Damn it, now we know why the channel is ending - Mike is simply caring about our health and doesn't want us to watch his videos instead of going to sleep
I didn't watch the original video because it was 3 am and when the title asked me if I'm getting enough sleep and I just said no and went to bed. This video just reminded me to watch it. Past tired me thanks you I guess...
In college I tried polyphasic sleeping during my final senior semester. I took multiple desk job shifts at 3 am in addition to wanting to complete my art project with as many social interactions removed. I never got confused but my reaction time to everything slowed down. I did not trust myself driving and refused to do so without getting a seven hour sleep session completed before the drive. Many time I would end up crashing into a state of sleep that would last 10 hours after 2 weeks of only polyphasic sleep. I stopped after about 2 months of trying it.
I think the disjointed historical sleep schedule was at least partly caused by the need to heat with fire. Someone has to wake up in the middle of the night to feed the fire, probably waking other light sleepers, and then once you're all up you might as well do something, like eat, have sex, or tell stories, until you're tired enough to fall back asleep. So I don't know that it's in any way more natural if you no longer have to tend the hearth fire.
Oh my gosh! I used to manage a Blockbuster. (high-five) I remember one time I was the closing manager, stayed overnight to do the inventory, napped on the floor in the office, then got up to open the store. Man I was younger then. On the topic of getting older and finding mornings more productive I have to agree. I've always considered myself a night owl but as the years have ticked by I'm finding early mornings are outpacing light nights for productivity. Though when it comes to things like gaming there's still a great appeal to pulling those long nights. However that may have more to do with the nature of MMOs.
The polyphasic sleeping you mentioned is interesting because I actually have two friends (twins) who slept that way in high school. They would go to school for six hours a day, come home and sleep for a few hours, then wake up and do all of their homework or streaming or whatever it was they wanted to do for several hours into the middle of the night or early morning, and then sleep until it was time to get up for school. And they functioned fine. Great, actually. It always seemed strange to me, the process of waking up for me is just so that, such a process, that I couldn't imagine making myself go through it multiple times a day ON PURPOSE.
i remember in grades 9 and 10 when i started using IRC in general (i first used the pbsideachannel irc in 10th grade at some point) i would stay up fairly late using the IRC, i'd go to bed between 4am and 5am. now, that doesn't sound too bad.. but i had to wake up at 7am. 2-3 hours of sleep every day for 2 years is hell on the brain. if you sleep for less than 4 hours, it is worse than no sleep at all. according to my psychologist, if you are sleeping for less than 4 hours a night you are just as impaired as if you were legally drunk. so i was basically mentally impaired for 2 years, with anxiety and depression already; i don't know how i passed my classes in those 2 years.
I have practiced poly-phasic sleep to pretty good effect before, but it required a slightly larger quantity of time than bulk sleep. When planning poly-phasic sleep I find it helpful to actually calculate how long the sleep cycle takes and then planning around that. 8 hours is somewhat non-ideal even for bulk sleep because it does not line up well with the sleep cycle, and often results in groggy mornings due to alarms occurring during the deep sleep section of the cycle.
Interesting, my "compiling" has been put into my second 4 hours of sleep (2 p 4 hours split by an 8 hour of awake, just started 3 weeks ago and its working very well) It makes the second half of my day far far more creative than my first, in essence the first half is "Get files" Sleep is "Jumble files" And second awake is "create something from said jumble" idk, i am really liking this schedule as it prevents my arthritis from locking me up as easily over 8 hours of sleep, and now this benefit, certainly a great thing to have!
I vouch for waking up early instead of staying up late to get projects done. In high school I would stay up nearly all night to write papers but now that I'm in college I'm finding that anywhere too far past midnight and I just get too tired to do anything productive. Waking up an hour earlier also gives me the pressure of the impending deadline so I work a lot more efficiently. Whenever I try to stay up late to work on stuff I always spend much more time procrastinating and trying not to fall asleep than working, so I stay up way later than I probably needed to and get less sleep than if I had just gone to bed at a reasonable time and cut out an hour the next morning.
