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Improving sleep

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Re: Improving sleep

#71
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding genetics, are there enzymes that some people lack, and that they can take to digest caffeine better?

This one https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CYP1A2 . I've read somewhere that eating Broccoli enhances its activity, but likely too much is needed to have noticable effects from what I recall. If only there was a short-acting stimulant and antidote available as a combo..

Of course, that’s called a speed ball. An upper and downer. Also poppers and screamers and small world.

“We buy drugs” whitest kids u know : https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=I2AQ6FwpSrc

Anyways, in all seriousness the idea of taking something and then taking something else later to counteract the effects, not good but popular in black, gray, and white market.

I think this weekend I’ll give up caffeine, I’m a slow metabolizer.

Re: Improving sleep

#72

I don't use any of them, but I've heard firsthand from some like the author complaining about inaccurate data from devices like the Apple Watch and Oura, some getting rid of them due to this. Since the OP continues to use them, am I to understand there is no better alternative that is comparable on the comfort/ease-of-use/cost-effectiveness axis with these devices? The idea of making health decisions based on bad dat…

There's a Youtube channel from a Dutch researcher doing scientific tests on sleep and fitness tracking performance of wearables[1]. Ardently Apple devices and Oura are at the top in terms accuracy of what wearables can do, but if you want proper accuracy then you need to invest in dedicated sleep monitoring equipment as a watch on your wrist will never come close to electrodes on your head. [1] https://www.youtube.co…

Correlates with what I’ve seen. My Garmin is laughably bad but does give a rough idea of when I fell asleep and when I awoke (usually). Everything else in middle is trash.

Apple Watch was more precise with how I “feel.” Haven’t done an actual sleep test with either but I know Garmin is generally wrong and apple might be nearing an accurate approximation based on how I feel.

Re: Improving sleep

#73
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding genetics, are there enzymes that some people lack, and that they can take to digest caffeine better?

This one https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CYP1A2 . I've read somewhere that eating Broccoli enhances its activity, but likely too much is needed to have noticable effects from what I recall. If only there was a short-acting stimulant and antidote available as a combo..

> If only there was a short-acting stimulant and antidote available as a combo..

I know that energy drinks use taurine to combat some of the effects of caffeine, but I don't think it will work for sleep.

Re: Improving sleep

#74

Keep in mind that everyone is different, and there may come a point where you have to accept things as "good enough", but from my time seeing a sleep specialist, these are the best ways to improve your sleep quality: 1. Get up at the same time every day. Try not to push it more than an hour later on the weekends, or two hours on vacation. 2. The old adage about getting 8 hours of sleep isn't right. Many people don't…

As a young man I tried polyphasic sleep. Basically it’s having a very small “core” sleep period with scheduled naps. Based on the idea of military and sailors having compressed sleep schedules. I did it for the wrong reasons (wanted to be awake to play games… yikes younger me) but it did work after initial difficulty. Also, it solved my insomnia for a good while after I quit it. Insomnia later came back a number of years later but I still have positive effects from it, like less anxiety regarding attempting to sleep.

Re: Improving sleep

#75
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coffee leads to dehydration. Drink several liters of water during the day and some people may be able to continue with morning coffee consumption.

> Coffee leads to dehydration. Drink several liters of water during the day and some people may be able to continue with morning coffee consumption. This is a myth. Coffee has water in it. Just drink enough water from all sources.

If it is a myth, it is a very widespread stubbornly persistent myth. If you have links to scientific sources debunking it as a myth that would much appreciated.

I came across it most recently in Tom Brady's athletic health book [0]. If I remember correctly, he states that you should drink double the amount of coffee consumed to offset the dehydration effects of coffee. This is simply to emphasize the ubiquitous nature of the myth, as he is someone who has presumably been surrounded by medical professionals for most of his athletic career, and who should have known better if what you say is correct. He singles out proper hydration as a major factor in his peak performance, something he claims younger athletes ignore.

[0] https://www.amazon.com/TB12-Method-Lifetime-Sustained-Perfor...

Re: Improving sleep

#76
post #56

Nice list. I second having better sleep with white/brown noise. Be careful with in ears though. Don't wanna catch an infection. Also rolling over one ear piece may wake you up again, sabotaging the sleep. I may add, as it's not mentioned in the article: co2. My 55m^2 flat barely stays below critical co2 levels without ventilation for a 7 hour sleep. So keeping all doors open is crucial and/or a window slightly open o…

Thanks, never thought about that, I'll sometimes wake up in the middle of the night with a sort of claustrophobic feeling and need to take a deep breath when there is no ventilation or windows open. Girlfriend always complain that I must leave everything open because of that.

Do you use a Co2 meter to monitor?

Re: Improving sleep

#77

Biggest improvement to sleep quality I had was giving up caffeine, which isn't mentioned in this article. I'm inclined to bet, most people in the west who self report suffering form poor sleep, can narrow it down to caffeine over-consumption, since it leads you slowly to this march of death burning the candle at both ends where you drink coffee to compensate for poor sleep and you sleep poorly because of too much caf…

Giving up caffein is the single most important thing most people can do to improve sleep quality. Wikipedia says "Caffeine is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive drug", so it's obvious why coffee is so addictive for many. It is very hard to stay away from coffee, when it is literally everywhere. Somebody is always brewing coffee at the office, every street corner has a café, every meeting starts with someone serving coffee. It doesn't makes things better living in Norway, which has the worlds second highest coffee consumption per capita.

Re: Improving sleep

#78

I'd like to see some deeper explanation around the following: > My average sleep efficiency (time asleep vs time in bed) according to Apple Watch & Oura is ~85%, meaning to get my 7h30 of sleep to feel rested I will stay more than 10h in bed. That sucks! 1. Where does the 10h figure here come from? It seems to me that 85% SE would reach 7h30 sleep hours at 8h50m bed hours (7.5/0.85). 2. What is an expected healthy sl…

Corrected the post and bad math sorry! 1. ~10h is ~8.5h indeed + time to fall asleep (not counted in the % awake on Apple Watch) 2. Curious as well. 3. For me sleeping less than 7h30, I'll definitely feel it the next days. But I'm early 20s and I guess it varies a lot. Good question about recommendations & efficiency,I always wondered about that.

Re: Improving sleep

#79
What worked for me:

1. Cut alcohol even the smallest amounts 2. Exercise 3. Stop overthinking stuff. Remember. When you're in bed, there's no use thinking about work/school as you're not there.. 4. Find a happy place in your mind

Re: Improving sleep

#80

Biggest improvement to sleep quality I had was giving up caffeine, which isn't mentioned in this article. I'm inclined to bet, most people in the west who self report suffering form poor sleep, can narrow it down to caffeine over-consumption, since it leads you slowly to this march of death burning the candle at both ends where you drink coffee to compensate for poor sleep and you sleep poorly because of too much caf…

It has been incredibly hard for me to quit as the consumption of caffeine feels directly tied with work performance and mood for me. It also doesn’t help that I love the taste of coffee and the routine.
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