
Sleep 'boosts brain cell numbers' - akandiah
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23932577
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yardie
Good article. I hope some of these 'brogrammers' read it and realize that
programming 20 hours a day is not only shortening your lifespan. It is,
literally, making you more stupid.

~~~
arethuza
I wonder if anyone has ever done a statistical analysis of a large project to
see _when_ changes that generated bugs were actually performed. I've long
suspected that when you see particularly silly bugs committed by people who
really do know better there is usually some explanation that can often be that
they are tired/stressed/distracted.

[NB I know myself that I can do particularly silly things when tired so I will
sometimes let myself spend a long time investigating a problem but I won't fix
it until the next day.]

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vidarh
I've had projects where we had to send people home because they became a such
a noticeable burden.

Personally I wanted to force people out of the office much earlier on one of
them because pretty much nothing got done when people were staying late, but
it left everyone more tired in the morning, but the CEO was of the "more hours
== more work done" mentality and wouldn't listen.

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w1ntermute
I think everyone owes it to themselves to set aside a few weeks in which they
go to sleep early enough that they wake up naturally every day. The feeling is
amazing and it does wonders for your productivity.

~~~
Tarential
It is so good for productivity that I've completely stopped using "staying up
late" as a method to get things done. If I have a lot of work to do that's a
good sign to get to bed early and start in the morning when I'm fresh.

Problems that I spend hours on the night before seem to solve themselves
magically in minutes. After a while I got the hint: Just go to bed and sleep.
You save time and feel better.

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polskibus
This is an important finding, not because it confirms something that seems
obvious for many people (ie. prolonged sleep deprivation = worse performance),
but because it can help change the dominant management style in companies.
Overworking is a very old problem, but hopefully similar findings will boost
the strength of counter arguments.

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rbanffy
I fear overworked managers will not be able to understand the issue.

~~~
kamjam
Maybe after a good nights sleep...

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Sagat
I learned early in life that it's better to work intensely and rest a lot than
do more work of a lower quality. If you are sleep deprived you might miss
insights and opportunities. Time is the most valuable resource in the
universe: by staying awake longer you are not gaining time but shortening your
available time pool in the long run.

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jpease
My cats should have brains the size of large melons.

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kvee
So will it ever be possible to artificially produce these cells that go on to
make myelin and reduce or eliminate the need for sleep?

~~~
mistercow
Maybe, but I doubt that will be sufficient. Evolution being the opportunistic
bastard that it is, it seems likely that lots of little processes have hitched
a ride on sleep. There may not be any single factor to take care of which
eliminates the need for sleep entirely.

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cyeah
I have little time. I sometimes overwork one hour or more and I also have a
long commute (between 1.30h - 2h). I sleep at least between four and five
hours (except weekends). I work full-time and I'm studying a degree. If I
don't do this, I don't have time for everything (see work, study, hobby
projects). But it is true that I still feel so unproductive, I can't focus, or
it takes me a while and I'm easily distracted, it takes me a long time to
think of the correct way to structure a pattern or algorithm... I tried to
sleep more, but I always end up feeling overwhelmed by all the tasks.

~~~
beachstartup
if you're feeling overwhelmed (these are your words), why are you doing so
much?

seriously. why?

~~~
acuozzo
_I challenge you_ to say this to a poverty-stricken single mother of a
mentally-disabled child with no job prospects (due to not having any
marketable skills, certifications, or degrees) and a mountain of debt left
behind by a dead-beat husband who is incapable of providing child-support due
to being an alcoholic bum with no job prospects of his own.

This is what my mother-in-law has to deal with every day.

Sometimes people "[do] so much" because they have no reasonable alternatives.
Being overwhelmed is a fact of life for them.

~~~
beachstartup
this guy is talking about "hobby projects" and posting on HN.

my response was directed at him, not your hypothetical single mother with a
special needs child.

~~~
acuozzo
> my response was directed at him

OK, point taken and understood. My apologies for taking your comment out-of-
context.

> not your hypothetical single mother with a special needs child

It wasn't hypothetical. That's an accurate description of the life my mother-
in-law leads.

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shire
The feeling of going to bed early and waking up with the sunrise is an amazing
feeling. To be honest I don't know why we were created with a sleep function,
we would get so much done without it. Imagine what mankind would achieve with
an extra 12hours!

~~~
pm90
Not much, since for the most part our ancestors did not have illumination at
night

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amerika_blog
Sleep... what a great idea. Someday. It's on the to-do list.

