The Importance of Sleep

[Kirby]

I'm curious if there are others on the forum who have habitually neglected sleep.

As a rule, there are many things I want to accomplish in a day:
* Go related activities
* Work
* Family activities
* Language study
* Recreational activity, like posting here

Because there are many things I want to do, it's easy to put sleep on back burner, sometimes getting only about 4 hours a day.

It kind of adds up, and today, I gave in and had a nap.

I must say, it feels great, and I feel I can do the aforementioned activities with better quality and concentration!

Anyone else experience this? How much sleep do you try to get?

[DrStraw]

Even when I was younger I always made sure I got enough sleep. Sleep deprevation can cause havoc with your overall health. It is important to ensure that you get enough, even of you do not everything else done. The vast majority of people need 7 or 8 hours. Other things can wait.

These days I make sure I get 8 hours most days. On the 90 days a years I have to leave the house to work I often only get 7 hours and I can tell the difference.

[Monadology]

I always try and make sure I get enough sleep. I aim for 8 hours. Occasionally I'll go with 7, but rarely with less.

Over the summer I decided to try and be more productive and I had a to-do list quite like yours, Kirby. I found that it was a lot to fit into one day. So instead, I organized those activities during the week. Some I would do almost every day (exercise), others I would alternate (language Monday, Go Tuesday. language again Wednesday).

I found that this let me get enough sleep and I still engaged in the activities I wanted to quite a lot throughout the week. I'd suggest trying something like that. Especially so that you get more sleep. Four hours will, as DrStraw mentions, wreak havoc on your health (and it almost certainly leaves you with fewer cognitive and emotional resources). Since you have a family, I'm sure you would want to take care of yourself for their sake.

[tj86430]

Some people get by with less sleep. I try to get 7,5-8 hours every night, but during weekdays I sometimes get less. During weekends I may sleep more, I just woke up from 9 hrs of sleep. I used to nap regularly, but nowadays I tend to avoid it, since I've found that it may have an effect on my ability to sleep at night. If I nap, its either short, 15-20 minutes or long (> 1 hr). Taking a 45 minute nap will keep me feeling sleepy for several hours.

[paK0]

I just let my body do what it wants, I go to bed when I get tired.

I don't have anything to do on Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday, so I tend to sleep longer on those days and catch up.

When I was still working I started the same time everyday, so I got a regular sleep schedule and got about 8 hours every night, but now at university I have to get up on different times each day, so a fixed schedule does not really work, hence just going with the flow^^.

[Solomon]

Trying to do all those things effectively without sleep is like trying to launch a successful attack in Go with a weak group. Sleep is a crucial prerequisite to performing well on those tasks. Try to set an alarm clock not for waking up, but for going to bed to ensure you get a full night's rest, and wake up naturally.

Regarding my own sleep schedule, I try to get 7 hours of sleep with a small nap in the early afternoon (biphasic sleep).

[PeterN]

Sleep is for the weak... then sleep is for the week.

More seriously I aim for about 6-7 hours a night, and then make up the sleep debt at the weekend.

PeterN

[Boidhre]

Sleep Disorder + Bipolar (Depression and Mania severely affect ones sleeping pattern) mean really, I get 2-3 weeks of regular sleep a year if I'm lucky (in terms of synced with the day/night cycle and in terms of length). I value a good night's sleep to a bizarre extent and am genuinely deeply jealous of those who can sleep normally. You don't really value something until it is taken away and all that.

[malweth]

Sleep is overrated.
I will be getting a lot more of it soon!

[Progenitor]

Well I started playing on IGS last night at ten and I'm just now taking a break at 9am so yeah this game can sometimes mess you up. New discoveries are showing that the brain flushes itself of toxins and washing it away using your spinal fluid and blood. They haven't been able to see this in humans as you actually have to have the brain exposes to see it, but in rat studies it is clearly on the rinse cycle heh heh. They postulate that it is cleansing some of the hormones and chemicals that folks with mental disorders like Alzheimer's have in elevated levels in their brains that lead to demyelination among the horrid mental ramifications. In other words get enough sleep so your brain can be spic and span and ready to Go!

P.S. I sometimes even pour a little dish soap in my ears to help it out.

P.P.S. Just Kidding:) but the studies are real.

[goTony]

Sleep Disorder + Bipolar (Depression and Mania severely affect ones sleeping pattern) mean really, I get 2-3 weeks of regular sleep a year if I'm lucky (in terms of synced with the day/night cycle and in terms of length). I value a good night's sleep to a bizarre extent and am genuinely deeply jealous of those who can sleep normally. You don't really value something until it is taken away and all that.

I feel for you. It must be rough.

[goTony]

I agree with the posts that state how vital sleep is. Of course people have individual variation, but most of us need at least 7 hours.

The ancient Greeks thought you should exercise your mind and body and have good rest and food. That wisdom has not changed at least until we get downnloaded in our cell phones....