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Sleep duration is associated with brain structure and cognitive performance

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Re: Sleep duration is associated with brain structure and cognitive performance

#131

Post by kypro »

Around the age of 17 I used to regularly go to bed late so I could socialise, but I often had to be up at 8-9am for college / university / work. This meant I developed a fairly unhealthy sleep pattern and would often only get 6 hours of sleep a night.

10 years on and although I don't stay up to socialise anymore, I still really struggling to get enough sleep. No matter how tired I am throughout the day my mind seems to naturally wake up around 10pm and I rarely want to go to bed before 3am despite having to be up at 9am for work. On average I probably get 5-6 hours a night on a week day and 7-8 a night on weekends.

Also every now and then (2 or 3 times a year) my body simply refuses to sleep and I will be completely unable to sleep for 2-3 days. Again, although I know I need sleep I am not "tired". I'll put my head down on the pillow and nothing, my mind is racing and my body is fidgety and hyperactive.

I don't know if I've conditioned myself to develop an unhealthy sleep pattern as a teenager, but I really struggle with sleep these days. I have tried to condition myself with having a schedule and dimming lights past 9pm, but so far I haven't had much luck shutting my head off at an appropriate time. However when I do eventually sleep I will typically want to stay in bed for 12+ hours it's just that's rarely possible because of work, etc.

Does anyone have any tips for me? I seem to naturally want to sleep around 5-7pm so these days if I'm feeling particularly sleep deprived I'll try to get a couple of hours after work, but again this isn't always possible and sometimes my body will refuse to sleep even if I lie there for two hours.

Re: Sleep duration is associated with brain structure and cognitive performance

#132

Post by forgotmypw17 »

random3 wrote: post #118
forgotmypw17 wrote: post #115

I'd like to share my sleeping practice which I've developed after several years of focusing on it and trying to recreate the pre-industrial (and possibly pre-farming) sleep patterns my ancestors had for millions of years before the last few thousand. Whenever I feel tired, I lay down to rest. Whenever I am sleeping, I allow myself to sleep until I am "fully slept", meaning I can lay there for a while, still physicall…

How are you measuring "improved cognition, better health and overall feeling"?

It's just an overall sense of being able to remember things, think several consecutive thoughts through, clarity when programming, ability to stay attentive and on track, social ability, and so on.

Also, I used to be very depressed all the time, and now it rarely happens.

I've experienced many different layers of both cognitive health and cognitive impairment, and I also practice mindfulness, so I am able to assess this pretty well.

I have something to compare to: I used to be able to program all day every day when I was younger. I've also had several instances of TBI. I've had times when I tried to follow a schedule which didn't work for me for both corporate jobs and startups. I've been depressed and at peace, in love and with a broken heart. All of these things can be helpful or debilitating, or even both.

I compare my assessments in comparison with all of these different experiences.

The difference between my current practice and getting 8 hours a day on a schedule is... I don't even know how to describe it.

Re: Sleep duration is associated with brain structure and cognitive performance

#133

Post by slpthrwwy »

kypro wrote: post #131

Around the age of 17 I used to regularly go to bed late so I could socialise, but I often had to be up at 8-9am for college / university / work. This meant I developed a fairly unhealthy sleep pattern and would often only get 6 hours of sleep a night. 10 years on and although I don't stay up to socialise anymore, I still really struggling to get enough sleep. No matter how tired I am throughout the day my mind seems…

I was in a similar state, I just started taking unisom (the kind with doxylamine succinate) on the days I have trouble going to sleep at a good time. It works for me.

Sleeping pills aren't great but not sleeping isn't either. And not sleeping well can create a bad cycle where you stay up late to finish stuff that you didn't do during the day due to exhaustion.

Re: Sleep duration is associated with brain structure and cognitive performance

#134

Post by 00deadbeef »

bamboozled wrote: post #122

This is another cruel modern irony, we know more about the importance of sleep then ever before, yet we’ve built such a horrible world for sleep. Light pollution, noise pollution, blue light emitting devices, being “connected” 24x7, synthetic bedding materials, global man made crisis to worry about. Now study after study on how getting more sleep is important.

What's wrong with synthetic bedding materials?

