That's not the only reason people use sleep mode.. it's original purpose was so that people who were actually going to sleep could rest safe in the knowledge that their account would still be alive when they woke up. As such they didn't *need* to see any politics or messages etc. The point of sleep mode is to, effectively, hibernate your account for a time period; this includes reading and posting messages (mails/politics/etc). If you're using it just to prevent a few more incomings then it's a price you'll have to pay - besides, if the case is that you're using it solely to prevent any further incomings, chances are you're in an alliance that can communicate via other methods.
And sorry to nitpick - but why did you hit 24hr sleep when you don't normally sleep that long?!
I didnt hit sleep mode based on how long I was "sleeping IRL" - I hit it based on how long I estimated I wouldnt be able to play.
This estimate was wrong, well over what I imagined.
What I'm trying to say is, some cons' of sleep mode have varying degrees of severity based on the type of player hitting sleep.
A solo player will be largely, if not completely unaffected by not being able to communicate/socialise when in sleep mode.
An alliance member will be affected to a larger degree - as he/she may
need to know whats happening within the alliance and may not be able to get on IRC to find that out - even if they can a clear picture isnt always available
An alliance leader is perhaps most "blinded" by sleep mode - compare the cons of sleep mode for a solo player, to an alliance leader. If an alliance leader wants to do a good job, sleep mode, effectively, isnt an option - He/She loses control over the alliance, as effectively sleep mode prevents that person from doing many of the things he/she
needs to be able to do.
Just my opinion.