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Lack of sleep, stress can lead to symptoms resembling concussion

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Re: Lack of sleep, stress can lead to symptoms resembling concussion

#71
post #70

I wake up after about 4.5 hours of sleep "no matter what". Bedtime of 10pm or 2am, exercise or no, light exposure or no, late eating or no - always the same result. Then I'm awake for a few hours, then get my "second sleep" of 1 to 2 hours. I've been going like this for a decade without daytime sleepiness (a few oz of coffee and I'm charged up for the day), but these kinds of articles really worry me. I have light sl…

This seems perfectly healthy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biphasic_and_polyphasic_sleep

Re: Lack of sleep, stress can lead to symptoms resembling concussion

#72
post #70

I wake up after about 4.5 hours of sleep "no matter what". Bedtime of 10pm or 2am, exercise or no, light exposure or no, late eating or no - always the same result. Then I'm awake for a few hours, then get my "second sleep" of 1 to 2 hours. I've been going like this for a decade without daytime sleepiness (a few oz of coffee and I'm charged up for the day), but these kinds of articles really worry me. I have light sl…

You probably have a very natural sleep rhythm. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sleepless-in-america...

Re: Lack of sleep, stress can lead to symptoms resembling concussion

#73
post #70

I wake up after about 4.5 hours of sleep "no matter what". Bedtime of 10pm or 2am, exercise or no, light exposure or no, late eating or no - always the same result. Then I'm awake for a few hours, then get my "second sleep" of 1 to 2 hours. I've been going like this for a decade without daytime sleepiness (a few oz of coffee and I'm charged up for the day), but these kinds of articles really worry me. I have light sl…

If you're overweight at all, even by a little, losing that weight that greatly impact your sleep and health overall. Also if you eat any inflammatory foods - sugar, carbohydrates, dairy, etc - then that inflammation can cause issues with sleep, especially for brain related inflammation, sleep time when brain channels are meant to open up to clear waste; inflammation is linked to Alzheimer's now because of this process.

Re: Lack of sleep, stress can lead to symptoms resembling concussion

#74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The very best way of dealing with stress isn't internal, it is making the source of stress go away. Unless the internal changes fundamentally change how you view the world ( i.e. the source of stress no longer causes stress, which is the kind of change you'll very rarely see in adults ) it will only be a paliative measure. Being better able to cope with crap is useful, but I don't think it can be considered solving t…

I couldn't disagree with you more, fortunately. You can never remove all stressors but you have way more control over your reaction than you think. One example - people's natural emotional reaction to work deadlines is something like "I'll die if I don't make it" which is almost never literally true, but your body and mind torment you as if it was. Everyone can learn to reframe it to something more healthy like "I am…

Having a large rainy day fund is something a lot of people are missing.

Paycheck to paycheck drastically increases stress level, yet so many won’t get away from it.

When I ran an Airbnb, it was shocking to see how cheap other cultures would eat. Every meal home made. Despite no kitchen access label on listing.

Re: Lack of sleep, stress can lead to symptoms resembling concussion

#75
post #70

I wake up after about 4.5 hours of sleep "no matter what". Bedtime of 10pm or 2am, exercise or no, light exposure or no, late eating or no - always the same result. Then I'm awake for a few hours, then get my "second sleep" of 1 to 2 hours. I've been going like this for a decade without daytime sleepiness (a few oz of coffee and I'm charged up for the day), but these kinds of articles really worry me. I have light sl…

Try cutting the caffeine intake and see if that helps?

Re: Lack of sleep, stress can lead to symptoms resembling concussion

#76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

During a very difficult time in my life recently, I found it impossible to sleep. I would have stress nightmares and even when i did fall asleep, I would soon wake myself up with specific scenarios my mind was trying to work out. I was incapacitated by this, which exacerbated my situation. I eventually noticed that I could fall asleep if I sat with my daughters while they watched TV. This evolved to me falling asleep…

I had similar issues, and tried to solve them with a similar method. I fell asleep to an audiobook about the roman empire many nights. I finally realized that the reason I was having trouble falling to sleep, and trouble getting back to sleep after a noise, etc. I turns out that the only time when I was not doing something that occupied my mind was when I was trying to sleep. Eg, I'm either working, consuming media s…

This resonates with me. I’ve noticed an absolute dependence on mental stimulation. I think your solutions is the same conclusion I came to. Cheers!

