How many hours should we sleep to have an effective day?

Nela Canovic, MBA with 10+ years experience working in busy tech industry where timing is key

Written Sep 16, 2016

Depends on how old you are.

Here are 3 important questions related to sleep, with corresponding answers (plus some data to back it all up).

Question #1. What is the ideal amount of sleep?

Answer: Here is the breakdown by age.

Teenagers (14-17): 8-10 hours

Young adults (18-25): 7-9 hours

Adults (26-64): 7-9 hours

Older adults (65+): 7-8 hours

(source: The Sleep Health Journal).

Answer: 7 hours. For adults, that is the number of hours needed for cognitive performance to reach a peak at before it starts to decline (source: Frontier in Human Neuroscience).

Answer: Sleeping on your side. This position is a way for your body and brain chemicals to get to work so they can eliminate waste. Here is the scientific explanation: the brain's glymphatic pathway (the exchange of two fluids, the cerebrospinal fluid in your brain and the interstitial fluid in your body) helps to eliminate “brain junk,” and this process is most effective when we sleep on our side (source: Journal of Neuroscience).

When did you first realize you were wealthy?

Matthew Khila, CEO of Tutoring For Students and Masoud Distributions

Updated Apr 3

It was something so insignificant but it’s what brought me to the realization.

I was at a restaurant with my girlfriend’s family on new years. I was starving.

My company had been doing well but the last couple months it really took off making me over $18,000 in sales a month for the last three months.

I’m skimming through the menu for the option with the most food, I’m sure I would have eaten my girlfriend if I didn’t eat soon (Not like that you sick bastards…Maybe later…).

I order what sounded like a meal for a small village in Africa.

I had always generally been a frugal person so my girlfriend was surprised that I order some pretty pricey things on the menu. When she brought it up to my attention, it hit me like a bulldozer.

I had switched from the person on the right to the person on the left.

Many of you that eat out on a budget know exactly what i’m talking about. I used to examine the price then decide whether or not I’d like the food.

I no longer gave a shit how much the food was, it never even occurred to me. At that moment I realized that this is what wealth really felt like. I even saved the receipt as a memory. It’s in the bottom of my desk drawer .

Why does every employer ask about my current salary during a job interview?

Everytime I have a job interview or ask a friend about one of theirs, eventually the employer asks about current pay. This happens independently if I sent a CV or if they got in touch with me first. Why is that?

Alan Mellor, Software blogger www.viewfromthecodeface.com

Written Mar 16

Just to get you as cheaply as possible.

Thought experiment:

Interviewer: “What’s your current salary?”

You: “It’s twenty seven thousand five hundred”

Interviewer: “Great! In this new job, you will receive one hundred and fifty thousand. That seems fair given the role. And as our profitability, sales pipeline and market positioning all do not depend on you alone, there is no reason to vary away from what the role is worth to us”

Sound likely? Ever heard it?

Me neither.

I don’t have good advice though.

I’ve always mentioned my current salary, and then been surprised to receive something almost entirely similar within ten percent.

Because I know a little about software, but am otherwise quite stupid, really.

What is the golden advice which you learnt in your life?

Robert Puckett

Updated Apr 11

I'm going to stay true to my character here and write something a little more edgy.

I had a really good friend named Russell. He was about 15 years older than I am, but he never cared about the age difference, nor did I.

Russell was always full of wisdom and had a unique outlook on life. So much so that you looked forward to hearing his bits of wisdom in any given conversation.

He said something one day that just made so much sense. A paraphrase of what he said:

“The way you feel about someone right after sex is the best indicator of whether you truly liked them or were just lusting after them.”

And was so right.

Now, I'm not saying you should sleep with someone just to see if you really like them or not. However, if you do sleep with someone and find yourself wanting to get away from them ASAP, odds are it was just lust.

What is the best thing that has ever happened to you?