I'm the opposite though. Waking up at 5 am, assuming that I was able to sleep with the 8 pm sunset in my face, I have to fight drowsiness to become fully awake. Go to bed at 10, wake up 7 am, I'm staring at a blank wall trying to remember my own name until 9. Stay up until 5 am? I've never felt more alive, and I've learned all the words to a song in Finnish after completing my essay
We in the EU have the Working Time Directive, which limits workers to 48 hours per week, so I guess we have fewer constraints constricting our sleep (in theory) Really interesting that you mention Universal Basic Income, having more free time and automation together. Here in the UK, the Green Party (of England and Wales) advocates not only the introduction of a Universal Basic Income, but also a shortening of the working week to four days. So rather than allowing people more time at the beginning or the end of the day (as you hypothesize), the weekend would become longer, or the working week would be split into two chunks. I don't know how it would work in practice, but it does seem to go hand-in-hand with UBI.
woodgreener in the UK we can opt out of that restriction. In my experience, an opt out form is given on the first day of employment when you are unlikely to refuse...
Oh no! Now that Idea Channel is ending, that means they'll never do the episode discussing the idea: Is Pee-wee Herman just a complicated Buckaroo Banzai parody?
I think that sleep is becoming less of a priority all around even though it's one of the first things wellness people always recommend. Like I just graduated from college and everyone I knew could never get enough sleep because of their coursework load. I worked at Cinnabon and sometimes did those open and close shifts and it was treated like a totally normal thing. My little sister, in high school, almost never slept during the week and Saturdays were spent sleeping for 12+ hours because she was trying to keep up. It almost feels like sleep is something you have to earn the right to? Or be seriously wealthy in order to afford it? Otherwise, whether you have a physical labor job or a content creation job (both of which I have had experience with) your physical, mental or emotional exhaustion doesn't matter because there is always someone working harder on less sleep and you should be able to keep up.
The night shift people at walmart would always come in late, and never call. I was stuck at a register, so I couldn't flag down a manager and say 'hey I have to go'. One night I was supposed to get off at 11 (2nd shift ends at 10) and wasn't let go until 1 am. I overslept for my opening shift, explained why, and never came in at 7 am again
I saw an episode of Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman that said ants in colonies behave like neurons in brains. So now I wonder, do ant colonies "sleep"?
It seems to me that more and more people these days are taking supplements to keep themselves going for longer, sometimes sleep is not a luxury but a hindrance and sometime a waste of time...
On that morning/ evening dealio, I have a favorite Bono quote on that you might like: "I used to stay up late hoping to catch the muse, but now I get up early, bright eyed and bushy tailed, and take advantage of her as she's passing out."
no offense, but as someone who works a pretty dang physical job, the idea that ~creative types~ are expected to work longer hours than we are is frankly a load of bougie self congratulatory shit. like, my shortest shift is 12 hours, I work 24 hour shifts once in a while. as does every 'blue collar' healthcare worker I know, the nurses, the aides, the cleaning staff, the home care workers, and so on. ugh.
maggieedna That does not sound good, but it doesn't mean that people in creative jobs who find they need to work at night are getting enough sleep either. I mean one is worse than the other, but they are both y'know, not great sleepwise. I mean they are different jobs. We do need to value healthcare better than we do, especially at the moment it seems. Creative jobs are not life or death, but one does have to almost make value in what one does, which is a different challenge, especially in the face of exactly the kind of anger you're describing. I mean should creatives take what they do less seriously or more in the face of what you do?
