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How much sleep do we really need to work productively?

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Re: How much sleep do we really need to work productively?

#91

Post by tomflack »

j-kidd wrote: post #90
wikyd wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not a well-known fact. What makes it the "right" time besides your opinion?

According to ancient Chinese wisdom, a day is divided into twelve 2-hours slices, and one is supposed to be: - falling asleep during the slice from 9pm to 11pm - remaining sound asleep during the slices from 11pm to 1pm and from 1am to 3am - waking up during the slice from 3am to 5am

I feel if this ancient Chinese wisdom were accurate, you could substantiate it with some kind of study, and the "Ancient Chinese wisdom" part would be merely an amusing anecdote relevant to the data.

Re: How much sleep do we really need to work productively?

#92

Post by enraged_camel »

SeanDav wrote: post #43
Finster wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because of statements like: > people who sleep between 6.5 hr. and 7.5 hr. a night, live the longest, are happier and most productive O RLY? Time for another basic primer on causation vs. correlation.

That was the result of a study (in other words, science). Where is your proof that the study is invalid? Note that I am not saying that the result is fact, just that there is science to indicate that things are not as simple as they may appear to people that dismiss the whole thing as "pseudo science".

>>That was the result of a study (in other words, science). Where is your proof that the study is invalid?

I'm afraid "science" is quite a bit more complicated than you seem to believe.

One of its most basic tenets is that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. One study is not enough to prove the assertion that people who sleep for 6.5 to 7.5 hours a night are the happiest.

Re: How much sleep do we really need to work productively?

#93

Post by BSousa »

rayiner wrote: post #2

There is a lot of mumbo-jumbo surrounding sleep and precious little science, but I have found a few things in my own life that have made me feel better (could be placebo, who knows?) 1) Sleeping in multiples of 90 minutes really does work. It takes me very little time to fall asleep, so I can pretty predictably set my alarm to wake myself up in-between sleep cycles. My baby likes to sleep in three hour increments, an…

Try reading '90 minute sleep program' http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-90-Minute-Baby-Sleep-Program/dp/...

S/he talks a lot about the 90 minute cycles on babies, we used it on our child and its amazing how well it matches.

And yes, as a parent, those 90 minutes cycle naps with your kid are amazing :)

Re: How much sleep do we really need to work productively?

#94

Post by thaumasiotes »

nostrademons wrote: post #52
SeanDav wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is an expert on sleep saying something MIGHT be true now being classed as pseudo science and not to be taken seriously? Your rebuttal of this "pseudo science" is that you perceive that you personally need 8.5 hours sleep - now that smacks of pseudo science to me. People are very different. Just because 1 person in a 1000 (or 100 or million or whatever) benefits from 8.5 hours sleep does not necessarily mean that…

If people are very different, isn't the conclusion there to figure out how much sleep you need to function effectively and ignore all the people who tell you how much you should need to function effectively? This is something you can measure and experiment with directly, and your results will be a lot more personally relevant than a blog post on the Internet.

I need to point this out -- the question of how much sleep I need to function effectively, and how my functioning varies with differing amounts of sleep, is definitely something I can measure.

It is not at all something I can experiment with directly, unless you believe that sleep under the effects of sleep-inducing drugs is equivalent to natural sleep (it isn't, in my experience).

Re: How much sleep do we really need to work productively?

#95

Post by jamesaguilar »

greggman wrote: post #88
tokenadult wrote: post #14

In general, most people (in the United States, the country I live in) need more sleep than they are getting. One way this is put to the test is by letting people relax in a comfortable reclining chair in a quiet, dark room during daylight working hours. Many people fall asleep in this condition, signaling that they are sleep-deprived, even if they have no regular habit of taking a nap in the daytime. I have lived in…

> One way this is put to the test is by letting people relax in a comfortable reclining chair in a quiet, dark room during daylight working hours. Many people fall asleep in this condition, signaling that they are sleep-deprived, even if they have no regular habit of taking a nap in the daytime. That is not a valid way to test that people are sleep deprived. Most people will fall asleep with plenty of sleep. Put them…

I know someone who is an extreme example of this. My wife will go to bed at 11 on a Friday night, wake up around 8, go out to the living room, then fall right back to sleep. I thought it might be that I was snoring but she claims she is sleeping through the whole night. On top of that, she's not a particularly long sleeper in the week (7.5 or so hours). I don't get it to be honest.

