Why?

[madeofstaples]

Ok, nothing terribly alarming, then. What bewing describes is advisable for those who wake up and cannot fall back asleep for more than ~20-30 minutes (note: the mundaneness of the tasks during this time is an important detail, the activity should not be particularly stimulating). However, working where you sleep is inadvisable and is conducive to poor sleeping habits which may escalate into a disorder depending on other environmental factors and genetic predisposition.

[NickJohnson]

However, working where you sleep is inadvisable and is conducive to poor sleeping habits which may escalate into a disorder depending on other environmental factors and genetic predisposition.

Interesting... why is that? And by "where you sleep", do you mean the same room, or the same position?

[madeofstaples]

Interesting... why is that? And by "where you sleep", do you mean the same room, or the same position?

I meant the same room, but the same position would be even more inadvisable.

Why? well, how much are you prepared to read? lol, to give a full explanation down to the biochemical mechanisms at play may very well fill a textbook. I had to look through a few papers to find one that conveyed the idea succinctly (but not really completely), so hopefully this answers more questions than it raises. The idea is...

...to conceptualize insomnia within an operant stimulus-control paradigm, according to which the sleeping behavior of insomniacs is considered to be under inadequate control of relevant environmental stimuli (e.g. bed, bedroom). The stimuli of the bed and bedroom, that are associated with sleep for non-insomniacs become associated, for the insomniac, with sleep-incompatible behaviors such as eating, watching television, reading, talking--and simply not sleeping. Such associations decrease the probability that sleep will occur when the individual lies in bed.

From this viewpoint it is possible to propose specific intervention procedures to facilitate falling asleep. To maximize association between the behavior of "falling asleep" and the stimuli of the bed and bedroom, the insomniac should not engage in sleep-incompatible behaviors in the bedroom, should remove himself from the bedroom when unable to sleep, and should sleep only in his bed.

[Solar]

That reminds me of my university times. Picture a room with a futon, a TV/VCR, stereo, and a small computer table. I did every activity in a radius of less than 2 meters.

Actually, as my computer was a heavily customized Amiga that didn't fit its case anymore, and ran 24/7 participating in the RC5 challenge, the first thing I heard and looked at when waking in the morning was the whirring CPU fan...

[madeofstaples]

That reminds me of my university times. Picture a room with a futon, a TV/VCR, stereo, and a small computer table. I did every activity in a radius of less than 2 meters.

Actually, as my computer was a heavily customized Amiga that didn't fit its case anymore, and ran 24/7 participating in the RC5 challenge, the first thing I heard and looked at when waking in the morning was the whirring CPU fan...

Absolutely, newer university housing typically includes dorms with segregated sleeping quarters--some even very apartment-esque. Hopefully this will combat the trend of college students reporting disturbances/deviations from what the students would otherwise consider their normal sleeping patterns, and the incidence of sleep-related disorders among college-age patients.