
Ask HN: How much do you sleep? - Kevin_S
And how does that impact your productivity?
======
hedonistbot
My biggest problem with sleep is the fixed working schedule I have to follow.
The 9-to-5 is killing me. It's not that there isn't enough time to sleep, it's
that I cannot convince my body to go to sleep if it doesn't feel like it. Just
last night I stood awake till 5 a.m. unable to fall asleep despite all
efforts. The problem is that my natural clock seems to be working on a 26-7
hours per day cycle and I cannot fit this properly into the regular working
hours. This leads to general accumulation of tiredness during the week and on
Friday I need a total reset by going to bed early. At least now I know what to
look for in future job opportunities.

~~~
tertius
Wake up at the same time every day. Pick that time and stick to it. Whether
you get too little sleep or not.

~~~
amorphid
I've tried doing that. Even if it is possible, I really don't like it. When
married to a fixed schedule, life just isn't as much fun for me.

~~~
jorvi
Have you considered a polyphasic sleep schedule? If you truly do have a non-
standard circadian rhythm, you should be able to adapt one of the dual core
schedules towards it.

[https://www.polyphasicsociety.com](https://www.polyphasicsociety.com)

~~~
amorphid
Maybe? I was thinking more that stuff comes up that affects my schedule, and I
don't be forced into living with the constraints of a 10 p.m. bedtime (or
whatever time I set). More to the point, I am more disciplined about getting
to bed before 12 a.m. I do not want to go bed at a fixed time.

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csixty4
Between 7-8 hours usually. My son tends to get up at 5:30am, so the rest of
the household does too. It was 4:30am this morning, though. Teething pain :(

That pretty much means my wife and I went from about a midnight bedtime to
9pm, which makes us feel really old & boring but it's the only way to make
sure we have enough sleep to have a happy, productive day.

If I don't get enough sleep, my Tourette Syndrome gets worse. I also tend to
get depressed & a little grouchy. It affects my decision making, and I have
too many people depending on me to let that happen.

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tcmb
6.5 to 7 hours during the work week, and I notice my productivity drops off
after two days or so. Productivity drop off manifests as worsened ability to
focus and making decisions, and by my mood getting bad in general, which can
also affect collaboration with others.

On the weekend I sleep up to 11 or even 12 hours in the first night, and 9 to
10 in the second. During holidays, 9 hours seem to be the sweet spot for me,
which adjusts itself to be between 2.30am and 11.30am.

I'd like to sleep more during the week, but I just cannot get myself into bed
before midnight. I don't feel tired enough and frankly I'm afraid of lying
awake too long and being alone with my thoughts.

I'm also guaranteed to have a bad day when I don't have enough time before
leaving for work. I need at least 1, better 1.5 hours between getting out of
bed and leaving for work, plus a 30 minute commute by bike. This also limits
my ability to sleep enough during the week.

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hacker_9
7-9 hours. I require less sleep when I look after my body and eat healthily.
For those who struggle to sleep, you may want to look into meditation when you
are in bed. Effectively you focus on a single point and slowly your mind
clears, kinda feels like it's shutting down regions. Then sleep comes
naturally after, takes me about 20 mins with this technique. Concentrate on
your heartbeat or breathing, and know that the more you do it the easier it
gets.

~~~
wallace_f
This my sound strange, but has anyone tried this and had that sensation that
if you stop thinking about your heart or breathing, they will stop?

Jesus, I must be filled with anxiety.

~~~
hacker_9
I actually find it quite relaxing, as they are both constants. You may just
have to do it a few times to remove your anxiety.

~~~
wallace_f
Perhaps, but I think it just isn't for me. It feels unnnatural to think about
it, even though I know that a lot of people say this helps them.

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nine_k
8 hours when I have time. 7 to 4 in a crunch. I try to control the sleep debt
and pay it off ASAP, or next weekends.

Lack of sleep has a noticeable effect on productivity (especially error rate).
When I was younger I did not notice it so vividly, which I ascribe strictly to
improved introspection.

One of the best vacations in my life, after a particularly hard project,
involved having 12-16 hours of sleep every day, for two weeks, without any
drugs; just a calm winter forest away from civilization. It did wonders to my
productivity and cognitive ability. In 6 months past it I quickly learned a
huge bunch of apparently hard things that propelled me for years after that.

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mewwts
I try to get 8-9 hours a night. I usually go to bed at 10pm and wake at 7am. I
wish I could sleep less, but I just feel terrible when I do. At least I hope
that I'm more productive the time I'm actually awake.

