How do you operate on minimal sleep?
I’ve recently had a string of late nights and feel like absolute shit. I believe the body learns to operate more efficiently once this becomes a pattern (but still suboptimal to a pattern of adequate sleep), but after getting around 8 hours for a couple months now, this 4 day stretch of 6h per night has been brutal.
I wear contacts, and my eyes do not like it when I get less than 8 hours. My stomach always feels upset, and all my body and mind want to do is go to sleep.
I am posting this in the banking forum as bankers are used to operating on less sleep.
Vyvanse and energy drinks, as well as oversleeping (12 hours) on weekends
I usually make a point to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep. Hasn't really been a problem once I finished my first year as an associate.
On the rare occasions (like single digits / year) where that's not possible, I'm so wired from everything going on that sleep isn't really an option. It's like trying to fall asleep immediately after a hockey game, if you've ever played.
How was your first year as an associate?
Pretty brutal. 100+ hour weeks were the norm, albeit with some control over schedule so still could prioritize sleep where applicable. The better you are at anticipating, the easier the hours and more manageable your schedule.
coke
edit: to respond to the monkey shit "low quality", it's actually high quality
I’ve had under 6 hours a night for years. You adjust. Also, I have 3-4 shots of espresso by the time I am in the office, plus run and shower first thing in the morning. Increase the quality of your sleep with no screen time prior to bed, meditation/breathing exercises before bed, and 5-10 minute stretch before you sleep. Tracking sleep using whoop has been a game changer for me in past couple of years.
>bro just sleep deprive and have 4 espressos first thing in the morning every day for years
is this the state of the industry, bros?
I don’t take caffeine frequently so that when I actually need it, it hits harder because I have low tolerance.
Repetition. I know that long term this will only hurt your health, but forcing your body to adapt to minimal sleep takes time.
Presently, I operate on about 3-3.5 hours on weeknights, 5-5.5 on weekends, and if I’m in the field probably less then 2. It sucks for a couple of months, but eventually you just get used to it. Took me almost a year to get to a point where I stopped feeling exhausted by 1pm.
What do you do for work?
I serve in the armed forces. Studied a finance minor in college and intended to pursue IB back then, but duty called and I put off those interests.
A year of doing this? You do realize this will irreversibly damage your health right?
Why don’t you go to bed a bit earlier?
Unless you sleep in a trench and are kept awake by constant shelling I don’t understand
Pick your poison ADHD meds, shit ton of coffee, or drugs
In my 30s now... self employed. Anywhere from 4-5 hours a night to 10 hours on weekends to catch up.
Weekdays tend to be 5-7 hours.
You end up working harder the more success you chase. Reality is that life gets harder, however less dreadful if you are doing what you love.
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