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A molecule called ‘Sandman’ could help solve the ‘mystery of sleep’

washingtonpost.com

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Re: A molecule called ‘Sandman’ could help solve the ‘mystery of sleep’

#41

Post by bllguo »

omonra wrote: post #35
jjallen wrote: post #31

to some of us (ahem, yours truly) the idea that there's a "mystery of sleep" might seem a bit, well, strange. Don't we sleep because we get tired? Quotes like this are typical of the American tendency to be pseudo-proud of being unintelligent, uneducated or apathetic. I'm surprised they included it and disappointed they did. Perhaps to help the readership identify with the columnist? But then again the readers are ac…

I think the purpose of this device is to provide context to the problem. If you are about to provide the scientific explanation for something all of us experience every day "Why do things fall down" / "Why is sugar sweet" it helps to take a step back and remind the reader that there is a scientific explanation for the phenomenon they are so familiar with (so much so that it feels unnatural to even question it in the…

maybe he dislikes the "ahem, yours truly" part? Although I agree with your point, to me that phrase strongly conveys the "pseudo-proud" attitude the parent OP was referring to

Re: A molecule called ‘Sandman’ could help solve the ‘mystery of sleep’

#42

Post by duckingtest »

The article doesn't spell it out, but it seems that's how dopaminergic stimulants make it hard to sleep. Dopamine deactivates the sleep circuit. This opens the way to stimulants that doesn't impair sleep and the reverse. That could explain (partially unknown) modafinil's mode of action - a dri that works preferentially on the sleep neurons.

Re: A molecule called ‘Sandman’ could help solve the ‘mystery of sleep’

#43

Post by olh »

ars wrote: post #37

I have my own theory. We sleep because that's when we are logged out of the virtual game that this world is. I'm only semi-serious. But let's work with it. What if we research sleep right until there is nothing left to find out, and we since can't figure out any reason at all for it? Could we use that to postulate for a reason that is non-physical? Spiritual? Virtual reality? Something else?

So why do we dream "programming"? I'm sure many others here too suffer from problem-solving in their sleep.

Maybe it's just refactoring and caching, and we are full biological systems with no hidden variables in the macroscale.

Re: A molecule called ‘Sandman’ could help solve the ‘mystery of sleep’

#45

Post by milcron »

jnicholasp wrote: post #29
phonon wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or you can get it in pure powder form and make your own dose (like http://www.powdercity.com/products/melatonin-powder ) Note higher dosing is NOT better...most OTC melatonin supplements give too much. 0.5 to 1.0 mg should be used 1-3 hours before bedtime.

1-3 hours? Do you have a source for that advice? Everything I've read, and my personal experience with it, suggests taking it (as you say, .5 to 1mg) 30 minutes before you want to fall asleep.

Personally I take it 45 minutes before expected bedtime (irregularly, only if I feel I need it).

Re: A molecule called ‘Sandman’ could help solve the ‘mystery of sleep’

#46

Post by casion »

Aelinsaar wrote: post #6
drzaiusapelord wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, this is what melatonin does and its OTC. My horrible insomnia was cured not by Ambien, but by .5mg of Walgreen's melatonin and even now I rarely take it. Its also probably time we admitted human beings can't fit into lifestyles where they're bombareded with blue light, stress, etc right before bedtime. The Western lifestyle is fairly anti-traditional and old fashioned things like prayer/meditation/whatever befo…

http://www.consumerreports.org/vitamins-supplements/does-mel...

Note that this does not address quality of sleep or effect on circadian rhythm, both of which are the primary action of melatonin supplements.

Re: A molecule called ‘Sandman’ could help solve the ‘mystery of sleep’

#47

Post by ars »

olh wrote: post #43
ars wrote: post #37

I have my own theory. We sleep because that's when we are logged out of the virtual game that this world is. I'm only semi-serious. But let's work with it. What if we research sleep right until there is nothing left to find out, and we since can't figure out any reason at all for it? Could we use that to postulate for a reason that is non-physical? Spiritual? Virtual reality? Something else?

So why do we dream "programming"? I'm sure many others here too suffer from problem-solving in their sleep. Maybe it's just refactoring and caching, and we are full biological systems with no hidden variables in the macroscale.

> So why do we dream "programming"?

Because the "you" that is conscious is actually your game player in another world. So it's that "person" that is actually programming. Your body here is basically a robot.

This would also explain why we can't figure out what consciousness actually is - if it's not physically in this world that would make it hard to figure out.

Re: A molecule called ‘Sandman’ could help solve the ‘mystery of sleep’

#48

Post by Freestyler_3 »

brazzledazzle wrote: post #27
outworlder wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah. For starters, there is a whole bunch of toxins that build up when you don't sleep enough. But it can't be the whole story, as why wouldn't we have mechanisms to remove those and keep the brain functioning? It can't be all about memory retention. There are some fascinating studies on how some groups of neurons repeat the same patterns they did when the organism was awake, presumedly for long-term storage. But wh…

I've found that it's best to not think that evolution optimizes for the best thing but rather that it optimizes for "good enough". Sometimes they are one and the same but they don't have to be. Sleep could have started as a rudimentary adaptation to one thing and ended up being refined and coopted for other things.

Evolution is diverse, if all living things need sleep then I think its A: something that is absolutely needed, without it you wont survive [guaranteed] B: A left over from our common ancestor

Re: A molecule called ‘Sandman’ could help solve the ‘mystery of sleep’

#49

Post by pizza »

ars wrote: post #37

I have my own theory. We sleep because that's when we are logged out of the virtual game that this world is. I'm only semi-serious. But let's work with it. What if we research sleep right until there is nothing left to find out, and we since can't figure out any reason at all for it? Could we use that to postulate for a reason that is non-physical? Spiritual? Virtual reality? Something else?

Hey Hiro, you want to try some Snow Crash?..

Re: A molecule called ‘Sandman’ could help solve the ‘mystery of sleep’

#50

Post by olh »

ars wrote: post #47
olh wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So why do we dream "programming"? I'm sure many others here too suffer from problem-solving in their sleep. Maybe it's just refactoring and caching, and we are full biological systems with no hidden variables in the macroscale.

> So why do we dream "programming"? Because the "you" that is conscious is actually your game player in another world. So it's that "person" that is actually programming. Your body here is basically a robot. This would also explain why we can't figure out what consciousness actually is - if it's not physically in this world that would make it hard to figure out.

This theory makes the need to logout/sleep even more puzzling: if the need to logout is not attached to the robot then why did it biologically evolve on the robot in the first place?
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