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Impacts of lack of sleep

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Re: Impacts of lack of sleep

#31

Post by jugg1es »

dvh wrote: post #3

Is 8h sleep from 22:00 to 6:00 qualitatively equivalent to 8h sleep from 00:00 to 8:00?

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 cycle (kids and wife do that to you), I realized that I had been grumpy most of the time and not particularly happy. Soon after establishing a more normal rhythm, I also lost a considerable amount of weight (about 15lbs).

Re: Impacts of lack of sleep

#32

Post by NoPicklez »

fleddr wrote: post #30
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…

Can't agree on reading. It's cognitively stimulating, assuming you read something that interests you. I don't know about you, but I can't just close the book and forget about it.

Complete opposite for me, no matter how good the book is, at night I still find myself becoming extremely tired from reading.

Re: Impacts of lack of sleep

#33

Post by mettamage »

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…

A couple of things worked on there for me as well, but the biggest one for me personally is 0.3mg of melatonin

I started with 3mg, way too much, went to 1.5mg, still too much. Then did 0.7mg, that was fine but still some small side effects. Then 0.4mg that was fine. Then 0.2mg, that didn't work. Then I did 0.3mg and it seemed to be the sweet spot. I can just barely perceive it working and it is just enough to make me feel a bit woozy, which is what I cannot do myself.

Re: Impacts of lack of sleep

#34

Post by hashimotonomora »

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…

It may seem paradoxical but also not worrying about sleep itself, not writing down lists, not trying to dissect and optimize sleep, may actually improve your sleep much more. Animals have slept and evolved for literally millions of years. Unless there’s an actual clinical condition, having faith in your own body and just relaxing should be enough. At least that’s my case.

Re: Impacts of lack of sleep

#35

Post by llIIllIIllIIl »

jvanderbot wrote: post #29

How long do I have to lose sleep for permanent effects? My newborn children would like to know their dad isn't going to suffer these problems.

Congratulations!

Your newborn has a distinct smell at the back of their head. You can smell it when you’re feeling tired and it will give you energy compared to a shot of espresso. Goes away around 6-7 months.

Fully empirical knowledge, I cannot explain the science behind it.

Re: Impacts of lack of sleep

#36

Post by fleddr »

brimble wrote: post #11
WilTimSon wrote: post #4

I'm not sure how much this will do to change anyone. Sure, it's bluntly stated but, well, most people realize quite well that lack of sleep is awful and dangerous. People don't usually do it because they want to do it. Long hours at work, deadlines, stress, occasional bout of Netflix addiction. Out of all of those, there's only one that's easy to resolve and I'd wager that Netflix isn't usually the biggest contributo…

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…

You're absolutely right. I'm supposedly a "night owl" and "not a morning person" but it's total nonsense.

I've spent considerable time in my travels in tropical nations. Two days there and I'm a completely different person.

The day starts at 5:30 AM, as soon as light arrives. And will you look at that, I'm jumping out of bed full of energy. Absolutely unimaginable back home. It's made possible because life slows down after 6PM. You eat, relax, and go to bed around 9pm. For the simple reason that there's nothing to do, and nobody else is doing anything either.

Unlimited light and distractions has made me a night owl, it's not a natural thing or character trait.

Re: Impacts of lack of sleep

#37

Post by mettamage »

areichert wrote: post #27

I've struggled with sleep for as long as I can remember, but my issue isn't falling asleep -- it's staying asleep throughout the night. I usually sleep ok from 12am-5am, but after that, I wake up and fall back asleep every ~30 mins or so til I get up around 8. Does anyone else have this issue? Curious if there are any good solutions...

IMO this is the toughest thing to solve.

What somewhat works for me:

* My GF cuddling me. I just think about her, and sleep and nothing else, it's a bit pavlov like. I'm fairly sure I get a lot of "feel good" chemicals when this happens.

* Sounds silly but... build a buffer for 12 hours, and stay in bed for longer until you properly fall asleep again.

* If I wake up after 4 hours of sleep and really need the sleep, I do 0.3mg melatonin. Not ideal, but it does the trick.

* Meditation: sometimes (20% of the time) it nudges me to sleep. In all cases, it leaves me a bit more well-rested than if I'd not meditate.

* 0.6mg melatonin + CBD at the beginning of the night. I'm not a fan of this solution. I find 0.6mg a bit much, but if I need a blunt tool, this would be it.

Re: Impacts of lack of sleep

#38

Post by vasco »

bladley wrote: post #28

My problem is that I get too much sleep and it's very difficult for me to wake up if there's no meeting scheduled that morning for my flexible remote job or if there's no social pressure to get up. I'll happily sleep 12-14 hours if you let me. I've been this way since I was a teenager, and I'm 25 now. I know this sounds like I'm complaining about a luxury, and lack of sleep is definitely worse, but it's always made m…

Most of the ones awake wish they were sleeping an extra 2 hours, you enjoy it!

Re: Impacts of lack of sleep

#39

Post by lr4444lr »

WilTimSon wrote: post #4

I'm not sure how much this will do to change anyone. Sure, it's bluntly stated but, well, most people realize quite well that lack of sleep is awful and dangerous. People don't usually do it because they want to do it. Long hours at work, deadlines, stress, occasional bout of Netflix addiction. Out of all of those, there's only one that's easy to resolve and I'd wager that Netflix isn't usually the biggest contributo…

You forgot the most important one: caring for young kids in a nuclear family society with two working parents.

Re: Impacts of lack of sleep

#40

Post by d--b »

Bluntly Stated: FUCK. YOU.

I have tried everything there is.

- lost 20 pounds - check - stopped smoking, alcohol, coffee - check - more sport - check - no screen - check - melatonin - check - light therapy - check - hypnosis - check - phytotherapy - check - accupuncture - check - that thing in your mouth - check - not working for a while - check

You think I don't know being tired makes me an asshole? Well rejoice, apparently I'm going to die early.

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