~~~
nvahalik
I had this same problem. But having to wake up to get the kid to the bus left
me little choice.

Take a look at your diet. I cut out refined sugars and switched to a (mostly)
LCHF diet and I can now function at nearly 100% on as little as 4 hours of
sleep. Most nights I get 5-6 hours and can usually function at 100% as long as
I get a good 7-8 hours once every week or so.

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jacquesm
While running Camarades/ww.com I got by with 3 to 5 hours of sleep per night,
usually because I could not fall asleep and then finally I'd fall asleep near
daybreak and then sleep until 11 am. This was pretty terrible, combined with
flying back and forth between Canada and the Netherlands it really drained me.
It's not that I spent less time in bed, I just could not sleep until I was
physically overwhelmed.

I'm in better physical shape now than back then, cycle more, eat better and no
longer have the crazy travel schedule and I'm sleeping much better now,
usually 6 to 7 hours but it still isn't 'normal' in that I often am awake in
the middle of the night and sleep during the day, especially when work is more
demanding.

Productivity has never really been an issue, no matter what the sleep regime
was.

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overcast
8 hours minimum, anything less than that I feel like crap. I also NEVER get
sick. Ever.

~~~
Octplane
FLW!

------
flohofwoe
6 to 7 hours during the week, on weekends mostly 7..8, rarely up to 10 hours.
In my teens and twenties I had a hard time getting up early, but this gets
better with age ;)

PS: productivity is only affected if I only get 3..4 hrs sleep for 2 or 3
days. I'm basically useless then. The more important decision was to get up
early and not working late, this reduced 'latent burnout' symptoms
dramatically.

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greendesk
I started measuring my sleep this year.

The data is as follows:

I feel well and I can focus if I sleep for 8:00-8:30 hours. If I sleep less
than 7:00-7:30 hours per day I feel unwell and I cannot concentrate. In
between 7:30-8:00 hours I can somewhat concentrate but not for too long.

Sleeping longer over weekends does not work for me, since I still wake up at
(usually) about the same time every day. So I still sleep about the same time
every day.

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Sholmesy
I sleep for 7 hours, my partner sleeps for ~ 8.5.

Things I've noted:

\- My sleep "schedule" doesn't have enough hours in the day. Monday I'm asleep
at 10, Tuesday 11, Wednesday 12... etc

\- Lying in bed when not tired destroys any chance of a good nights sleep.

\- Lack of sleep = angry/bad mood. Bad mood = flustered/annoyed at things
(noise/distraction/annoying problem) = No productivity.

------
jcadam
During the week? 6 hours. Weekends are closer to 8. My time in the Army
destroyed my ability to sleep in :(

~~~
jrowley
Why did your time in the Army destroy your ability to sleep?

