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Sleep as a Competitive Advantage

dealbook.nytimes.com

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Re: Sleep as a Competitive Advantage

#41

Post by blrgeek »

bentcorner wrote: post #14
blrgeek wrote: post #3

Naps save me every time. Just when my work starts flagging and quality starts dropping, a 20min nap makes me feel almost as fresh as I am coming into the office in the morning. Most others at work feel awkward about taking naps - even with me evangelising naps :o)

I have to admit, I'd feel awkward taking naps in my office. What I usually do is go to my car in the parking garage and nap there. It works wonders; I recognize that the 15 min that I lose to the nap would have been lost to my brain being a foggy mess, so the nap is a net gain.

My desk/cube is on the main corridor with low cube walls, and everyone walking past me sees me napping - I don't give a damn :)

My wife has done the napping in the car bit earlier in her career.

Re: Sleep as a Competitive Advantage

#42

Post by philh »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #28
bgitarts wrote: post #19

Has anyone tried polyphasic sleep cycles as a way to get less sleep without losing cognitive function?

Yes, I tried it for about 3 months 8 years ago. You stay surprisingly functional for somebody who's only getting ~2 hours total sleep a day, but you definitely lose cognitive function. I didn't realize it at the time -- like a drunk or anybody functioning in a sleep debt it doesn't feel like you've lost cognitive function, but it's readily apparent to anybody who knows you well. The worst time is the half hour or so…

> Perhaps the biggest thing I gained from the experiment was the ability to take a power nap any time, any where.

If this can be reliably learned, it actually seems really valuable. Now I wonder if there's a way to learn it that doesn't cost significant IQ for three months.

Re: Sleep as a Competitive Advantage

#43

Post by saraid216 »

adestefan wrote: post #15
webwielder wrote: post #8

Too bad the body is often pretty lousy at honoring requests for quality sleep even when we make the time.

The first step is to kick a caffeine habit if you have one. That means no coffee, no tea, no caffeinated soda.

Is there a second step...?

Re: Sleep as a Competitive Advantage

#44

Post by 6d0debc071 »

I don't think that people who function well with little sleep have a significant advantage anyway.

I might be wrong, but it seems to me that they can get something like 1/16th or so more done in a day - 1/16th of what? A six month project? Delivering 11 days earlier than the other side on something that takes six months isn't likely to be a make or break point on a contract, even if their whole team could work like that - which they undoubtedly couldn't.

It seems like fuel efficiency for your car. If you go from 5mph to 10mpg it's a huge saving, but going to 40 from 35 is almost negligible.

Re: Sleep as a Competitive Advantage

#45

Post by adocracy »

I use the Jawbone UP24 to monitor my sleep, and apparently, whether I'm getting 4 hours or 6.5 hours, I constantly get ~ 3:50:00 of REM sleep. Yes, I'm one of those founders who can get by on less than 8 hours, but I totally recognize the value of naps and wouldn't discourage my cofounders or employees from taking advantage of that.

Re: Sleep as a Competitive Advantage

#47

Post by viraptor »

rayiner wrote: post #5

The key takeaway is this: > The research is overwhelming that the vast majority of us require seven to eight hours of sleep to feel fully rested, and only a small percentage require less than seven. I'm sometimes envious of people I meet that can function well with little sleep, but I resign myself to the fact that I wasn't dealt that particular card. You can't compete with those folks by simply trying to ape their h…

> Most of us have forgotten what it really feels like to be awake.”

This may be one part of it. Some time ago, I'd definitely tell you I'm fine with little sleep. You can do it if you sleep very little every night. It's quite easy to adapt to, for example during university exam times

But then after some years you realise you're not actually fine. You just don't remember how different is it to sleep longer. I'm still fighting with myself now to sleep for a reasonable time to reverse the old habit. I did tell people I'm fine with little sleep before. I will happily tell them now that I was lying - just didn't know it at the time.

Re: Sleep as a Competitive Advantage

#48

Post by adocracy »

jusben1369 wrote: post #25

It was explained to me that a small % of people can get by with less than 8 hours sleep. Those people then often move to the top of the org chart either as founders or management in larger companies. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given their lack of need for sleep, they're not big believers in the value of sleep and napping. That's why you'll see these articles every 3 - 6 months and nothing will really change.

See my comment above - I think even "low sleepers" recognize the value of sleep for clear thinking and emotional balance. I totally value napping.

Re: Sleep as a Competitive Advantage

#49

Post by austinz »

"a person who is sleep deprived has no idea how functionally impaired he or she truly is. Most of us have forgotten what it really feels like to be awake."

I can attest to this. I went through a months-long phase where I got about four to five hours of sleep a night, mostly because I was going to bed around 4 or 5 AM. Only after I began going to bed at a more reasonable time and getting more sleep did I realize how much my mood had suffered and how much worse my ability to concentrate and solve problems had been.

Re: Sleep as a Competitive Advantage

#50

Post by japhyr »

I like to run long distances, half marathons and mountain runs. When I'm in shape, I can run reasonably fast; I can get close to 7-minute miles on hilly half marathons, and place in the upper quartile in mountain runs.

I have gone through some times in life where it's been really hard to sleep properly. My kid is three years old now, and he still interrupts my sleep patterns. I'm a teacher, and I never sleep enough during the busy time at the start of each school year. When I'm not sleeping enough, I feel it in my running. My muscles are fine, my cardiovascular system is fine, but something isn't there. I can maintain my mileage, but when I try to push myself, I just come up empty.

The best approach I've ever found to help me get enough sleep, was to get rid of my alarm clock. Not using an alarm clock ensures that I get the most out of the sleep that I do get each night.

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