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The myth of the eight-hour sleep

bbc.co.uk

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Re: The myth of the eight-hour sleep

#31

Post by downx3 »

pilsetnieks wrote: post #9
mmwako wrote: post #2

Oh my God. This could change my life. One lifelong problem I've got is sleeping. I have great trouble falling asleep, and my sleeping patterns are very uncommon: some days I sleep 12 hours, some 5, but I'm usually very tired because of this. However, I used to think I had a "gift" of being really creative and having my best ideas just before sleep, just waking up, and during insomnia episodes. However, I've discovere…

I cannot say anything about the sleeping patterns but are you sure that those creative bursts aren't happening just because it is quiet, no distractions, etc.?

It's pretty blissful when the sound of the traffic evaporates. Always the best time for coding for me.

Re: The myth of the eight-hour sleep

#32

Post by downx3 »

RobAtticus wrote: post #18
mdkess wrote: post #8

For a long time I've wanted to cut myself off and figure out a natural sleep cycle. Normally (for better or for worse), I sleep 5-6 hours a night during the week, then get 8-9 on the weekends, but that's definitely shaped to the work week. Also, maybe interesting - two 4 hour sleep cycle with a couple hours between is what happens naturally to me after a night of too much drinking. I wonder if there's some reason for…

I believe I've read that all the alcohol processing eventually makes your blood sugar drop very low which is when you wake up (if you're like me, around 6-7am after going to bed at 3). Then of course, you're not very rested from little sleep (and not very high quality sleep) so you probably go back down for a few more hours.

I thought that was common knowledge - that with drinking - you have in general poorer sleep. It's rather insidious.

Re: The myth of the eight-hour sleep

#33

Post by chollida1 »

My brother in law is a "sleep scientist" at UPenn.

His recommendation is that sleep cycles typically happen in 4 hour intervals so it's best to sleep 4 or 8 hours a night.

Getting up int he middle of a sleep cycle is often as bad as getting less than 4 hours of sleep.

And going to bed drunk is the worst for your sleep cycle.

Re: The myth of the eight-hour sleep

#34

Post by b3b0p »

According to my Bodymedia Fit, I almost never ever get a true 8 hours or more of sleep. Sure, I lay down at 10 PM or so and get up at 6 AM or later, but if this little device is as accurate as they claim it really opened my eyes that I was never getting 8 hours, when I thought I actually was. It says normally I get between 6 and 7 hours.

Edit: I'm curious what the recommended amount of sleep, or if it really is an individual thing per 24 hour or so period.

Re: The myth of the eight-hour sleep

#35

Post by sodiumphosphate »

ericdykstra wrote: post #19

It would have been nice if there were some actionable items. What are the best segments? Is there something wrong if I can sleep 8 hours without trouble? Does anyone have links to more research, perhaps with something a little more actionable of a conclusion?

The article suggests that it's natural to take two four hour sleep sessions, intermediated by a one to two hour break.

I think that this bears out to what many of us are experiencing, and the idea to consider is simply to stop worrying about it and embrace it. The 'second sleep' is likely getting cut short, because we are not budgeting for the break.

I consistently tend to find myself daydreaming during this part of the night, anxious (as the article notes) about not sleeping. So personally, I'm just going to continue doing this without worry, and budget time for it. Duh, right? Why didn't I think of that before? It makes perfect sense now after reading the article.

I may even go wild and actually get up and do things for an hour or two every night, you know, for science.

Many thanks to the poster.

Re: The myth of the eight-hour sleep

#37

Post by jennyjitters »

RobAtticus wrote: post #18
mdkess wrote: post #8

For a long time I've wanted to cut myself off and figure out a natural sleep cycle. Normally (for better or for worse), I sleep 5-6 hours a night during the week, then get 8-9 on the weekends, but that's definitely shaped to the work week. Also, maybe interesting - two 4 hour sleep cycle with a couple hours between is what happens naturally to me after a night of too much drinking. I wonder if there's some reason for…

I believe I've read that all the alcohol processing eventually makes your blood sugar drop very low which is when you wake up (if you're like me, around 6-7am after going to bed at 3). Then of course, you're not very rested from little sleep (and not very high quality sleep) so you probably go back down for a few more hours.

Maybe that could explain why the segmented sleep pattern was considered normal way back when. I don't imagine there was a whole lot for people to do in the evenings besides drink =)

Re: The myth of the eight-hour sleep

#38

Post by dkarl »

I experience two sleeps sometimes when I'm not alone or when I drink a lot. If I'm alone, I usually read for an hour, and if I'm not alone, reading is the second choice. I always go back to sleep easily and get my full allotment. Until I read this article, it never occurred to me that I might be able to have that experience every night. Honestly, it sounds wonderful; sign me up to be in the vanguard. Now if only I could figure out how to make it happen when I'm alone and not drunk!

Re: The myth of the eight-hour sleep

#39

Post by gk1 »

hessenwolf wrote: post #30
Xurinos wrote: post #29

There is only one study in this article, and it involves how a group of people adapted to a 14-hour sleep pattern. Other than that, there are no studies of importance here, nothing that confirms concretely that this kind of segmented sleep is effective for humans. It is based on historical hearsay but cannot make a prescriptive judgment. The evidence purely anecdotal. Please be careful in reading things like this tha…

Also, don't Spanish people and sailors sleep in segmented blocks? Not exactly newsworthy, then.

Sailors' sleep patterns are mostly dictated by their watch schedule. Different ships have different schedules (eg, three eight-hour shifts, or four six-hour shifts, etc) and basically you try to get sleep whenever possible.

I sailed on a ship that had six four-hour watches with three watch groups. That meant that one group would stand two 4-hour watches per 24-hour period (eg, 4am-8am then 4pm-8pm). With less than eight hours between watches, you had no choice but to sleep in two different blocks each day.

The effects of such a schedule and standing watch in a windowless engine room deep in the hull of the ship are quite interesting. For example, people (myself included) would completely forget whether it is PM or AM. If you occasionally go outside--rather than straight from the engine room to your bunk--you never knew whether to expect it to be light or dark out. I often went out expecting to reminisce under the star-laden sky, only to find out it's broad daylight out.

Re: The myth of the eight-hour sleep

#40

Post by sodiumphosphate »

rokhayakebe wrote: post #24

Just get rid of your alarm clock, and wake up when your body tells you to.

Sure, that's the best way, but most people cannot do it; they risk being late for work, or in my case, getting the kids to school. (Actually, to be honest, my only risk is in not having as much time as I'd like before the kids wake up.)

A good second choice seems to be using something like 'Sleep Cycle' for iPhone, or one of these fancy new wristband accelerometer gizmos. I've had good success with Sleep Cycle, myself.

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