I've heard rumors that if anything the exhaustion taught you how to fall
asleep at anywhere/anywhere.

~~~
jcadam
Not sleep in the general sense, but sleeping late into the morning. Years of
having to be in formation at 0600 every morning have trained me to rise before
dawn :(

On the upside, some of my most productive coding time is during the quiet
morning hours before the wife and kids get up.

------
celerrimus
Quite good question. I used to sleep 8~9 hours, less (and more as someone
already pointed) meant i was not very productive, made more mistakes, and i
was irritated whole next day.

But for more then a year I'm a father, so now much changed. Now I sleep 5-7
hours, often with breaks during night. For example, tonight we had some
problem and o lot of crying due to daughter's ear infection. I sleep 5,5hrs
with 2 breaks.

How do I feel now? Unexpectedly well. I need little longer sturt-up in the
morning - plus good coffee. I know that my productivity, creativity, and
susceptibility to errors are little down, but I can tell that my body switched
to new scheme and it's not such a bad think as i thought.

Also, all my troubles with falling asleep, etc, all are gone now. I know that
you can handle much more then you think :)

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muzani
5 hours on a bad night. 7 on a good night. Not including the 50 or so minutes
awake in the middle of the night.

I'm extremely unproductive on the days I get 5 hours, and can work around 4
hours/day when I get 7. I'd probably be extremely productive if I can get 9
hours of sleep.

------
sethrin
About six hours per night. Never more than seven. I've been working from home
on my own schedule for years, so productivity is probably not impacted either
way. I seem to be consistently waking up at 0425 in the mornings. I'm 31, more
or less male-bodied, and I've taken exercise only once in the last two years
-- biking 70 miles to see the eclipse. I suspect I'm too much of an outlier to
be of any use to this discussion, but I would like to suggest that the "early
to bed, early to rise" phrase has some truth to it. I also think that proper
sleep is more important than anyone's business schedule, but I don't know how
well that one might go over with employers.

------
scardine
At 46 I used to be well and good with just 4h sleep.

Four months ago I started a new job at a nearby university campus and there
are secure bike lanes the whole 7 miles from my home to the office. In the
middle of the traject there is a park with outdoor fitness equipment where I
make a stop and do some pull-ups and push-ups.

Since I started biking to the work I have a lower level of energy unless I
rest for at least 7-8 hours. I don't know if is the age kicking in or if it is
the less sedentary lifestyle.

The change in the sleep pattern combined with my 4yo autistic kid demanding my
full attention at home (he was diagnosed early and is doing very well)
diminished my availability for side projects.

------
Sharma
Based on my experience:

Apart from number of hours, it is also important that you sleep sound. 7 hrs
of sleep for a person with no sleep disorder and person with sleep apnea has
different impact on productivity.

For me this is what I have found age < 20: Sleep hours never impacted my
productivity, even if awake all night. 20-30 Years of age: Min 5 Hrs of sleep
and I was 100% productive. 30-35+: Productivity got impacted if I slept less
than 6. At present(35-40): I am 100% ONLY if I sleep more than 7.5 Hrs.

Every now and then we see studies come out and researchers tell us the
importance of sleep and its impact on our brains. I found it to be true in my
case.

------
dblboy
Pretty much always between 7 to 8 hours, if less then it becomes super
difficult on second part of the, if too long then strangely it's harder in the
first part of the day. Might be related to sleep cycles from which i wake up.

------
anotherevan
I usually go to bed between 10-11 and read (non-light emitting eink screen).
Lights out is almost always around 11:45. I wake anywhen from 6:30 to 7:30
usually.

My kids (both on the autism spectrum) use 1-3mg Melatonin and have from a
young age, otherwise they would never sleep. If I'm travelling or find I have
a few nights in a row with trouble getting to sleep I'll take it for a few
days too. Works well.

The quality of your sleep is an important factor too. If you suspect you may
have obstructive sleep apnea then go get it checked out. It may be the cause
of all manner of irregularities in your sleep routine.

------
marcv81
Many activity trackers will provide stats about how much you sleep, and how
you compare with the rest of the population. I appreciate your question is
about HN readers rather than fitness nerds, but there might be an overlap.

------
evanwise
I sleep about 5-6 hours on average. Generally, I feel well rested with this
amount, but I can function on 3-4 hours per night for a few weeks without
serious ill effect. I just feel slightly groggy, although at the end, I will
have a "hard crash" where I sleep more than 12 hours. If I'm ill, I will sleep
8-10 hours a night. I think this is mostly genetic, because my father has been
going to bed at 9 or 10 PM and waking up at 3 AM for as long as I can
remember. I usually stay up later, but sleep about the same amount.

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parvatzar
I used to sleep usually on average 7 hrs when i worked the regular 10 am to
6pm shift. However , working 1 pm to 11 pm shift nowdays and tend to turn in
much late than before however wake up earlier than 7 hrs to study for an exam
that i am preparing for alongside. I I have observed my productivity in view
of this routine to be at peak later in the day rather night when lesser to no
distractions or people in office. However am trying to balance out my routine
to get the magic number 7 hrs of sleep.

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champagnepapi
7-8 hours every night. If I sleep 4 to 5 hours I am equally as productive as
when I sleep 7 to 8 hours however I can only keep that up for a couple days,
before loss of productivity.

