I used to like to sleep for as long as possible, then slowly it began to feel like a waste of time.<p>Also, having small children affect sleep although not directly, it's the time you try to claw back after putting them to sleep, pushing it a little later to get other things done.<p>After a while it became obvious nothing much was being achieved this way, in fact my mental acuity seemed to drop substantially.<p>Then I realized I hadn't been dreaming (or at least remembering dreams) for a while and that was weird. Slowed down, went to bed as soon as tiredness kicked in for a few months. Improved my diet which probably helped a lot.<p>Dreams have returned with a vengence, it feels like all night is one long dream, I feel better and sharper.<p>I wish I could sleep less than 7 hours, but my body disagrees.
I hope to see more and more of these studies.<p>I've always since I can remember struggled with sleep.<p>During the periods where I've had it under control everything is just better: your outlook is more positive, more energy, less anxiety, and on and on and on.<p>People say exercise should be put into a pill - I really wish they did this with sleep.
I wish having healthy sleep became vogue. Imagine people humble-bragging about the quality of their dreams, about sleeping 8 hours or more, having enough self-discipline to routinely go to bed by 10:30pm, etc. Imagine sleep, it's quality, the freshness of body and mind it gives, became a subject of conspicuous consumption, a symbol of higher status. "I work smarter, not harder", etc.<p>Dies not sound implausible to me.
I like seeing this, but: "Correlation does not prove causation."<p>I have a serious, incurable medical condition. Getting healthier has dramatically improved my ability to sleep. So, while lack of sleep may well cause health problems, that relationship can run the other direction. I see nothing in this piece which addresses that possibility.
I keep telling people it's making them sick to only sleep 4 hours a night and they keep telling me that "It's just how I am". No, it's not. It's how you've forced your body to behave after years of staying up too late and drinking coffee too late and drinking alcohol and not caring about sleep. It's not normal. It's not "how you are". You're not "totally fine" on 4 hours of sleep. You are fooling yourself.
Sorry, but, this required a new study? Sleep is the most consistent way of preventing, and curing ailments. At even the slightest hint of feeling run down, I'll go to bed extra early.
The article does not mention if they actually showed causality. What if there is a third variable (coffee, acquired virus, anxiety, lack of exercise) that simultaneously causes lack of sleep and a depressed immune system? The cause could even be the other way around - I know I don't sleep well when I'm feeling sick.
ha I could attest to that.<p>I also used to experience those sleep-paralysis events Jesus those were terrifying. Thankfully I have not had that in a long time.<p>But yeah, sleep is good. My body feels sore all over when not sleeping for a long time, get sick easier, can't even watch tv or do anything, you just hate yourself hahaha or briefly go delirious then go back to hating your current situation, can't enjoy anything.
Anecdote: I used to sleep about 8 hours a day, but then had a long period of anxiety and depression that caused me to average about 4 hours sleep a day. This lasted for about 9 months, maybe more. During this time my brain was on constant overdrive, thinking about everything all the time, for most of that time I didn't notice any loss in alertness or clarity. I was particularly anxious about my friends and was out seeing different friends about 13 nights a fortnight. I was probably getting drunk about 3 nights a week. When I get depressed I don't really eat much, and I lost about 17% of my body weight. It was terrible, but in all this time I never got ill at all, not even a mild cold or cough. I missed the whole of winter 2015/2016 cold season, and I've got ill at least twice a year in winter for as long as I can remember. I am even ill now!<p>I was speculating the other day with a friend as to why this might be. I suggested that because I wasn't looking after my house I was pretty much sleeping in mould and I have heard anecdotally that that can have antibiotics that may have had an affect. He suggested that in extreme stress your body is less likely to overreact to a mild infection, and so maybe any infections may have much less obvious symptoms.<p>I'm pretty much better now and am attempting to sleep 7h30 a day, but it really does feel like a waste of time.
It's fascinating to think of a counterfactual world where humans don't need sleep -- sometimes I wonder how much more could be done. Sleep seems to be a biological constraint that could be optimized around.