Quote:
Originally Posted by Hugh Hollowell  Bryant Gumbel was famous for running on 3-5 hours of sleep. When asked about it, he said:
"Two things: No matter how much sleep you get, it is never enough, and 10 minutes after you get up, it doesn't matter anyway".
[...snip] |
Firstly, I'd like to take issue with that - that's a very dangerous urban myth to be spreading. I remember seeing a docco on sleep deprivation that concluded that driving while tired was just as bad as driving drunk. And I'm speaking as someone who has actually gone to sleep at the wheel and I'm lucky to be alive and typing this right now. I'm also lucky I didn't kill the guy I hit head on... When I had my accident it was late afternoon after I had woken up early to do a day gig and I was driving home to freshen up before my normal gig.
I've been thinking about this whole waking up early thing for a while now and reading a lot about it. It's in the spirit of the new year coming up and starting to make plans etc. Let me tell you a little about my situation:
I'm a musician, so for over 20 years now I've mainly been working at night. Generally most gigs finish around midnight, sometimes 2 or 3AM. Then there's the packing up and driving home... Towards the end of 2005 I found that work was dropping off so I took on a part time job in a large company with rotating shifts. Well it's nearly killed me - to the point that I just finished up that job last week. I found it really hard to be awake and alert early in the morning. Going to bed early was no use - I just wouldn't sleep at all. Heck, I normally don't even start to feel hungry till around midnight. Night after night I would toss and turn for hours and wake up in the cold morning feeling rotten.
Well the break has been made, the job is finished so it's now up to me to make a plan for the new year that will work for me.
I think that the 5AM point may have been set to suit the majority of people who work 9 to 5 - so if they wake up at 5 they have 4 hours to get ready mentally and physically for work and have 5 hours to get home, have dinner, watch some TV and be in bed by 10PM. The point is presumably to be at peak alertness in the most important part of the working day - in the afternoon when deals are done, sales are made etc.
In my case, I need to be at my most alert when I am on stage - say, around 10PM to midnight. So I am thinking I'm going to try the same kind of principle, but shift it back say, 7 hours. So I am going to try setting no appointments, phone calls or tasks for myself before midday every day. I agree with the bit about keeping regular hours, so I'm trying to find something I can stick to [nearly] every day.
Those rotating shifts were the worst, man - it was like being jetlagged every couple of weeks!
What do you guys think - I'd be interested in hearing how you would fit shift work in with sleeping patterns. Pros? Cons?
Cheers...