~~~
Symphlion
Yeah pretty much this; on average I sleep 7 hours, but I can go in to
"overdrive" mode and sleep less hours while not losing focus/drive to produce,
this only lasts 2 days though, after that I really need to "recalibrate"

------
rammy1234
I used to be a bad sleeper , like sleeping only for 3-4 hrs work week. it
badly affected my digestion, I got fat, I was weak, I ate junk and I drank
more coffee and I was always dizzy and confused. The day I decided I need to
sleep more and started to sleep for 6-7hrs every day and doing this
consistently have improved my focus , less coffee and no frustration and I am
active and lost few pounds. This is my personal opinion. things improve if you
sleep more. 6-8 hrs is good.

------
DanBC
When things are going well I sleep about 8 or 9 good hours, and I feel rested
and able to cope with the day ahead.

When things are not so good I sleep maybe 4 hours of broken sleep.

When things are bad I might get one or two hours across a 72 hour stretch.
That has pretty severe impact on my ability to function.

I have an understanding GP who knows that I make sure my "sleep hygiene" is
good when I'm having problems, so when I ask for a few zopiclone it's because
I'm at risk of other stuff happening.

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pizza234
Around 8.5 hours (lights off to alarm ringing).

Productivity is a bit complex to relate in a direct way (I can be "productive"
also with less sleep), but I know for sure that this is the amount I need to
be 100% of my potential.

Interestingly, I estimate that doing sports (which I do heavily) accounts for
30 to 60 minutes of my sleep - in other words, if I didn't do sports, I could
sleep such amount less and be equally "productive", although obviously, my
body would slowly decay.

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synicalx
I try my best to hit 8 hours a night, used to keep 10PM-6AM every day even on
weekends to keep things consistent. But with a partner that works from home
(and therefore wakes up much later) its kind of hard most nights so it ends up
being more like midnight to 7AM if I'm lucky.

I take ZMA as part of my supplement regime, and coincidentally I do notice
that it helps with my sleep a bit - or at least it helps me stay asleep and
not wake up several times a night.

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taternuts
I've had sleeping issues since I was a kid so mine are probably a bit skewed.
Weekdays, on a good night, 4-6 hours. Anything below 4 hours is a bad night
and does happen more than I wish. Weekends: 6-8 hours

If I get 4 or less hours of sleep, it affects me pretty heavily and I honestly
feel somewhat 'hungover' and it can be hard to get meaningful work done. For
me, 5-6 hours is the sweet spot.

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cafard
7 to 8 hours during the work week, 9 if possible on the weekend. A couple of
nights of 6 do not have a good effect, one night of less than 6 hurts.

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murukesh_s
Used to sleep for 8 hours, now its down to 7. Less sleep definitely affects
productivity, but i can stretch couple of days with very less sleep (<5
hours), after that I hit a block and see a drastic decrease in productivity if
I don't get a good night sleep.

Are you are feeling low productivity, and blaming lack of sleep? There is a
chance it could be something else as well.. pls seek help if needed.

------
juancn
6-9 hours. It depends. I need to be well slept to be productive. It's not the
number of hours but the feeling that matters. I have taken naps at the office
when I had a bad night to bump my productivity. If I don't, I'm just warming
up a seat.

Thankfully I have lot's of flexibility regarding working hours. That helps a
lot. I don't think I could work fixed hours for long.

------
iliketosleep
Less and 7 hours kills my productivity. It's can be a real problem, and I know
that a lot of people on here use Modafinil to deal with it.

------
arethuza
6.5 to 7 hours. Staying longer in bed makes me feel worse than getting less
sleep so I'm usually pretty sharp at getting up.

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Radim
Used to be 9h per day for decades. Any more and I'd feel strangely groggy
(unproductive), my body cannot deal with oversleeping.

Lately I experimented with a 1h nap after lunch (I'm getting old!), and can
report that I feel equally refreshed with only 6h of sleep a night.

So, 7h total now, but split into two 1+6 sessions. It feels great to have 2
extra hours per day!

