Comment by japhyr | Hacker News Reader

Comment by japhyr | Hacker News Reader

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My kid will turn 4 in March. It's much better these days than when he was an infant, but there are still many interrupted nights - dreams, peeing, just coming in to say he's awake. It's sweet; I wouldn't give it up for the word. Some day he'll be too old to crawl into bed with us, so I enjoy every night he comes to visit us now.

What I'm finding, though, is that when I get uninterrupted sleep now, it's amazingly refreshing. I think I know how to operate on little sleep for extended periods of time now. When I get to sleep uninterrupted, I feel amazing energy the next day. And when I string together a few uninterrupted nights, it's even better.

I hope to keep the healthy sense of urgency I have in my work time now. Having a young kid keeps me very focused and efficient in my work time, because I know I can't just put in extra hours to get things done. I hope I keep that healthy urgency, but I'm aware it could slip away as I take full nights of sleep for granted again.

Also a parent of a 4yo, agreed 100%. I notice a difference even if I don't get woken up at night (which thankfully is a rarity). I think it's mostly a matter of how I get woken up in the morning (she's basically our alarm clock), even though I get up at roughly the same time when she's not around.

I've also noticed that the rare nights when she's completely out of our care (at her grandparents), my quality of sleep is even better still. I wonder if there isn't some sort of psychological stress that affects sleep quality when there's a kid in the next room who's your responsibility.

Considering I still regularly wake up and sleepfully check the bed for a baby that has been in his crib the entire night, I will attest 'yes.'

It's proof positive that I'm always subconsciously thinking about the safety of my son, and this has interesting analogs (to me, at least). When I had issues with my startup (again, pre acqui-hire), my sleep quality suffered mightily. When we had a new customer or a new contract or a well-received release, I slept better.

My hope is that I'll acquiesce a bit on the subconscious, constant fear for the nightly safety of my son, my sleep quality will continue to improve and in the near future I'll be a benevolent billionaire. Meanwhile, another long night :)

I agree with much of this (and eagerly await the next few years).

The difference between sleeping 6 hours uninterrupted and sleeping 6 hours with 2 interruptions is so dramatic. The cumulative effect of sleep deprivation takes awhile to really hit - the first three months or so I thought I was "fine" and then it really started to compound. Mood was really the most negatively hit aspect of my life.

It's fair to say my appreciation of sleep is perhaps more psychologically-induced than physiological. Happens often when something is taken for granted and then ripped from under your feet for some duration. :)

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