How Stress And Sleep Loss Are Shortening Your Life
forbes.com
forbes.com
Corporate culture (including some startups I know) value face time over outcomes (input vs. output valuation). If something goes wrong, managers tend to point to face time rather than the host of other factors, so people work even when there is no need. Face time = working hard. It is a vicious cycle and creates a huge inefficiency.
The solution is to create firm... let me repeat FIRM boundaries on things you value, whether family time or time at the gym. While this creates a constraint and seems bold, it improves efficiency because most of the time we spend in the office does not create value. It is pointless meetings, calls that go to long, and mindless Facebook scrolling. If your employees or your manager knows that you will leave at X time, it is remarkable to see how efficient your colleagues become.
Here is GOOD's post on sleep for entrepreneurs http://www.good.is/post/don-t-fall-asleep-at-the-wheel-succe...
What really works is what Marissa Mayer recommended: find your rhythm. So if I want to stay late and work for hours I will do just that. I also realize that maybe the next day I will not be able to work that much or at all. So I just do something relaxing the next day. Sometimes I can work a few days in a row like that. But I always know that there will be one day in which I will not even start the computer. So I think of something to do outside the house. Changing environments helps a lot. That's the rhythm.
I would love to sleep well; I give my body over ten hours to try and get some but it never happens. I get about one or two good nights sleep a year and shocker: that makes me more on edge and stressful.
So studies which show I am going to get sick and die sooner aren't exactly comforting. Actually it makes me more stressful, perhaps I won't sleep tonight!
Like any hacker endeavor, do the research and put the time in. If you keep digging, you will eventually find something. I have my sleep issues under control mostly, and it changed my life. In my case, I found I have chronic sinusitis that inhibited my ability to breathe at night. I take allergy medicine before bed, and arrange my pillows a certain way to support my neck.
Sleep is mysterious, but it's not black magic. The Zeo was helpful in diagnosing a lot of things.
For people that prefer to measure their testing times in milliseconds, trying to 'debug' your sleep patterns, where it may take weeks to notice anything is just not going to be feasible. On top of that, trying to divorce your sleep issues from the rest of the issues in your life to isolate root causes, it just becomes a losing battle for many of us.
All my sleep troubles went away when I jailbroke my iPhone and installed f.lux. Already had it on the computer, but blue light on the phone turned out to be the weak link.
Nobody seems to talk much about wellness. Instead, healthcare focuses on dealing with the 'inevitable' illnesses, despite the fact that your body gave you multiple symptoms leading up to them.
Than I realized I'd do anything if it helped me enjoy life more.
I mean honestly, when my sleep starts getting shitty I start changing things in my life. Quitting jobs, taking breaks from relationships, creating new ones, trying new programming languages, anything.
Burnout can be fucking terrible, and I will give up every possession I have before I endure that again.
Small doses of melatonin and avoiding "screen time" (computer or TV) for an hour before bedtime can help, too. I recommend reading Dr. Andrew Weil's recommends for insomnia:
I think with the sleeping problems I have that naps are sometimes a better solution or at least a stopgap measure to reduce stress.
Here is one item:
http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2010/02/22/naps_boost_learnin...
OT, but how do you see downvotes on others' comments? I have adequate karma to up and down vote, but I only see my comments' scores.
4.5% greater risk is meaningless unless you know the actual risk likelihood in the first place.
If the risk is 1 in 1 million, 4.5 % increase of that risk is negligible.
Another article written by non-scientists who have no idea what to make of numbers. This is typical from mainstream press.
Note: we cut pill in half for our 10 yr old. It was a life changer for us!
How small are your small doses? Melatonin is often sold in 5 mg tablets, but Dr. Andrew Weil [1] recommends 2.5 mg at bedtime as an occasional dose and a much lower dose, 0.25 to 0.3 mg, for regular use.
I guess I'm fortunate in this regard - my body will take its 6-9 hours a day no matter what - when I'm really tired, nothing short of an imminent physical threat can stop me from falling asleep - it's pretty annoying, actually...
(Admittedly, it's an hour-long trip twice a day.)
For the record, I consider myself to be fairly healthy. I don't normally get sick but when I do it's almost always because of lack of sleep / stress. I'm quite good when it comes to diet and exercise and although it has helped me have good quality sleeps and lowered my levels of stress, it requires real discipline to keep it up. For anyone who suffers from stress or sleepless nights I definitely recommend a good cardio workout 2-3 times a week and serious dietery changes (no sugars, low carbs, no junk in general, no processed foods, lots of greens and a well researched cocktail of supplements).
I love good coffee but I find that it is usually a lot worse for my stress levels than something comparable like an energy drink; although, both are really bad.
I find it fascinating how something as simple as a food colouring can completely ruin your sleep for the night, and the worst thing is you'd never know what ruined it for you.
Can't win hey?
While "rest is a weapon", I can sleep when I'm dead. Longest hours awake, 78hrs. Longest stretch of 4/24Hr, 10 weeks. For staying awake long hours, Yoga is good. For little rest, the "art of the catnap" must be mastered.