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thedeadhaji
39489 Posts
For most young adults, the status quo is to stay up into the wee hours of the night. Whether it hours be procrastinatory or productive in nature, makes no difference; we seem to be naturally inclined to stay awake, rather than go to sleep. It's a rather curious phenomenon, one that I feel has resulted in us requiring courage to go to sleep early in the night[1]. Suppose it's 10pm on a weekday, and you're browsing some sites online. You're not being particularly productive in the grand scheme of things, but you're being entertained and you're soaking up new (possibly superfluous) information. Worldly pleasures are at your fingertips. You feel a little bit of fatigue, but you're unlikely to let that convince you to go to sleep so early into the night. You subconsciously feel as if you'd waste a few hours by going to sleep so early. There's so much more you can do by continuing to browse and click away. Naturally, the notion of sleeping now is cast aside. Suppose it's midnight on a weekday. You're a student. You're studying. You have dozens of pages that you have to read by the day after tomorrow, as well as a handful of assignments that are due in the next two to three days. You don't have any immediate deadlines tomorrow. You're feeling pretty tired, operating at maybe 60-70% efficiency. Do you go to sleep? Of course not! You're managing to output something, albeit at a reduced efficiency. The natural inclination is to keep on chugging. It's mental inertia, if you will[2]. It's not like we're likely to be productive at this hour of night, and yet we talk ourselves into staying awake. Staying awake is a known commodity. We know what to expect. If we sleep, who knows what will happen? Who knows how productive we will be in the morning? Who knows if we can even wake up earlier? Moreover, it feels good to keep hacking away at our task. We don't want to sleep in such a state, even if it's 2am. That is, unless we physically can't take it anymore. We've been trained through our youth and young adulthood to defy our body's signals and continue toiling until the early hours of the night. If the body's nature is to go to sleep early, then it is the mind's nature to continue on course, even if it contradicts the body's desires. Productivity? Efficiency? Such "logic" doesn't enter the picture. Having been molded into this behavior, it is no longer natural for most of us to go to sleep earlier than absolutely necessary, as demanded by our bodies or our schedules the next day. However, it is in most cases undeniable that going to sleep earlier would be a boon to our productivity and overall happiness (by virtue of our health), both short term and long term. In such a world, it takes strength and courage to defy convention and sleep early. But for those of us who enjoy the act of sleeping and enjoy being active in the morning, such a change in routine can be life-changing.
[1] I imagine it's slightly easier for women, who have the beauty sleep motivator. [2] I am extremely guilty of both these examples. Things were particularly bad when I was a student.
Crossposted from my main blog.
 
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United States24779 Posts
It's particularly tough to get to sleep when you have 6 waves of catapults coming into each of four of your cities in about 45 minutes.
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if you sleep before midnight, you will never get a job. So keep studying and no sleep.
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On February 24 2012 02:09 micronesia wrote:
It's particularly tough to get to sleep when you have 6 waves of catapults coming into each of four of your cities in about 45 minutes.
=]] so many sleepless nights because of this game
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I'm glad to be an exception to this rule. When my body says "sleep", I say "yessir!" and get right on that.
I typically go to bed around 10 pm and occasionally have a few naps during the day.
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United States206 Posts
This is a very interesting topic indeed. I suffer quite severely from the notion of refusing sleep. Its quite remarkable now that I think about it... even to the point where, at the beginning of this semester of school I had a decent sleep schedule, going to bed and getting up early and it felt great. I was alert and awake for morning classes. Despite the fact that I am aware of this feeling, now that I am mid-way through the semester, my sleep schedule is horrible. In fact, I had a 9am class this morning and didn't get to bed until about 3:30am. And subsequently, today, I am quite tired.
Perhaps this will allow me to realize the value of not combating sleep... But more than likely, it won't.
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Good topic, I haven't slept early through a night in ages. I don't have to get up particularly early, but I hate the drowsiness when you wake up from a sleep deprived night.
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This is so true for me. I procrastinate sleeping, imagine that.
On February 24 2012 02:09 micronesia wrote:
It's particularly tough to get to sleep when you have 6 waves of catapults coming into each of four of your cities in about 45 minutes.
