4 ms·

I feel desperately burned out every night when I go to sleep at 2am or 3am but when I wake up the next morning at 7am, I feel completely refreshed and I want to

I feel desperately burned out every night when I go to sleep at 2am or 3am but when I wake up the next morning at 7am, I feel completely refreshed and I want to keep going. I think that having an open source side project can be rewarding in that way. Financially, I'm broke as a camel's back but open source work does give me a sense of satisfaction. At least for now. I think it's vitally important to have some social recognition for your work otherwise it's very easy to feel burned out.

kbart 9y ago
4-5 hours of sleep is definitely not enough. 6 hours is a recommended minimum in nearly every related study I've ever seen. Even though it might not look like a problem immediately, but it's a serious burden on your body (heart, especially) and on the long it will take it's toll (heart attacks in 30' are common as never before). Get some sleep.
- tamrix 9y ago
  Protip, he's actually trying to brag. Anyone who actually has been burnt out will know it happens after many months or even a year or more of tireless work. If you're burning out and recovering ever next day. That's just being exhausted after a hard day's work.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - gardnr 9y ago
    If he is who I think he is then the guy has been at it since at least 1989. He doesn't need to brag.
    - baby 9y ago
      he's not https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15182165 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15182165
  - rl3 9y ago
    >Protip, he's actually trying to brag. No need to assume the worst in people. >Anyone who actually has been burnt out will know it happens after many months or even a year or more of tireless work. Now it sounds like you're trying to brag. Granted, I tend to agree with you—the only caveat being, it's very possible to burn out on shorter timescales. For example: last year I did 10 contiguous 20-hour workdays. Despite the fact I've never been more productive in my life, my brain was largely mush by the 10th day. Ended up burned out for weeks after. (Now it sounds like I'm trying to brag.)
    - graphitezepp 9y ago
      This trying to brag thing becomes a race to the bottom quickly. You should be allowed to talk about things you did which may in fact be seen in a positive light.
      - rl3 9y ago
        For sure—that's the punchline. Not to brag, but my humor is probably too dry for its own good.
- Lewton 9y ago
  If he feels refreshed when he wakes up, he gets enough sleep. The amount of sleep needed varies greatly from person to person Edit: I mean, if he actually feels refreshed WHEN WAKING and not after forcing himself out of bed and downing 2 cups of coffee
  - UK-AL 9y ago
    I find it incredibly hard to achieve that, even if I increase the amount of sleep I get.
- gardnr 9y ago
  There are studies that show 5 hours a night leads to dangerous health consequences. 6 minimum
  - icebraining 9y ago
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4096202/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4096202/
    - gardnr 9y ago
      Good point. I was accepting other studies as general guidance. I had overlooked the importance of genetics. For readers that do not click through to read the study or Wikipedia page the conclusion of the study can be summarized as: > There are a number of mutations of BHLHE41. Mutations reduce total sleep while maintaining NREM sleep and provide resistance to the effects of sleep loss. More info at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BHLHE41 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BHLHE41
  - stevesimmons 9y ago
    Genetics makes a big difference... My usual routine is up at 6, leave home at 6:15, at work by 7, work til 6pm, sport from 6:30 to 9pm, home at 10pm, dinner with my partner til 11pm, then together we work/do admin/surfing/etc. Bed is ideally 1am, though usually 1:15. So long as I get 4.5 hours sleep I am fine. Less that 4 and I feel noticeably less sharp the next day. At weekends, I will sleep 1-2 hours longer. In a previous HN comment thread, people doubted I actually do this for more than short bursts. However my friends and colleagues know it is absolutely true: I started working like this when I was 20, and am now 47. In my case, the genetic connection is narcolepsy, i.e. excessive sleepiness. At night, I fall asleep in typically a minute. Sleep lab tests show I hit REM sleep in several minutes. 90 minutes is normal. So my 4.5 hours is equivalent to 6 hours for 'normal' people. For me tiredness is related to activity level, not hours awake. I deliberately go for high-pressure jobs (investment banking tech) and high-complexity active hobbies (flamenco dancing). Otherwise I would sleep all day. Just my personal perspective...
gardnr 9y ago
If you are the Jon Dubois of armory.com then your late nights had a crucial impact on me being who I am today. The first time I connected to the "Internet" was through your dialup SCO server in the early 90s. I can't even begin to thank you enough.
- jondubois 9y ago
  Oh, wow, now I understand why people sometimes call me out by name on HN. I didn't understand what that was about. I'm not THAT Jon Dubois but quite a coincidence, he sounds like a real pioneer. Now I understand why I get so many upvotes on HN. I thought it was because my comments were insightful :(
  - farax91 9y ago
    They're not bad :)
  - eeZah7Ux 9y ago
    > I'm not THAT Jon Dubois [...] I thought it was because my comments were insightful :( Instantaneous impostor syndrome. I feel sorry for you :(
  - gardnr 9y ago
    I wouldn't worry about it too much. Looks like you have a good comment history, and a powerful spirit ally.
- ConfucianNardin 9y ago
  Not the same person. It seems the person who ran armory.com, John H. DuBois III, passed away in 2012: http://lists.celestial.com/pipermail/sco-misc/2012-March/014430.html http://lists.celestial.com/pipermail/sco-misc/2012-March/014... https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/felton-lug/V1OE-HaaiRQ/99Z1sn7kIZYJ https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/felton-lug/V1OE-HaaiRQ...
  - jondubois 9y ago
    I guess I have to carry on his legacy then...
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
varjag 9y ago
That has as much to do with actual burnout as depressing news with clinical depression.

