What is the value of sleep?

[co_delphi]

Recently I have been offered the ability to do some overtime at work. The last two days I have worked the maximum amount alotted and because of this have been working 14 hour days instead of my typical 8 hour days. Any time past that of the typical 40 hours a week I get time and a half for. I have just been offered the ability to do the same the next three days..... Which is more valuable in your opinion..... an extra $500 for the holidays or the a longer nights sleep?

[Idlethought]

are you hurting for cash?

[co_delphi]

no, but extra cash never hurts

[dzee]

the ironic thing was, at first glance - i actually thought you were being paid to sleep. :D

i'd take extra cash, but only if i'm not close to death for sleep.

[co_delphi]

I've decided to work thursday and friday...... But not tomorrow..... My eyes are itching right now and are so bloodshot it looks like I've been hitting the bong. So one night of blissful sleep then two more days of long hours of work. Then I will also be working the day after Christmas and the day after New Year (since this is typically a holiday I get double time and a half).

[Komachi Angel]

If you can do it, it might be worth the extra slog to have a bit of extra cash in pocket. If it were a more long-term situation then I would be somewhat apprehensive, but if there are no particular circumstances that prevent you from doing so, it might be handy.

[pva_glue]

I work 8am ~ 7 pm all day for 5 days a week.

I average 50 hours a week paid :) 8 hours normal + 2hours times and half.

I get home 9PM have dinner then bed.

I cant really put price on GOOD SLEEP, I need good sleep :)

[NERD]

Just don't blow the money on alcohol. Oy.

[dzee]

just don't get yourself into hospital from exhaustion and blow the cash :/

[Shamu]

Extra cash is always a good thing this time of year. I would do it if you can, just don't make yourself sick.
I'm salleried, so I don't get over time :(

[Spaatz965]

Just don't do it too long. Worked a summer for a contract security company as an on call only guy...I was the emergency spare in case there was a post to cover and no one else could be found to cover it. Garanteed paid for 40 hours minimum, and at least a certain rate (the higher of mine or the posts). 70 hours in seven days on a pager just *sucks*, but at the time, the money was better than anything else I had going. But after 12 weeks I had to move on...was way too burned out.

But damn, the stories I have from that time. Security guards see all kinds of wild stuff.

Anyhow...as long as you don't over do it, and it isn't for too long at a stretch, go for it.

[co_delphi]

But damn, the stories I have from that time. Security guards see all kinds of wild stuff.


Agreed..... I used to do concert/sporting event security. It is not a job to support yourself on, but it certainly gives you some interesting stories.

[karob]

If you are single and don't mind sacrificing a bit of your social life then definately work those days. You can always catch up on your sleep the following week.

[FireWolf238]

for those of us who do not have a social life, work is second best alternative...i'd take the cash, 3 days of 5 hours of sleep is not bad.

[dillon]

take provigil (http://www.provigilweb.org/) XP

[karob]

Or if anyone else here watches Desperate Housewives they would know to take their childrens A.D.D. medicine. That works... for awhile.

[more cheerios]

I'll work overtime, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. I love sleeping so much. :)

[Sho™]

All you really need is 6 hours of sleep a night. You wouldn't get much of a social life with the overtime, but the extra cash is definitely worth it. I'd take the work. :P

[Loc]

Sleep > money by far :D

If I was you, I'd just sleep as much as I could, hibernate for the winter :p

[Frankey-eh]

Sleep > money by far :D

If I was you, I'd just sleep as much as I could, hibernate for the winter :p

I agree with you on this one. But I'm biased because I'm sleep-deprived right now... Sleep = priceless, right now, for me. Why do teachers like giving out every form of academic torture on the same week?

[Pookie42]

Sleep is insanely important, i've been deprived of it for awhile.... hahaha but if its a short term thing and u can take it i agree with most everyone else that u should do it, but don't do it long term because your body won't respond well to it, esp in teh winter.lack of sleep can affect ur immune sys so even if u dun collapse from exhasution (lack of sleep isn't gnna do that to u right away neways no worries) but u could get sick and that's never pleasant, stay healthy during the holidays ya hear? o tho make sure u do make up the sleep

[Myrsilus]

6 hours of sleep? The bare minimum is 8 hours, and that's assuming you don't have a sleeping disorder to hinder your ability to sleep comfortably.

It all depends on one's priorities... I'd say sleep, but not everyone can commit to healthy habits. I have a hard time with sleep myself...

