Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Most coders have sleep problems, need 'hygiene and care'

theregister.co.uk

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 31 posts

Re: Most coders have sleep problems, need 'hygiene and care'

#21

Post by eru »

c1sc0 wrote: post #5
steven_h wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know, I work at my university as a mobile software engineer and I have trouble going to sleep at night as well. It's hard to think about a million different problems a day and how to solve them then just cut all that off at 10-11 or so each night. It probably doesn't help that coding is my hobby as well as my profession, so it really doesn't ever get turned off.

It's not just that it is hard to turn off your mind, it's that I find it extremely tempting to get up and actually code up a solution to the problem that's on my mind instead of staying in bed. Thinking "It'll just take 10 minutes & then I'll go back to bed." is a very bad habit to develop.

Just write your thoughts on a piece of paper. Perhaps that won't draw you into staying up longer and longer.

Re: Most coders have sleep problems, need 'hygiene and care'

#22

Post by ryanwaggoner »

ojbyrne wrote: post #6

Today I got up at 3am. At least I get a lot done, there aren't too many distractions at that time of day.

I get up at 345am, seven days a week and haven't missed a day for months. Productivity gain has been huge for me. No one bothers me for about six hours after I get up, which is a long time....

Re: Most coders have sleep problems, need 'hygiene and care'

#24

Post by tomg »

edge17 wrote: post #12
danielh wrote: post #7

The test subjects were 91 software engineers [...]. [...] no fewer than 20.9 per cent [...] and a further 35.2 per cent [...] Sorry, but I can't take a study serious that has less than 100 participants and presents results with a place after the decimal point.

Not to mention some serious sampling bias. The reason for stress could be cultural or geographic. To say it's because they're coders is silly.

"The test subjects were 91 software engineers working at a Mysore-based development firm."

Re: Most coders have sleep problems, need 'hygiene and care'

#27

Post by fictorial »

tomg wrote: post #24
edge17 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to mention some serious sampling bias. The reason for stress could be cultural or geographic. To say it's because they're coders is silly.

"The test subjects were 91 software engineers working at a Mysore-based development firm."

I initially read "Mysore" as a strange spelling for "Missouri" and then realized Mysore is a city in India.

Re: Most coders have sleep problems, need 'hygiene and care'

#28

Post by jcl »

daimyoyo wrote: post #25

So all I need to be a great programmer is just stop sleeping and bathing. Thanks HN!

The headline is a little misleading. The word "hygiene" means more than just "cleanliness", although the two are frequently used interchangeably. In this case, it refers specifically to "sleep hygiene", which is a medical term for sleep-related behaviors conducive to health (setting a regular sleep schedule, getting enough sleep, not consuming food/caffeine/alcohol too close to bedtime, etc.).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_hygiene

Re: Most coders have sleep problems, need 'hygiene and care'

#29

Post by maigret »

steven_h wrote: post #3
maigret wrote: post #2

Ha! The key phrase is the following: "The test subjects were 91 software engineers working at a Mysore-based development firm." It must suck to work there...

I don't know, I work at my university as a mobile software engineer and I have trouble going to sleep at night as well. It's hard to think about a million different problems a day and how to solve them then just cut all that off at 10-11 or so each night. It probably doesn't help that coding is my hobby as well as my profession, so it really doesn't ever get turned off.

Have you tried to cut coffee and take tea instead? Cutting alcohol in the week may also help you sleeping better. Doing a small jogging also helps losing some energy and can facilitate sleep.

Concerning your point, from your comment it seems like you are still young. At some point, you'll have to find a more sustainable pace. Most engineers I know have a family to support, like to do their job well, and thus need to have an overall good life hygiene.

Re: Most coders have sleep problems, need 'hygiene and care'

#30

Post by maigret »

Tyrannosaurs wrote: post #15
scrrr wrote: post #10

"Lifestyle management programmes which include sleep hygiene and care should be incorporated as a policy matter in the IT industry." Yes, because adults need other adults to tell them when they should go to sleep.. All you really need is management that knows a thing or two about software engineering and a bit of a "don't worry, we'll fix it tomorrow, go home"-attitude. If you're a manager and your team is constantly…

I don't think it's entirely a management issue. There are plenty of coders working normal hours then coding into the night on personal projects and missing sleep as a result. It's almost become a macho thing amongst developers - when was the last time you pulled an all-nighter, how many hours have you put into project X.

When actually it should be the opposite... The less time you need to code a project, the better coder you are.
Post reply on HN