What game is this?
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Interesting point, as somebody who has hudge trouble going to sleep early i find that intersting. I remember reading a developer's blog where he explained that he is more productive at night when there is nothing to bother him (no client calls for an example) and that even if you are tired and not as efficient than during the day, being tired actually helps you because you only focus on the task you are doing and you are not frantically checking twitter/reddit/facebook/whatever is your favorite internet drug.
Wheras during the day with your full capacity and coffeine in your body you tend to be all over the place and not really focusing on what you are doing, but trying to multitask to much. I don't really agree with the point he made in his blog, i know that at night i just like to enjoy some relaxing time, it can be playing games or watching movies/TV Shows.
"But for those of us who enjoy the act of sleeping and enjoy being active in the morning, such a change in routine can be life-changing."
Procrastinating this change in my life since 6 years now, i'll try...tomorow.
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Netherlands45349 Posts
Dota is the bane of my sleeping schedule
''just one more''
''I AM NOT GOING TO BED UNTIL I WIN''
...
Cue the 3 games lost, each taking ~45min.
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On February 24 2012 02:54 FortuneSyn wrote:This is so true for me. I procrastinate sleeping, imagine that. Show nested quote +On February 24 2012 02:09 micronesia wrote:
It's particularly tough to get to sleep when you have 6 waves of catapults coming into each of four of your cities in about 45 minutes. What game is this?
I think he's talking about Travian?
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Hey, i'd just like to say, I really enjoy reading your blogs 
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well shit, why couldn't you have posted this before last night.
Hopefully I'll keep this in mind next time I have an exam to study for.
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For an interesting take on an opposite sort of phenomena, listen to Armor For Sleep's first album "Dream to Make Believe". I'm somewhat torn, in that dreaming and the comfort of sleep are easily some of the best things in life, and yet many times I simply cannot make myself hit the hay.
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On February 24 2012 04:30 farvacola wrote:
For an interesting take on an opposite sort of phenomena, listen to Armor For Sleep's first album "Dream to Make Believe". I'm somewhat torn, in that dreaming and the comfort of sleep are easily some of the best things in life, and yet many times I simply cannot make myself hit the hay.
That's because you've conditioned your mind to ignore the signals your body gives you. If you are trying to sleep and your brain is still racing sleep is virtually impossible. The best way to solve this is to shock your body into sleeping and then fixing your schedule. If your a student you do this every time you come back from a long break where you stay up until 6 AM, then you basically go to school with an hour of sleep. By the time it's 9:00 PM you are dead tired and can sleep fairly easily, fixing your schedule permanently is simply up to you at this point.
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On February 24 2012 03:30 Horrde wrote:Show nested quote +On February 24 2012 02:54 FortuneSyn wrote:This is so true for me. I procrastinate sleeping, imagine that. On February 24 2012 02:09 micronesia wrote:
It's particularly tough to get to sleep when you have 6 waves of catapults coming into each of four of your cities in about 45 minutes. What game is this? I think he's talking about Travian?
I used to play a game similar to that called ebony. (evony maybe?)
Oh the grind and hours spent just waiting....
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United Kingdom16710 Posts
You just have to say no to naps and have an active day. Then sleep will come naturally at night. I used to have very screwed up sleeping pattern because I took naps in the afternoon & didn't move around much when I was awake. Now I take time to exercise everyday and resist the urge to lie down for a quick slumber. I fall asleep pretty quickly at around 11 and wake up fresh at 6ish. Also, avoid consuming too much sugar/caffein especially around evening.
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I am having a huge issue with sleep. I keep going to bed at 3-4 am. I just cant fall asleep if i am not tired. My body got so used to going to bed this late that going to bed early is like studying a match test :/ .
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i sometimes take pills to sleep early, i feel tired but my body just wont fall asleep, i try to not to do it too often though (about once every 2-3 weeks). Exercising yourself is a good way to sleep earlier as well, unless you start exercising at 11 pm or midnight-ish
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On February 24 2012 02:09 micronesia wrote:
It's particularly tough to get to sleep when you have 6 waves of catapults coming into each of four of your cities in about 45 minutes.
evony?
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EPT
