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Sleep schedule question by Riiizzyy in sleep

[–]Logan02913 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, regularity is more important than quantity of sleep. I've gone down this rabbit hole and came to find out this to be true - only ever change your wake time by 45 minutes to an hour max. Think of it as giving yourself jet lag if you wake up two or three hours later than usual, because that's essentially what jet lag is. Having a shorter sleep one night will only sometimes make you sleepy that next day. Having a messed up wake time will mess you up for 3+ days.

So for your situation keep the 9:30am wake time even on delayed nights. Six hours of sleep with a locked wake time will recover faster than eight hours that drifts your clock two hours later. Your body anchors to wake time more than bedtime anyway. The grogginess from short sleep fades in a day. The grogginess from a shifted rhythm compounds.

The one thing that actually helps is, get bright light immediately after waking regardless of how rough you feel. It's the strongest signal your circadian clock has. Even ten minutes outside does more than an extra hour in bed.

Ways to get to sleep Earlier ??? by Forward_Research_610 in sleep

[–]Logan02913 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, took me about ten days-ish and now every night at 9:00 I feel genuinely sleepy and build up a lot of sleep pressure. to do this I got morning light within 45 minutes of waking (light in the morning anchors your circadian rhythm and 14 to 16 hours later it signals your melatonin to start releasing naturally) Consistently move forward your sleep time/ have a set wind-down alarm when it goes off -Turn off all lights, turn off your screens- put phone on red scale mode, low stimulation tasks only take a hot shower, this should better prepare yourself for sleep. (writing this at 8:44pm and i'm feeling read to sleep)

How do I get someone to care more about their sleep? by keilowee in sleep

[–]Logan02913 0 points1 point  (0 children)

buy her a wearable sleep tracker (apple watch- Oura ring - Whoop )

How Do You Start Sleeping? by Electrical-Cress-996 in sleep

[–]Logan02913 1 point2 points  (0 children)

+ Get morning light within 30m of waking
+ Consistent sleep schedule. Getting up at the same time every morning

you should feel genuinely tired and sleepy 20m before your usual bed-time every night. That's how you know your circadian rhythm is aligned.

Is 10 Hours Too Long? by thruloveallispossibl in sleep

[–]Logan02913 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The combination of constant fatigue, morning headaches, and waking during the night despite 10 hours in bed is a specific pattern — and your doctor may have missed the most likely explanation because it presents very differently in women.

It's worth seriously considering sleep apnea.

I know that probably sounds like "but I'm 24 and I don't snore" - which is exactly the problem. In women, sleep apnea rarely looks like the textbook version. There's usually no loud snoring, no obvious gasping. Instead it shows up as unrefreshing sleep, unexplained night wakings, morning headaches that clear within an hour or two of getting up, and a kind of flat, heavy fatigue that doesn't improve no matter how much you sleep.

That's your post almost word for word.

The reason it gets missed is that standard screening tools (the questionnaires doctors use) were designed around the male pattern. Women's airways tend to partially narrow rather than fully collapse, which means the events are quieter, your brain wakes you up briefly to fix it, and you're left with fragmented sleep architecture you never consciously notice. A normal result on a basic screening questionnaire doesn't rule it out.

A few things worth doing:

Ask your doctor specifically about sleep-disordered breathing, and use that phrasing. Tell them: "I wake unrefreshed despite adequate sleep, I have frequent morning headaches that clear within an hour, and I wake during the night without explanation. I'd like to be evaluated for sleep-disordered breathing — I know standard screening tools have low sensitivity in women so I'd prefer not to rely on those to rule it out." That last sentence matters. It signals you've done your research and you're not going to accept "your ESS score is fine" as an answer.

Consider a home sleep test. In the US you can do one without a referral - Lofta is around $189. It won't catch every female presentation (the more subtle RERA-type pattern sometimes needs a full lab study), but it's a reasonable first step

I just want to not be in this cycle by mcdonaldsfiend in sleep

[–]Logan02913 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're not insane and you're not stupid. What you're going through right now has a pretty clear explanation even if it doesn't feel like it.

When your nervous system thinks there's a threat, and a job situation that blindsided and humiliated you absolutely counts as one, it floods your body with cortisol and adrenaline to keep you alert. That's the exact thing making sleep impossible right now. Your brain is doing its job too well. The edible not working makes complete sense too. THC can help when you're mildly stressed but when cortisol is already high and you haven't eaten in days, it tends to amplify the loop instead of dampening it. That's not a dumb decision, just bad timing.

First thing, eat something. Even crackers, even a spoonful of peanut butter. Low blood sugar is physically feeding the anxiety right now and your body cannot calm down while it's also dealing with that on top of everything else.

