Power of Sleep for Developers - 5 Important Reasons Backed by Science

The importance of sleep among developers

Do you know the story of going to bed late after a busy day at work?

The next day you get up tired, and in the afternoon a wave of sleepiness hits you. All day long your concentration is low, you eat more than usual and caffeine is the only thing that helps.

You are not the only one. The statistics are devastating. About 50 to 70 million Americans have sleep disorders, and 1 in 3 adults do not regularly get the recommended amount of uninterrupted sleep they need to protect their health.

Poor sleep has been linked to decreases in job performance and increases in job-related accidents. It leads to mental fatigue and a decline in alertness, learning, memory, thinking and executive functions, all of which affect work performance. This one factor has a significant impact on our health, work, and daily functioning. The programming profession requires creative thinking, solving complex problems, and constant learning. Getting enough sleep is a must.

Our team believes that the best results come with a relaxed mind. In this article, we will show you 5 reasons why getting enough sleep is crucial for your work and everyday life.

All insights come from the book "Why We Sleep", written by sleep scientist dr Matthew Walker.

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Sleep embraces creativity

During the dream-filled (REM) sleep phase, the brain searches for and finds new connections between previously collected information. As a result, after a good night's sleep, we often find solutions to problems we couldn't solve before. Sometimes it's better to sleep on it and come back to complex problems the next day.‍

Remarkable discoveries during sleep

Both Dmitrij Mendelejew and Otto Loewi saw their groundbreaking discoveries in a dream. The elements were arranged in the dream and appeared to Mendelejew as the periodic table he was looking for. The neuroscience experiment on frogs was revealed to Loewi during the night.

Have you heard the songs Yesterday and Let It Be? Both came to the Beatles musician after a good night's sleep. In the same way, the opening riff of Keith Richards' song Satisfaction was recorded on tape during the night. In the morning, he didn't even remember that he had hummed the melody in his sleep.

Sleep deprivation kills concentration

After ten days of six hours' sleep, the concentration drops to the level of someone who has been awake for 24 hours and it only gets worse. We may think we're doing well. But that's just an illusion. The number of microsleeps - short moments of not responding at all - increases by 400% compared to people who slept eight hours a day.

Get enough sleep and perform at your best every day, and if you're having trouble doing that, read more about chronotypes at the end of the article.

Sleep aids memory and learning

During sleep in the NREM phase, the brain organizes the collected information. It sorts them into important and irrelevant. The part that needs to be remembered is transferred to long-term memory. The unnecessary details are discarded, leaving fresh short-term memory.

If you want to make the most of your learning, don't forget to get enough sleep. Even a 20-minute nap during the day can improve memory consolidation - protecting newly learned facts in your brain.

Sleep supports emotional and social intelligence

Sleep-deprived people are more likely to have problems reading other people's emotions and facial expressions. They see the world as a more dangerous place than it is, and this doesn't allow them to take a rational view of situations. Sleep also increases empathy and helps us keep our emotions in check, which is an important factor in any interpersonal contact.

Sleep makes you healthy

Sleep affects the whole body, from minor problems to fatal diseases. Sleep deprivation increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease, contributes to mental illness and can more than double the risk of cancer. Sleep deprivation has also been linked in studies to obesity and heart disease. Eating well and exercising are great, but not enough - add 8 hours of sleep a night to your list of good habits.

Early bird or night owl?

One of the many things that determines how well we sleep is our chronotype. A chronotype is a genetic predisposition to function at a specific time of day. Chronotypes determine when we like to get up and go to bed, and when we are more likely to exercise our body and mind. They are responsible for the peaks and troughs in wakefulness throughout the day.

What about early birds and night owls? These are two of the three types of chronotypes that have been classified.

Evening type

• Around 30% of the population.
• They naturally prefer going to bed late and wake up late the following morning, or even in the afternoon.
• Despite being “awake,” their brain remains in a more sleep-like state throughout the early morning.

Morning type

• Around 40% of the population.
• They prefer to wake at or around dawn, are happy to do so, and function optimally at this time of day.
• Their peak of wakefulness arrives early in the day, and their sleepiness trough arrives early at night.

Someone in between

• The remaining 30 percent of people lie somewhere in between morning and evening types, with a slight leaning toward eveningness.

Unfortunately, not everyone has the opportunity to adjust their working hours according to their chronotype. This can result in social jet lag and difficulties achieving peak productivity.

Tips to sleep better

• Establish a consistent sleep schedule - go to bed at regular times.
• Know your chronotype. You may be an owl, an early bird or something in between. Your natural rhythm affects your energy levels throughout the day. You can check it with a Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ).
• Avoid caffeine and nicotine during the day.
• Naps are great, but don't take them after 3 pm so you can fall asleep easily at night.
• Keep your bedroom dark and cool and avoid extra lights.
• Take time to relax before going to bed and make it a daily ritual.

Conclusion

A good night's sleep can boost creativity, improve memory and concentration. Work at your peak performance with at least 8 hours of sleep a day.

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Disclaimer: All content on this platform is provided for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.