This week I have gotten barely any sleep. Two nights I have stayed up into the early hours of the morning, one until 9 AM, the other until 6 AM. On more "normal" evenings, I have gone to bed typically between two and four. Don't get me wrong, I understand the need for sleep, the physical and mental benefits of sleep, and all that. I am not ignorant. Every night, I tell myself that I am tired and need to go to bed, yet every night I stay up late. It has become a habit. Here is why. I value time (don't we all?). Staying up late is a way to increase the number of hours I have to do what I want to do. My staying up is not purposeless. Each night I have found a reason to put off sleep until my body takes over and I can no longer keep my eyes open. What is the reason? People to talk to. There is something about the night that facilitates honesty and openness. The best conversations, in my opinion, occur most frequently at unnatural hours.
Now, you may be asking how this applies to Economics. It was a question I asked myself and am still asking myself as I write this sentence. Supply and demand may be a plausible link. Perhaps it could be that staying up late is a way for me to increase the supply of something I highly value. That makes sense. Incentives could also be used to explain my inability to make good decisions regarding sleep. To others it may seem like a mistake; to me, it is perfectly logical. There are some external punishments, such as the mid-afternoon crash, but nothing I can't handle. In the long-term, I am confident I will look back without regret, knowing that I made the right decision. So don't give me a curfew!
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