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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)

#281
Just my 2c

Bryan Johnson says you should base your life around your sleep. He’s totally right

… but he won’t get young men to sleep in at 8pm

New sleep meds are creating a new lever here and serve a real empowering function in a way that culture hasn’t caught up to yet

When we think of traditional sleep meds we think of sedatives and it has an identity connotation to it. The new meds coming out, not just in sleep either, are changing a lot of things. I’m talking about designer drugs, new pathways, multiple agonists etc etc.

By total accident a month ago, I was prescribed a medication for sleep, lemborexant (not into trade names for drugs, more power to generics)

I didn’t plan on ever getting a sleep med. I don’t see myself as a sleep med guy lol. I didn’t walk into a clinic thinking I’d ever want one either. But to me this feels like a peptide or an athletic recovery supplement. And I think there’s even better and newer out there

Having this lever has personally helped me a lot. Why? Because it’s very easy to let sleep quality slip over time. Here are a few questions I wished someone had asked me a year or two ago:

-Have you been dreaming? When’s the last time you had a vivid dream? If you can’t even recall that, it’s a big red flag. If you haven’t been dreaming, your sleep quality could be junk

-Erections during sleep? Just something to take note of

-Waking up tired or ready for the day?

-How long does it take you to fall asleep? There’s a key distinction there between how long you’re in bed vs. how long you’re actually sleeping. Check your apple health data. It’s so easy to mess this up, in this modern age especially, it’s why I’m hooked. There are far too many variables that could affect a key function of your life, especially for young guys. An afterparty, a hookup, a stressful period in business, a productive all-nighter, or just overthinking instead of sleeping

People notice when you don’t sleep well

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

#282

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…

I take melatonin to sleep on a redeye, but otherwise don't use it. I find the effect is similar to taking a weed edible to fall asleep— basically, my wearable registers a lengthy period of deep sleep but instead of waking up feeling refreshed and ready for action, I'm groggy and fog-headed for several hours, or dependent on coffee to reverse the lingering effects. As someone who has never been a regular coffee consum…

This sounds like you may be taking a very high dose. What dose do you take?

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

#283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have had a similar experience. I would find my sleep schedule constantly drifting later and later, which made it harder to wake up in the morning, so I would self medicate with caffeine which made me anxious, which contributed to the same cycle. But even when I stopped taking caffeine I always found it difficult to actually go to bed at the same time every day. What finally worked for me were red light glasses. I w…

Interesting, at first I though you mean the active red-light therapy things. I've seen that a lot on Instagram. Might have to try that myself. Do you still use your phone/tablet/etc or does it also encourage you to use them less?

Yeah, I'm not sure about the efficacy of those, my understanding is that blocking blue and green light is more important than exposure to red light, but not an expert.

I do still use my phone, and more importantly for me my computer, basically right up until bedtime. I have probably decreased my usage some but it’s not a huge factor.

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

#284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's worth keeping in mind that melatonin is also prescription-only in many countries e.g. UK, Canada, Japan, Australia.

OTC in canada

My bad, apparently it's prescription-only for children in particular.

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

#286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From your description it may be acting as a placebo -- the act of putting the pill into your mouth is what tells your subconscious to activate a sleep cycle.

Placebos are actually very effective for improving sleep

If you call it a ritual instead of a placebo it suddenly sounds much more credible.

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

#287

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 comment above just said “sleeping pills” which is ambiguous. Melatonin is an OTC supplement. True “sleeping pills” are usually controlled substances and few doctors would prescribe them as first-line options for a patient who shows up with first time complaints of sleep problems. They won’t be prescribed long-term either. The part of the post that says doctors (plural) tried to prescribe the pills makes me think…

> They won’t be prescribed long-term either.

Tramadol is routinely prescribed long term where I live. I know someone with a massive bottle good for something like 6 to 12 months of daily use. (I don't know if that's a good thing but it is certainly a thing.)

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

#288

Just my 2c Bryan Johnson says you should base your life around your sleep. He’s totally right … but he won’t get young men to sleep in at 8pm New sleep meds are creating a new lever here and serve a real empowering function in a way that culture hasn’t caught up to yet When we think of traditional sleep meds we think of sedatives and it has an identity connotation to it. The new meds coming out, not just in sleep eit…

>… but he won’t get young men to sleep in at 8pm

i've never had a problem with staying or even falling asleep, instead my issue is *wanting* to go to bed and getting myself there. adhd, executive dysfunctoning/akrasia, screens, chores i procrastinated all evening, etc, all give me too many things to do at night instead of tucking myself into bed. i basically don't feel tired at all until i lay down. i don't notice i'm mentally wiped until i start bottomfragging in a video game at 2 am.

i've taken melatonin (and magnesium) for a long time, but only in the past few months i started taking it like 3 hours before bed, after reading scott alexander's psychiatry website, instead of right beforehand.

i also happen to have been recently RXd a drug called guanfacine which dampens sympathetic activity (think fight-or-flight) and when i take it with the above pills, i finally *feel* tired at 10 pm. my body is heavy and slow and my brain starts craving being turned off. it's remarkable. there's something about *feeling* tired that is humbling and makes me feel human. weird!

BJ et all aren't joking when they say the biggest performance enhancer is sleep and especially regularity. i would rather sleep 6 hours and wake up at my normal time, than slide my schedule around and hit 8 and sleep in. but when i hit 8 on my usual schedule it's like i have superpowers. i don't make gains at the gym unless i sleep well. and it's such a funny thing to say out loud, but i don't need coffee when i'm rested. when i'm rested and take a coffee, it feels like i just drank 3 coffees and i'm ODing on top of my natural alertness.

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

#289

Just my 2c Bryan Johnson says you should base your life around your sleep. He’s totally right … but he won’t get young men to sleep in at 8pm New sleep meds are creating a new lever here and serve a real empowering function in a way that culture hasn’t caught up to yet When we think of traditional sleep meds we think of sedatives and it has an identity connotation to it. The new meds coming out, not just in sleep eit…

>… but he won’t get young men to sleep in at 8pm i've never had a problem with staying or even falling asleep, instead my issue is *wanting* to go to bed and getting myself there. adhd, executive dysfunctoning/akrasia, screens, chores i procrastinated all evening, etc, all give me too many things to do at night instead of tucking myself into bed. i basically don't feel tired at all until i lay down. i don't notice i'…

I totally agree

Melatonin gummies help for sure, I have zero complaints. I embed the lex into the gummy

Same with adhd btw

You should def try this. My prescriber just somehow knew, likely bc of vyvanse. I spoke to him again the following day, and I was telling him dude this is great, I want a permanent supply of this lol. Maybe it’s a common issue amongst us ADHD people

I’m really looking forward to Centanafadine, looks like it’s going through approvals this month?

I’m thinking of trying guanfacine, wonder if it’s actually worth it. It apparently widens your pfc veins or something? A very veiny brain sounds awesome

Cheers!

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

#290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Watch male lions they sleep when they want, laze about all day until they need to eat. Or you can be a deer caught in the corporate wage slave, alarm clock prisoner headlights.

Watch birds they fly when they want. Or you can be a slave worm bound to the earth. The choice is yours

If you watch birds you will see they don't use alarm clocks nor go to work, but still find food each day.
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