Fitful : Occurring in or characterized by intermittent bursts, as of activity; irregular.
https://www.wordnik.com/words/fitful
I am not a native speaker and had to look it up.
There was a period in my life (almost a decade ago) when I was sleeping poorly due to unhealthy work habits and excess caffeine. I was in my 20s and early 30s during this time and felt invincible, but the effects on my body were profound. The damage became so tangible I had no choice but to make a change, and have for the last 5+ years been sleeping normally. I miss those days of nonstop work, I was more productive then, but it would have killed me if I had continued.
This article seems to contradict itself:
> UC Berkeley sleep scientists have begun to reveal what it is about fragmented nightly sleep that leads to the fatty arterial plaque buildup known as atherosclerosis that can result in fatal heart disease.
This is a causal claim, emphasis mine, which contradicts:
> “To the best of our knowledge, these data are the first to associate sleep fragmentation, inflammation and atherosclerosis in humans,” said study lead author Raphael Vallat
which is a correlative claim, emphasis also mine, and they use "linked" throughout the article, which is also correlative.
So does fitful sleep "lead to" chronic inflammation and arterial plaque, or are chronic inflammation and arterial plaque simply typical of people in poorer health and/or overweight, which can itself potentially cause sleep disorders, ie. a correlation? I'm not sure we know the actual root causes here.
I've improved my sleep quality (as measured by FitBit), by eating smaller dinners earlier, and not snacking at night. Avoiding alcohol entirely most nights. Avoiding drinking water before bed so I don't have to get up to pee
I take Webber Super Sleep (available at Costco). Has Melatonin, 5-HTP (serotonin precursor), and L-Theanine. Seems to help
If this describes you, go get a sleep study done. A CPAP has completely changed the quality of my sleep. Even short sleep nights are deep and restful.
Now I just need to get my diet under control and exercise regularly...
Confirmed: having young kids is bad for your health.
I didnt sleep enough for all my teens and student years, and ended up with an autoimmune disease. Taking sleep and other health seriously has been a big part of getting myself back in working shape.
Another study to emphasise the importance of sleep, another way to make it harder for people with sleep issues feel more anxious!
Anybody have “clinical grade” sleep tracker recommendations as recommended by the article? I have a smart watch sleep tracker but my doctor says it is inaccurate (withings watch), and it always says my deep sleep number is too low even though google says the range is within normal.
Radical dietary change can lead to huge differences in experiential quality of life and sleep as well.
Chronic dietary inflammation (which just means foods that your body doesn't like) can have a whole host of subtle effects you would never notice until they are absent.
I have heart issues (had a stent 2 years ago - early for my age) and have always slept poorly (mostly bad habits + diet).
Sleep routine is the most essential thing to fix if you have resolved all your basic needs. It creates a feedback loop that helps to reduce stress and improve health.
I've learned this the hard way - you shouldn't have to.
Is there a Dr in the house? Am I reading this correctly as if you improve your sleep you could possibly (I don't know the correct word to use here) improve? reduce? the plaque buildup in your arteries?
I had terrible sleeping problems: snoring, waking up choking with a dry mouth, very restless, etc. I saw these[1] nasal dilators for $9 on Amazaon and bought them on a whim. It took a couple of weeks to build a habit of sleeping with my mouth closed and breathing through my nose, but once I did, my sleep (and therefore life) improved dramatically. So simple. I wish I would have figured this out ten years earlier. These probably won't work for most people with sleep disorders, but if the issue is sleeping with an open mouth due to restricted nasal passages, I would definitely give these things a try before settling on more elaborate treatment.
Also, as mentioned here and everywhere, alcohol destroys sleep. I've (mostly) stopped drinking for sleep reasons, and drink nothing at all 1.5 hours before bed.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DSTZ4KM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b...
I've been having major sleep issues recently (waking up every 60-90s minutes, trouble staying asleep, averaging 2-4 hours of sleep a night total).
I recorded myself overnight and heard quite a bit of snoring, so I picked up a at-home sleep study kit, convinced that I had sleep apnea. The results were that I didn't, classified my O2 intake as normal, and my snoring threshold as low.
I'm at a loss as to what do now. I have been practicing good sleep hygiene and exercising, but now I'm at the point where I'm asking my doctor for a prescription because I'm just so desperate for a night of sleep.
Can anyone more familiar with this field elaborate on exactly what "chronic circulating inflammation throughout the blood stream" is? Inflammation I understand, but how does it circulate throughout the bloodstream? Does this refer to inflammation of the blood vessels, the heart, or somehow your blood itself?
And is there a reason to suspect causality goes in the direction implied in the article (i.e. bad sleep -> plaque) and not (i.e. X -> plaque and X-> bad sleep, where X could be stress or emotional state, etc.)?
Here's what I wonder, and this is somewhat tangential to the issue-- the effects of cannabis are thought to be disruptive to some of the various stages of the sleep cycle, but at the same time, it can sure help you to achieve a full night of uninterrupted sleep. So in the context of these inflammation problems, I wonder what exactly it is about fitful sleep that leads to these inflammation responses and whether taking a toke before bed could be beneficial to your arteries.
>To more accurately gauge one’s sleep quality, the researchers recommend the use of clinical grade sleep trackers,
Any recommendations for a good sleep tracker?
edit:- already answered https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23431549
tl;dr dreem is the best sleep tracker you can buy currently. Review at reedit https://www.reddit.com/r/ouraring/comments/e3l1jl/30_nights_...
You can use the promo code to get a 20% off NOOEONDVV
James Nestor’s new book ‘Breath’ may be useful to you if you suffer from fitful sleep. His research into and experiments with breathing may give you some easy fixes to help improve your sleep.
For folks who want to learn more about sleep, I highly recommend this three-part Podcast interview with Dr. Matthew Walker:
https://peterattiamd.com/matthewwalker1/
The single best thing that improved my quality of sleep was a ten-minute meditation before bed. I have anxiety (albeit officially undiagnosed) and meditation helps me stay calm. It also helps me stay asleep. Without it, I wake up in the middle of the night.
Does fixing sleep with medication prevent atherosclerosis? Does taking nonsteroidals have a salutary effect?
It's too bad they did not tease out the effects of taking antiinflammatories as well as sleep aids like benadryl, quill,etc.
Matthew Walker, study senior author, on Joe Rogan (2018): https://youtu.be/pwaWilO_Pig
Is the risk enhanced if you sleep less, or is it if you can't stay asleep? I could not tell from this study
It could also be the reverse - chronic inflammation makes you uncomfortable and therefore unable to sleep well.
Colour me concerned. I sleep badly and don't do much sport.
Any apps that will tell me how often I snore and for how long?
RIP me
how do I avoid hardening my arteries?
Man im fucked. I really have to get a handle on my sleep.
2D echo is the gold standard for diagnosing heart diseases
If your doctor tells you to do a sleep study, do it.
If, as a result, they tell you to get a CPAP, get it. Those things are life-changing.
I felt like an old man at 50 years old. My back was so stiff I couldn't put on my socks. When I got out of bed in the morning I felt so fragile, like my joints were all inflamed - especially my Achilles' tendons. I was too tired to do anything beyond 6 pm.
Now, 51, I feel totally normal again. And that change was pretty much overnight once I started using that wretched machine.