I used to have a pretty irregular sleep pattern, and one thing I definitely noticed was the feeling of euphoria that comes with sleep-deprivation. If I stayed up deep into the night, I would feel great: energetic and ready to get things done. Such a state was also creatively useful: I did a lot of pretty good work in the deep of night. Somewhat paradoxically, I found it easier to focus at that hour.
However, these benefits were only the case for light or mild sleep deprivation. If I was more sleep-deprived, e.g. 4 hours a night for a few days, then the pendulum would swing the other way and I would feel pretty useless and slow.
I should also note that the sleep-deprived, energetic creative state was only useful for projects that I could do in a single push. If I could do some project from start to finish in a single creative burst, then an all-nighter wouldn't be a terrible way of getting it done. There would be few distractions, it'd be easy to get "flow" going, and I suspect that the euphoric, sleep-deprived state marginally reduce inhibitions, which can lead to better work.
On the other hand, it's not that great for tackling a section of a larger project, which I think are better crafted slowly during the day, over the course of a few days.
Sleep deprivation causes dramatic deficits in the ability to attend to task, working memory, and mood stability. It is the exact opposite of adderall. More like coming off adderrall.
>>Somewhat paradoxically, I found it easier to focus at that hour.
This is because everyone else is sleeping and there are no distractions. Also, if you live in an urban area, the ambient city noise tends to be at a minimum at night, which can give a sense of peace and comfort that is otherwise not fully there.
I'm currently the same way. I frequently end up not sleeping for a night during the weekend, and end up going to work on the Monday at 4am because I went to sleep in the afternoon on the Sunday. Fortunately, I don't really have any restrictions on my lifestyle at the moment.
I've tried to explain that not sleeping feels good to people before, but I'm always met with disbelief. I'm glad there's someone else out there who understands.
Yes, I totally understand, but I also feel as if I should point out that it's probably not good. Sleep deprivation is associated with some health problems, and an irregular sleep pattern has effects on your melatonin production.
Moreover, it's common to use sleep-deprivation to self-medicate depression. So, make sure you're all right. :-)
However, these benefits were only the case for light or mild sleep deprivation. If I was more sleep-deprived, e.g. 4 hours a night for a few days, then the pendulum would swing the other way and I would feel pretty useless and slow.
I should also note that the sleep-deprived, energetic creative state was only useful for projects that I could do in a single push. If I could do some project from start to finish in a single creative burst, then an all-nighter wouldn't be a terrible way of getting it done. There would be few distractions, it'd be easy to get "flow" going, and I suspect that the euphoric, sleep-deprived state marginally reduce inhibitions, which can lead to better work.
On the other hand, it's not that great for tackling a section of a larger project, which I think are better crafted slowly during the day, over the course of a few days.