Getting headaches while playing

[natroyal]

I live two hours from Atlantic City, and I cannot stay overnights because of family obligations.

This means I was leaving my house early in the AM and playing for the day (about 8-9 hours of play time).

When I did this, I was only getting at most 5-6 hours of sleep. I started noticing that even after a good cup of coffee that I was getting these dull headaches about an hour into playing (and it did not matter which card room I played in). Even three Advil would not get rid of them, but not playing for at least an hour and getting some fresh air would alleviate them somewhat.

Then I tried something different. I got a normal night's sleep and stayed a bit later. Not only was my play fresher, but the headaches went away.

Granted I only play at most 6-12, but my win rate increased by about 0.5 BB/hr.

Lastly, I only play for a fixed period of time because even if a game is good I lose my edge if I am not sharp. All it takes is one big screw-up to ruin the day.

Has this experience happened to anyone else?

Nat