Sleep deprivation is insidious and catches up to you incrementally, no matter how much you think you have "reconditioned" yourself. It slowly but surely weakens your memory, cognitive capabilities and emotional stability rendering you just a little more stupid and unpleasant with the passage of time. You don't notice it from one day to the next, but it is there and it is cumulative. Fortunately, it is reversible, but some of your resulting bone-headed decisions may not be. Also, there is the link between sleep deprivation and weight gain and a host of other physical implications, none of them pleasant. http://www.sleep-deprivation.com/articles/effects-of-sleep-deprivation/index.php
My dad makes me work a job every summer (says its good for me and teaches me how hard the average guy has to work for his dollar). Anyway I work from 5:30pm-3:30am most nights........so I get home around 4am go to bed until 7am trade until 1:30pm and then try to catch a few hours of sleep until 4:30 which at that point I go back to work.......YES IT BLOWS!!!!!!
Good thread man,when you're up in the really early hours staring at the flashing numbers it can be really depressing.I moved to the UK because I trade European futures markets and just couldn't handle the permanent jet-lag feeling.Up mostly for the wretched 1am opens,working all night then getting on the subway home when everyone looks all fresh heading into work. When I got set up at home I thought it would be better but it was actually worse - I was such a sad individual trading with it pitch black outside in a deathly silence,finishing,sleeping until early afternoon,feeling rough all day before doing it all again. Like the comment about making excuses leaving social reunions too,I've done the same and always felt like I wasn't believed until they looked closely and saw I was unusually pale!
I frequently trade ES at night, especially around europe open. I usually sleep ~ 5 hours sun - thur and then 12 on fri and sat night and that puts me right at 49 hours for the week which is the same amount you would get sleeping 7 hours every night. "Studies show that people who sleep between 6.5 hours and 7.5 hours a night, as they report, live the longest. And people who sleep 8 hours or more, or less than 6.5 hours, they don't live quite as long. " http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080610/hl_time/howmuchsleepdoyoureallyneed
Back in 1990 when I got my first stockbroker job I had to be in the office at 6 AM for start time. I usually didn't get to bed until about 11 or midnight, but it didn't matter. I was so motivated to get out there and make my millions that I didn't need sleep. But when it finally dawned on my that I was nothing more than a telemarketer and I was not going to be making any millions any time soon, I started "needing" more sleep.
Go to CVS and buy "Caltrate" calcium pills or drink 4 cups of milk per day at different times. 1 in the morning, 1 in the afternoon, etc. A good concentration of Calcium in your system will give you a deeper and better sleep. Another pill to take is Melatonin which is safe and non-addictive. Its a naturally forming hormone in the body and will give you a very deep sleep. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melatonin Take melatonin and calcium and you wont need 8 hours of sleep, but just 5-6 because you will get a very deep sleep.
I trade Futures..during the week there is little sleep..two hours here and a nap there..that's about it till the weekend arrives..but I love it and would not want to be doing anything else.
My day: Wake up at 7:30 am EST Dump Shave (every other day) Take a shower Eat a leasurely breakfast watching Bloomberg/MSNBC/CNBC/FOX or Comedy Central (which is the same as the previous 4 channels) Dress (shorts & t-shirt) Walk from house to work above 3 car garage Park my butt in my desk chair Review Swing Trades for the morning Set up a few Intraday Charts that start at 9:30 am EST Switch to the Intraday Ags at 10:30 am EST Trade till 11:30 am EST Go PLAY! I truly have empathy for your situation and that is why I now work about the same time it takes you to commute each day.