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We are being told about it, but it is considered old-fashioned. Also, when you are young, the effects of breaking those rules are less severe. But then, gradua

We are being told about it, but it is considered old-fashioned. Also, when you are young, the effects of breaking those rules are less severe. But then, gradually and slowly, you are not so young anymore.

keerthiko 8y ago
It's considered old-fashioned because what we're told about tends to be unsubstantiated pseudo science as often as not, with lots of contradictory advice and weak explanations. I think everyone knows "quality food, exercise and sleep is good for you", but noone knows what that is for everyone. It varies from person to person, circumstance to circumstance, and the effects (good or bad) are hard to observe and correlate to choices, so it's hard to justify or blame them accurately. Especially when the accepted "facts" keep flip-flopping every 5-10 years (fats are bad! fats are good! sugar is bad! sugar is good! phasic sleep is good! no, you should sleep 8 hours in one go! you should always sleep in the middle of the night! no, it's possible daytime sleep is better for you!) At some point, it feels like if you just make random lifestyle choices, even a broken clock will be right twice a day? Nutrition and sleep science are both still very loosey-goosey and the surprising thing to me is that we don't invest in significantly more in-depth research to find better metrics and measurements and baseline principles to teach kids.
- buzzerbetrayed 8y ago
  I think you explained the problem perfectly. I would pay someone good money if they could just tell me what "quality food, exercise, and sleep is good for you" meant in excruciating detail. If I knew exactly what I could eat and how I could work out to get the most health benefits it would make such a huge difference. Instead I feel like there are a thousand different opinions out there, all backed by a thousand different (and usually flawed) studies. As someone who loves things that are backed by science, it frustrates me that I can't find the "right" answer (at least for the average person). And maybe the answer is out there but I just don't know where to look. If so, please advise.

keerthiko 8y ago

It's considered old-fashioned because what we're told about tends to be unsubstantiated pseudo science as often as not, with lots of contradictory advice and weak explanations. I think everyone knows "quality food, exercise and sleep is good for you", but noone knows what that is for everyone. It varies from person to person, circumstance to circumstance, and the effects (good or bad) are hard to observe and correlate to choices, so it's hard to justify or blame them accurately. Especially when the accepted "facts" keep flip-flopping every 5-10 years (fats are bad! fats are good! sugar is bad! sugar is good! phasic sleep is good! no, you should sleep 8 hours in one go! you should always sleep in the middle of the night! no, it's possible daytime sleep is better for you!) At some point, it feels like if you just make random lifestyle choices, even a broken clock will be right twice a day? Nutrition and sleep science are both still very loosey-goosey and the surprising thing to me is that we don't invest in significantly more in-depth research to find better metrics and measurements and baseline principles to teach kids.

buzzerbetrayed 8y ago
I think you explained the problem perfectly. I would pay someone good money if they could just tell me what "quality food, exercise, and sleep is good for you" meant in excruciating detail. If I knew exactly what I could eat and how I could work out to get the most health benefits it would make such a huge difference. Instead I feel like there are a thousand different opinions out there, all backed by a thousand different (and usually flawed) studies. As someone who loves things that are backed by science, it frustrates me that I can't find the "right" answer (at least for the average person). And maybe the answer is out there but I just don't know where to look. If so, please advise.