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Sleep Scientist Warns Against Walking Through Life 'In an Underslept State'

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171–180 of 186 posts

Re: Sleep Scientist Warns Against Walking Through Life 'In an Underslept State'

#171
post #169
post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I experienced the reverse: using a CPAP finally gave me enough energy to start exercising, which helped me lose weight. I imagine if I stopped using the CPAP I would slowly start losing energy again and probably stop exercising and gain the weight back. The few nights I've gone without CPAP have left me feeling awful, even without as much weight.

Everyone's physiology differs, but I've learned that weight control is 80% diet and 20% physical activity. (this assumes normal metabolism) I went to the gym for years and my weight fluctuated a couple of pounds. Cardio was especially ineffective for any kind of weight loss. Weights were much more effective because they increased my resting metabolism. I drastically reduced carbs from my diet, increased protein and v…

> (this assumes normal metabolism)

Such an assumption is likely to be false in cases of chronic sleep disruption [1] [2] [3].

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2830474/

[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14512265

[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3476879/

Re: Sleep Scientist Warns Against Walking Through Life 'In an Underslept State'

#172
post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We actually do celebrate athletes' physical sacrifices. I'm not certain that's quite accurate. It seems that what's celebrated are their accomplishments and "sacrifices" in the sense of effort and self-denial, but not injuries. The sentiment around brain injuries that professional boxers (and, more recently, American Football players) suffer from isn't what I would characterize as celebratory, for example. Even tem…

That concussion sentiment is very, very recent. Hard hits in football and boxing were absolutely celebrated as a show of dominance. They still are, just with obligatory lip service paid to hoping the player is ok. I don't think disdain is the right word. Disappointment can certainly come into play, but look at any serious injury on the court or the field. What happens when the player is able to limp off, or is even c…

> lip service paid to hoping the player is ok.

If we're talking about "celebrating", lip service is all I can think of that fits the bill. People enjoying it in the privacy of their own thoughts isn't the same thing.

> look at any serious injury on the court or the field.

That's why I was asking for counter-example. I don't have this experience. I was hoping for, possibly, media coverage or maybe fan blog posts or videos.

> Applause, sometimes a standing ovation, for the player's physical sacrifice.

If I were to witness this from afar, I would have no idea what the applause is for, so, again, I'm looking for that evidence. A more charitable interpretation would be that the applause is due to relief that the injury could be walked away from or even gesture of support in recovery.

Re: Sleep Scientist Warns Against Walking Through Life 'In an Underslept State'

#173
post #3

> Sleep is not like the bank, so you can't accumulate a debt and then try and pay it off at a later point in time. And the reason is this: We know that if I were to deprive you of sleep for an entire night — take away eight hours — and then in the subsequent night I give you all of the sleep that you want, however much you wish to consume, you never get back all that you lost. You will sleep longer, but you will neve…

If you lose a piece of an old memory from sleep deprivation, you are not going to magically get it back once you catch up on your sleep. It has happened to me when I pulled all-nighters. I just couldn't remember that friend's name or that old password.

Maybe you should see a doctor if you're forgetting your friends' names.

Re: Sleep Scientist Warns Against Walking Through Life 'In an Underslept State'

#174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never understood how this could be the case, evolutionarily speaking. Even in the absence of electrical light, there is rarely complete darkness. Did our remote ancestors just sleep extremely poorly whenever there was a lot of moonlight?

Away from cities it gets very dark at night, unless there is a full moon. But near cities there is a lot of light pollution, so we're always in a state of near-twilight.

That's not very true. Usually yes, but sometimes moonlight is actually very light and I find it pretty comparable to city lights. In cities, you don't realize how bright moon can get, and it's clearly not bright every single night, but about 2 nights every month it gets pretty bright.

Re: Sleep Scientist Warns Against Walking Through Life 'In an Underslept State'

#175

"Legalize Siestas" sounds funny but I think it would change all our lives for the better. It's likely never to happen under our current economic system though.

I find Siestas the absolute worst thing possible for my sleep schedule. Even 20 minutes of noon naps completely nuke my sleep schedule and it takes days to make it normal again. I actually tried Siestas pretty hard for at least 2 years when my insomnia was worst, but eventually I realized without naps my sleep schedule is much more predictable.

Re: Sleep Scientist Warns Against Walking Through Life 'In an Underslept State'

#176
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We work to live. It’s not our employer’s fault we are broken people.

It is when its imposed upon people. It's not like everybody self-elects to "work to live". Especially when they're just a cog doing a BS job just to pay the rent and feed their family, not full-filling their entrepreneurial or creative or other dreams through it... (And the culture and glorification around working to live has a lot of employer influence in it).

I hope nobody self-elects work to live. It is miserable!

Re: Sleep Scientist Warns Against Walking Through Life 'In an Underslept State'

#177

"Legalize Siestas" sounds funny but I think it would change all our lives for the better. It's likely never to happen under our current economic system though.

Why not though? Countries that have siestas don't necessarily work shorter hours.

Re: Sleep Scientist Warns Against Walking Through Life 'In an Underslept State'

#178
post #30
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you tried thc? My wife has sleeping problems and thc really helps her a lot.

No, I've never really used any recreational drug, including alcohol. I don't mean to sound judgmental, but for me personally the long-term effects of THC aren't understood well enough for me to try it yet. If you don't mind me asking, does your wife have to take it on a consistent (ie nightly) basis to sleep well? Maybe when I'm older with less to lose I'll experiment more and see if things like that work.

Sorry for not replying sooner. She took it nightly yes (we are no longer somewhere with legal cannabis), but on the order of 5mg of THC (via edibles). It's not really enough to get her high, but it does help her stay asleep. The effect is more or less immediate and stopping takes away the effect more or less immediately.

Re: Sleep Scientist Warns Against Walking Through Life 'In an Underslept State'

#179
I still think that the optimal amount of sleep really depends on the person and you can't paint everything with a broad stroke or advise everybody to "have 8.5 hours of sleep". I've found myself the most concentrated and productive the next day when I don't sleep too much, e.g. when I just sleep for 6 to 7 hours. When I sleep a lot I usually just feel too relaxed/hyperactive for some reason and can't properly direct my attention at tasks. I think there should be people with similar experiences out there.

Those statements might be good for raising more public awareness so that they're not chronically extremely underslept, e.g. consecutively for 4-5 hours a day. But to only advocate sleeping a lot is too partial IMHO.

Re: Sleep Scientist Warns Against Walking Through Life 'In an Underslept State'

#180
post #154

I'm no expert but I thought that the whole 8 hour a night thing was not true, at least not for everyone. If I force myself to get 8 hours of sleep, by forcing myself to stay in bed after I wake up, I get a headache. If I let myself wake up on its own without an alarm, it averages around 6.5 hours. If I get below that, then at some point I will sleep more than the 6.5 hours, and maybe even 8 hours. So from personal ex…

Do you drink coffee?

Yes I do. But I have my last cup at around 2 or 3pm. I noticed that if I drink coffee after 5pm, it could affect my sleep if I do not workout.

You think coffee in the early afternoon could affect sleep?

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