Developing Healthy Sleep Habits for Software Engineers

Jimmy Chen habits.stanford.edu

June 7th, 2010

Outline

I. The Impact of Sleep

II. Computers and Sleep

III. Changing Sleep Habits

IV. Proposed Solutions

Jimmy Chen • habits.stanford.edu • June 7th, 2010

I. The Impact of Sleep

II. Computers and Sleep

III. Changing Sleep Habits

IV. Proposed Solutions

Jimmy Chen • habits.stanford.edu • June 7th, 2010

Be more productive!

A new miracle drug…

Lose weight!

Be happier!

Fight cancer!

Be more productive!

SLEEP™

Lose weight!

Be happier!

Fight cancer!

University of Michigan study:

"Making $60,000 more in annual income has less of an effect on your daily

happiness than getting one extra hour of sleep a night," says study author Norbert Schwarz, Ph.D., a professor of psychology.

“How to be a happier mom”: http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/parenting/02/15/par.happier.mom/index.html

Be more productive!

SLEEP™

Lose weight!

Be happier!

Fight cancer!

Columbia University 2004 study:

Specifically, the study found that subjects who slept four hours or less per night

were 73 percent more likely to be obese than those who slept between seven and

nine hours each night.

“Sleep a lot to avoid burn-out from stress and to stay skinny”: http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/002475.html

Be more productive!

SLEEP™

Lose weight!

Be happier!

Fight cancer!

National Sleep Foundation:

Sleep research has shown that sleeping too little can not only inhibit your productivity and ability to remember and consolidate

information, but lack of sleep can also lead to serious health consequences and

jeopardize your safety and the safety of individuals around you.

“How much sleep do we really need?”: http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/how-sleep-works/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need

Be more productive!

SLEEP™

Lose weight!

Be happier!

Fight cancer!

I. The Impact of Sleep

II. Computers and Sleep

III. Changing Sleep Habits

IV. Proposed Solutions

Jimmy Chen • habits.stanford.edu • June 7th, 2010

School of Medical Sciences, Capinas, Brazil (2007) :

“Nocturnal computer use impairs good sleep…irregular sleep patterns associated with nightly computer use deteriorate good sleep quality.”

Jimmy Chen • habits.stanford.edu • June 7th, 2010

Computer programmers…

Intense workUnpredictable schedules and frequent deadlinesWork from anywhereArtificial light

12

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Jimmy Chen • habits.stanford.edu • June 7th, 2010

Computer programmers…

Intense workUnpredictable schedules and frequent deadlinesWork from anywhereArtificial light

12

34

Jimmy Chen • habits.stanford.edu • June 7th, 2010

Melatonin

I. The Impact of Sleep

II. Computers and Sleep

III. Changing Sleep Habits

IV. Proposed Solutions

Jimmy Chen • habits.stanford.edu • June 7th, 2010

Three components to a habit:

Motivation

Ability

Trigger

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Jimmy Chen • habits.stanford.edu • June 7th, 2010

What works?

• Attaching to existing habits• Providing “hot triggers”• Aiming to change small behaviors

Jimmy Chen • habits.stanford.edu • June 7th, 2010

What doesn’t work?

Jimmy Chen • habits.stanford.edu • June 7th, 2010

I. The Impact of Sleep

II. Computers and Sleep

III. Changing Sleep Habits

IV. Proposed Solutions

Jimmy Chen • habits.stanford.edu • June 7th, 2010

Promote Napping

• Berkeley study (2010): Hippocampus function improved with a 90-minute nap1

1http://www.geek.com/articles/news/research-shows-a-nap-can-help-you-study-20100223/

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Promote Napping• Dr. Sara Mednick, author of “Take a nap, change your life”

THE NANO-NAP: 10 to 20 seconds. Benefits unclear.THE MICRO-NAP: two to five minutes. Shown to be surprisingly effective at shedding sleepiness. THE MINI-NAP: five to 20 minutes. Increases alertness, stamina, motor learning, and motor performance. THE ORIGINAL POWER NAP: 20 minutes. Includes the benefits of the micro and the mini, but additionally improves muscle memory and clears the brain of useless built-up information, which helps with long-term memory (remembering facts, events, and names). THE LAZY MAN’S NAP: 50 to 90 minutes. Includes slow-wave plus REM sleep; good for improving perceptual processing; also when the system is flooded with human growth hormone, great for repairing bones and muscles.

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Jimmy Chen • habits.stanford.edu • June 7th, 2010

Natural Light

• Those exposed to more natural sunlight have more consistent Circadian rhythms

• Stanford Medical School: “After 16 weeks in a moderate intensity exercise program, subjects were able to fall asleep 15 minutes earlier and sleep about 45 minutes longer at night.”

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http://www.healthy.net/scr/article.aspx?Id=424

f.lux3

Jimmy Chen • habits.stanford.edu • June 7th, 2010

Thank You!

Questions?

Jimmy Chen • habits.stanford.edu • June 7th, 2010