Tim Hinds, Life long romantic

Updated Jan 15

When I was 16, still in high school I ran into a girl who I always thought was way out of my league. She was beautiful, built like a brick pagoda and really sweet. One day when I was playing (rock and roll band, guitar player) at a dance she was at. She approached me after our set. I started to dance with her and we hit it off. From then on, the rest of my life would never be the same. We dated all through high school and into my first three years in the Navy. We married in 1968 we are still together and I can't imagine my life any other way. She has been by my side through thick and thin. She supported me through a difficult disability that changed our lives. She never complained and never made me feel that she couldn't take it anymore. She is still hanging in there. Life is good. I scored the best woman I could ever have hoped to have. Best thing that ever happened to me.

What is a good excuse for a no call no show to work?

Gordon Miller, works at G3i Ventures LLC

Updated Mar 23

Bob: “Hey, Ralph, this is Bob. I am sorry I won't be in to work today.”

Ralph: “Are you ok?”

Bob: “Yeah, no, I'm fine. I just have a job interview across town at Ajax.”

Ralph: “You mean our largest competitor?”

Bob: “Yeah, that's the one. They are going to double my salary and make me a Director, so basically your job only over there.”

Ralph: “Are you serious?”

Bob: “No, I'm kidding I just need a day off. See you Monday.”

Ralph: “Make it Tuesday. Enjoy.”

How do you respond to the phrase “nobody likes you”?

Ivan Tregear, Escrimador, Voice-Over Artist, Loop-holer, Sailor

Written Apr 1

“Whoop-di fucking do”

“Awesome, I’m eagerly awaiting your book on the subject”

“What an insightful opinion”

“Impressive deduction”

“Eat a dick, friend!”

“Look up at the sky. Look at all the fucks I don’t give”

I would recommend toning some of these down, but in all honesty, they will get your point across.

Would you rather die in 5 minutes or live forever?

Mat Kyne, Mechanical Engineer

Updated Mar 2

“Would you rather die in 5 minutes or live forever?”

Let’s look at this logically:

In the next five minutes I am highly unlikely to discover the secret to living forever.

On the other hand I literally have forever to figure out how to kill myself, should the need arise.

I’ll take the second option please.

What are some unwritten social rules everyone should know?

Corey Alexander

Updated Mar 23

The male nodding rule. Nod up for greeting friends, nod down for greeting strangers.

If you're ever at someone's house and they mention that “they've got a lot going on at work tomorrow” or “it's getting late and I'm tired”, it's time to leave.

If someone has earphones in, they're not looking for a conversation.

When possible, leave an empty urinal between yourself and other people in the bathroom.

Turn your phone off while at the cinema.

Chip in fuel money if someone is driving you often or a considerable distance.

Why is China so much isolated?

We all get to know about what the Chinese “government” is doing, but we are never informed of what really is happening in China.

Robin Daverman, World traveler

Written Feb 20 · Upvoted by Xinchun Li, lives in China

Why is China so much isolated?

LOL! Maybe because China exists in a parallel universe, and operating on a different wavelength?

Seriously, if you open any newspaper in the US or Europe, the front line news must be about Trump. What do you think the Chinese newspapers are talking about? The top news on People Daily, the flagship newspaper in China, on February 19, 2017, is:

“Small investigation found that kids’ homework is gradually becoming parents’ homework, because the homework level is not developmentally appropriate. Education authority should do something about it. “

There. No Trump. No War on Terror. No War on Drug. No Refugee Crisis. This is the top news. About homework. You can’t even make this sh*t up! It’s like the whole world is gathered around the theater, but China is off doing her own thing. And it has always been that way, like forever.

You see, the top three domestic agenda that the Chinese are concerned about, right now, are the economic transition, elimination of extreme poverty by 2020, and anti-corruption. International news is like 5% of what people read about, and even that, the Chinese are mostly concerned about the kind of stuff where she has made an international commitment, like the global economy, the climate treaty, clock starting for the Beijing Winter Olympic 2018 - commitment that one must deliver, so they have to stay on top of it. Other things, well, it’s not that China is isolated. It’s that she’s 50 feet off the theater to begin with.