This essay, convinced me that people with no domain specific knowledge can cherry-pick ideas to support any BS they want
Did we read different articles?
Theses on Sleep
61–70 of 102 posts
Re: Theses on Sleep
#62> Think about sleep 10,000 years ago. You sleep in a cave, in a hut, or under the sky, with predators and enemy tribes roaming around. You are on a wooden floor, on an animal’s skin, or on the ground. I would argue that some of my best nights were during outdoor survival situations where I slept in small shelters that kept my warmth and on a hard surface. Personally, the sound of a familiar bird species will lull me…
Are you seriously arguing that sleeping out in the nature, potentially with dangerous animals around you, on bear skins, with several friends (on the same bear skin?) is as comfortable as sleeping on a modern mattress in your home?
Re: Theses on Sleep
#63How does your essay explain that I feel horrible for 2-3 hours after waking up if I don't get enough sleep? I don't just mean feeling a little slow. I am physically sick to the point of being unable to eat food, having a headache (not every time) and not being able to process information (e.g. reading an email 2-3 times and still not comprehending it fully). Is this a unique reaction?
> How does your essay explain that I feel horrible for 2-3 hours after waking up if I don't get enough sleep?
So, you are saying that when you don't get enough sleep, you feel fine most of the day, except for the first 2-3 hours after waking up? This is pretty weird and I don't have a good explanation for you.
Re: Theses on Sleep
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is all sleep science based p-hacked small-n experiments? To your point - I probably would have tried to rely on research that supports your points (which you've got me interested in now). I probably wouldn't have included a handful of anecdotes in the the appendix (including your own and Elon Musk's!), as well as 8 replies from a reddit thread as a supporting section. I probably also wouldn't equate "a person with an…
>I probably also wouldn't equate "a person with an ADRB1 mutation can sleep less" and "a single individual that underwent brain surgery can sleep less" with "Decreasing sleep by 1-2 hours a night in the long-term has no negative health effects". I made 5 points in that section ( https://guzey.com/theses-on-sleep/#decreasing-sleep-by-1-2-h... ): > 1. A sleep researcher who trains sailors to sleep efficiently in order…
I'm not arguing you should not have included (1), (2), and (5), I'm arguing you should not have included (3) and (4) because they do not support the point of the passage.
Re: Theses on Sleep
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yep, and here's conclusion of this argument: >Now, what if the only sleep available to you was modern sleep? > 1. If you don’t sleep at all, you go crazy, because some amount of sleep is necessary. > 2. If you sleep just enough to be awake during the day, you’ll be dreaming of getting a nap at the sight of a bed and will be distracted and sleepy all the time. Importantly, I claim, in this situation, the feeling of sl…
You may attempt to apply the same analogy to drinking water, and see that it doesn't work. If you drink as much as you want, then you'll probably drink too much (with whatever negative consequences arising as a result). But, except for some extreme circumstances, I don't think people drink much more than is necessary to quench their thirst. That is your conclusion might still be correct, but it doesn't follow from th…
The thing is, the experience of drinking water has not changed much compared to before. However, if you take all beverages, you'll see that lots of people drink too much soda, and it's not to quench their thirst.
Re: Theses on Sleep
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
You may attempt to apply the same analogy to drinking water, and see that it doesn't work. If you drink as much as you want, then you'll probably drink too much (with whatever negative consequences arising as a result). But, except for some extreme circumstances, I don't think people drink much more than is necessary to quench their thirst. That is your conclusion might still be correct, but it doesn't follow from th…
Is drinking modern water a superstimulus like modern junk food from my analogy is?
Why is sleep a superstimulus but water isn't?
Re: Theses on Sleep
#67Irrelevant to the post, but relevant to sleeping--I fixed my trouble sleeping with candles. Right before I want to go to sleep, I darken the whole house, light one or two candles, and read a slow-paced book. 15 minutes to drowsiness, 5 minutes to sleep, every time. I'll even look at a blue-light screen right up until candle-time.
A friend of mine did that. Burned her house down, killed her pets (fish), and barely survived herself. She now recommends not leaving candles burning unattended. There might be a battery-powered candle-like LED thing that gets the same results.
Oh, I blow it out before I fall asleep. Was she sleeping with candles lit?
Re: Theses on Sleep
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
You may attempt to apply the same analogy to drinking water, and see that it doesn't work. If you drink as much as you want, then you'll probably drink too much (with whatever negative consequences arising as a result). But, except for some extreme circumstances, I don't think people drink much more than is necessary to quench their thirst. That is your conclusion might still be correct, but it doesn't follow from th…
The thing is, the experience of drinking water has not changed much compared to before. However, if you take all beverages, you'll see that lots of people drink too much soda, and it's not to quench their thirst.
Water has changed dramatically. Think of all that goes into modern sedimentation, filtration, and disinfection - not to mention treatments for hard water or additives like fluorine. The taste is better because of the mineral content, and we can even add carbonation!
Re: Theses on Sleep
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
You may attempt to apply the same analogy to drinking water, and see that it doesn't work. If you drink as much as you want, then you'll probably drink too much (with whatever negative consequences arising as a result). But, except for some extreme circumstances, I don't think people drink much more than is necessary to quench their thirst. That is your conclusion might still be correct, but it doesn't follow from th…
Is drinking modern water a superstimulus like modern junk food from my analogy is?
You are conditioned to overeat because your body can store the excess energy in the event of future needs.
The body is expecting such a future need as in our past there were often periods of food scarcity. Since in our modern society this food scarcity doesn't exist, the body overconsumes, preparing for a future that will never come.
We do not have such a mechanism for storing infinite water, so we do not crave an overabundance of water.
I think you are thinking about sleep on the wrong axis. It is not whether it is a superstimulus; it is whether your body can store an abundance of it for a future anticipated need.
I would argue in this case, sleep is much more like water than food in this way in that there is a very small amount of sleep (possibly zero) your body can effectively stockpile.
Re: Theses on Sleep
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
If it's a dim LED with just red light or maybe just red and orange then it's probably just as good, no?
The flickering will be there no matter the color. Red ones will be better than white or blue ones, but that's it. They still have the opposite of a relaxing effect.
Connect an LED directly to a battery (as in many cheap flashlights) and there will be no flicker.