kbart 9y ago

4-5 hours of sleep is definitely not enough. 6 hours is a recommended minimum in nearly every related study I've ever seen. Even though it might not look like a problem immediately, but it's a serious burden on your body (heart, especially) and on the long it will take it's toll (heart attacks in 30' are common as never before). Get some sleep.

tamrix 9y ago
Protip, he's actually trying to brag. Anyone who actually has been burnt out will know it happens after many months or even a year or more of tireless work. If you're burning out and recovering ever next day. That's just being exhausted after a hard day's work.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- gardnr 9y ago
  If he is who I think he is then the guy has been at it since at least 1989. He doesn't need to brag.
  - baby 9y ago
    he's not https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15182165 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15182165
- rl3 9y ago
  >Protip, he's actually trying to brag. No need to assume the worst in people. >Anyone who actually has been burnt out will know it happens after many months or even a year or more of tireless work. Now it sounds like you're trying to brag. Granted, I tend to agree with you—the only caveat being, it's very possible to burn out on shorter timescales. For example: last year I did 10 contiguous 20-hour workdays. Despite the fact I've never been more productive in my life, my brain was largely mush by the 10th day. Ended up burned out for weeks after. (Now it sounds like I'm trying to brag.)
  - graphitezepp 9y ago
    This trying to brag thing becomes a race to the bottom quickly. You should be allowed to talk about things you did which may in fact be seen in a positive light.
    - rl3 9y ago
      For sure—that's the punchline. Not to brag, but my humor is probably too dry for its own good.
Lewton 9y ago
If he feels refreshed when he wakes up, he gets enough sleep. The amount of sleep needed varies greatly from person to person Edit: I mean, if he actually feels refreshed WHEN WAKING and not after forcing himself out of bed and downing 2 cups of coffee
- UK-AL 9y ago
  I find it incredibly hard to achieve that, even if I increase the amount of sleep I get.
gardnr 9y ago
There are studies that show 5 hours a night leads to dangerous health consequences. 6 minimum
- icebraining 9y ago
  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4096202/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4096202/
  - gardnr 9y ago
    Good point. I was accepting other studies as general guidance. I had overlooked the importance of genetics. For readers that do not click through to read the study or Wikipedia page the conclusion of the study can be summarized as: > There are a number of mutations of BHLHE41. Mutations reduce total sleep while maintaining NREM sleep and provide resistance to the effects of sleep loss. More info at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BHLHE41 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BHLHE41
- stevesimmons 9y ago
  Genetics makes a big difference... My usual routine is up at 6, leave home at 6:15, at work by 7, work til 6pm, sport from 6:30 to 9pm, home at 10pm, dinner with my partner til 11pm, then together we work/do admin/surfing/etc. Bed is ideally 1am, though usually 1:15. So long as I get 4.5 hours sleep I am fine. Less that 4 and I feel noticeably less sharp the next day. At weekends, I will sleep 1-2 hours longer. In a previous HN comment thread, people doubted I actually do this for more than short bursts. However my friends and colleagues know it is absolutely true: I started working like this when I was 20, and am now 47. In my case, the genetic connection is narcolepsy, i.e. excessive sleepiness. At night, I fall asleep in typically a minute. Sleep lab tests show I hit REM sleep in several minutes. 90 minutes is normal. So my 4.5 hours is equivalent to 6 hours for 'normal' people. For me tiredness is related to activity level, not hours awake. I deliberately go for high-pressure jobs (investment banking tech) and high-complexity active hobbies (flamenco dancing). Otherwise I would sleep all day. Just my personal perspective...

gardnr 9y ago

If you are the Jon Dubois of armory.com then your late nights had a crucial impact on me being who I am today. The first time I connected to the "Internet" was through your dialup SCO server in the early 90s. I can't even begin to thank you enough.

jondubois 9y ago
Oh, wow, now I understand why people sometimes call me out by name on HN. I didn't understand what that was about. I'm not THAT Jon Dubois but quite a coincidence, he sounds like a real pioneer. Now I understand why I get so many upvotes on HN. I thought it was because my comments were insightful :(
- farax91 9y ago
  They're not bad :)
- eeZah7Ux 9y ago
  > I'm not THAT Jon Dubois [...] I thought it was because my comments were insightful :( Instantaneous impostor syndrome. I feel sorry for you :(
- gardnr 9y ago
  I wouldn't worry about it too much. Looks like you have a good comment history, and a powerful spirit ally.
ConfucianNardin 9y ago
Not the same person. It seems the person who ran armory.com, John H. DuBois III, passed away in 2012: http://lists.celestial.com/pipermail/sco-misc/2012-March/014430.html http://lists.celestial.com/pipermail/sco-misc/2012-March/014... https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/felton-lug/V1OE-HaaiRQ/99Z1sn7kIZYJ https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/felton-lug/V1OE-HaaiRQ...
- jondubois 9y ago
  I guess I have to carry on his legacy then...

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

varjag 9y ago

That has as much to do with actual burnout as depressing news with clinical depression.