Sleep Deprivation

For those that are wondering, I didn't and don't teach chess as a career but as a hobby.  And, there's only one reason I ever did this, as noted in cami3's profile which is to help those succeed in life.  That's why, I was lucky to be able to teach it to 4 or 5 children.  So, for me, this is the big moment which is why I'm posting here as it's for general chess and work which can help someone succeed in life, big time.

The issue is sleep deprivation, and that's a very common problem around here.  I had 2 incidents at work where I fell asleep on the job for a long time.  Before, during, and after the first incident, I was spoken to.  After the 2nd time, I almost got into a lot of trouble.  And, if I were to do this again, I'd be fired.  Similarly, this also had negative effects on my chess and really hindered my progress.  In part, I was making some very basic elementary blunders that shouldn't have been made at my level, including missing basic checkmate threats due to lack of vision and staying narrow minded.  This was as a direct result of sleep deprivation and doing things wrong at night.  And, if this happened to me, I know where this would be happen with anyonelse since as noted, it's a well known problem.   For a long while after that, I was drinking energy drinks at work to help me stay at work.  But, I had to stop in early November as it was driving people crazy.

On New Years Eve, I came across an article that was a turning point, as I realized what I was doing wrong.  After the first incident, I learned about blue ray lights from the computer.  And, I discovered that TV also has blue ray lights after the 2nd time.  But, what I learned about was the importance of staying on the same bed time schedule when you can sleep in the next day.  I read the first article on New Years Eve which became essential as I was just starting to doze off again on New Years Day, before snapping right back into it on New Years Day which could've ended my career right then and there.  About a week later, I came across another article which was also helpful.  And, in managing my time better, I also played much better chess.  This is so important that I even pm'd GM Susan Polgar about this as she has rules in her spice program.  One of which is no laziness or sitting there doing nothing for any amount of time.  Well, I noted where sleep deprivation could be an issue and could hurt someone's academics and GPA.  So, I was hoping that she would forward this information to her students, in particular, to those who are just dozing off or falling asleep in her program.  I also posted the 2 articles that I'm going to show here.  

Now, I know that there are also very young people.  And, I imagine that some are looking for a job.  So, this should be a general lesson that, "Sleeping on the job is a big no-no."  Plus, if you're well rested you will play much better chess.  

Having said all of that, this is the first article I came across, and it's called, "6 myths about sleep it's time to stop believing" by Mercey Livingston. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi7w7je7bjnAhUHUt8KHQSPAZMQFjAAegQIARAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnet.com%2Fhow-to%2F6-myths-about-sleep-its-time-to-stop-believing%2F&usg=AOvVaw36mmM2Ei6Z5fF-xvQ2a2mu  The second article is called, "4 Simple, Doctor-Approved Tips For Falling Asleep When You're Stressed and Overwhelmed" by Maggie Ryan. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjOl5T1nLnnAhXBxlkKHRs2DuUQFjAAegQIAxAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.msn.com%2Fen-us%2Fhealth%2Fwellness%2F4-simple-doctor-approved-tips-for-falling-asleep-when-you-re-stressed-and-overwhelmed%2Far-BBYGdzx&usg=AOvVaw3_qCMIO6IzUuALn-IjSPVw&cshid=1580865004919002