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I started working at a small startup in January. With the team as small as it is, the working hours are very flexible -- if I make it into the office at 10:00,
by adambard 13y ago
I started working at a small startup in January. With the team as small as it is, the working hours are very flexible -- if I make it into the office at 10:00, I'm usually the first one there.
Since I had the luxury, I did something that I want to wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who can: I stopped using an alarm clock.
I'm a "night owl". I tend to have trouble sleeping before midnight, and often stay up later than that. Unfortunately, for most of my life (from school, to university, to a 9-5 job at a "real" company) I've had to wake up earlier than I would otherwise, normally around 7:00 or 7:30. It was always a struggle, and I would usually hit snooze a few times before I actually managed to struggle out of bed. Even if I happened to go to bed early enough to get 8 hours' sleep, I'd have trouble getting up.
It took me about a month at to sleep off my debt. Now I go to bed when I want, and wake up in the morning around 8:00 or 8:30, no alarm needed. I went from 3-4 cups of coffee per day to 1. I'm almost always in a good mood, even first thing in the morning. I used to be convinced that sleeping for 10 hours if I wasn't interrupted was just a fact of my existence; now I wake up after 7 and a half hours, all by myself.
This is not an endorsement for setting your schedule to 10-6. It's an endorsement for not setting your schedule. If you treat yourself right, body will know when it's time to get some work done, no clock needed.
- jaf12duke 13y agoI have a slight tweak on this. I stopped using an audible alarm clock. I've used a light-only alarm clock for years now-- The real value is that the light rises slowly and your body eventually wakes up when it's ready.
- adambard 13y agoThe window in my bedroom approximately faces the rising sun, which certainly doesn't hurt the situation. I didn't make a point of that, but I'd definitely miss it.
- lobster_johnson 13y ago> It took me about a month at to sleep off my debt. I am pretty sure you didn't "sleep off your debt". Sleep debt is something you easily recover right away, just by sleeping until you wake naturally. What you did was to shift your circadian phase. The circadian phase is usually measured by the nadir point of the core body temperature rhythm [1] (apparently the better measurement is of the "endogenous melatonin rhythm", but it's easier to talk about core body temperature). Apparently you can force the nadir point forward, but it's relatively hard to move it backwards. You move it forward by delaying sleep, thus accumulating sleep debt that causes you to get up increasignly later. To move it backwards you have to curtail your sleep, thus accumulating sleep debt which needs to be paid at some point. About your solution: As a fellow night owl, if I just set my sleep cycle free, at it were, then my wakeup time quickly shifts to around 16-17:00, and I sleep 9-10 hours per night. So while your recipe works for you, it's not for everyone. [1] http://www.cmse.ch/pdf/colloque_14_octobre/6_approche%20troubles%20circadiens.pdf http://www.cmse.ch/pdf/colloque_14_octobre/6_approche%20trou...
- wting 13y agoActually, studies from multiple sources prove that sleep debt is a real thing: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/health/03real.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/health/03real.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/26/nyregion/the-high-cost-of-paying-off-a-sleep-debt.html http://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/26/nyregion/the-high-cost-of-...
- SatvikBeri 13y agoSeconded. I have experienced huge benefits from not using an alarm clock. My sleep schedule is now very erratic (I'll wake up anywhere from 7-10), but I'm almost always refreshed during the day, and have a much easier time focusing and getting work/fun done.
- taeric 13y agoI've never used an alarm clock. Until I was about 24 I could be up till 2 and still get up by 5 easily. Around that time, I started having more and more trouble getting up early. I would still get up around 8-9, but not before. Also, around that time I started drinking coffee. So... I have zero clue how or why, but I recently stopped drinking coffee and I'm back to 7 being late for me. It is a good feeling. More than a bit of a shame, though, as I do like the taste of coffee.
- theycallmemorty 13y agoOut of curiousity what part of the world do you live in? I'm curious what time the sun sets and rises and how that affects you.