Lack of sleep.

[Darth-Baiter]

I’m not young anymore.  Brutal.  
 

I woke up Oct 10, at 5:00am and fished until noon.  We got back to the mothership, addresses details like tipping the staff, packing our bags.  Dinner.  Went to bed for the what seemed like the last time.  We woke up early, got off the ship and went to a jungle dirt runway and flew back to civilization.  We checked into a hotel for no reason other than to shower, poop, etc.  we all went souvenir shopping, got therapeutic messages, and ate a group dinner.   I took a two hour nap, and and we got on a bus to the airport.  24 hours later my wife brought me home.   SOMETHING BAD HAPPENED which delayed any sleep for another 3 hours.  ( sorry still can’t talk about it). The bad thing kept playing over and over in my head so I didn’t really sleep.  I might have dozed, but I’ve now been up 40 hours or so.  No sleeping in the flights or layovers. 
 

it was crushing physically and mentally. I caught a cold and everything. This past weekend I focused on rest.  I slept 10-11 hour every night and I’m all better.   
 

I remember in my youth it was no big deal.  Now?  I should have packed an Ambien.   what is you longest awake session?!  

[LrgmouthShad]

I have had some really interesting sleeping patterns. When I was a young high schooler I would stay up for stupid reasons 😔. I can remember sleeping about 3 hours across two nights. Not the norm, but it could happen. In college I struggled some with my major and I had many a late night. Made it harder on myself by fishing often, sometimes between classes. I did just fine though and my quality of life was much higher when I enjoyed hobbies. Nowadays I do prioritize sleep and I try to get enough. Sometimes I get little and I will make do. 

 

If you want to see how lack of sleep affects your brain, become an active chess player. You will see how you simply cannot perform well on little sleep.

[TnRiver46]

I’m a professional sleeper, hobo level skillz. I’ve slept on hardwood and carpet with no blanket or pillow many times. Give me a chair after 9 pm and that’s all she wrote 

 

my wife likes to photograph it and compare me to the dogs but at least she occasionally throws me a couch pillow 

 

[flyfisher]

Sleep is overrated.  Everyone needs a different amount of sleep and for me 5-6 is plenty.  

I have stayed up 48 hours+ straight many times when climbing and hiking just to do it.  The longest I went was 74 hours and it was for an adventure race.  I crashed pretty hard after that race as it was mentally and physically exhausting.

[gim]

[Darth-Baiter]

@flyfisher  incredible!   70+ hours is wild.  I think we die after 10 days sleep deprivation.   3 days we lose mental health. 
 

 

and your first sentence and last sentence contradict each other.

[flyfisher]

4 minutes ago, Darth-Baiter said:

@flyfisher  incredible!   70+ hours is wild.  I think we die after 10 days sleep deprivation.   3 days we lose mental health. 
 

 

and your first sentence and last sentence contradict each other.

you can train your body to work on no sleep and i did that in preparation for the race.  The two sentences don't contradict at all.  Sleep is overrated yet still needed, especially after 3 days up lol

[gim]

Lack of sleep on a regular basis is unhealthy and has been backed by science.  The human body needs about a minimum of 7 hours on a nightly basis to function properly.  Some of that is defined as "deep" sleep and another portion is "light" sleep.  Constantly getting less that 7 hours can lead to other health problems.  A medical professional will tell you the same.

 

Distractions at night can play a role.  If you snore, if your partner snores, pets, kids, whatever can all limit the amount of sleep you get.  This is generally why I sleep a lot better when I'm out of town for work and staying at a hotel.  No distractions there.

[A-Jay]

Our humanness does some amazing things while we sleep.

It's almost like magic

The benefits of adequate sleep can not be overstate,

especially as we age.

The following information is available everywhere. 

It's such a simple deal that many take for granted.

I do not. 

A-Jay

 

The Importance of Sleep for Older Adults

A good night’s sleep is essential for successful aging, no matter how old you are. After all, sleep is a time of rest and rejuvenation, when our minds and bodies can recuperate after a long day. We spend about 1/3 of our lives sleeping, and quality sleep is a vital indicator of overall health and well-being], especially for older adults.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, people over age 65 should get at least seven-to-eight hours of sleep every night. That’s because getting the rest you need can help you stay both physically and mentally well as you age.

5 Sleep Benefits for Seniors

1. A good night’s sleep boosts your mood.

Sleep and mental health are closely related. In many ways, both impact each other. Not getting enough sleep can lead to mental health issues like depression and anxiety, while mental health conditions can, in turn, lower your sleep quality. A good night’s sleep is crucial for your mental well-being.

2. Quality sleep lowers your risk of diseases.

Lack of sleep increases your risk of serious health conditions like high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. Studies show that insufficient sleep puts added stress on the body, leading to inflammation and a weakened immune system. During sleep, our bodies undergo restorative functions like muscle growth, protein synthesis and tissue repair – all of which are needed to keep your immune system strong.

