I feel happiest and think most clearly when I get 10 to 12 hours of sleep nightly, although I rarely do as I typically wake up before getting that amount. On average, I get between seven to nine and a half hours of sleep per night, which means I typically go to bed between 8-10 p.m.

That said, on rare occasions, when I’m fixated on something, regardless of deadlines, I sometimes prefer not to break my concentration and have stayed up as late as 4 a.m. (or even just all night) for it. 

Like many people, I can function under insufficient sleep if I get plenty the night before, so when I get 10 to 12 hours of sleep one night, I feel just fine after getting only two to three afterwards. I use this method when necessary during busy weeks. 

When I do get very little sleep over extended periods, and the fatigue is obviously affecting my concentration, I try eating lots of carbohydrates, as they are calorie-rich foods which provide profuse energy to the brain making for — in my experience — much smoother thoughts. When I don’t eat enough energy-dense foods and have to function on low sleep, the degree of complexity to which I can visualize things decreases, and I more easily forget information and sometimes get headaches. 

But a good rest offers more than a feeling of freshness. It’s unquestionable that through our dreams we mentally construct sense-engaging visual experiences with scary solidity and sharpness. As such, going to sleep with an unresolved issue in my head can result in me vividly viewing the problem from additional angles when dreaming (such as a tough math problem or even an important decision I have to make). Waking up to an answer is also very gratifying and can provide an overwhelming clarity that would have otherwise remained unattainable without a long period of deep sleep.

I don’t always remember exactly what happens in these dreams, though, and I sometimes just wake up with a resolution to whatever issue I had, but even that is a testament to how powerful one’s subconscious becomes when they simply allow the rest of the mind’s commotion to melt away.

The scenarios I’ve mentioned so far aren’t special and could apply to anyone. In most cases, when I see people working on something past midnight, it leads only to diminishing returns. The quality of the work decreases so much (most of the time) that the person would have been better off just sleeping and seeing what they could do in the morning.

 If you’re so low on sleep that you have to perform literal mental gymnastics to remember something from only a few minutes ago, then I think it’s safe to say you’re not going to achieve anything meaningful while you work.

So, really, I’ve learned it’s best to heed your body’s limits and plan out how to maximize your sleep-hours under the constraints of your long-term goals. 

Everyone is different, has different needs and different wants, and thus must implement different measures, but overall, I think willpower is highly overrated: We do our best work when we immerse ourselves in the process and genuinely enjoy what we’re doing. However, it’s pretty hard to consistently enter this state if you’re always struggling to keep yourself awake, so I’m determined that good sleep will always remain an important part of my life.