Re: Lack of sleep, stress can lead to symptoms resembling concussion

#77
post #17

Anyone have tips for managing sleep in the winter months? It seems like I can stay up forever (until 02-04) and don't get so tired. I need to be in bed by 23 actually.

There's lots of good tips in replies, but some things that work for me that I didn't see mentioned.

Avoid caffeine. If not entirely, at least don't have any after noon. Everytime I have a really hard time falling asleep it'a because I had a (delicious) coffee or cola after lunch. Enough times that I've almost learned my lesson. ;)

Go to bed quickly if you're feeling drowsy in the evening, even if it's before your preferred time. I often feel sleepy just before 21; and if I get into bed then, I usually sleep through the night and wakeup rested; but if I push through it, for whatever reason, I'm no longer drowsy in 30 minutes, and I will have a hard time sleeping until much later.

Re: Lack of sleep, stress can lead to symptoms resembling concussion

#78

Stress resilience is one of the most important things when it comes to knowledge work, also one of the most neglected aspect. Mindfulness, stoicism, exercise help, but nothing helps as much as a good night sleep. Also the other thing people usually fail to note is the vicious stress-sleep cycle (lack of sleep induced stress stress induced lack of sleep). It took me years to realize that so much of my problems with be…

During a very difficult time in my life recently, I found it impossible to sleep. I would have stress nightmares and even when i did fall asleep, I would soon wake myself up with specific scenarios my mind was trying to work out. I was incapacitated by this, which exacerbated my situation. I eventually noticed that I could fall asleep if I sat with my daughters while they watched TV. This evolved to me falling asleep…

I wonder if taking melatonin supplements for a week or two could resolve your issue. A very small dose (0.3 mg) of melatonin is usually sufficient to restore nighttime plasma melatonin levels to those characteristic of young people.

Re: Lack of sleep, stress can lead to symptoms resembling concussion

#79
post #73
post #70

I wake up after about 4.5 hours of sleep "no matter what". Bedtime of 10pm or 2am, exercise or no, light exposure or no, late eating or no - always the same result. Then I'm awake for a few hours, then get my "second sleep" of 1 to 2 hours. I've been going like this for a decade without daytime sleepiness (a few oz of coffee and I'm charged up for the day), but these kinds of articles really worry me. I have light sl…

If you're overweight at all, even by a little, losing that weight that greatly impact your sleep and health overall. Also if you eat any inflammatory foods - sugar, carbohydrates, dairy, etc - then that inflammation can cause issues with sleep, especially for brain related inflammation, sleep time when brain channels are meant to open up to clear waste; inflammation is linked to Alzheimer's now because of this proces…

The science behind "inflammatory foods" is pretty shaky:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-messy-facts-a...

https://www.acsh.org/news/2019/05/05/closer-look-anti-inflam...

Re: Lack of sleep, stress can lead to symptoms resembling concussion

#80
post #75
post #70

I wake up after about 4.5 hours of sleep "no matter what". Bedtime of 10pm or 2am, exercise or no, light exposure or no, late eating or no - always the same result. Then I'm awake for a few hours, then get my "second sleep" of 1 to 2 hours. I've been going like this for a decade without daytime sleepiness (a few oz of coffee and I'm charged up for the day), but these kinds of articles really worry me. I have light sl…

Try cutting the caffeine intake and see if that helps?

It's literally at 3oz a day though, so "cutting" would effectively be zero. Maybe I could try decaf since I seem to need a bit of coffee for, ahem, regularity.
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