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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

#81

Post by hornbaker »

sodiumphosphate wrote: post #40
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, mysel…

> I've had good success with Sleep Cycle, myself.

I'm really liking the Sleep Cycle app, too. Works great, simple, best 99 cents I've spent. Prior to it, I had the $69 WakeMate wristband, but never warmed up to it – it was uncomfortable, and a pain to set and keep charged.

Re: The myth of the eight-hour sleep

#82

Post by freehunter »

preetkimausam wrote: post #79
mchafkin wrote: post #70

The New York Times took on this topic a few years back in a very good article that argued that the whole idea of the 8-hour sleep was invented by the mattress industry (and other purveyors of sleep products), and that humans don't need anywhere near 8 hours of continuous sleep. Ironically, all of the industry's marketing makes people anxious about getting enough sleep--and makes it harder for them to get to sleep (th…

Western consumerism is going to change human lives for bad.

Then again, it's already changed human lives for the better as well. You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have... the facts of life.

Re: The myth of the eight-hour sleep

#83

Post by kylek »

Interesting. Some of the lucid dreaming techniques try to capitalize on the split sleep schedule by taking melatonin before the first segment(induces a REM-less, deep sleep for the most part) and other supplements (vitamin B6, etc) before the second segment, resulting in a longer, more vivid dreaming session.

Re: The myth of the eight-hour sleep

#84

Post by chollida1 »

kahawe wrote: post #65
chollida1 wrote: post #33

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.

> 4 hour intervals What about those 90 minute cycles that are also commonly cited in popular sleep-advice? Those wouldn't work into a 4hour schedule.

Honestly i don't know what specifically you are referring to.

Are you referring to those sleep cycles where you have 4 90 minute naps a day instead of sleeping once at night?

I'm not the subject matter expert, so I don't want to speak authoritatively:)

Re: The myth of the eight-hour sleep

#85

Post by re_todd »

roqetman wrote: post #11
charlieflowers wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I only found out recently (well into my adult life) that I am hyper-sensitive to caffeine. One cup of coffee in the morning will keep me up till 3 am at night. This tricked me into thinking that I'm an extreme night owl, and it kept me from ever getting really good sleep. Now, I've quit caffeinated beverages entirely, and I get tired around 11:30 pm every night, and I sleep fantastically well. I wake up naturally aro…

Similar here, but I've found that as long as I don't drink caffeine after 3pm, I sleep well. Any later than that and I wake at 3am or so. Made such a difference when I discovered this... I lost a serious amount of grumpiness.

I have to stop the caffeine around 5pm. If I have a coffee at 6pm or later, I can't fall asleep before midnight.

Re: The myth of the eight-hour sleep

#86

Post by DrJokepu »

chollida1 wrote: post #84
kahawe wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 4 hour intervals What about those 90 minute cycles that are also commonly cited in popular sleep-advice? Those wouldn't work into a 4hour schedule.

Honestly i don't know what specifically you are referring to. Are you referring to those sleep cycles where you have 4 90 minute naps a day instead of sleeping once at night? I'm not the subject matter expert, so I don't want to speak authoritatively:)

I believe the grandparent was referring to the same phenomenon described in the relevant Wikipedia article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep#Sleep_stages

Re: The myth of the eight-hour sleep

#87

Post by freehunter »

japhyr wrote: post #46
rokhayakebe wrote: post #24

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

I tried this for one semester in college, and never went back to an alarm clock. I decided to face the risk of missing classes, exams, meetings, etc. The result? I got up 1-2 hours earlier most days than I did with an alarm clock. I have been living without an alarm clock for 20 years now; in that time I have overslept maybe 5 times, and on those occasions it was pretty clear that my body was fighting off sickness an…

I tried this, and I ran into a lot of difficulties. First, I assumed that I could go to bed whenever I wanted and I would wake up on time no matter what. This was not the case. Other times I would wake up on time but go back to sleep. And sometimes I just never woke up on time at all.

This approach works for many (my grandfather used this his whole working life, but not for me, sadly.

Re: The myth of the eight-hour sleep

#88

Post by Arelius »

just-a-rascal wrote: post #68
pavelkaroukin wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is even more weird than that. From my and some friend's experience: if you sleep more then 9 hours straight, instead of usual 6-8 (this happens on weekends usually), I feel really terrible in the morning - not being able to get out of bed, but in the same time not being able to sleep. Finally when I get out of bed - I feel really trashed for next several hours. So it is not just less than 8 hours makes things wors…

Often when you wake up after sleeping longer than usual (say more than 9 hours) you feel tired because of dehydration. Your body loses a fair bit of water while you sleep, so that might be reason you feel bad after a lie-in.

I have anecdote to confirm this. I stay well hydrated, and drink more water than most people I know, will generally sip on a glass by my bed, and have a glass of water by my bed at night. I have also been able to sleep over 12 hours (generally waking up at least once to use the restroom and water) Yet I feel fantastic when I do such!

Re: The myth of the eight-hour sleep

#89

Post by rokhayakebe »

joering2 wrote: post #41
rokhayakebe wrote: post #24

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

hm, sorry to ask, but: are you employed? most folks I know, including me, have serious problems with sleep. it seems like we tap into each corner of human body and understand less or more how it works, but yet there is no real science behind how sleep works and how much of it we need. Heck, afaik scientists still argue why we need sleep at all and whats the main reasoning behind it. But not to brag too much: sometime…

I am. Actionable item: set your alarm 15 minutes later than you would normally wake up, go to sleep 15 minutes earlier than you normally do. If you do not wake up before the alarm, then leave it as is, and go to sleep 25 minutes earlier the following day. I am a firm believer your body is awake before your alarm rings.

Re: The myth of the eight-hour sleep

#90

Post by dragonFury »

chollida1 wrote: post #33

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.

How about sleeping for 4 hours with more than 4hours of intervals. Isn't that bad?
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