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Brains Sweep Themselves Clean of Toxins During Sleep (2013)

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Re: Brains Sweep Themselves Clean of Toxins During Sleep (2013)

#111

Post by Jach »

joering2 wrote: post #56

It always amazes me to read articles like this. How come I don't need more than 3 hours of sleep a day and its been like that for over 15 years now? I sleep "late hours". I go sleep around 8am and wake up around noon. I don't eat breakfast just coffee. I work most of the day on different projects, eat quite large dinner at 8pm, then every day go for 45 min to the gym, around 10pm and then 20 min walk. After that its…

Back when I was trying to make the uberman (and eventually the everyman) sleep schedules work for me, I ran across a person like you, it made me incredibly jealous. He seemed to think it was that his brain only went into REM mode for some reason. As the other comment mentioned maybe it's just a simple gene mutation, if so perhaps CRISPR can replicate the effect... Lots of stuff if you google "Short sleepers".

Re: Brains Sweep Themselves Clean of Toxins During Sleep (2013)

#112

Post by Puts »

Maybe looking for the reason we sleep is the wrong way to look at it? What if being asleep is the default state for any organism?

Sleeping require much less energy. The only reason to be awake is to eat and reproduce. For any animal there is probably an optimal ratio between sleep and hunt/reproduction where sleep is the most favorable.

Re: Brains Sweep Themselves Clean of Toxins During Sleep (2013)

#113

Post by antisthenes »

Helmet wrote: post #90
Hydraulix989 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a shame what these "top" schools can get away with because of the sacrifices some people are willing to put themselves through to get a coveted degree.

Can't argue with the results. http://libguides.mit.edu/c.php?g=176016&p=1159581

I'm confused. Where are the sleeping habits of the people in the list you linked?

Oh, right, there are none.

Re: Brains Sweep Themselves Clean of Toxins During Sleep (2013)

#114

Post by jpm_sd »

cbsmith wrote: post #89
afarrell wrote: post #16

My alma mater has a saying: "sleep is for the weak". If you go to a university with that slogan, here is one more reason why it is foolish. If you want to learn effectively and work efficiently, take care of your body and take care of your brain.

I always believed that line is intended to be sarcastic.

In the words of Monty Python: It is a silly place.

Re: Brains Sweep Themselves Clean of Toxins During Sleep (2013)

#115

Post by daviross »

eckza wrote: post #55
bmelton wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect (but do not know) that you enjoy your sleep because of its restorative effect. If you could obviate the need for the restorative effect, and instead just always feel newly restored, would you still enjoy going to sleep for no reason? Personally, I dislike the need for sleep. I put it off for as long as I can manage, and try to get as little of it as I can get away with. For me, I have a hard time functionin…

Oh my god, think of what this would do to commerce, in terms of a capitalist society. Suddenly, you can take a drug that decreases your need for sleep by 50%. People only need 4h of sleep per night now, for a full nights' sleep - 3h, if you're willing to skimp a little, 2h isn't unheard of (in the way that only getting 4h of sleep a night, now, isn't unheard of either). Suddenly, there's a significant advantage in th…

There's a (good, rather surreal at times) webcomic along these lines, PowerNap. Cyberpunk-ish future, just about everybody takes a drug to eliminate the need for sleep, protagonist is someone who's allergic to the stuff and is navigating life in a world where sleep itself is a disorder. (Plus strange dreamscape things) http://www.powernapcomic.com/d/20110617.html

Re: Brains Sweep Themselves Clean of Toxins During Sleep (2013)

#116

Post by eric_h »

rootusrootus wrote: post #96
ZanyProgrammer wrote: post #60

It's interesting that in almost every sleep related article I've read on HN, the overwhelming majority of people who respond about their personal life say that they hate getting up 'early'-for various definitions of early. Surely there are programmers who like getting up early?

I like getting up around 5:30 or so. Puts me outside the heaviest traffic times and gives me a few hours in the morning of uninterrupted time to mind meld with the computer. And then I get to leave 'early' in the afternoon and enjoy my free time and plentiful daylight.

Personally, I prefer to miss rush hour on the other side of it ;)

Re: Brains Sweep Themselves Clean of Toxins During Sleep (2013)

#117

Post by melvinmt »

metamet wrote: post #83
melvinmt wrote: post #73

I thought this was already common knowledge? I remember reading about this about 3 years ago. Specifically in this article about coffee naps http://www.vox.com/2014/8/28/6074177/coffee-naps-caffeine-sc... which links to this Harvard article: http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits...

Well, this article is from October 2013...

Ah, missed that :)

Re: Brains Sweep Themselves Clean of Toxins During Sleep (2013)

#118

Post by [deleted] »

clavalle wrote: post #10
Overtonwindow wrote: post #5

Random thought: Could dreams be a result of the processing of toxins? In the same way some "toxins" cause us to hallucinate etc. so too could these toxins, as a side affect of processing?

>The team discovered that this increased flow was possible in part because when mice went to sleep, their brain cells actually shrank, making it easier for fluid to circulate. It could be that the brain needs to fire up for short periods in order to help pump the increased fluid out to prepare for another rinse.

[deleted]

Re: Brains Sweep Themselves Clean of Toxins During Sleep (2013)

#119

Post by superasn »

Puts wrote: post #112

Maybe looking for the reason we sleep is the wrong way to look at it? What if being asleep is the default state for any organism? Sleeping require much less energy. The only reason to be awake is to eat and reproduce. For any animal there is probably an optimal ratio between sleep and hunt/reproduction where sleep is the most favorable.

That's quite an insightful comment. Reminds me of an article about sea squirts who literally eat their brain once they are settled and have no longer a use for moving [1]

[1] https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/choke/201207/how-humans...

Re: Brains Sweep Themselves Clean of Toxins During Sleep (2013)

#120

Post by akvadrako »

joering2 wrote: post #56

It always amazes me to read articles like this. How come I don't need more than 3 hours of sleep a day and its been like that for over 15 years now? I sleep "late hours". I go sleep around 8am and wake up around noon. I don't eat breakfast just coffee. I work most of the day on different projects, eat quite large dinner at 8pm, then every day go for 45 min to the gym, around 10pm and then 20 min walk. After that its…

I hope you use this incredible advantage to do something especially unique for society.

It sounds kind of like an evolutionary advantage. Sleep is probably for multiple uses, but I think most could all be handled in other fashions.

The exception is conservation of energy. Yet, that is no longer relevant in the upper part of society.

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