I assume Mike was talking more about creative work because, y'know, that's what he knows. And also because the way that kind of work... works, is largely due to the whole thing about digital age, constant availability, and all that jive, because after all, this channel has often had a bit of a focus on that kind of technical advancements. But it is strange that he put so much focus on it and didn't really mention other 'blue collar' (for lack of better definition) work, which are often known for their rather relentless shifts and working hours.
maggieedna As some one who has worked in healthcare, not as medical staff but as a "creator" (I believe that the original comment or probably meant creative not in an artistic sense, as much as in a producer of content, i.e. Including computer programmers as well as graphic designers, etc.) I will say that you are right that healthcare workers are some of the most over worked, underpaid, and under appreciated employees ever. My short stint in a hospital showed me that overall it's a terrible work environment, filled with many incentives for terrible health habits. Healthcare was one of the most hierarchical, paternalistic work environments I've been in. Part of the problem is that there's a few administrators at the top and shit rolls downhill. Too much emphasis is put on reducing costs at the patient level, while the upper management make literally millions of dollars and pat each other on the back. However, as a computer programmer I've also worked in software. And I believe that there is an expectation there that you will always be working, not only because "all you have to do is think", but also because you are expected to be a genius.So much of the geek-macho identity is put into the appearance of not having to work hard because you're just that brilliant, that actual real human beings have to work ridiculously long hours trying to keep up appearances so that you're not found out (imposter syndrome). This, compounded with the fact that if you have a "creative" career, you're expected to love it so much that you want to do it in your down time, too, means that you feel immense pressure to work all the time, and in order to maintain what would otherwise be considered a normal amount of outside activities (social, gaming, etc), sleep tends to go on the chopping block. The reason for extended hours are completely different. In healthcare it's generally forced by upper management whereas in creative fields it is more generally an internal desire to fit in with cultural expectations. Of course this is a generalization and there are definitely counter examples on both sides, but this is just my observation from inside both industries.
viljamtheninja He went into that in the original video, and does touch on it again here. And I find that people actually *do* work more hours at white-collar type jobs. My boyfriend, who works 60 hours a week at a meat plant, clocks out at 3 pm and doesn't have to do anything else until he goes back to work at 5 am the next day. White collar jobs still have things to take home- my mom clocks in at 7 am, out at 4 pm (works through her non-guaranteed lunch break), and is expected to attend unpaid meetings, and is still doing paperwork hours later. Basically, after factoring in the commute and home duties, she's easily putting in at least 10-hour days. Is her work less exhausting than yours? Probably. But because her job is "less work" she's expected to spend more time doing it.
some days it feels like my so and i totally spend 20 hours a day asleep. we sleep a lot. like more than cats. some times we have that one day where we rarely sleep, and it puts me out of focus lol.
Im still enjoying my time as an art student having time to sleep 12h a day. And I hope when Im finished with this, there will be a basic income. *pfew*
And what about students?! More specifically college students. This is one of the segments of population most affected by lack of sleep due to the tight schedules ans the pressure of the exams. You didn't mention that at all
Mike this is good for shrooms I love your stuff Please don't go I know you'll see this I hope you like it Please respond in some way at your convenience
I would have thought labour laws like that would have already existed there, tbh. I can't remember what the exact number is here, in Canada, but an employer is not allowed to put two shifts together without a minimum amount of time between them. I, however, am self employed, and so do not get such luxuries as minimum breaks, etc. I guess being fair though, if I have time to type out a comment on a RU-vid video when I _should_ be sleeping, it's on me.
