

Ask HN: Functioning effectively with less sleep - k3dz

How do you deal with extended periods of time when you get less sleep than usual? Any tips that help you stay alert?
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lukesandberg
Stimulants are the classic answer here (caffein b vitamins). But i don't think
that there is anything that acts a a proper substitute for sleep. your best
bet is to restructure your schedule so you can get more sleep rather than
looking for an alternative.

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bartonfink
Catnaps. I just had a baby, and I've found that taking 10-15 minutes here or
there (I set a phone alarm to make sure I wake up) helps me stay alert even
though I'm somewhat sleep deprived. Sometimes I don't even fall asleep, but
just shutting my eyes and allowing myself to ignore my surroundings does the
trick and leaves me feeling refreshed.

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k3dz
sounds like something i could try..thanks!

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SuperJ
Buy an Espresso machine. Put it on your desk. Drink a double shot every hour
or so. This is how I deal with it at least.

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lukesandberg
I love coffee way too much, but i am increasingly finding that this is a bad
idea. The more coffee i drink throughout the day the worse i feel in the
morning, even when i get a reasonable amount of sleep.

<http://youarenotsosmart.com/2010/02/22/coffee/>

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Mz
Co-q-10 in the morning, about 12 to 14 hours before your usual/planned
bedtime. It helps regulate the brain's chemical waking/sleeping cycle. It is
the co-enzyme for melatonin and will increase production of melatonin roughly
12 hours after it is taken (for me, it seemed to work best if I took it about
14 hours before bedtime). In contrast, taking melatonin by itself will _not_
increase production of co-q-10. However, if you have any trouble sleeping in
the evening, you can also take a low dose of melatonin about 30 minutes before
bedtime.

Co-q-10 is something we tend to be deficient in. If you are deficient, you
won't sleep as well. This can help genuinely improve quality of sleep and help
your baseline brain chemistry with regards to the waking/sleeping cycle. I
have used co-q-10 in the morning combined with melatonin at night to quickly
alter my sleep cycle by several hours starting three days or so before the
needed change (when I had to get up unusually early or something). It works
effectively without the issues caused by caffeine.

Best of luck.

