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What Happens to the Body on No Sleep

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Re: What Happens to the Body on No Sleep

#291

Post by dagaci »

e40 wrote: post #286
dagaci wrote: post #224

There is a period during sleep where the body engages in rapidly flushing the brain of cerebrospinal fluids. This action is intensely physical and disturbing, however with the exception of the most serene true-insomniacs only a tiny fraction of people will directly experience it. They say this prevents the build up of harmful toxins in the brain, and that the failure to do this over time can be a contributor to the o…

This action is intensely physical and disturbing Can you expand on that?

If you are very relaxed, but persistently unable sleep. But are not alarmed about not being able to sleep anymore, and in a state of almost like not thinking. You may suddenly experience a throbbing sensation in the head/neck, a pulsing in this state.

Normally this enough to trigger alarm in the conscious and fully wake you up. But after this happens many times you can become expectant of it and just let it happen a little longer because you are not immediately alarmed.

Re: What Happens to the Body on No Sleep

#292

Post by bitbuilder »

yati wrote: post #200

Sleep is very very important, and I've learned this the hard way. Sleeping well has been a challenge, and I am glad I'm not alone. Articles like this one and books like Why We Sleep however make me very anxious, since all they seem to do is point out how bad it is if one doesn't get enough sleep. I know that. How can I fix it? I had CBT based sleep therapy last year, and things have since improved, but not much. Then…

You sound exactly like how I felt before seeing a doctor about my insomnia.

If you haven't already, I'd suggest just seeing a doctor, and asking for something that will help you sleep. I was given 50mg Trazodone, and I feel like it's saved my life. It's not a controlled substance, so doctors and nurse practitioners hand it out like candy.

Now I get 8 hours of sleep a night, and most of the research I've dug up indicates it doesn't mess with your sleep architecture. There were some nasty side effects my first few weeks, but they seem to have faded over time.

I spent months and months obsessively reading everything I could about how to improve my sleep. Tried it all. Tried every OTC supplement even rumored to improve sleep. Nothing helped. And the more time I spent stressing about it, the worse it got. By the time I saw a doctor I'd probably gone two weeks straight averaging 2-3 hours of sleep a night. I felt like a shell of a human being.

Just asking for a pill might seem like an unhealthy cop out to some, but the improvement in my quality of life since doing so has been immeasurable since doing do.

Re: What Happens to the Body on No Sleep

#294

Post by olyjohn »

amptorn wrote: post #248
Kiro wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hacker News is the complete opposite nowadays. People who tries to maximize productivity are frowned upon. The norm is to put your family, friends, travelling and stuff like that before anything else.

Productivity is just value you create for people who aren't you. Family, friends and travelling is value you create for yourself.

Having family and friends creates value for them too.

Re: What Happens to the Body on No Sleep

#295

Post by stallmanite »

anon9001 wrote: post #144
cj wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You alluded to taking benzos + z-drugs for 10+ years (you weren't very specific, so I could be off base) on 6-9 month cycles with 3 month tolerance break, and that you've been clean off benzo/x-drugs for a year now. I've seen cases of benzo/z-drug withdrawal (after a short 1-2 years of daily use) requiring 3 months to even notice relief from the side effects of the withdrawal (most notably, horrible insomnia). And th…

Benzos are extremely helpful for providing relief from anxiety and stopping panic attacks, and everyone should have some and know how to use them responsibly. The level of utility of being able to turn off anxiety and fear is incredible. I take xanax before I go to the dentist, because it's just not happening any other way, and it absolutely squashes the flight response and lets me act like a normal human. It shouldn…

Everything you said is spot on except for benzos feeling the “best of all drugs”. You mustn’t have been around the block if you can say that with a straight face. There’s far more euphoric drugs out there.

