I've found that if I wake up with less than 7-9 hours of sleep, that I get really tired around 4-6pm or so and I end up having to take a nap. I've stopped using an alarm clock and I just get up when I wake up by leaving the blinds open and letting the sun wake me up.
I need about 8.5 or 9 normally, but typically get 6. By the end of the week I'm pretty fried and then crash late Friday night for about 12 hours.<p>My sleep "schedule" is also all over the place due to sporadic early morning customer meetings, or late night international ones.<p>Oh the life of the startup.
I try to get at least 7, preferrably 8, but not more than 9. Any more and I feel tired for the rest of the day. Less, and I don't feel like my mind is as sharp as I'd like. Left to my own devices, I don't get very much done at either end of things.<p>I can work with too much sleep, if I have something that needs doing. But with too little, I find that the code I write isn't very good and wind up rewriting it later on. I write better code after a few drinks than when I haven't had enough sleep, for example.
I try to get 9 (I heard that's healthy, or something...) but average around 7-8. Sleeping feels so good, but so does working. What a lovely zero sum game.
I am most alert if I get 5-6 hours of sleep, eat a minimal amount, and take a 30min nap around 2pm. Most days I don't need to take a nap.<p>If I sleep more than 7 hours, I am tired all day. If I eat too much I need a long nap.<p>If I am up late all weekend hacking, partying, or playing games, getting may 8 hours of sleep for the entire weekend, I may need to catch up for a week or two after that with 7 or 8 hours of sleep a night.
I really try to do around 6 on weekdays and as close to 8 or better as I can on the weekend.<p>6 During the weekdays is an optimal number for me, as it allows me to get in to work early (7:30 or so) and leave and a decent time (5:30) to sync my schedules with my fiance who works 8-4 and then I can have supper and relax a bit and then have time to do some work if necessary before I go to bed at ~12-12:30
It depends on whether you work full time, part time, working for yourself or doing nothing. I imagine full time people try to maximise their spare time, so reduce their sleeping time and effectively turn into zombies.
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I have a weird sleeping time, i find out that from 12am to 8am i'm more productive coder, maybe because all the people are sleeping and i'm not get distracted easily.
To me, which hours I get are even more important than how many hours. Even shifting my pattern by an hour or 2 usually makes me less alert the next day.