
The importance of sleep in a startup - LeonW
http://leostartsup.com/2012/02/the-importance-of-sleep-in-a-startup/
======
alexholehouse
On a similar note, the importance of taking breaks where you're doing
something _TOTALLY_ different is incredibly crucial. By this, I do not mean
playing a quick game of angry birds.

If you're coding, writing, doing research based tasks or basically anything
where you're at a computer or in a book, the difference going for a walk makes
is incredible. It's taken me about 4 years to accept that even the hardest
problems sometimes fall into place during a shower, while walking to get a
coffee or just through going somewhere physically different and talking
through the problem to yourself - no pen, paper or screens allowed.

I don't get too much out of breaks every 45 minutes, and when things are going
well am happy to work 2,3 even 10 hours straight, but if I've been stuck on
something for more than 20 minutes 9 times out of 10 if I leave and come back
I can solve it pretty much instantly. It's like a reset button to my mental
state, and I'm always pleasantly surprised with the result.

~~~
rimantas
My favorite example of this is Archimedes. When someone touts the virtues of
being at your desk without turning your head away from the monitor and lifting
your hands off the keyboard I usually ask "where was Archimedes when he had
his "Eureka!" moment?".

~~~
freehunter
To be fair, the story actually shows me was doing something related to his
study when he made his discovery. In a bathtub that was too full, he found
that physical objects cause water displacement. He wasn't planning on making a
breakthrough, but it didn't just come to him out of the blue.

Point still stands, though.

------
akg
In order to squeeze every bit of productivity out of my day, I've experimented
with several different sleeping patterns, including but not limited to
polyphasic sleeping (<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphasic_sleep>).

In my experiments, I've come to realize that nothing comes close to optimal
sleeping patterns than letting your body decide for itself. Depending on the
activities you engage in through out the day, the body may need fluctuating
amounts of rest. I don't think that one needs a consistent amount every day. A
lot depends on the activities you have been involved in as well as your mental
and physical state. Sleeping too little however, which seems to be the goal of
many polyphasic sleepers is great if you are mostly performing mundane
activities. However, ample sleep is essential for doing any kind of creative
work.

The human body is extremely good at picking how much rest it needs. If you can
afford to, follow your body clock instead of an alarm clock and sleep when you
feel tired. Over the years, I find that naturally we are bi-phasic sleepers,
requiring a long rest at night and then a short nap in the afternoon.

~~~
Dylanlacey
So you believe it's best to wait until you're quite tired and then go to bed
with no alarm?

~~~
jpk
This is exactly what I've been doing for about three months now. I quit my
9-to-5 to work on a then side-project full-time. Being outside the structure
of a corporate work-environment, I started doing this and it's been the most
productive time of my life to date.

When I'm always fully rested and have 10-ish hour blocks of uninterrupted time
to work, I get way more done. The only problem is my sleep cycle doesn't
always line up with the celestial day. My guess is that's due to two things:
1) artificial light, and 2) I'm fairly sedentary while working and I don't
workout, so I tire more slowly than I would if I was doing something more
active. So, I've found I settle into 24-30 hour cycle, which results in some
ridiculous sleep/wake times.

Thankfully, I have the freedom to do this and it works great for me. If you
can swing it, I suggest trying it for a month or so.

~~~
citricsquid
I do the same, sleep when I'm tired and have the problem of sometimes having
to match my sleep/day to being awake at specific times for one off things and
sometimes that throws me off productivity. I have also found that I too in
general do 24-30 hour days, I'd say the average is 18 hours awake and 10 hours
asleep, although I've done as much as 34 awake and 16 asleep.

I've been doing this for over a year now and I think it's hugely beneficial
for me, although within a month I'm moving to working from an office so I'll
be trying standard 9 - 5 (I think, unless I'm allowed freedom!) so it will be
interesting to compare. Personally I think structure is good for me, although
the freedom is great I can find myself wasting 2 days without doing anything
productive... definitely something everyone should try anyway

------
davidtgoldblatt
It's relatively well-documented that sleep deprivation has effects similar to
those of alcohol intoxication, but coming in to work drunk is a firing
offense, while working to the point of sleep deprivation is regarded as
heroic. Of course, these aren't quite the same, but I still wish the idea that
your dedication is measured by your level of self-destructive sleep habits
weren't so prevalent in the tech industry.