Re: What Happens to the Body on No Sleep

#296

Post by ASalazarMX »

makz wrote: post #64
motivic wrote: post #9

In case you feel sleep is a waste of time, it could actually be surprisingly productive to sleep. Once thing I noticed in grad school is that your sub-conscious is passively working on the problems you encountered even if you are not actively thinking about them. And often I would "dream" up a clever solution to a homework problem during my sleep. J.P. Serre, one of the most brilliant mathematician still living today…

One day I could not compile something. After fighting it several hours I decided to go sleep. A few minutes before waking up I dreamed that the solution was to set an environment variable. I even saw the specific variable and which value I had to set. I woke up and immediately tried it. It worked.

In Spanish we call it "consultar con la almohada" (to consult with the pillow). I think it's not sleeping per se that gives you answers, but breaking the cycle of frustration. You wake up rested and think more clearly.

Re: What Happens to the Body on No Sleep

#297

Post by michannne »

dagaci wrote: post #291
e40 wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This action is intensely physical and disturbing Can you expand on that?

If you are very relaxed, but persistently unable sleep. But are not alarmed about not being able to sleep anymore, and in a state of almost like not thinking. You may suddenly experience a throbbing sensation in the head/neck, a pulsing in this state. Normally this enough to trigger alarm in the conscious and fully wake you up. But after this happens many times you can become expectant of it and just let it happen a…

Is this the sinking, tremor feeling you get after your awake state, but before the sleep state? That weird limbo where, if your brain jolts back on from this state, it's as if you awoke from a dream - even though you only dozed off for a couple of seconds?

Re: What Happens to the Body on No Sleep

#298

Post by vraivroo »

eyegor wrote: post #97
pravus wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is very much a personal thing and the article is only showing one end of the spectrum. While I have issues staying up past 48 hours and my longest ever stint was 56 or so, I can go for 36 hours easily without any real dramatic adverse effects. I certainly don't feel drunk and am quite capable of performing complicated work even after 24 hours of being awake. As long as the sun is up my body generally wants to be…

> when I finally got into bed it still took me something like 2 hours to finally fall asleep because I felt too tired to actually fall asleep Oh I can absolutely relate to that. On low sleep I found it incredibly natural to fall asleep sitting on a bench with no back rest (without falling over), but purposefully trying to sleep in a bed was always difficult. Up until about 35-40 hours awake I can easily fall asleep i…

I developed a trick of sitting on the edge of my bed when I'm in this state. Sooner or later I nod off, and then I can just _literally_ fall back into bed.

Re: What Happens to the Body on No Sleep

#299

Post by kaybe »

supersrdjan wrote: post #146
harikb wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lucky you. In my case, I end up thinking about the problem in my sleep, come up with solutions that are a mix between reality and fantasy within the dream and usually end in a horrible loop of the above while I desperately try to break out of it. In short, spoils my whole night sleep ( at least how I feel about it next day ). Rarely have it actually produced a successful solution!

My problem too. I actually can't fall asleep because my brain keeps throwing out random ideas at me, like a toddler tugging at my sleeve: "is this solution good enough? no? How about this? No? What about this? No? This?" and so on and so on throughout the night.

Have you tried meditation?

Re: What Happens to the Body on No Sleep

#300

Post by mirimir »

s_y_n_t_a_x wrote: post #267
mirimir wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not uncommon for me, if I'm highly engaged in something, to work straight for 15-20 hours. So as a result, my wake/sleep cycle is consistently longer than 24 hours. And that has the additional benefit of frustrating geolocation. Even so, I rarely go more than 30 hours awake. But with occasional naps, some as long as a couple hours, runs as long as a few days are not uncommon. I take modafinil for bipolar disorde…

This describes me as well. Bipolar and ADHD. If I'm engaged in something I obsess over it and work 10+ hours until it's done. It takes every other feeling away and not until I stop do other things come back (sleep fatigue, hunger, etc)

Yes, just that. I struggle a lot with getting engaged. Especially if I'm uncertain how to proceed. Or if whatever seems too difficult. Too big to imagine.

But once I do get engaged, especially if I understand (or at least, think I do) how to proceed, I won't stop until it's done.

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