Poll: How much sleep do you get per night?

I do 6-7, usually, and I have a lot of troubles going to sleep, so I have a very specific, fairly strict bedtime routine. Alarm at eleven, practice guitar for an hour, brush teeth, read programming books in bed till I'm sleepy, up at 8:30. (I'm not dutiful in following the alarms, they just remind me what time it is.) this routine is very important in maintaining a steady sleep wake cycle in the face of no time clock and many responsibilities.

> The best change I made to my sleeping patterns is getting rid of an alarm clock. Get as much sleep as you need and then just wake up.

I highly second that sentiment. I haven't used an alarm clock for workdays for years. (I will for exceptions like an early flight or doctor appointment or something.) About once a week, I won't wake up until 45 to 60 minutes past the usual time. If that happens, it was necessary, and a blaring alarm clock would have left me zombied for most of the day.

I do have a fairly flexible work schedule, arriving any time up to about 10:30 is okay, and my manager does the same. This is by design not luck, I wouldn't take a job where that was not true.

Biphasic sleeping seems to be my most natural schedule too, on weekends and the last time I was between jobs. Problem is that I end up taking a 3-4 hour nap in addition to the usual 7-8 hours at night, which really cuts down on available conscious hours. I'm undecided whether that's my most productive schedule, or whether it's best to avoid the urge to nap.

Having a baby has forced me to become more efficient than I have ever been in my life. It makes me wonder how much I might get done in a few years when his immediate needs (ie middle of the night soothings) settle down, if I can keep this level of efficiency. I miss my younger body, but I have enjoyed growing older for the perspectives I have gained. I can see myself being highly productive for a long long time.

Because I don't have to go to the office or be online at office hours, I can make my schedule whatever I want to. Since maybe 2-3 years ago I've stopped forcing myself to wake up when I want to sleep or go to sleep when I don't want to. This resulted in an interesting schedule: I basically shift on average 30-60 minutes forward each day, making a full cycle in a month or so. When I need to adjust to some forecoming event, I shift more rapidly - 2-3 hours a day. So this is how I live: 2 weeks a month I work at night and other 2 weeks during the day. It's fucked up, but there are so many advantages to that, the most obvious of which is that it makes your life a bit different (important for an introverted programmer who spends a lot of time working). And, needless to say, I rarely have a substantial sleep debt and feel tired during the day. However, I sometimes wish I could control my shifts and maybe hold on to the "wake up in the early morning" thing a bit longer, I love mornings.

I'm curious if anyone else does this, I would love to talk to this person.

To the insomniacs still looking for a solution: I've suffered from chronic insomnia since I was teen (I'm 38 now). Last year I was diagnosed with Idiopathic-Hypersomnolence (which means excessive daytime sleepiness), and that of course can make coding difficult. I was prescribed a stimulant, which taken daily, has helped a lot (I'm alert during the day and therefore I sleep better at night).

There's a few main classes of stimulants, and they all come with side-effects and for some may be controversial, but if you're still searching for a solution to your insomnia and haven't tried this, it may be worth investigating. The ones I know of are Methylphenidate (i.e. Ritalin), Modifnil (i.e. Provigil, Alertec) and Dextroamphetamine (i.e. Dexidrine). Take care. Good luck!