3. Restful sleep maintains your weight and supports metabolism.

Getting enough sleep is key to weight maintenance and keeping your metabolism moving at a healthy rate. Sufficient sleep also regulates ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates your appetite. If you’re sleep deprived, your metabolism slows down which can lead to weight gain.

4. Good sleep improves concentration and memory.

A good night’s rest keeps your brain healthy and your memory sharp. It’s well known that sleep deprivation has a negative impact on your attention span and short-term memory. Lack of sleep also weakens your decision-making ability and your long-term memory as well. And over time, too little sleep can even contribute to cognitive decline, memory loss and increase your risk for developing dementia.

5. Bedtime is when your brain clears harmful toxins.

Contrary to popular belief, our brains don’t slow down while we’re sleeping. Scientists are learning more about the glymphatic system, which serves as a waste disposal system in our bodies and clears harmful toxins and debris from our brains. The glymphatic system is almost 10 times more active during sleep than it is during wakefulness.

One of the most crucial aspects of these new findings for seniors is that one of the toxins being cleared from our brain during sleep is thought to be responsible for Alzheimer’s disease. According to Maiken Nedergaard, M.D., D.M.Sc., co-director of the Center for Translational Neuromedicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and lead author of the study, “Sleep is critical to the function of the brain’s waste removal system…These findings also add to the increasingly clear evidence that quality of sleep or sleep deprivation can predict the onset of Alzheimer’s and dementia.”

[Darth-Baiter]

like our Tennesee friend above.  i am a pro-sleeper.  i get 8 hours easy.  i cant fall asleep anywhere, like on a plane or airport..but i am very regimended in my sleep habits.  i try not to deviate from the routine.  

 

sleepy time is when we heal.  

[Tennessee Boy]

2 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

 

It appears that one dog likes you and one dog doesn’t. 😆

[TnRiver46]

11 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

It appears that one dog likes you and one dog doesn’t. 😆

You oughta see dog number 3…….

[throttleplate]

I went 30 days straight with no sleep a few years ago. The bad older sleeping pills wouldnt put me to sleep and neither did ambian. Went to see a shrink and she gave me some clozapine for anxiety and that stuff helped alot but was addicting and hard to stop cold turkey.

I weened myself off it and finally resolved my anxiety problem that allowed me to sleep again.

[Bird]

This thread is making me sleepy 😴. Lol

 

Sleep is something I've never struggled with. Stay busy and you'll get sleepy later that evening.

The lack of sleep is VERY detrimental to good health.

[GreenPig]

I've turned wrenches on jet engines for over 36 hours straight several times in my youth. I quit pulling those excessive hours after I pulled into my driveway after working many hours and nodded off sitting in my running truck. I woke up  1, 10, or 20 minutes later and put my truck in reverse to head to work as my wife walks out and waves me down. She ask "Where are you going", I said to work, she said get in the house, you've been gone almost two days.

Pro tip - some of the best sleep you can get is in a comfortable deer stand after sitting in the cold dark and getting good and cold. Then that first bit of Sun starts warming you up and the sleep monster will jump on ya and choke you out.

[Bird]

@GreenPig

Very true and why I always wear a safety harness.

[Bankbeater]

If I go to sleep on the floor, or sitting in the recliner, I tell my wife to just leave me.  If she wakes me up and I go to bed then I can't get back to sleep.  If I get myself up and go to bed then I don't have any sleep issues. 

[VolFan]

On 10/19/2023 at 1:45 AM, GreenPig said:

Then that first bit of Sun starts warming you up and the sleep monster will jump on ya and choke you out.

Truer words never spoken. Beautiful frosty morning and then that little bit of warmth and…BOOM…you’re studying the back of your eyelids.

[Buzzbaiter]

46 minutes ago, VolFan said:

Truer words never spoken. Beautiful frosty morning and then that little bit of warmth and…BOOM…you’re studying the back of your eyelids.

It really is horrible. You stay up all night thinking about dropping the dirt on that deer, then spend all morning dreaming about it. Tree stand sleep is simultaneously the best and worst sleep you can get.

[gim]

On 10/19/2023 at 6:45 AM, Bird said:

@GreenPig

Very true and why I always wear a safety harness.

I use a safety harness too, and a hoist to lift my stuff to the stand.

 

When I was younger I didn’t use a harness or hoist. Looking back, carrying that stuff up in the dark was really stupid and unsafe. I used to get very sleepy in the stand when I was younger too. I was so paranoid about falling out of the stand if I fell asleep that I would actually go to the ground, curl up, and take a nap there instead. 75% of all hunting accidents are stand related. Ground blinds are gaining popularity.

[Boomstick]

I feel you. Before recent health events, I would go through periods in which I would wake up at 3-4am randomly and be exhausted all day and the same would happen the next day and so forth.

Then I had this autoimmune disease attacking my kidneys and I was always tired all the time. Now on my medication, I can't fall asleep at night and I wake up at 3am everyday. Until yesterday I felt pretty awake.

[TOXIC]

Having a job when I was required to get up at 4am and commute to an office and then return home at 6-7pm, then when on assignment in the field working multiple 24 hour days to get the job done, has made me a sleep opportunist.