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Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration (2023)

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Re: Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration (2023)

#251
post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speaking of which, I think it's a great idea for everyone to get their vitamin levels checked. Your doctor is unlikely to order such a blood test unless you are in an extreme situation, but it's cheap (around $100) to get a pretty extensive panel done. I did it recently and found out basically all my b vitamins were in the toilet along with my vitamin D level. I started taking a b complex vitamin and D3 supplement an…

Interesting, my doctor recommends doing a blood panel every 5 years.

A lot of doctors only want to do a more critical set like like triglycerides, c-reactive protein, cholesterol, stuff like that. I've never had a doctor proactively want to test things like b vitamin levels.

Re: Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration (2023)

#252

A good night's sleep is no longer an option for me. My area is experiencing widespread, constant ground vibrations throughout the day and night. It feels as if your whole body is vibrating. No supplement can help with that, and there's nothing the local authorities can do until the major construction projects are completed over the next few years.

I wonder if having springs in the bed legs would help to damp vibrations. Or.. something like that

https://engineering.stackexchange.com/questions/42284/vibrat...

https://www.bolonhome.com/news/bed-frame-vibration-control-d...

I remember a Youtube video about a story of a skyscrapper that added something to damp vibrations so that it would be more comfortable due to high winds or something like that. If it's feasible to damp vibrations on a whole building, you can do it on a smaller scale as well

Re: Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration (2023)

#253
post #82

Magnesium supplementation solved my sleep issues. I have seen many doctors, including sleep specialists, regarding insomnia. They all pointed to one source as the reason for the sleep issues: stress. And they all wanted to put me on prescription sleeping pills. I said no to that. Sleeping pills can cause dependence, and they often treat the symptom rather than the underlying cause. As a software developer, I am used…

Do you mind sharing which type you take (brand as well)? I tried magnesium glycinate supplements for two nights in a row and they kept me wide awake.

Re: Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration (2023)

#254
post #206
post #82

Magnesium supplementation solved my sleep issues. I have seen many doctors, including sleep specialists, regarding insomnia. They all pointed to one source as the reason for the sleep issues: stress. And they all wanted to put me on prescription sleeping pills. I said no to that. Sleeping pills can cause dependence, and they often treat the symptom rather than the underlying cause. As a software developer, I am used…

I find magnesium great - but I also like 5-HTP which I find also helps me sleep if I take it with a little food about 30 mins before bed. I find I feel a lot calmer when taking it - and it helps my ADHD - though I don't take it for too long, as I never like to take anything for too long.

Never taking a supplement for too long is great advice. Always cycle things in and out to avoid some potential for accumulating too much in the body.

There are some horrifying case studies where people took like too much zinc, or copper, or some other thing for years and got really really messed up.

Re: Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration (2023)

#255
Largest medical insurance company (Discovery Health) in South Africa has just launched a sleep rewards program as part of their wellness program (Vitality). The idea is that you get rewarded for getting good sleeping scores... which is not entirely in your control, but anyway. Their model is built by looking at years of sleep data combined with health insurance claims. They place a large emphasis on sleep regularity. Anyway, just interesting to see this study come up and it seems to match up sort of with the Vitality stuff. There will ofc be many confounding variables though...

Re: Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration (2023)

#256
Something that has worked surprisingly well for me is journaling via voice recording on my phone. It's been so effective that I've mapped it to my phone's physical shortcut button.

I have struggled with on-and-off sleep issues for a while, and I'll admit I don't always follow perfect sleep hygiene. But there is something about dumping my thoughts out loud that completely shuts down the repetitive, circular thinking that usually keeps me awake.

Re: Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration (2023)

#257

Largest medical insurance company (Discovery Health) in South Africa has just launched a sleep rewards program as part of their wellness program (Vitality). The idea is that you get rewarded for getting good sleeping scores... which is not entirely in your control, but anyway. Their model is built by looking at years of sleep data combined with health insurance claims. They place a large emphasis on sleep regularity.…

It would suck to pay more based on bad or poorly understood data. Especially since I doubt they'll willingly give refunds if their foundational data is proven to be problematic.

Re: Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration (2023)

#258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Sleeping pills can cause dependence, and they often treat the symptom rather than the underlying cause. I found gwern's take on Melatonin interesting: https://gwern.net/melatonin A small excerpt: > One might object that they do not wish to tamper with their natural sleep, even if melatonin is a normally-secreted hormone. > Sad to say, I would point out to such readers that they are already profoundly tampering with…

The evidence that humans would naturally be designed to sleep “multiple times a day” is quite mixed. “Multiple” does a lot of heavy lifting here, when basically most evidence points to two batches, following either of these patterns: - a long uninterrupted night cycle and a short (20-60 mins) afternoon nap. Around 2pm. - a night cycle split into two halves. With a 1-2h break (maybe up to 3h) starting around midnight…

Doesn't multiple mean more than one?

Re: Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration (2023)

#259

Largest medical insurance company (Discovery Health) in South Africa has just launched a sleep rewards program as part of their wellness program (Vitality). The idea is that you get rewarded for getting good sleeping scores... which is not entirely in your control, but anyway. Their model is built by looking at years of sleep data combined with health insurance claims. They place a large emphasis on sleep regularity.…

It would suck to pay more based on bad or poorly understood data. Especially since I doubt they'll willingly give refunds if their foundational data is proven to be problematic.

Oh for sure. It's a carrot-type program though. So you don't get any penalties for not doing something, but you get rewards for doing things.

Re: Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration (2023)

#260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Sleeping pills can cause dependence, and they often treat the symptom rather than the underlying cause. I found gwern's take on Melatonin interesting: https://gwern.net/melatonin A small excerpt: > One might object that they do not wish to tamper with their natural sleep, even if melatonin is a normally-secreted hormone. > Sad to say, I would point out to such readers that they are already profoundly tampering with…

This is a very important paragraph from quern's article > There are few to no side-effects to melatonin use in adults (there is uncertainty about the risks & benefits in children & adolescents28), and it is not addictive or habit-forming like caffeine is. The usual dose for a night is 0.5-3 mg and I take 1.5mg [29]; my dose is highly likely to be too high. High doses may well be responsible for why some people try me…

It's a bit harder to find, but I've had a good experience with liquid melatonin. Each drop contains like 0.1mg, so it's easy to dial in the small dose that you need.
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