- Desired talk duration: 30 minutes (could also do 15)
Sleep: we all do it. It's easy, and yet -- as most of us experience every morning -- it's somehow really hard too. It's also very relevant: as thinkers, creators, and problem solvers -- people whose fundamental job it is to use our heads -- how our brains work is a subject of huge importance. Our decisions affect our sleep, which in turn affects how quickly and clearly we think and hence how well we design and code. A community that puts continuous effort into finding and tweaking the hell out of the best tools available shouldn't neglect its first and dearest implement, right?
This isn't a technical talk, but rather a scientific tour through recent research on the effects and causes of sleep restriction (repeatedly getting < 7 hours of sleep a night). These effects are significant -- sleeping even two fewer hours a night quickly produces measurable cognitive impairment. The degradation gets worse as you sleep less, to the point where some parts of your brain are functioning like they'd been sleep-deprived for days. Who'd want to code, let alone live, like that?
Things get even more interesting when you examine why it's so hard to get a full night of sleep. Our sleep cycles are determined by our internal clocks and their adjustment mechanisms, influenced by a number of environmental factors, and often in conflict with society's timetables. That's why so many of us are in a state of "social jet lag": missing sleep every night as if we'd traveled a timezone or more by plane that day, constantly tired and never sure why.
In this talk, I'll cover the effects of sleep deprivation and restriction as well as some of their causes, at each step providing references to scientific literature for those interested in learning more. I'll also cover other topics like napping, polyphasic sleep, and whatever other sleep topics people in the comments are interested in :P
I gave shorter versions of this talk at Euruko (video) and at RuLu, both times to very positive response and suggestions to propose a longer version; people are very interested in and enthusiastic about sleep and how it affects our work as Rubyists. Within the conference it could fit well as a softer talk on a late afternoon or later day, perhaps.
👍 i've seen both and enjoyed them. I think it'd be interesting to see how Alex addresses how the nordic sun patters affect sleeping patterns with respect to using the sun to "get in syc".