How crucial is 'sleep' when it comes to programming?

Sleep is a great debugging tool. Stuck on a problem all night? Go to sleep, wake up the next day refreshed and tackle the problem again. You'll find it much easier to solve the problem or at least see things in a different light that will eventually lead you to solving the problem!

As with any profession it's needed. The less sleep you get the more mistakes are made

Studies say beside doing sport and eat healthy/clean... Sleeping and having a good sleep (very important), enough sleep but not too much (around 8 hours) is the TOP and Healthiest method to be productive and live a good live.

Having not enough sleep will make your productivity suffer more than the extra time could make up for. Sleep is an absolute requirement for your brain to work.

I wouldn't say it's just crucual for programming. The less you sleep, the more sleep debt you build up.

Besides, sleeping helps your brain to process memories, given it has the opportunity to rest (enter the REM phase of sleep)*. If you do your thinking after hitting the sheets, try and keep a diary of sorts to get them out of your head. For myself, it also helped to move the phone and tv out of the bedroom. Turns out scrolling memes is rather counterproductice in the evening / morning.

• ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2...

It's right up there, at the top of the list, alongside food, breathable air, and possibly a computer.

Sleep keeps you fresh and keeps your creativity up

Very. Personally, I cannot work properly if I lack even just an hour of sleep. Though, I can easily pull an all-nighter, it isn't just worth it, because that would mean I won't be able to work the next day.

Apart from sleep, short-breaks in between your work hours are very important too! Quick breaks, in my opinion, greatly increases your productivity.

If I'm tired, or haven't fully woken up, my productivity will tank. I need my 8 hours of sleep + some light exercise in the morning to get the blood flowing.

Also, hopefully you work for a company that respects your work/life balance and doesn't look at rest as a "reward" as opposed to the requirement every healthy body needs.