~~~
LefterisJP
Your comment is so true. I currently live in Japan and I see all the sleep
deprived Japanese going about their jobs in the laboratory, sleeping in the
desk or dozing off while trying to work.

I had a talk with them trying to ask them if they realize that better sleep
would make them more productive and also improve their overall health but
their belief seems to be as you say. They think it's heroic to stay up late
working and as a consequence be a zombie next day.

And once you start this it's a vicious cycle that is pretty hard to stop.
Nothing can increase productivity and mental stability like a good night's
sleep.

------
dpakrk
Many people have difficulty going to sleep even though they are tired. There
are many reasons for insomnia. When the mind is too active, we have a hard
time going to sleep or even if we do go to sleep, we are restless and do not
sleep deeply. There are many theories and opinions about how much sleep a
person needs and it certainly varies according to state of health, activity
and circumstances. But most of us would agree that the deeper and more
peaceful the sleep, the more rested we feel the next morning.
<http://www.kundaliniyoga.org/kyt16.html>

------
BadassFractal
Very interesting connection between Parkinson's Law and one's energy levels.
Based on my own experience, I'd have to agree. I dislike having to come into
the office after 5-6 hours of sleep just to show my face, spending the rest of
the day working at a snail pace while phasing out every 10 minutes.

I wish our work culture would allow us to come in late when we had something
prevent us from getting adequate sleep.

------
jacques_chester
Leo's very good at publishing stuff that HN likes.

I think your attitude to sleep changes as you age. When I was a teenager, all-
nighters were tiring but after a night's sleep I'd be back to normal.

These days, it takes me a week to recover from an all-nighter.

The thing that really got me thinking about sleep as a precious resource was
being diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnoea. I was getting to the point
where I was sleeping for 14 hours and waking up exhausted.

The year I got a CPAP machine, my grade average jumped from credit to
distinction.

~~~
stephth
_The thing that really got me thinking about sleep as a precious resource was
being diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnoea. I was getting to the point
where I was sleeping for 14 hours and waking up exhausted._

I often wonder about sleep apnea, I need a lot of sleep and have limited
energy, nothing drastic but still noticeable compared to others. But I tend to
think I don't have it, since in the morning I usually remember having long
dreams - and sleep apnea is supposed to interrupt your sleep frequently. Were
you able to observe new patterns in your sleep once you started using a CPAP
machine?

~~~
gphakos
Firstly, if you have any suspicion of having sleep apnea, I highly recommend
getting a sleep study[0] done. I was diagnosed with a moderate case of
obstructive sleep apnea after suffering from it for several years. I feel
fortunate to have discovered and treated it at a fairly young age since it
results general misery and is believed to cause heart attacks and strokes if
left untreated.

I found no noticeable difference in my ability to recall dreams from the night
before, or the length of dreams I experienced between using CPAP or not.

With regard to sleep patterns, the results from CPAP were immediately
noticeable. I found that CPAP allowed me to go from a zombie that needed 12 or
more hours of sleep per night to one that only needed about 4. This was not
better. Despite really enjoying the extra 8 hours of "waking" time I had each
day I was still tired all the time and thus made little use of the extra
hours. I now sleep between 7 and 8 hours per night, I feel great and I am way
more productive.

[0]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polysomnography>

------
markokocic
I don't believe some people are willing to sacrifice sleep for a long periods
of time in order to "do startups". The sad thing is that we even have to
discuss if it is bad or not?

------
Mitt
Researchers that studied sleep for decades are now coming up with different
suggestions than what Leo suggests. When people don't get enough sleep, they
will die early. When people get too much sleep, they'll also die early. Recent
studies show that probably 7 hours should be the maximum.

------
casca
Wouldn't it be great if there was a branch of science that looked at how
different people respond to sleep over time rather than some guy making
personal assertions with anecdotal evidence?

------
alexqgb
I've lost the reference, but I understand that performing musicians find they
need more sleep than than most people, with 9-10 hours a night being entirely
normal.

This suggests that sleep has less to do with recovery from physical exertion,
and more to do with the ability to sustain intense mental focus for extended
periods - especially when that focus is being used to create and perfect
something that demands comprehension of a complex whole.

~~~
jpk
Understand, too, that the work schedule of musicians are different from most.
Shifting the working day into the evening and after dark, plus ubiquitous
artificial light probably alter sleep habits just as much as the nature of the
work.

