GenCon, sleep, hard-core gaming and drowsy driving

[ssampier]

Great Info!

Sounds like a cool job PC. I don't like driving at night (I'm a bit 'night blind'), nor am I going to GenCon. The information is useful anyway.

I'm one of those people that need 11 hours of sleep to feel somewhat rested. Heh, I've been starting to think I have sleep apnea. Most mornings I wake up groggy.

 

[Davin]

Different people have different sleep cycle lengths, but PCat's '2 hours' is pretty much the average-most people's cycles are close enough to that that a 2-hour nap will work for them. My cycles are about 2:10, but my wife's are (unusually) closer to 2:30, and a 2-hour nap turns out to be a bit short for her ... I imagine that 90 minutes would be short for most people.

In addition to adding my thanks to PCat, I thought I'd throw in my own timings here... My sleep cycles seem to be spaced almost exactly 90 minutes apart, but it takes me about an extra 30 minutes to "get started" when first falling asleep. So my first REM cycle seems to happen about 2 hours after last conciousness, and the remainder every hour and a half after that. So, yes, I need a minimum of 2 hours for some effective rest. But I thought that something like this might also explain your wife's apparently extra-long sleep timing.

 

[Piratecat]

Re: Great Info!

I'm one of those people that need 11 hours of sleep to feel somewhat rested. Heh, I've been starting to think I have sleep apnea. Most mornings I wake up groggy.

Do you snore?

 

[Assylem]

This is really useful stuff PC, being a college student as well, this is extremely important stuff!

But I've got another question, is it healthy to sleep for 12-16 hours? If I dont have anyone waking me up or an alarm, I usually sleep around 13 hours average, 16 if i'm really sleepy. (this is no drugs btw)

Just curious.

 

[Piratecat]

Assylem, that says to me four things:

1. You need more sleep than most people. The population is on a bell curve; it sounds like you're the guy making up for that woman I met who only needs 4 hours a night.

2. Your sleep needs will change. Teenagers tend to need a lot more sleep than folks in their mid-20's do. It usually happens a bit earlier, but you might just be hitting that stage a little late.

3. The nights you don't sleep for 13 hours, you're running short on sleep and building up fatigue - which manifests itself as extra-long sleep periods when you can afford to catch up.

4. If you're overweight and a snorer, I might suggest the possibility of sleep apnea (see Diaglo's link earlier for info) that fragments your sleep and makes it less restful; that's another possible reason for needing long sleep time.

Long sleeping times aren't inherently unhealthy, so long as (a) it's not a symptom of depression, and (b) it isn't affecting your work and social life.

Hope that helps,

 

[KnowTheToe]

This is a little OT but everyonce in awhile I feel so fatigued I lose control of my coordination, but the really strange part is I will often have the same feeling only exagerated while I am dreaming.

I have had countless dreams where I feel so tired in my dream that I cannot function. For instance if I am driving, I will continually drift onto the sidewalk because I a falling asleep (in my dream), if I am walking, I will stagger and fall down and when talking I just fall asleep. It is really wierd, but the dreams freak me out.

Am I alone out there?

 

[ssampier]

I can't relate to the whole tired thing, but I've had plenty of dreams when I tried to react to a dream (run for instance) and I couldn't move--I was paralyzed. Those dreams still freak me out; they are so real.

Pc, I think I snore. I wasn't aware of it for many years until 2 years ago my college roomate said I was snoring, and I just quit breathing for a bit. He wondered if I still was alive up there (upper bunk).

 

[Piratecat]

Pc, I think I snore. I wasn't aware of it for many years until 2 years ago my college roomate said I was snoring, and I just quit breathing for a bit. He wondered if I still was alive up there (upper bunk).

*ding ding ding* Welcome to the world of sleep apnea. You will be a much, MUCH happier person if you pop around to a sleep lab nearby and get tested.

What's happening is that right now when you sleep, your throat closes and you stop breathing. That's a bad thing. When you do, your brain starts to panic, your heart begins to race, and your body wakes you up just enough to take a breath... possibly hundreds of times an hour. How well do you think you'd sleep if I stood next to your bed and poked you once a minute? Think you'd be tired in the morning and need more sleep than normal to feel well rested?

Exactly.

Luckily, it's fairly common and easily treated. Call a local sleep lab (ask your doctor) and see what they have to say!

Note that sleep apnea is a major driving hazard. Because it often leaves you dangerously fatigued, you're prone to microsleeps at any time of day. Be careful when you're in the car for longish trips.

 

[Trevalon Moonleirion]

For those at GenCon with 'net access... I deem this thread...


BUMPED!

Safe and happy gaming and driving, everyone! Roll some crits for me!

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

PC, I wonder what you have heard on recent statistics that people who get over 7 hours of sleep a night, on average, have decreased life expectancies?

Also, I suffer from fairly nasty insomnia now and again, and I can vouch for all this being true. Fortunately I have no bad accident stories. At this point, I just make certain to walk a lot of places and keep my morning schedule light. Cause once I do get ready for sleep it can be very hard for me to control how well I wake up.

I would be curious to know PC, if there is any advice for waking up more effectively.

I've run into none other than taking sleeping medicine very early on nights when you know you have to be up early.

The wall street journal had an article out this week that a half-hour nap for employees generally increases productivety for that employee by 33% . The article went on to say, however, that while many employees do this surreptitiously, particularly CEOs, only airlines and train companies had any likely of implementing it as a policy, American culture being what it was.

Sigh.