I know a lot of folks who are sure that functioning without sleeping is just a matter of endurance.
As anyone trying to have a meaningful conversation with those folks would know, that is not the case and their mental performance is noticeably reduced (the eyes are open but the response is not there..).
I feel this way every time I am jetlagged.
A new research – http://goo.gl/tVLWH – sheds some light on the inner functions of a sleep deprived brain of rats (that is anything less than 6 hours per night for humans).
While the rats appeared to be awake by any measurable criteria (brain wave frequencies, motor skills, external appearance), certain parts of their brain selectively shut down.
Pragmatic take-aways:
1. Scheduling meetings on a different time zone – if a meeting is crucial, try to schedule it to a time that will allow you to sleep enough before(on hours that would match your night time in your time zone) and the meeting takes place in what would be a waking hour in your origin’s time zone.
2. Take into account that you will not be performing at your peak on days you haven’t slept enough – Sometimes acknowledging the problem is already 80% of the solution and letting other people know in advance puts you in a better position than appearing zoned-out in a middle of an important conversation.
3. Be all you can be – Yes you can function with little sleep, we have all done that. You might even be able to avoid people noticing those droopy eyes but at least for your own sake know that unless you sleep 6-8 hours per night, you are running at partial capacity.