Re: Sleep duration is associated with brain structure and cognitive performance

#135

Post by drclau »

forgotmypw17 wrote: post #115

I'd like to share my sleeping practice which I've developed after several years of focusing on it and trying to recreate the pre-industrial (and possibly pre-farming) sleep patterns my ancestors had for millions of years before the last few thousand. Whenever I feel tired, I lay down to rest. Whenever I am sleeping, I allow myself to sleep until I am "fully slept", meaning I can lay there for a while, still physicall…

How do you handle noise? Do you live in a house or apartment building?

Re: Sleep duration is associated with brain structure and cognitive performance

#136

Post by Spooky23 »

filleokus wrote: post #120
forgotmypw17 wrote: post #115

I'd like to share my sleeping practice which I've developed after several years of focusing on it and trying to recreate the pre-industrial (and possibly pre-farming) sleep patterns my ancestors had for millions of years before the last few thousand. Whenever I feel tired, I lay down to rest. Whenever I am sleeping, I allow myself to sleep until I am "fully slept", meaning I can lay there for a while, still physicall…

In principle this sounds pretty ideal. Sleeping, or resting, when you need and not force an arbitrary societal schedule on yourself. But, I'm guessing that you don't go into an office nor have a lot of meetings? Do you live alone or does it work with a family around the house?

It’s easier than one might think. The key is being able to pull off the 20m snooze.

In my misspent youth, I used to drive to a Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts, pound a coffee and close my eyes for 15-20m. Another thing is to reserve a conference room on a remote floor during lunchtime.

Re: Sleep duration is associated with brain structure and cognitive performance

#137

Post by hndamien »

rajinikantham wrote: post #121
forgotmypw17 wrote: post #115

I'd like to share my sleeping practice which I've developed after several years of focusing on it and trying to recreate the pre-industrial (and possibly pre-farming) sleep patterns my ancestors had for millions of years before the last few thousand. Whenever I feel tired, I lay down to rest. Whenever I am sleeping, I allow myself to sleep until I am "fully slept", meaning I can lay there for a while, still physicall…

Do you have children? If yes, how on earth is this doable?

Let them sleep when they are tired and wake when they want.

Re: Sleep duration is associated with brain structure and cognitive performance

#138

Post by carrozo »

I’ve found a type of box breathing to be a really effective way to fall asleep in recent weeks; breathe in through nose until lungs full, count 7 seconds, breathe out through mouth until lungs empty (really squeeze all the air out), count for 7 seconds. Repeat. Thoughts fade away from persistent focus on following the routine of it.

Re: Sleep duration is associated with brain structure and cognitive performance

#139

Post by scrollaway »

baxtr wrote: post #106
scrollaway wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's like I am in a half-awake and half-sleepy state and I can't control myself to get fully awake, I know for sure I am not lucid dreaming. Are you having a form of sleep paralysis maybe? This "half awake, half asleep" state is one I know quite well. Here's a variety of sleep paralysis symptoms I've experienced over the years: - You're in the "real world", but you feel like you're not really awake - Limited contro…

I experienced something similar, maybe 5x in my life: I wake up mentally but I am asleep physically. So somehow I am trapped in my body awake. I can’t move any limb nor open my eyes. I start to panic and after some time I can move a bit, and then a bit more and so on. It’s quite stressful and freaky.

You learn to recognize it, especially if it happens more than once every few years. Then you can just take a breath and relax, knowing "it will end soon". Sometimes you can even break out of it.

Re: Sleep duration is associated with brain structure and cognitive performance

#140

Post by vestrigi »

dorkwood wrote: post #127
forgotmypw17 wrote: post #115

I'd like to share my sleeping practice which I've developed after several years of focusing on it and trying to recreate the pre-industrial (and possibly pre-farming) sleep patterns my ancestors had for millions of years before the last few thousand. Whenever I feel tired, I lay down to rest. Whenever I am sleeping, I allow myself to sleep until I am "fully slept", meaning I can lay there for a while, still physicall…

This is similar to my "drink when you're thirsty" method for remaining hydrated. There's a whole industry built on the premise that we're unable to regulate our own water intake without the help of apps and special water bottles. I've not found that to be the case myself.

I guess I use the same method. For a year or so, I forced myself to drink an additional liter of water per day and I didn’t feel any difference from it, except that I had to go to the toilet all the time. The only problem that arises now is that I tend to forget that I’m a bit thirsty because of the ubiquitous distractions in our lives.
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