Impacts of lack of sleep • Hacker News Board

Re: Impacts of lack of sleep

#191

Post by brimble » Thu, Feb 03, 2022, 7:09 PM UTC

Apocryphon wrote: post #189

brimble wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imagine a medieval king who decided their castle should be lit up like day at nighttime, hundreds of candles in mirror-walled rooms, 365 days a year, and also that the entire castle save only the bed chamber would host the finest entertainers and all the most interesting friends and strangers in the world, party games and amusements in a hundred palace rooms, and a mage who could show the king any wonder of the world…

As evocative as this thought experiment is, and highlights the extreme difference between modern and preindustrial life, trying to appeal to the well-being of that medieval monarch seems like it's falling into the natural fallacy. The past is a completely foreign country. The ancient elites would have absolutely killed for the HVAC systems that were absent from their drafty castles. The most basic of foods we eat wou…

This definitely wasn't intended as a "medieval kings had it great by modern standards" call to return to the past, but rather to emphasize just how much world-class, hyper-stimulative entertainment we have available, dirt-cheap and on tap, every hour of the day. Even TV stations used to shut down for the night. The shift started with electrification & recording technology, but entered a whole new phase only quite recently. When you put what we have in terms of what our everyday entertainment options would have looked like in a pre-industrial society, it emphasizes just how large a difference there is.

If anything, this is closer to a "Gods of the Copybook Headings" argument. "Too much of a good thing..." may be cliché and something only old fogeys say... but what if we're the ones making an error, in rolling our eyes at them? What if, not even that long ago, that was a bit silly applied to this particular thing (entertainment and nighttime lighting, chiefly) but no longer is?

I don't expect this problem to actually be fixed, but I do find all the casting about for "why do so many people have trouble sleeping, these days?" risible in light of what sure looks like the most obvious explanation, which never gets more than a personal-responsibility treatment ("put the phone in another room") which seems like a bad joke when you apply the medieval-king thought experiment. "Maybe the king should just not leave the bedroom, then?" LOL.

Re: Impacts of lack of sleep

#192

Post by citrin_ru » Thu, Feb 03, 2022, 10:28 PM UTC

mikenew wrote: post #15

I've struggled with sleep for as long as I can remember. I have improved it considerably in the past year (still not perfect). Out of the dozens upon dozens of things I've tried, here's what I think made the most difference, in order of importance. 1. Very consistent bedtime and wake up time. +/- 30 minutes, but ideally less. Obviously if you struggle with sleep you can't count on falling asleep at the same time, but…

> Expose yourself to bright, outdoor light every morning

Bright outdoor light is a luxury not everybody has. Where I currently live it is cloudy most of the time and feels dark even at noon, especially in winter (when the sun is low). I wonder how people do adapt to such climate.

Re: Impacts of lack of sleep

#193

Post by op00to » Thu, Feb 03, 2022, 10:45 PM UTC

maximus-decimus wrote: post #119

alexpotato wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always love reading the "productivity hacks" of people without kids and there is always an item which is basically: - go to bed and wake up at the same time and try to get 8 straight hours. Or if not, take a nap etc. Good luck with that if you have multiple children under 5

My favorite is the book How To Live Your Life In 24 Hours which was written around 1920 I think. It doesn't technically imply you don't have kids... more that your wife will take care of literally all the work at home. Don't have time in the morning? Tell your wife to fill the kettle and put matches beside it so you can more easily prepare your tea when you wake up!

That’s genius! Why didn’t I think to ask my wife to leave the matches out! Ha ha.

Re: Impacts of lack of sleep

#194

Post by Delfino » Fri, Feb 04, 2022, 1:10 AM UTC

sofixa wrote: post #121

mikenew wrote: post #15

I've struggled with sleep for as long as I can remember. I have improved it considerably in the past year (still not perfect). Out of the dozens upon dozens of things I've tried, here's what I think made the most difference, in order of importance. 1. Very consistent bedtime and wake up time. +/- 30 minutes, but ideally less. Obviously if you struggle with sleep you can't count on falling asleep at the same time, but…

> Breathe through your nose. It can be hard at first but it gets easier over time I'm stumped here. Isn't that the normal way to breathe? Why would it be hard, unless you have some medical condition like sleep apnea, which requires treatment in itself?

Normal is different for different people. It feels much more natural for me to breathe through my mouth. But I suppose the fact that "mouth-breather" is an insult meant to attack one's intelligence is a sign I'm in the minority on this.

Re: Impacts of lack of sleep

#195

Post by bubblecheck » Fri, Feb 04, 2022, 5:37 AM UTC

modo_mario wrote: post #183

bubblecheck wrote: post #142

This is my sixth night being 100% homeless (on the streets with no vehicle, no private place to go). Sleep for the past five nights has ranged from non-existent to a few nodding hours in long sleeves laying down in various public places. Compared to a week ago, I finally started to notice cognitive decline today. My words don't come out as smoothly, and I have gaps in thoughts. Frankly, it's nothing like it was seven…

I have seriously noticed the effects of a lack of sleep on depression. Often depression kept me sleepness and vice versa. Please. Find a way to find proper sleep somewhere for a good few days. Force it upon yourself to catch up on it. Even if you're seeing it all as just you being on your way out then consider there's no point in waiting for it in misery.

I am living on the streets. Sleep is difficult.

Re: Impacts of lack of sleep

#196

Post by jugg1es » Sat, Feb 12, 2022, 8:42 PM UTC

dathinab wrote: post #91

jugg1es wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are multiple studies that show that the time that you sleep does matter. There is a higher risk of diabetes and obesity for people who sleep during the day and are awake at night. I'm not saying this to be a buzz kill, I really wish it wasn't true. Anecdotally, I used to keep very, very late hours and sleep a lot of the day - and I did this for years. I thought I was fine. Once I established a normal day/night…

It's less the time, and more how it interacts with the rest of your live. Like the bodies instinct related to light amount and how you allow your body to sleep getting out of sync. Or how day time tends to be more noisy and as such is more likely to disrupt your sleep. Or how meeting people fits less into your sleep cycle. Or how most people are not night active all the time, but switch between periods of night shift…

Yes, obviously it is about the day/night cycle and not about absolute time because people on the other side of the planet are just fine. But while the absolute time may not matter, the time you are awake during the day/night cycle does matter. You can try to tell yourself you can live outside this day/night cycle, but we just didn't evolve that way.