In any case, just want to reaffirm that the test proposed in the top comment is way off target.

Re: How much sleep do we really need to work productively?

#96

Post by coldtea »

btilly wrote: post #37
tokenadult wrote: post #14

In general, most people (in the United States, the country I live in) need more sleep than they are getting. One way this is put to the test is by letting people relax in a comfortable reclining chair in a quiet, dark room during daylight working hours. Many people fall asleep in this condition, signaling that they are sleep-deprived, even if they have no regular habit of taking a nap in the daytime. I have lived in…

I wonder how much symptoms of what is characterized as "lack of executive function" or "ADD" can be relieved just by getting sufficient sleep. If you're a person who reads the description of ADD and says that it sounds like you, maybe a lot. If you're a person who has the disorder, sufficient sleep is not going to make it go away.

>Ιf you're a person who has the disorder, sufficient sleep is not going to make it go away.

IIRC, the "disorder" is mostly a psychological thing, not something concrete.

And it's uptick can also be ascribed to the willingness of more doctors to diagnose something where there was nothing before (to assist in selling some drugs, among other things).

So the two situations you describe here are not at all contradictory.

Re: How much sleep do we really need to work productively?

#97

Post by venus »

zacharyvoase wrote: post #20

The bit about the 3PM dip is not just about meridian cycles. Since I gave up carbohydrates, I haven't had that hypoglycaemic productivity dip at a predictable time after lunch. As a contractor, I've sat in different offices and witnessed those around me experience 'the dip', whereas I can now soldier on through the day from morning to evening with consistent alertness and focus levels. Oh, and creatine supplementatio…

> Another useful trick is to buy a blackout blind or window cover

+1 to this suggestion. I sleep far better, and am much happier, if I have the ability to properly black out the windows of my bedroom. It's not just the obvious stopping the sun shining in in the morning - it's the second order effects too, like removing the anxiety of not being able to fall asleep before the sun comes up. It makes a big difference, in my opinion.

Re: How much sleep do we really need to work productively?

#98

Post by jole »

I take power naps regularly almost every day, and it's true, after 15 mins of nap, I'm much more fresh and awake than before nap. I usually take nap after lunch, so between 13 - 15h.

About sleeping in general, I don't think that sleeping less than 8h per day is a myth. Nikola Tesla was sleeping 3-4 hours per day!

Recently I have found a cool website, which helps you to decide when to wake up or when to go to bed, so you can wake up fresh in the morning - sleepyti.me - bedtime calculator

Re: How much sleep do we really need to work productively?

#99

Post by btilly »

coldtea wrote: post #96
btilly wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder how much symptoms of what is characterized as "lack of executive function" or "ADD" can be relieved just by getting sufficient sleep. If you're a person who reads the description of ADD and says that it sounds like you, maybe a lot. If you're a person who has the disorder, sufficient sleep is not going to make it go away.

> Ιf you're a person who has the disorder, sufficient sleep is not going to make it go away. IIRC, the "disorder" is mostly a psychological thing, not something concrete. And it's uptick can also be ascribed to the willingness of more doctors to diagnose something where there was nothing before (to assist in selling some drugs, among other things). So the two situations you describe here are not at all contradictory.

I'll bet you $1000 that I've read more about ADHD than you have in the last year.

Dismissing a genetically transmitted brain chemistry problem as "mostly a psychological thing" is extremely unhelpful.

Re: How much sleep do we really need to work productively?

#100

Post by polskibus »

So many comments and noone referenced the ultimate article on sleep subject? http://www.supermemo.com/articles/sleep.htm Read at least the first couple of pages before you start using any "pro tips" that can be found on the web. It's too easy to harm yourself, your productivity and learning ability.
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