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Real Men Go to Sleep

blogs.hbr.org

121–130 of 191 posts

Re: Real Men Go to Sleep

#121

I'll have to admit that I try to get away with as little sleep as possible. It's not that I'm trying to be a hero or show that I'm macho, I'm doing the whole nights and weekends thing to work on my product because I'm driven to make it successful and it feels absurd to trade off progress for sleep. I'm well aware of the potential consequences health and otherwise but I see it as a short term cost for a long term bene…

You would probably make even more progress if you allowed yourself a good sleep schedule. If you "try to get away with as little sleep as possible", it is very likely you are sleep deprived, which leads to bad decisions and more frequent mistakes.

It's reasonable to assume I'm hurting my productivity but like I said I'm doing the whole nights and weekends thing, a couple extra hours of less productive work is better than none.

As far as grogginess/tiredness after you wake up goes that's related to where in your sleep cycle you wake up. I use one of the numerous iPhone/Android apps that use the accelerator to detect and wake you up at the end of a sleep phase.

Re: Real Men Go to Sleep

#122
post #3

While studying for the bar, I used to take 2 hour 'naps' in the middle of the day. My schedule was 4 hours on, some food and nap, 4 hours on. Probably most productive 3 months of my life. I got to say, those siesta embracing countries might be on to something.

Did you pass?

Yes, first try :) I kind of wish I could also get my score, but they don't release it.

Re: Real Men Go to Sleep

#123
post #93

The culture of "napping = weakness / laziness" is still so prevalent in the US workforce. It's frustrating - because it's not logical, it's just pretty deeply ingrained. I set up a (rather nice) nap room at my company's office and I'm the only person who EVER uses it. It turned into a storage room. I sent articles about the virtues of napping - the studies - the benefits - the facts - to all of my employees, and nobo…

Well some of us can't nap. I just lay there with my eyes closed for 20, 30 or even 40 minutes never coming remotely near unconsciousness.

This is okay too. Just relax and don't think about anything in particular for a while.

Re: Real Men Go to Sleep

#124
post #60
post #3

While studying for the bar, I used to take 2 hour 'naps' in the middle of the day. My schedule was 4 hours on, some food and nap, 4 hours on. Probably most productive 3 months of my life. I got to say, those siesta embracing countries might be on to something.

I usually feel groggy after naps and it would be hard for me to go back to studying or working.

A little exercise after your nap, like a few pushups or a run around the block really pushes the grogginess away in my experience. As others pointed out, the timing is key too. 15-20 minute naps works because you are in the pre-sleep state, so you never completely turnoff. However, if you sleep longer, you need to sleep for at least 90 minutes or so, otherwise you will wake up right in the middle of your sleep cycle. I am not sure if that's bad for you, probably not, but it does make you feel like crap.

It's probably a little different with everyone, so practice makes perfect :)

Re: Real Men Go to Sleep

#125
post #42
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not a Google employee, but I once visited their Zürich office and was shown the nap room. Not only was it really cool, but there were several people using it (just after lunch).

There's definitely a significant difference in attitudes towards sleep and work between Europe and the US. Perhaps someone who has experience working in both can comment.

> There's definitely a significant difference in attitudes towards sleep and work between Europe and the US.

Or just between Switzerland and the US.

Re: Real Men Go to Sleep

#126
post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you're getting sufficient amounts of quality sleep at night, there is no reason why you should need 20-minute "power naps" in the middle of the day. (There may be exceptions, such as extremely demanding manual labor, but I think we're talking about white collar jobs in this context.)

Not for me. I can get 10 hours of sleep at night but I'll still hit an afternoon lull post-lunch. I'm sure if I really worked at it I could figure out why (too big a lunch? blood sugar spike?) but regardless, I'm good to go for 6+ more hours w/ a 20-minute nap. Meanwhile everyone else sits and forces their eyelids open, stares at YouTube videos, and downs espresso shots...

This lull disappeared for me after I stopped eating wheat.

Not saying you'd get the same effect from quitting wheat. But there's decent odds it's something you eat.

Re: Real Men Go to Sleep

#127
post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you're getting sufficient amounts of quality sleep at night, there is no reason why you should need 20-minute "power naps" in the middle of the day. (There may be exceptions, such as extremely demanding manual labor, but I think we're talking about white collar jobs in this context.)

Not for me. I can get 10 hours of sleep at night but I'll still hit an afternoon lull post-lunch. I'm sure if I really worked at it I could figure out why (too big a lunch? blood sugar spike?) but regardless, I'm good to go for 6+ more hours w/ a 20-minute nap. Meanwhile everyone else sits and forces their eyelids open, stares at YouTube videos, and downs espresso shots...

It was eating wheat for me as well. Once I started eating according to the ketogenic diet, I no longer needed naps during the day.

Re: Real Men Go to Sleep

#128
post #117

I take my sleep advice from infamous hip hop artist Nas - "I never sleep, cause sleep is the cousin of death" In reality I sleep 8+ hours and laugh at those who "boast" at how little sleep, or how many hours they work at the expense of other valuable things in their life (family, socializing etc.) Also, a lot of these comments are about the mid-afternoon/post lunch nap. Honestly I'd prefer to get home to my family a…

Everywhere I've worked (for the most part) you had to be there between 8-5 (roughly). You just couldn't leave early even if you came in early. I know it's not like that everywhere. My current job I am almost always the last one here by 5 and it's just hard to break the habit that I have to be here until closing time. Exceptions were made if you made arrangements with management but usually only people with families o…

I work 7:00 - 3:30 and go home early on Fridays.

Re: Real Men Go to Sleep

#129
post #93

The culture of "napping = weakness / laziness" is still so prevalent in the US workforce. It's frustrating - because it's not logical, it's just pretty deeply ingrained. I set up a (rather nice) nap room at my company's office and I'm the only person who EVER uses it. It turned into a storage room. I sent articles about the virtues of napping - the studies - the benefits - the facts - to all of my employees, and nobo…

Well some of us can't nap. I just lay there with my eyes closed for 20, 30 or even 40 minutes never coming remotely near unconsciousness.

Likewise, I just go to sleep early and wake up naturally at 7.

Re: Real Men Go to Sleep

#130
post #126
post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not for me. I can get 10 hours of sleep at night but I'll still hit an afternoon lull post-lunch. I'm sure if I really worked at it I could figure out why (too big a lunch? blood sugar spike?) but regardless, I'm good to go for 6+ more hours w/ a 20-minute nap. Meanwhile everyone else sits and forces their eyelids open, stares at YouTube videos, and downs espresso shots...

This lull disappeared for me after I stopped eating wheat. Not saying you'd get the same effect from quitting wheat. But there's decent odds it's something you eat.

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