I stopped by the Monastery last night, at about 1:30 AM, and noticed that there were a great many people still online. Now, mind you I don't really find this as unusual, and as Mission pointed out to me, programmers are up, and online at many strange hours. But this got me to thinking about how society seems to be changing as far as sleep is concerned.

I've recently seen some news reports that say Americans are getting less sleep than the recommended 8 hours. They say that a lack of sleep, or getting less sleep can lead to illness and memory loss. Are their claims valid?

I have found, as I got older, that I sleep less and less, not because I want to, it's just happened. I think I get 4 to 5 hours a night, and then 12 or 14 usually on Saturday night. I have also found that I can be very creative late at night, when I haven't slept all day. Is this typical?

I guess the questions are these:

• How many hours of sleep do you get a night, and is it all at one time, or split into smaller chunks?
• Do you have sleeping problems, and if so how do you cope with them?
• Do you feel that the studies on sleep are invalid and getting less sleep doesn't lead to illness and memory loss?
• Can you be just as productive will little sleep?
• Are people adapting to busier lives by using something like caffine and neglecting sleep?
• Does a higher stress level affect your sleeping patterns?
• At what point do we all become so infused with caffine that our eyes will glow blue? :)

As programmers, I don't think we really have set hours, no 1st, 2nd, or 3rd shifts (although our bosses might seem to think so). We just program when we're awake.

Arashi

I'm sure Edison turned himself a lot of colors before he invented the lightbulb. - H.S.