I thought you need *less* sleep as you get older.

[madbaker]

Waaaay back in my undergrad days, I can remember plenty of nights where I got four hours of sleep or less.

I'd still wake up around 6 AM, because that's when my body would start regardless of when I got to sleep. I'd be tired, but I could shrug it off and function.

These days? If I get less than six hours' sleep, I'm hosed for more than half the work day.
I mention this because I've been a zombie all freakin' week. I got to bed a bit late Monday (9:30) but all the other nights I've gone to bed on time.

Maybe I should pull a Pete Puma tonight and hit myself over the head repeatedly so I'm passed out all weekend.

Edited to add: And Congress (the opposite of Progress) wants to extend Daylight Savings by four months? So it's even harder for me to catch up on sleep? Bite me.

What I'm reading: John Schulian, Twilight of the Long-Ball Gods (Which is really, really good. Baseball fans, go read this.)

Comments

Needing less sleep as we age...

[finickynarcane.livejournal.com]

That's when you get much older. Like in our 70's and 80's. Not as you age into your 30's.

Re: Needing less sleep as we age...

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

Right. I think my Mom started noticing it around her mid-50s. Might be different for men.

[spiderdust.livejournal.com]

From what I've been reading, it's not that you need less sleep when you get older, but that your body produces less melatonin.

You should read Sleep, Sugar, and Survival by T.S. Wiley. According to the book (and numerous studies), Americans as a whole are extremely sleep deprived.

Twilight of the Long-Ball Gods

[deathbytamarind.livejournal.com]

This book...sexplain.

Re: Twilight of the Long-Ball Gods

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

So saith an Amazon review:
"In this sparkling collection of essays, Schulian, a contributor to Sports Illustrated and formerly a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, offers a reminder that baseball hasn't always been about endorsements, million-dollar deals, and agents. The game once had a heart and still does if we look hard enough. Over the last 25 years or so, Schulian has been attracted to baseball's eccentrics and dreamers, and here he brings together his accounts of some of them. His profile of the late Max Patkin, long known as the Clown Prince of Baseball, recalls how Patkin's comic antics helped sell minor-league baseball when it was struggling to attract fans. Similarly, his account of Rocky Bridges, journeyman player and successful minor-league manager whose rough edges kept him from a chance to manage in the bigs, reveals the kind of grassroots character who once gave baseball its personality. There are also poignant glimpses of Josh Gibson, the Babe Ruth of the Negro Leagues, whose talent couldn't bypass the racism of his times, and of a California League team comprising ex-major leaguers and former phenoms who refuse to give up the dream. Schulian is one of the very best sportswriters of the latter part of the twentieth century. His work resonates with time and place, compassion, and humanity. This is a wonderful collection that deserves a huge audience."

Re: Twilight of the Long-Ball Gods

[deathbytamarind.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I'll pick it up and add it to my queue. Waiting to be read:

-Aces
-Ball Four
-The Meaning of Ichiro
-The Dreyfus Affair
-Moneyball (second time around, can't reread it until I get a backup copy as mine is signed by Michael Lewis :D)

Re: Twilight of the Long-Ball Gods

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

Mine too. 8)

Re: Twilight of the Long-Ball Gods

[deathbytamarind.livejournal.com]

Yours is signed too?!

Re: Twilight of the Long-Ball Gods

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

I used to have a number of Michael Lewis signed books, but during one of my periodic cleaning binges I pared it down to the ones that I would realistically re-read: Liar's Poker, Trail Fever, and Moneyball.

Liar's Poker was the book on which he made his nut - a scathing and hilarious look at Salomon Brothers during the '80s. Still required reading in the financial industry. Still his best book, although Moneyball comes close. Trail Fever was a book he wrote on the 1996 presidential primaries.

Re: Twilight of the Long-Ball Gods

[deathbytamarind.livejournal.com]

Neat. I know he writes a great variety of books. That impresses me.

We're the cool kids table, because we have signed copies of Moneyball. :D