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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

#141

Post by vbezhenar »

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 don't think that our ancestors were able to drink when they wanted to. You need to travel to some drinking spot which takes time and probably required group effort.

Though I don't think that we should just blindly recreate our ancient habits.

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

#143

Post by lqet »

forgotmypw17 wrote: post #129
rajinikantham wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

No, of course this would be somewhat different with children. However, this is how I would also raise a child, letting them sleep as much and whenever they want. When I was a child myself, my parents were in disagreement. My dad's opinion that I should be "broken in" so that I am better able to integrate into society. My mom thought more along the lines of what I describe. Seeing that my dad had a societal job while…

> However, this is how I would also raise a child, letting them sleep as much and whenever they want.

With small kids, the problem is usually not you trying to force a schedule on the kid, but the kid forcing a schedule on you.

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

#144

Post by pawelmi »

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.

It is sleep paralysis. It is completely normal when it happens from time to time. Your brain inhibits muscle movements during certain phases of sleep so that you do not hurt your self. Sometimes this can get out of sync though.

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

#145

Post by arkadiytehgraet »

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…

Huh, I had a similar experience during my adolescent years, yet right after high school I have had zero troubles with the sleep.

Starting from the age of 13 and till 18 I would go to bed at 1-2 AM, occasionally at 3-4 only to wake up at 7-8 AM almost every day. Double espresso every morning, 10-15 minute naps in the classroom/subway/literally anywhere/nights without sleep at all - I had it all. The only exception were Sundays, where I would get solid 11+ hours sleep.

I think during these times I learned the value of high-quality sleep and I am simply afraid to miss on it now.

Also no alarm clocks, coffee/energetics only when it's really necessary (once a few months at most), regular exercise (does not matter what exactly, as long as I move any parts of my body, even plain walking around is amazing) - all of it goes a long way to help with the sleep.

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

#146

Post by lqet »

hndamien wrote: post #137
rajinikantham wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

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

It takes considerable effort to "allow yourself to sleep until you are "fully slept"" if you are woken up by a 2 year old sitting on your head and trying to get you to look at a book with him.

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

#147

Post by novok »

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?

You have a village / extended family that helps you raise your children.

Also have your kids younger so you don't need sleep as much. Just accept that the first 5 years wont be as sleepful ;) Also small kids tend to sleep a lot, just not on your schedule :D

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

#148

Post by jniedrauer »

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 fixed this problem myself in my mid 20s by taking up early morning exercise. I started running and lifting at about 6 AM and slowly moved that back to 5 AM over the course of a year. It completely rewired my brain. I get sleepy around 9 PM now and fall asleep with no effort. If I don't set any alarms, I'm typically awake by 6-7 AM. The big downside is that on the occasions I do need to stay up until the early hours of the morning, it's a real struggle.

(An alternative interpretation of these events is that my body rewired itself in my mid 20s and my behavior changed accordingly.)

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

#149

Post by zadjii »

Sleep is such an interesting aspect of the human existence. We all need it, but so many of us have such drastically different experiences with it. Some people are early risers, others night owls. Some people have extremely vivid dreams, others have random jumbles, and some people nothing at all. Even the amount of sleep that a person needs can vary wildly. This whole thread is full of examples of people sharing their different experiences with sleep, almost as if no two people have the same exact patterns.

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

#150

Post by sleepfailure »

Sleep paralysis every night when falling asleep (repeated attempts) and then when waking every morning (often being forced back to sleep) certainly has an impact on cognitive performance. Feeling like you're suffocating with the occasional sprinkle of epileptic attack isn't great either.
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