Here it's 8 hours, by policy if not by law. But that doesn't affect things like a 45-minute commute (now you're down to 6 1/2 hours of sleep minus breakfast and shower), or times when you don't get off at a scheduled time. I worked at a bakery that scheduled me to get off at 8, but would fall so far behind that doing the minimum of work I'd still get off as late as midnight, and the opening shift was 5 am. Technically, I had 9 hours between shifts, but got less than 3 hours of sleep. smh then they trust me with ovens and knives
+Ciara.Chaya fair points, I hadn't taken commute into consideration (which, really, I should have). Like I mentioned, I'm self employed...my work is often the last thing I see before going to sleep and than the first thing I see when I get back up. Such is the nature of self employment. (don't get me wrong though, there are enough benefits, to me at least, that far outweigh the drawbacks to self employment, depending, of course, on the line of work itself)
I wanted to write a comment on the original video but forgot about it so I guess here is fine. One thing he didn't mention is the moralization of sleep, in most work environments to be falling asleep on the job is seen as being a bad employee, or being sleepy in general as failing morally. I believe this type of sentiment is tied to the idea of someone who is a "playboy" spending all night drinking and clubbing and then not getting enough sleep. What people don't think about is that you reached a point of watching PBS Idea channel at 3 AM because you started to fall down the RU-vid Rabbit-hole at 9 pm. Let me put a finer point on it, people you work with literally don't like you because you fall asleep at work, they believe a just punishment would be to be fired. And to be clear this is regardless of whether or not you can actually get your work done, or how productive you can be when you aren't falling asleep. What are they so mad about? Again let me be clear this is even if your job position has no effect on their work at all, but only if you are perceived to be at the same "level" of employment. Like if the manager of the manger is falling asleep they don't produce the same type of ire towards that person. And no one seems to be empathetic to someone who can't stay awake. They seem to not understand that "willpower" has nothing to do with being able to stay awake during the day if you are tired from lack of sleep. I tried explaining it to a coworker, like look if you see me falling asleep while I am literally turning a wrench, how can you still be mad at me ? I am literally working until the point my body says nope and shuts down, and he still doesn't understand. I know this is a book and I apologize, but I have a theory on why these people are like this. Me vs the standard worker, the co-worker I tried to convince is not convinced because he is a "realist". He does not get caught in a RU-vid rabbit hole because he has no use for things he doesn't already "know". These workers seem to have set lives, routines come home cook and eat sleep and work, repeat. All he wants to know are things that will allow him to save money or make money, for example he will watch a RU-vid video on how to change your own alternator, but will not seek out videos that might help him be a better parent or question his views about god. The second part of the "realist" is that your job is everything because you job allows you to live, it is the MOST important thing and the only thing that matters everything else follows from it. I am too interested in the bigger world to ignore it, the "realist" worker is fine ignoring the wider world and just focusing on his own life and family. TL DR I am tired all the time I have been sleep deprived since 17 yrs old, I used to stay up late in high school, then joined the military at 18, military is not conducive to proper sleep schedule, left military in 2009 and worked as a shift worker, as a field service tech (on call 24/7), then back to manufacturing 9-5 while taking night classes trying to get my degree. I am always tired even if i don't look tired or feel tired I can fall asleep if i sit still for a couple of minutes. I am tired of the attitude I get from normal awake people, Ive been dealing with this for 15 years stop telling me I just need to get some sleep. Sometimes I dream of winning the lottery just so I can sleep and feel normal for once.
I think instead of the "playboy attitude" it's the gospel of wealth. If you have money, god rewarded you for hard work. Therefore if you're not working enough, you aren't pious enough to deserve money. Or in today's secular capitalism, replace "god" with the company you worship. I see what you mean though. I had a friend get fired for falling asleep on a 12-hour shift. Which especially sucks because he was only drowsy due to the medicine he was on, which he was taking to treat a work related injury.
I'm not even 25 yet but I have seen the benefit of waking up earlier to get stuff done rather than staying up later to do that stuff. I believe this was mostly to my experience with highschool where I spent most of the time staying up later rather than getting up early to get stuff done. Overall I think it is more your experience over time rather than your old man-ness.
Considering how little many companies want to spend on machinery vs the reliability of said machinery, unsupervised automation really doesn't seem feasible.
You're going to be mad at me for this, but...I watched this in the middle of the night too. My circadian rhythm still doesn't work properly, unfortunately.
Subscribed! Only because I think this guy is 'amazing'. 'Amazing' how he talking nonsense and BS for a good amount of time. Rip off people's comment, edited and posted it as his own contents. If he could manage to get millions of subscribers, I think he'd be very good on politic.