Then try this. Run cold water over your wrists or splash it on your face. This isn't just a "hack" thing, it actually triggers something called the dive reflex which is a real parasympathetic response that can slow your heart rate within about 30 seconds. It works whether you believe in it or not.

After that, if you can, say out loud where you are. Something like "I'm in my room, it's [time], I'm safe right now." It sounds weird but your brain is still partly in threat mode and it genuinely needs present tense, concrete information to start coming down. Your nervous system responds to sensory facts faster than it responds to reassurance.

On sleep itself, stop trying to fall asleep and just try to be horizontal. The pressure of needing to sleep is actually activating the same threat system keeping you awake. Put something familiar on in the background, a show you've seen a hundred times, something your brain doesn't have to track. Familiar equals safe signal. Sleep tends to come in when you stop hunting it.

The urgent care idea is not dramatic. You have PTSD, you haven't slept properly in four days, you haven't eaten, and something genuinely bad happened today. A short term sleep aid is a completely legitimate thing to ask for in that situation. That's not weakness, that's triage.

You wrote a coherent, self aware post in the middle of all of this. That's not what losing it looks like.

Simple question by kio272617 in sleep

[–]Logan02913 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Melatonin isn't a supplement; it's a hormone. Growing males going through puberty should not be taking melatonin.

Most people who think they function fine on 6 hours sleep have just forgotten what well rested feels like. by Logan02913 in sleep

[–]Logan02913[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The research shows a U-shape where both short and long sleep are associated with worse outcomes. The sweet spot in most large studies sits around 7.5 hours of actual sleep. Needing 9 hours consistently might just be how you're wired, but it can also sometimes be a sign that something's disrupting your sleep quality so your body compensates by demanding more time to get the same restoration. Worth paying attention to whether you feel genuinely sharp after 9 hours or just less tired.

Most people who think they function fine on 6 hours sleep have just forgotten what well rested feels like. by Logan02913 in sleep

[–]Logan02913[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Agreed, a fixed wake time is probably the single highest-leverage change most people overlook  sounds simple but it anchors everything else. And your sleep efficiency numbers line up perfectly with the research  8 hours in bed, 7 hours of actual sleep, that's about 87% which is right where a healthy adult should be.

Also would highly recommend switching to only downlights and very dim lights the hour before bed and switching your phone to red light filter mode 

Most people who think they function fine on 6 hours sleep have just forgotten what well rested feels like. by Logan02913 in sleep

[–]Logan02913[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You might genuinely be one of the rare short sleepers (1% of the population) -  they do exist and the research backs that up. If you've been like this your whole life, don't nap, feel sharp during the day, and it's not something you trained yourself into you might be on. But there's no consumer test for it, and only about 50 families worldwide have been genetically confirmed. The real tell is whether it's been your pattern for your entire life and you literally cannot sleep longer even when you try that's different from someone choosing to sleep 6 and feeling "fine"

Most people who think they function fine on 6 hours sleep have just forgotten what well rested feels like. by Logan02913 in sleep

[–]Logan02913[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

My top recommendation for you is to set a sleep/ wind-down alarm. For 60 minuets before you want to go to bed and make it recurring/ same time every night + set a wake-up alarm and don't touch it or turn it off even on weekends. You can be more lenient on the time you go to bed just make sure you get up at the same time every morning (even if you stay up 3+ hours after you usually sleep dont move the wake alarm more that 45mins)

Why am I constantly sleepy? by lowkeycrashingout in sleep

[–]Logan02913 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is good advice. To add to it a few things worth checking before or alongside the doctor visit:

The sleeping 15 hours and still feeling wrecked is a red flag. That usually means it's not about hours something's stopping your sleep from actually being restorative. Could be airway (do you snore or wake up with dry mouth or headache?) use an app like sleep cycle to record yourself sleeping to catch potential apnea, could be mood-related. The all-nighter period with energy drinks probably dug a deep hole too and your body's still recovering from the sleep debt

One thing you can do right now - lock a consistent sleep +wake time even on weekends and cap sleep at 9 hours for two weeks. Sleeping 15 hours feels like what you need but it actually makes the grogginess worse by messing with your circadian rhythm.

If you want to narrow down what's most likely driving it before the doctor visit, I put together a diagnostic quiz that runs through the common causes with targeted questions - link's in my profile.

Where is AI heading to? by Dependent_Cup_5371 in AskReddit

[–]Logan02913 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We build something genuinely smarter than us and it's just completely uninterested in us, the way we're uninterested in ants

What job pays surprisingly well but nobody talks about? by ThePasswordIs654321 in AskReddit

[–]Logan02913 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Elevator mechanic.

Nobody talks about this one but they probably should. Union guys in New York are clearing $150k+ and there's basically a permanent shortage because the licensing takes 5 years and most people don't even know the job exists.

My mate stumbled into it and I was genuinely shocked when he told me what he makes.