"Getting enough sleep, on a regular cycle, may make us a better version of ourselves. And even though my greatest wish is usually more time in the day, I'd rather feel good and perform well than get to be a crankier, impulsive, sick version of myself for a few extra hours a day."
Sleep: more important than you think (Psychology Today)
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Sleep: more important than you think (Psychology Today)
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Favorite line: "These mice were messed up."
Yeah, but not getting enough sleep makes me grumpy, and being grumpy lets me make better decisions;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8339647.stm
...so I'm better off sleeping too little and being an asshole, apparently.
I'm curious how this study applies to people with circadian irregularities, or those who employ alternative sleep cycles like the Everyman polyphasic sleep cycle. Or even how this applies to napping.
Lack of sleep makes one act like one hadn't slept enough...
Aahhh, pop psychology!
From firsthand experience this is really true.
I've struggled with insomnia and deliberate sleepnessness in the past, often alternating between a month of restful sleep and a month of eking out my days with as little sleep as I need to carry on.
My friends could tell, immediately, the difference between these two states. The difference was and still is surprising to me. There is a massive difference in personality.
It's not just a matter of being "grumpy" for me. It makes the difference between my pleasant self and a touchy, impulsive, irritable person who might have the same mind but has a vastly inferior personality.
6-9 hours every night is my window I've found. Any more or less and I'm off.
duh
in the four years that I've been in college, I've employed the power of the all-nighter. at first, it was necessary because I was working so much outside of class that I had to stay up all night in order to get enough studying time in. but after that, I just got used to not sleeping 3-4 nights out of the week. it's nice getting the extra hours to study or do other work, but it really, really took a toll on me. this year it was especially bad. the beginning of the fall semester coincided with the beginning of ramadan and everything was thrown out of whack and really messed with me head. my regular "stay up all night and study" routine didn't work any more and I started to get really depressed.... now I got to counseling and I see a psychiatrist about it.
I didn't really think it was that important at first. I mean hey, I'm still one of the youth right? in my head, I'm invincible... but turns out I was just being naive about the whole thing and not taking care of myself turned out to be a really bad idea in the end.
As somebody who struggled with undiagnosed sleep apnea for years, I can say this with some confidence: sleep matters immensely. Like AirPillo, I am almost a different person now that I get enough sleep every night. It's incredible. If I had been this together my whole life, I would be running a country by now. And possibly several of them.
As a side note, if you think you have a sleep disorder, do not fuck around with it. Lack of sleep will not kill you directly, but it contributes to a host of medical problems that will. Plus fun side effects, like permanent brain damage. A lot of people pooh-pooh sleep problems, and doctors aren't great at recognizing them. If you are exhausted all the time, overcoming that can seem insurmountable, but I am happy to tell you that it is entirely worth the fight to get diagnosed and properly treated.
Awesome. Especially as I'm just finishing up a paper on Wild Bill Hickok-in spanish, no less, for tomorrow. I still have 6 pages of workbook stuff to do, and hopefully I'll be ready for the exam tomorrow night. It's now 11:30 pm, and I have to work in the morning. This little mousie needs sleep.
So if I need to get up on workdays at 6 AM, I'd have to be asleep by 8 PM. As a father of 3, that's just pure fantasy!!
One of the most unfair things in life is that those days when you haven't had enough sleep & are in a foul mood seem to be the same days that life sends you the most idiots and assholes.
It's my first semester of grad school after 3 years out in the world, and at the start of the semester I decided that I was going to wake up naturally and not stay up too late. The not staying up late has been aided immensely by quitting video games about 6 months ago. When I feel like it's time to go to bed, I go to bed.
I'm finding myself very calm and well-adjusted. Hopelessly behind on everything, and feeling overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I have to do, but at peace with it and pretty well suited to compensating and coming up with creative substitutions for what might have otherwise been sleepless nights spent on things.
When I get enough sleep, which I have since my funemployment, I have found my proactive personality coming out like it hasn't in ages.
I've learned not to take jobs that require me to be in the office before about 10am. It's just not healthy, or realistic, or reasonable.
A more thorough discussion here:
http://www.miconian.com/2009/06/07/the-get-some-rest-diet/
Sleep (Psychology): more important than you (Today) think
chology): more important th
more important than you (Today) think
chology): more impo
Sleep (Psychoday) think
Glad to hear that you are sleeping better. I'm hoping for the same results. I just got tested and I'll see what the doc says on Thursday.
NO YOU SHUT UP!
God, I'm tired.
WHAT? THAT'S STUPID. I HATE YOU.
I'm tried of hearing about studies talking about how we need more sleep.
What about studies that consider what stops us getting enough sleep?
Or would that actually require social change rather than just preaching to the already tetchy?
e.g.
"""
High levels of sleep disturbance were found among women who cared for older frail or disabled relatives.
"""
http://www.socresonline.org.uk/12/5/4.html
I drive a truck for a living. It's a crappy, low-paying, stressful job, the result of which is Klonopin and regular use of sleeping pills. If it wasn't for the sleeping pills, I wouldn't sleep at all, as I tend to go over and over and over the variables in my life and look for ways to improve my lot. On nights without pills, I have done this from bedtime until dawn. At one point, it got bad enough that I caught myself grinding my teeth a lot.
I'm still stuck in my shitty job for now, but I find if I can get at least 8 hours of sleep a night, I can generally handle the next day. Taking a sick day or whatever isn't an option in my line of slavery.
Why is it that I always run into these articles at 2:05AM when I can't sleep?