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Good sleep, good learning, good life (2012)

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

#111

I think a lot of it has to do with mental status, which can be concluded with one sentence -- "Are you happy with your life, and if not do you have a clear path to reach that?". People who say no probably has a lot of trouble to get fit, get enough sleep -- sometimes NOT because they do not have the resources, but because they are not happy. They hate life, so why makes it better? I have observed this in myself so I…

This is the type of hen-egg dialectic that takes me straight to evolutionary theory. My guess is that the 'standard human tribe', ~200 strong, needs some people to be up at night. But since we don't have dedicated day/night humans, we all get this shared mess of a genome 'you need to be up at night sometimes'.

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

#112

I think a lot of it has to do with mental status, which can be concluded with one sentence -- "Are you happy with your life, and if not do you have a clear path to reach that?". People who say no probably has a lot of trouble to get fit, get enough sleep -- sometimes NOT because they do not have the resources, but because they are not happy. They hate life, so why makes it better? I have observed this in myself so I…

I agree. In my case I am physically very fit but sometimes neglect my health in other ways, including mentally and definitely including poor sleep habits.

Regarding what you said about focus, I think an ADHD diagnosis might help a lot of people here. I suggest asking for a full profile including WAIS testing, which assesses intelligence, because it is the "deficit" between various types of intelligence and attention that matters. Highly intelligent people sometimes are overlooked because their focus, working memory, etc. seem normal or even better than average, but the gap between those and their intellectual capacity creates a lot friction at least for some people.

I recently got diagnosed and am really looking forward to taking a low dose of stimulants in the mornings on work days, I hope it will help me "find a clear path" in my professional life.

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

#113
post #33
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 once tried an extreme version of this. I became single and I already didn't have a fixed work schedule, so other than societal convention there was no reason for me to adhere to any regular day-night cycle. So I tried sleeping when I was really tired, waking up without an alarm, eating when I was hungry, etc. I ignored watches, daylight and society. For context, my internal days have always been much longer than 24…

Hopefully you made it out of it, but I have to say that was a hilarious read! As not a stranger to pseudorandom sleep cycles I can relate.

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

#114
post #98

I think a lot of it has to do with mental status, which can be concluded with one sentence -- "Are you happy with your life, and if not do you have a clear path to reach that?". People who say no probably has a lot of trouble to get fit, get enough sleep -- sometimes NOT because they do not have the resources, but because they are not happy. They hate life, so why makes it better? I have observed this in myself so I…

I think we're soulmates. You articulated so well what I think about my own approach or lack of approach. > Mental stability is probably one of the reasons different people have vastly different productivity or achievements. It is mental stability that brings focus, not the other way around. Agree, at least in concept. I'm aware that some of my perceived or real lack of of progress in some life areas is due to mental…

Work to live, not the other way around. Work produces income and is a means to an end.

Drill down a couple of levels on what it means to you to be happy, productive, warm, and loving. What do an ideal day and week look and feel like? What kind of life would you like your kids to have? Not abstractly. What would their ideal school situation be? How far from school? Any special opportunities like certain clubs, interest in playing an instrument, sports teams? Do you just do weekend warrior stuff, or does being a responsible, fun, constructive parent mean you’re picking them up after school regularly to go make memories?

Let’s say it’s something like the last bit for a moment. “Begin with the end in mind” is one of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and in this case, the end is being a fun parent by going for ice cream or to the park or watch a movie or take guitar lessons together a couple of days a week after school. To make that happen, you’ll need to have flexible work hours and maybe a work location near their ideal school. Do the rare and valuable knowledge and skills that you’ve accumulated allow you do that? If so, great! You’re passionate about being a good parent; you don’t need that from your job. Your job is a means to an end. If the current conditions of your job get in the way of your goal of being a responsible, fun, constructive parent, how could you modify job parameters?

There’s no right answer. There’s your answer. What do you want for your kids? What do you want for you and your wife now and after they’ve left the nest? Walk around in a day, a week of that life in your head. There’s your end. Work backward from there.

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

#115

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…

I went sober dor this precise reason. It's a quality of life thing.

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

#116

> There is only one formula for healthy and refreshing sleep: Go to sleep only when you are very tired. Not earlier. Not later. Wake up naturally without an alarm clock. This is very easy to say when you're not suffering from insomnia and other sleep disorders.

Wake up without an alarm clock is surely beneficial regardless of when you go to sleep?

I'm sure it is. It's difficult with a full time job though. Yes, in principle it can be made easier by going to bed earlier... but that's not simple either.

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

#117
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The older I get the more sensitive to a single poor night's sleep I become. Back when I was 20 I had a drinking problem. One time I drank so much that I passed out sitting at a table. Woke up with friends having stripped my clothes and washed them. I woke up at 9AM, feeling 100% sober, just anxious about my 20 missed calls from my mom. I got a bit drunk at about 33 and next day I thought I was dying. That's how I le…

I’m 41 and my body is nicer to be in than when I was 25. Like you, I have much less youthful buffer that shrugs off poor sleep or overindulgence, but I have much more knowledge and much better habits. Daily habits: better nutrition (based on Bryan Johnson’s super veggie and nutty pudding), stretching, weak points warmup, proper oral hygiene, regular bedtime Weekly habits: 4x gym, 3x run, 2x weighted walk I have used…

Reminder for anyone that doesn't know better: having good sleep is dependent on a few minor lifestyle adjustments. Like avoiding heavy (or any outside of fruit and vegetable) meals and exercise a few hours before going to bed. And avoiding caffeine after noon.

You don't need to be a health champion to have good sleep.

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

#118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are bars everywhere

There are also gambling machines everywhere around me yet I don't know a single person who uses them. I looked up numbers for the USA and 2025 54% said they consume alcohol. So it's most people but millions don't.

"Most". Kinda proves the general point: alcohol consumption is common.

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

#119

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?..

Wait 10 years. Minimum.

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

#120
Best bullshit and industry cutting phrase for better sleep: Follow the sun. Follow the sun for a fixed reference point for when to wake up, and for when to sleep, and guard yourself from artificial lights like it's your professional job. Bryan Johnson says to treat sleep like a professional job, and I take it further: break the standard industrial-factory based paradigm around sleep, work and life and say no to the clock based wellbeing-adversarial system.

edit: hours and minutes cannot replace our natural light-based circadian rhythm that evolved for millions of years entraining our hormones and energy cycles around the sun's light.

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