Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Good sleep, good learning, good life (2012)

super-memory.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 231 posts

Re: Good sleep, good learning, good life (2012)

#11

Post by sminchev »

How can I explain to my 6 months old girl that we all need to sleep :D

This is a bug in the universe! We need to sleep so that the levels of dopamine, and hormones of hunger and not hunger are at good levels, so that we can be healthy and strong, so that the immune system is stable and strong... And we need to get good sleep so that we can protect our children and be sane....

BUT the nature decided that the kids will wake up 3-4 times per night, and you need to wake up and take care of them.

You sleep in best case, on pauses, not more than 4-6 hours, you feel miserable, and at the same time you are THE HAPPIEST PERSON IN THIS WORLD! :)

Re: Good sleep, good learning, good life (2012)

#12

Post by lazystone »

sminchev wrote: post #11

How can I explain to my 6 months old girl that we all need to sleep :D This is a bug in the universe! We need to sleep so that the levels of dopamine, and hormones of hunger and not hunger are at good levels, so that we can be healthy and strong, so that the immune system is stable and strong... And we need to get good sleep so that we can protect our children and be sane.... BUT the nature decided that the kids will…

How do I explain this to 15yo teenager?..

Re: Good sleep, good learning, good life (2012)

#13

Post by soco »

elAhmo wrote: post #8
rustyhancock wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What makes you say that?

Mentioning drinking three times (effects of drinks in the evening, hangover, effects on learning) in a single response might give an impression you like to drink.

The topic is drinking so they mentioned drinking, and usually people do what they like to do, and in other news water is wet - but do we judge water for being wet? So let's stop virtue signaling because it's definitely not a show of virtue. I see where religious fundamentalism is taking the world and damn if I like it.

Re: Good sleep, good learning, good life (2012)

#14

Post by telemetrics »

rustyhancock wrote: post #3

The older I get the more sensitive to a single poor night's sleep I become. The most frustrating effect is that even a few drinks in the evening (maybe over 2-3 units). Unsettles my sleep that if I'm in the process of learning something feels like it sets me back several days. That's not even counting the slowed processing I feel, and lower productivity the next day. I genuinely have to revisit old information. A gen…

Weird responses from those two users. Ignore them

Re: Good sleep, good learning, good life (2012)

#15

Post by logicprog »

I'm extremely sensitive to poor sleep. I also have nothing in my schedule that really prevents me from going to sleep early and sleeping late most of the time, and generally I at least achieve the former. The problem is that I have unbearable horrible nightmares every time I sleep. To the point where going to sleep is akin to going to hell itself, and I generally choose to forcibly wake myself up around like 6 a.m. just to get away from it all. I haven't really figured out a way around this.

Re: Good sleep, good learning, good life (2012)

#16

Post by kshacker »

ButlerianJihad wrote: post #7

I am recently diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. The classic symptoms were unknown to me until this point when I researched them. I had previously blamed psych medications for the symptoms, and while they may have exacerbated them, I guess diabetes was the real root cause. One of the symptoms is frequent urination. And so, every night I wake up every 2 hours or so and crawl into the bathroom. It’s legitimately a huge c…

IMO Type 2 diabetes is manageable. My father struggled with it for decades and his last few years were not great. Having those same genes, I've spent a lot of time reading and following the data. My take is that T2 is quite manageable. Even reversible, if you focus on it. "Reversible" doesn't mean a lifelong cure, but you can push out your health days by a decade.

There are all kinds of solutions that work. High Protein, Mediterranean, Atkins, or even High Carb (the "good" kind). The breakdown usually happens in the "cocktail" of foods. Our bodies are not hybrid engines; we can not switch fuels mid-stream and expect optimal health. You have to pick a poison, let's say, a protein-based diet—and stick to it. Then exercise and intermittent fasting (IF) are force multipliers. I did strict IF for a year, but I have fallen off the wagon lately, only manage 3-4 days of IF a week. The difference in how I feel is stark.

What worked for me was something called "Lalit Kapoor" diet — basically a WFPB/vegan approach with heavy green juicing and fasting. My failure was primarily due to social friction. My family eats very differently. Making a special effort for every single meal eventually made me start taking the easy way. I still follow it but I wish I could be 100% rather than 80% and which is where all diets fail.

Re: Good sleep, good learning, good life (2012)

#17

Post by sudosteph »

I think nearly everyone should be screened for sleep apnea. The at-home test you wear on your finger is so cheap - it doesn't make sense not to do it for anyone who has any issues with sleep or tiredness in the day.

I always thought that due to being female and a healthy weight, it wasn't something I needed to think about. I also didn't think I snored more than anyone else, so it took me years of poor sleep before a Doctor finally recommended I get tested.

Turns out OSA also can be caused or aggravated by: the size and shape of your mouth, the position you sleep in (I have twice as many events on my back vs side), and whether you tuck your chin in near your test (soft cervical collar helped for that). There are devices that alter how your mouth rests when sleeping (easier to breathe if your front teeth are forward) but they're possibly not good for your bite. CPAP/APAP is still the gold standard for a reason.

The coolest thing about CPAP though, is a lot of them have amazing metrics recorded if you pop in an SD card. And there's a big community built around open source software to analyze those metrics and tune the settings to minimize apnea events overnight.

Also, a cpap with a humidifier is amazing if you're prone to nose pain / nose bleeds due to dry air.

Re: Good sleep, good learning, good life (2012)

#18

Post by VanTodi »

sminchev wrote: post #11

How can I explain to my 6 months old girl that we all need to sleep :D This is a bug in the universe! We need to sleep so that the levels of dopamine, and hormones of hunger and not hunger are at good levels, so that we can be healthy and strong, so that the immune system is stable and strong... And we need to get good sleep so that we can protect our children and be sane.... BUT the nature decided that the kids will…

In my area there is a saying like "it takes a village to raise a child". i believe that a good social network is not only important for the kid, but for the parents too. it helps so much to have a partner, grandparents, aunts/uncles, who can look over the kid just for a hour or 2, so you can get your rest. And its usually fun for the kids too. Now that i have 2 kids, a loving wife and 2 families around me, i have the highest respect for all the single moms/dads out there.

Re: Good sleep, good learning, good life (2012)

#19

Post by amunozo »

As a Spaniard I am trying to honor my ancestors and nap when I can, but man, it feels almost impossible most of the days. It could be that I am having too much anxiety/stress, too much coffee in the mornings, lack of practice, or maybe all of them. Any experiences related to learning to nap or what worked for you over here?

Re: Good sleep, good learning, good life (2012)

#20

Post by veritat14 »

LZ_Khan wrote: post #9

Is the author suggesting people to have to live with going through a phase of being nocturnal? In the free running algorithm, we're supposed to sleep 15 minutes later each day until we're falling asleep at like 9AM? That's just incompatible with modern life right?

I believe Mathew Walker writes in 'Why we sleep' that people's natural circadian cycle varies but on average is 24h and 15 minutes. But yeah sounds pretty inconvenient for most people.
Post reply on HN