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The Serenity of a 5pm Bedtime

ngokevin.com

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Re: The Serenity of a 5pm Bedtime

#81

Post by AlexDanger »

lupatus wrote: post #73
AlexDanger wrote: post #12

I always considered myself a night owl. I'd stay up until 2-3am for the night time serenity. My partner and others disapproved and considered it unhealthy. Now I wake around 3-4 am and get the same night time serenity. But the perception of this patten is different. I'm considered an early riser - disciplined and driven. I've noticed my concentration is much better under the new early rising regime. Here's my schedul…

This is essentially my grandfather's sleep schedule. He uses the early morning hours to go hiking, snow shoeing, hunting, reading, and journaling. This schedule works especially well during hunting season because it allows him to have breakfast and hike out to his spot before the animals wake up with the sun. I'm considering adopting it because I telecommute and it would give me some quiet hours to work before the ki…

I also telecommute and the quiet hours are particularly valuable.

A nice side effect is the reward of getting stuff done first thing in the morning. It puts me in a good frame of mind for the rest the day.

Conversely, if I dont get stuff done in that morning period I feel I've wasted the opportunity to do 'real work' before the email and meeting requests start piling up.

Re: The Serenity of a 5pm Bedtime

#82

Post by elorant »

AlexDanger wrote: post #12

I always considered myself a night owl. I'd stay up until 2-3am for the night time serenity. My partner and others disapproved and considered it unhealthy. Now I wake around 3-4 am and get the same night time serenity. But the perception of this patten is different. I'm considered an early riser - disciplined and driven. I've noticed my concentration is much better under the new early rising regime. Here's my schedul…

There's a solution to socializing under such a schedule and that is to take a nap during midday. This way you can stay up to 11pm and you have the benefit of feeling refreshed during the afternoon.

Re: The Serenity of a 5pm Bedtime

#83

Post by AlexDanger »

ngokevin wrote: post #15
AlexDanger wrote: post #12

I always considered myself a night owl. I'd stay up until 2-3am for the night time serenity. My partner and others disapproved and considered it unhealthy. Now I wake around 3-4 am and get the same night time serenity. But the perception of this patten is different. I'm considered an early riser - disciplined and driven. I've noticed my concentration is much better under the new early rising regime. Here's my schedul…

Hm, if I just get a dog, the social weakness in the schedule is solved! Walking the dog at 5am in the park sounds really peaceful. 8pm-4am sounds a lot better. Shifting my schedule later a few hours would be a good compromise. I still get up early, but I don't sacrifice that evening.

A dog is the perfect alarm clock :)

It does curtail your lifestyle somewhat but so does having a family. We jokingly refer to him as our 'practice run' for having a child.

Re: The Serenity of a 5pm Bedtime

#84

Post by AlexDanger »

huhtenberg wrote: post #37
AlexDanger wrote: post #12

I always considered myself a night owl. I'd stay up until 2-3am for the night time serenity. My partner and others disapproved and considered it unhealthy. Now I wake around 3-4 am and get the same night time serenity. But the perception of this patten is different. I'm considered an early riser - disciplined and driven. I've noticed my concentration is much better under the new early rising regime. Here's my schedul…

3 hours of overlap with the SO is really not much, but I guess it depends on the people involved and the circumstances.

Very true.

We try and make that 3 hours high quality. Walking the dog at the park is a very social affair, there are a number of regular dog owners who we've become friends with. Its an off-leash park so watching them all play is very enjoyable.

Dinner is very much an event in our house. I am a (very) amateur chef and cook dinner for my wife every night. Because I finish work in the afternoon I have some time to prepare something nice. After the dog walk we can have a glass of wine and then sit down for a proper dinner.

Its not perfect, but much like the socialising we've found quality over quantity works for us.

I'm sure this schedule will completely fall apart when we have children.

Re: The Serenity of a 5pm Bedtime

#85

Post by AlexDanger »

barking wrote: post #38
AlexDanger wrote: post #12

I always considered myself a night owl. I'd stay up until 2-3am for the night time serenity. My partner and others disapproved and considered it unhealthy. Now I wake around 3-4 am and get the same night time serenity. But the perception of this patten is different. I'm considered an early riser - disciplined and driven. I've noticed my concentration is much better under the new early rising regime. Here's my schedul…

How long have you been doing this? During half the year the park must be in darkness at the hours you mention

Been doing it for about 18 months.