[stillbornsinger]

In the last 36+ hours I've gotten two 1 hour naps... one of the two I risked potentially going to captains mast to get the sleep because hey... I had just been awake for 24 hours strait and needed an hour, and the second was through my lunch break...

I've still got till 2200 tonight before I'll be able to get to sleep... so that will be about 40 hours of being awake from two seperate 1 hour naps that really wernt that great...

I value my sleep greatly and am not getting enough =(

Since I'm in the military and paid on a salary I'm not getting any extra money for this... actually I figure I'm earning less money because I'm working more hours for the same paycheck. :mad:

[karob]

No kidding so wtf are you doing it. You are allotted a certain amount of time to sleep unless you are in a state of emergeny and based on the fact that you are posting on this forum you are in no such thing. I'm in the military(damn it) and if needed I would pull out the AFI(rule book) and find the article stating I should be sleeping instead of pulling almost 2 days straight of a shift. Don't let anyone in your command tell you different. If they give you shit go one higher on the chain.

[Praetorian]

If the average 19th century proletariat could manage that for 30+ years, you can do it for 3 days.



(Answer to title: 5 euros.)

[stillbornsinger]

Its a small command and I have a lot of responsibilities... I can make these posts because fortunantly right now I have enough down time to surf the web for a little while, but there is just to much crap to be able to fall asleep and wake up again...

alright... I'll try and explain my day...

0500- reville
breakfast and morning stuff
0630- quarters
0645-1300 - navigation detail (sitting at a radar taking fixes while the ship got underway)
1130 (had 15 minutes to eat lunch)
1300-1600 work
1630- brief for navigation detail
1645-2230 navigation detail (anchoring then getting back underway)
2230- tried to lay down for a few minutes but someone came and got me after about two minutes because someone else had screwed up some settings on the radar and I'm the "go to guy"
2245-0545- stood watch in the communications center and messed with gear
0600-0700- took a nap, but I could of gotten in trouble for it because I was supposed to be somewhere at 0615.
0715-1100- navigation detail (pulling back into port)
1130-1200- ate lunch
1200-1300- slept, but I was supposed to be somewhere... nobody noticed :)
1300-1600- did some work, but not much...
1645-1730- ate dinner
1800-1930- working party (moving frozen storage)
now- watching a movie because I have to be somewhere at 2130, then I'll take a shower and be in bed... I'd be sleeping right now, but I know if I fell asleep I'd never wake up again in time to get there for the 2130 thing...
2200- I'll go to sleep... wake up at 0600 and work another full day... then go to sleep and have duty on saturdy so, another full day of work and then some...

bleh... sometimes I hate my fucking job...
That was a rough estimate of my time over the last two days.

Shit like this happens pretty often, where there is just so much stuff going on at once that I don't get much sleep... there was a week last year where I got about 6 hours of combined sleep over the entire week.

[karob]

My day(not kidding)

0630-0700 - Wake up in a hotel
0700-0730 - Get ready for work. Walk down stairs and the free(but undercooked) breakfast
0800 - Show up to work
0830 - Walk 50ft and listen to someone higher ranking then me tell us to be safe today
0845-1100 - Surf the net
1100-12/1300 - Lunch
1300-1630 - Surf the net
1630ish - Go back to the hotel

Throw in some paperwork every now and then and that's my day. Plus the per diem here is pretty high so I get paid, paid, paid.

[stillbornsinger]

Enjoy that job while you can!

I've been in that position as well... the military can be really awesome, and pay well... especially if you're doing a cake job someplace where the pay is good.

But there are so many other jobs where you are just overworked, and depending on the location probably paid less than the guy doing practically nothing.

Where are you stationed at?

[Life25Karma]

Never hurts to earn some extra dough for the holidays. Last year I worked a double shift for my company since no one else wanted to. I ended up killing serious over time thus allowing me to go bananas at the mall for Christmas gifts. So as long as you don't make yourself sick, and you get plenty of rest afterwards, then I'd say go for it. ...and um Karma wants a plasma screen TV...*hint hint* :D

[co_delphi]

The way I figure it my girlfriend has fairly expensive tastes and has given no valid hints for gifts. We have a apartment full to the brim so I must also try to not add to the clutter. I have a feeling I will probably have to default for something small and shiny..... but those type of things usually make up for the lack of size in the cost out of pocket.

