson) recommended going to bed at 9 pm at least one night per week, as a way to catch up on your sleep deficit. I hardly ever do this, but have always remembered it as a good rule of thumb. (I might do it tonight: my new job mandates a 45-hr workweek, meaning 9-hr workdays, meaning effectively a 10 to 11 hour workday if you count commuting, decompressing, etc. Very little time left in the evening to do my own projects.)
I remember also someone saying that the sleep you get in the hours before midnight are the best.
Posted by: Mike Brown | June 28, 2005 at 09:52 AM
The early bed time once per week is consistent with the advice in one of the articles that says you can catch up on the sleep deficit like that.
I once had a supervisor that used to go to bed at 7:00 PM and get up at 2:00 AM, when her workday began (she was salaried and 60 - 80 hour weeks are common in my profession). All her emails, which she began her day with, were time stamped anywhere from 2 - 3 AM.
Posted by: Bert | June 28, 2005 at 10:26 AM
Just got this in my email this afternoon:
On your next vacation, go to bed when you feel tired, but don't set an alarm. Sleep as long as you can -- until you're "slept out." Ridding yourself of the sleep debt you've accumulated may take several days. The time you naturally start waking up tells you how much sleep you need. If you find that eight hours seems to be the average length of time you sleep on vacation, set that amount as a goal when you get home.
Sleep experts generally agree that you need eight hours of sleep a night. People who get six or less hours of sleep have a 70 percent higher mortality rate according to the California Department of Health.
-- Fit Over 40 For Dummies, by Betsy Nagelsen McCormack with Mike Yorkey.
I'll add the link to the book in the post.
--Bert
Posted by: Bert | June 28, 2005 at 01:37 PM
I've often heard people say they really need a nap after a big meal. I have found in my experience that the nap was probably already needed, but the energy it takes to process that meal may be all you had left. Sometimes our body sends us signals that we tend to misread or ignore.
Posted by: Charles Martin | June 28, 2005 at 02:07 PM
Good article :) There was a 20 year study completed in the UK a few years ago which found that (generally) people who slept 6.5 to 7.5 hrs a night had the most energy and the lowest mortality rates, while people who slept less than 6.5 hrs or more than 8 hrs a night were generally tired and had overall higher mortality rates.
Personally I get 6.5 hours a night during the week, and 8+ on weekends, work well for me :) I also found out recently that good sleep is essential for replenishing seratonin levels, and bad/dream-filled sleep features strongly for people with depression because there's a direct link between stress during the day and your mind trying to resolve that stress while you sleep through dreams, instead of giving you good deep sleep. Interesting stuff.
Posted by: Harmony | June 28, 2005 at 07:17 PM