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Impacts of lack of sleep

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81–90 of 196 posts

Re: Impacts of lack of sleep

#81
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…

good list the following addition is gonna sound weird, but here it goes :) one thing that was recommended to me and which worked is eating a handful of sour cherries before sleep. don't get ones in a jar (contains added sugar). instead get frozen ones and defrost them so they are ready before bed also here is a great podcast about topic of sleep by the author mentioned in advice #7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb…

Same, I’ve heard that red berries work well in general. I’ve used raspberries but will have to try the sour cherries. Not sure the science behind it but I’ve noticed a difference.

Re: Impacts of lack of sleep

#82

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...

I go to bed between 10:30-11 and wake up without fail right around 5am. No idea why. I find it I move to a comfy chair I can often get back to sleep.

Re: Impacts of lack of sleep

#84

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.

[deleted]

Re: Impacts of lack of sleep

#85
post #3

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

The time "numbers" do not matter but:

- light availability matters, like how much lite you are exposed to in the morning, during the day and in the evening.

- how it affects other parts of your live (e.g. how reliable you can keep the rhythm)

- the body has a natural tendency to associate low, warmer light with "time to slowly go to bed", how likely are you to mess that up?

- how does it fit in with fitness and food?

I personally have a supper messed up sleep cycle.

Through one think I know reliable is that it's hard for me to stand up at any time before 1-2h after daylight (not twilight), which living in the northern hemisphere means in winter I have a hard time standing up before 9-11am. Which messes with food intake and daily activities.

At the same time it means that there is quite a long time in the evening with a constant not to bright light (room light), which messes with my body knowing when it's time to sleep.

But having bight (indirect) "neutral" or "daylight" light around my work desk, "warm" light in my living room area and reducing it over time before going to sleep does help a bit. Through it also creates a light cycle detached from daylight ... which can be a problem, too.

EDIT: Anyway: You are _much_ more likely to have subtle negative effects in your live implicitly caused by a less day aligned sleep cycle then you are with a day aligned sleep cycle. The more "off" your cycle is the more likely it will implicitly cause negative health effects, and the harder it gets to offset them.

Re: Impacts of lack of sleep

#86
post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

good list the following addition is gonna sound weird, but here it goes :) one thing that was recommended to me and which worked is eating a handful of sour cherries before sleep. don't get ones in a jar (contains added sugar). instead get frozen ones and defrost them so they are ready before bed also here is a great podcast about topic of sleep by the author mentioned in advice #7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb…

Same, I’ve heard that red berries work well in general. I’ve used raspberries but will have to try the sour cherries. Not sure the science behind it but I’ve noticed a difference.

well sour cherries contain melatonin. apparently non-pealed kiwi fruit is good too ... but id rather not sleep than eat that

Re: Impacts of lack of sleep

#87
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…

I really like your list, but I also want to point out that humans have way more variability than we realize. A sure fire solution for some will do nothing for others. It doesn't mean it's bad advice, just that context is everything when it comes to health, diet, and fitness for people. A few other things I would suggest that might help some. 8. Cut down on caffeine. The whole point is that it's a stimulant. I have ha…

This is such a good point. /r/decaf has a lot to say about how life changing quitting caffeine is.

Re: Impacts of lack of sleep

#89
post #30
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.

For me it really depends on what I'm reading, and I do agree that sometimes it can be too stimulating. I don't think there's a hard and fast rule here of reading == good, TV == bad or anything like that. For example I can watch twitch before bed, but only a replay, not a livestream. I suspect it's something about the feeling of being able to interact with a streamer vs it being totally passive.

I think it just really depends, and it's worth just paying attention to how specific things affect you.

Re: Impacts of lack of sleep

#90
> Increased (+33%) risk of dementia which is something you should be terrified of

Ah yes, the secret ingredient for a good night's rest. Being terrified.

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