For a few months the morning walk is in darkness. But the park is well lit and given our proximity to the inner city its never really pitch black outside. It does get very cold though.

Re: The Serenity of a 5pm Bedtime

#86

Post by AlexDanger »

_delirium wrote: post #46
AlexDanger wrote: post #12

I always considered myself a night owl. I'd stay up until 2-3am for the night time serenity. My partner and others disapproved and considered it unhealthy. Now I wake around 3-4 am and get the same night time serenity. But the perception of this patten is different. I'm considered an early riser - disciplined and driven. I've noticed my concentration is much better under the new early rising regime. Here's my schedul…

I've tried this, but find waking up in the darkness hard to get used to. I mean, I can set an alarm and get up, drink some coffee, and pretend I'm now up, but it still feels like weird zombie-time until the sun starts rising to mark it "really" being morning. Whereas when I stay up late the nighttime doesn't feel like that. Could just be familiarity, but seems like the sleep->wake transition happening during darkness…

If I've had 6-8 hours sleep I feel ok. The morning walk helps shake that sluggish feeling.

Re: The Serenity of a 5pm Bedtime

#87

Post by AlexDanger »

niggler wrote: post #55
_delirium wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've tried this, but find waking up in the darkness hard to get used to. I mean, I can set an alarm and get up, drink some coffee, and pretend I'm now up, but it still feels like weird zombie-time until the sun starts rising to mark it "really" being morning. Whereas when I stay up late the nighttime doesn't feel like that. Could just be familiarity, but seems like the sleep->wake transition happening during darkness…

It's much easier than you think. The hardest part isn't the lack of light but getting past the instinct to go back to sleep. This is a habit you can break regardless of your sleep time: when you first notice you are awake, just roll off the bed and do 20 pushups.

I wouldnt have the disipline to do that. Luckily my dog has the disipline to stick his wet nose in my face every morning I accidentally sleep in.

Re: The Serenity of a 5pm Bedtime

#88

Post by AlexDanger »

theologic wrote: post #54

While many comments bring up the anti-social aspects, I think it interesting to use the thread to think about one of the biggest, and often overlooked personal productivity attributes: making sure that your body gets a good dose of sleep every day. Good sleep means better cognitive behavior, less accidents, lower bodyfat, lower inflammation, and many other benefits. Sleep has a long list of very positive effects, and…

I couldnt agree more.

Dont hesitate to see a doctor if you think your sleep is low quality. There are a number of non-obvious medical issues that can impact your sleep.

I'm not talking about getting a prescription for sleeping tablets. Personally they make me feel like shit when I wake up.

Re: The Serenity of a 5pm Bedtime

#89

Post by AlexDanger »

logn wrote: post #51

I tend to sleep from 5am - 10am and take a 3 hour nap during the day, say 1pm - 4pm. It's a bit degenerate but I work from home and can do this. The advantages are I fulfill all my night-owl hacking needs and have a good social life. And I can make any morning meetings by adjusting my first sleep to 4am - 8am. Apparently before the invention of the light bulb, most people divided their sleep into two sections. The de…

I wasnt aware of this 'second sleep' phenomenon. Sort of a reverse siesta?

Re: The Serenity of a 5pm Bedtime

#90

Post by ams6110 »

_delirium wrote: post #46
AlexDanger wrote: post #12

I always considered myself a night owl. I'd stay up until 2-3am for the night time serenity. My partner and others disapproved and considered it unhealthy. Now I wake around 3-4 am and get the same night time serenity. But the perception of this patten is different. I'm considered an early riser - disciplined and driven. I've noticed my concentration is much better under the new early rising regime. Here's my schedul…

I've tried this, but find waking up in the darkness hard to get used to. I mean, I can set an alarm and get up, drink some coffee, and pretend I'm now up, but it still feels like weird zombie-time until the sun starts rising to mark it "really" being morning. Whereas when I stay up late the nighttime doesn't feel like that. Could just be familiarity, but seems like the sleep->wake transition happening during darkness…

That's because that time of day (3am - 4am) is the "low ebb of the soul" it's really not a natural time to be awake for most people.
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