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Good sleep, good learning, good life

supermemo.com

11–20 of 127 posts

Re: Good sleep, good learning, good life

#12
I've struggled with sleep issues since I was a small child; even after doing all the reasonable exercise/caffeine/no-bright-lights things people recommended, my brain sometimes just wouldn't shut down. After some introspection, I came to realize that my body seemed be on a 25 hour day, and it just wanted to stay awake an hour later each time.

Then I read gwern's article on melatonin[1], and it changed everything. I don't get the shorter sleep he describes, but I take it once or twice a week to give me what feels like complete control over my sleep cycle. In addition the alertness/grumpiness benefits, it is truly great just being able to go to sleep and wake up at the same time as my wife (who seems to be on a 23-hour day).

[1] http://www.gwern.net/Melatonin

Re: Good sleep, good learning, good life

#13
post #8
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You ingest caffeine only in the morning. But that makes no sense. Caffeine binds to adenosine receptors, which have to do with how sleepy you are. But they aren't doing anything in the morning as you've just woken up (think of them as a counter of how long you've been awake). Any coffee before lunch is just a placebo really. From wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adenosine > Caffeine's principal mode of actio…

"But they aren't doing anything in the morning as you've just woken up (think of them as a counter of how long you've been awake" How so? If you wake up sleepy and groggy and all that, then what neuroreceptors are we talking about?

[deleted]

Re: Good sleep, good learning, good life

#14
post #8
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You ingest caffeine only in the morning. But that makes no sense. Caffeine binds to adenosine receptors, which have to do with how sleepy you are. But they aren't doing anything in the morning as you've just woken up (think of them as a counter of how long you've been awake). Any coffee before lunch is just a placebo really. From wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adenosine > Caffeine's principal mode of actio…

"But they aren't doing anything in the morning as you've just woken up (think of them as a counter of how long you've been awake" How so? If you wake up sleepy and groggy and all that, then what neuroreceptors are we talking about?

I would guess they're one of the few lucky people that wake up feeling refreshed and perky in the morning. Me, I feel like zombie usually the first 30-45mins unless I have some caffeine shortly after waking up.

Re: Good sleep, good learning, good life

#15
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"But they aren't doing anything in the morning as you've just woken up (think of them as a counter of how long you've been awake" How so? If you wake up sleepy and groggy and all that, then what neuroreceptors are we talking about?

I would guess they're one of the few lucky people that wake up feeling refreshed and perky in the morning. Me, I feel like zombie usually the first 30-45mins unless I have some caffeine shortly after waking up.

Not at all, I've just realised that waiting for a bit works better than drinking caffeine.

Exercise helps greatly as well.

Re: Good sleep, good learning, good life

#16
I used to use this guy's program for palm pilot when memorizing some foreign language vocabulary. It was a pretty nice program and he put a lot of thought into the repetition and spacing algorithm. The author seems to think that memorization is the most important thing in the world, the justification being that things can only have subconscious connections once memorized. If only all my problems could be solved by memorizing facts!

Re: Good sleep, good learning, good life

#17
post #7

" It is everyone's dream to wake up fresh, happy, and ready for action on a daily basis. Sadly, in the modern world, only a small minority lives that dream. Yet the dream is within reach for most healthy people given a bit of knowledge, and a readiness to make some lifestyle sacrifice ." If I click print is says 203 pages. That is not "a bit of knowledge" - not that I mind to spend time on what looks to be a very int…

> You ingest caffeine only in the morning. But that makes no sense. Caffeine binds to adenosine receptors, which have to do with how sleepy you are. But they aren't doing anything in the morning as you've just woken up (think of them as a counter of how long you've been awake). Any coffee before lunch is just a placebo really. From wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adenosine > Caffeine's principal mode of actio…

Any coffee before lunch is just a placebo really.

I find this hard to believe. And it would be pretty easy to test using decaf coffee in a double-blind trial.

Re: Good sleep, good learning, good life

#19
post #3

I don't get this. Skimming over it, I see it tells me something in yellow, centered and bolded text, and then goes on to refute why it's not true. I can't see a hint that it's a common myth or anything, it's presented as the truth at first. So either it's a horrible article (guide?) to look through without reading entirely, or I don't get it. TLDR anyone?

Here are the highlights the author has extracted from his study http://tldr.io/tldrs/5123bba2793151711c00001b/good-sleep-goo...

Re: Good sleep, good learning, good life

#20
post #16

I used to use this guy's program for palm pilot when memorizing some foreign language vocabulary. It was a pretty nice program and he put a lot of thought into the repetition and spacing algorithm. The author seems to think that memorization is the most important thing in the world, the justification being that things can only have subconscious connections once memorized. If only all my problems could be solved by me…

His was one of the first (if not the first?) computerized SRS (spaced repetition systems) out there (flash cards methods existed, such as the Lietner box system). It's non-free though. There are several more modern alternatives out there. Most people I know (who are into SRS programs) use Anki: www.ankisrs.net

You can even download pre-made decks from within the app (it's something like File->download->shared deck) that other people have made available for all kinds of topics (heavy emphasis on foreign languages).

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