------
Yetanfou
Well, I go to bed between 01:00 and 02:00, my alarm clock first goes off at
06:00 to get my daughter out of bed and up and running to go to school (and
sometimes bring her to the station in case the weather is horrid), 06:30 to
wake my wife, 07:30 to wake my other daughter to bring her to school. I guess
I get around 4 to 4½ hours of sleep a night. I never slept much, not as a
child either. I used to listen to the radio while reading, the programming
generally turned boring around 24:00 with something for truckers, something
for 'cultured people' and something which I never understood who it was for. I
still remember the signature tunes for those programs and the haste with which
I used to turn off the radio when they came on...

[edit: I just looked up one of those programs, the trucker show ('Krieken med
Adje' [1]). Turns out it was scheduled between 04:00 and 07:00, this was when
I used to get up at 07:00 to go to school. No, I did not sleep much as a child
either... ]

[1] [http://www.jingleweb.nl/index.php/category/ad-
roland/](http://www.jingleweb.nl/index.php/category/ad-roland/)

------
yathern
6-7 hours. Probably averaging 6.5. But I also commute for an hour both ways by
bus - I'll often get a half hour or more of sleep both ways. Probably not
great sleep (no REM) but better than nothing.

I sometimes notice as the week goes on I get a little more tired - usually
make it up on the weekends by sleeping around 9 hours.

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NietTim
About 6~7 hours a night, more trending towards 6 hours and less. It impacts my
productivity greatly, I wake up still wanting to sleep more and am tired for
most of the day, which causes me to be distracted more easily (open office...)
and get way less work done. Also stress affects me more when I sleep less

------
markpapadakis
I sleep at around midnight and I wake up at 06:00 every day with no exceptions
(e.g weekends or vacations ). I average about 6 hours of sleep. If I sleep for
7 hours I definitely feel better and think “faster” the following day. Sleep
is good for you.

------
wiremine
I try to get to be around 10:00 or 10:30, and typically wake up 6:00 or 6:15.
I find the older I get the better I operate on 7.5 to 8 hours of sleep. I also
seem to get sick less often, and be an all around nicer guy to to family,
friends and coworkers.

------
jdubs
I'm pretty useless if I get less than 5 hours of sleep. Anymore than that and
I'm good to go. I shoot for about 9ish hours of sleep a night, I typically
have a sleepless night every 10 days where I'm up at 330 until the next sleep.

------
rl3
Trying for 12 hours every night due to a recent concussion. Second in two
years. Sleep is one of the best things for mTBI/PCS.

Productivity impact is annoying in the short term but it's definitely the
optimal long-term chocie.

Normally I get 7-8 hours.

------
tzhenghao
5-7 hours on work weeks, 8 hours on weekends. I don't think my productivity at
work is affected, but I feel like a zombie when I get home at ~7pm. I fall
asleep within seconds after hitting the bed. Dreamless sleep too.

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toomuchtodo
8hrs minimum, sometimes 9hrs. Anything less and I drag all day until I get a
nap.

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doktrin
I sleep somewhere between 3-5 hours on weekdays, and 8-10 hours on weekends.
If I had to put a number on it, I'd say my productivity decreases linearly by
roughly 10-15% every weekday.

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asdz
4-6 hour on weekday and 7-9 hours on weekend can sleep and wake up pretty easy
but lack of sleep will just make me a zombie the whole day

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qrybam
5-7 hours on weekedays 7-8 hours on weekends

Prolonged (3+ days) sleep at <6 hours eventually leads to me crashing at the
weekend.

crash = a good 10 hour sleep

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mubaris
I sleep at least for 7 Hours. Whenever I sleep less or when I don't get
quality sleep, it's very difficult to focus.

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zitterbewegung
I try to get 7-8 hrs but sometimes I can only get 5-6. It is a negative to my
productivity if I only get 5-6.

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swat535
7-10 hours. I work from home and have no alarm clock or kids.

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rublev
8-10 solid hours a day. No alarm clock. Work from home.

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rjplatte
Anywhere from 5 hours to 11 hours. Yes, I'm young.

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NikolaeVarius
5 hours a night. Physically can't sleep more.

~~~
YouKnowBetter
That would be me.

Productivity for me depends more on other factors like: relationship status,
familymembers wellbeing, drinks & feeling in or out of control.

------
include
something around 6 and 8. less than 5 and I'm not ok at work. more than 8 and
I'm not ok at bed.

