From the 6th till about 12 pm on the 19th of March 2010, I managed to get a new first down. For a day short of a fortnight, I got by with four hours of sleep for 13 consecutive nights.
I don’t recommend it and certainly don’t care to repeat this record anytime soon. The scary part was the effect sleep deprivation had on my mind.
Mid way through a lecture session I completely misplaced the definition of Gamma, the second order option price sensitivity. For someone who teaches derivatives on a regular basis, Gamma is possibly closer to me than my middle name. It is not exotic or rare; it is something that I deal with every day. And for a full four seconds I stood in front of eleven expectant faces waiting for me to walk them through the laundry list of price sensitivities, while I dealt with the shock of realizing that three months short of turning forty, I had misplaced the definition of Gamma somewhere in my mind.
Everything they tell you about the damage sleep deprivation causes is true.