[Daddaluma]

6 hours of sleep? The bare minimum is 8 hours, and that's assuming you don't have a sleeping disorder to hinder your ability to sleep comfortably.

It all depends on one's priorities... I'd say sleep, but not everyone can commit to healthy habits. I have a hard time with sleep myself...

While there are a very small number of people who only need 7, 6, 5, or even 4 hours of sleep a night, you're right, the vast vast majority of us require 8 hours of sleep.

But interestingly enough, 8 is not only the bare minimum, it's also just about the maximum we're able to sleep, provided we haven't accumulated any prior "sleep debt". "Sleep debt" is accumulated over your lifetime. For every hour of sleep you miss, you have to sleep an extra hour at some later point to make up for it. As far as I remember learning, these "sleep debt" hours dont' ever disappear. So if you spent a period of your life regularly getting 6 or 7 hours of sleep a night, you've got a ton of make up sleeping to do before you reach parity again.

If you are perfectly well rested (i.e. no sleep debt at all), then you're body/mind is incapable of sleeping much longer than 8 hours a night. You can lie in bed and rest, but you won't be able to fall asleep again.

This is something most of us have never and will never experience, I imagine.

So sleep is very important, but you can also make up for lost sleep at a later time. So I say, make the extra 500 dollars while you can.

[Frankey-eh]

So sleep is very important, but you can also make up for lost sleep at a later time. So I say, make the extra 500 dollars while you can.

...that's harmful to your body. Sure, you can sleep 6 hours a weekday and then sleep 12 hours a weekend, but when you wake up on the weekends, you will have no energy to do anything. It's the same as how you can't eat five days' worth of food at the beginning of the week so that you won't have to make time for dinner every day.

[hapacheese]

Hm... Considering that I work 12-14 hours a day with *no* overtime pay (me = salaried), I'd say do it :)

It's not like it's a constant thing, and it's only a couple of days. $500 is $500.

[Daddaluma]

...that's harmful to your body. Sure, you can sleep 6 hours a weekday and then sleep 12 hours a weekend, but when you wake up on the weekends, you will have no energy to do anything. It's the same as how you can't eat five days' worth of food at the beginning of the week so that you won't have to make time for dinner every day.

It's not the same as food at all. Your body can't process 5 days worth of food at once, so most of that food would just pass through undigested. Most of it just goes to waste.

If you're capable of sleeping for 12 hours at a time, it means you're sleep deprived and your body needs all those extra hours. They're not going to waste. Also, I didn't say you could make up the sleep all at one time. You could just sleep an extra hour each night until you've made it up.

It may be bad in a psychological sense where you're disrupting your patterns and throwing your body out of whack for a time, but as far as I know, there is nothing damaging about it.

And as for having no energy to do anything after sleeping for 12 hours, that's purely psychological. There's no energy draining effect from sleeping for 12 hours.

[Sho™]

6 hours of sleep? The bare minimum is 8 hours, and that's assuming you don't have a sleeping disorder to hinder your ability to sleep comfortably.

It all depends on one's priorities... I'd say sleep, but not everyone can commit to healthy habits. I have a hard time with sleep myself...

You're right, it does depend on one's priorities. However, I find that I can get by with around 6 hours of sleep a week. Of course, I am a little tired the next morning and need some coffee to function, but after a while I'm all set for the day.
However on the weekends, I sleep in as much as I feel like. Usually because I've gone and got tanked that Friday or Saturday night...but heh, back on topic. 6 hours works OK for me, and I suppose everyone is different. Girls love their sleep more than guys though. I assume they need more time to recharge.

[stillbornsinger]

Girls love their sleep more than guys though. I assume they need more time to recharge.

How do you figure?

(off topic... I love combining the two...)

[Frankey-eh]

Girls love their sleep more than guys though. I assume they need more time to recharge.

to an extent, I suppose so. "beauty sleep" or something. Although I distinctively remember I hated sleeping when I was young and had a chance to sleep in. I would wake up at six or something (which was considered early for a little me) and start my day.

Now I treasure sleep. And tonight, I'm going to get more than 3 hours of sleep for the first time this week! ^_^

[dzee]

cos we're afraid of getting dark eyerings? :)

alright, i'll admit to it - i am lazy. nothing to do with beauty or not. i just like to laze on my bed.

[stillbornsinger]

I've had dark eye rings for the better part of the last couple of years... and I'm only 21 :(

[Zslash]

In not so many words, you do what your body tells you or bad things happen. So get some shut eye will you?