4 ms·

Don't get anxious. These kinds of studies are almost always overturned by another one within 12-24 months. Weak correlations are not worth worrying about.

momirlan 6y ago
True, other things like DNA and training have a much bigger effect.
- arcturus17 6y ago
  Training?
  - mcguire 6y ago
    Sleep Boot Camp. You didn't have to take it?
    - arcturus17 6y ago
      Seems like I didn’t get the memo. Could really use something like that though.
jahewson 6y ago
It’s not worth losing sleep over.
slothtrop 6y ago
Isn't there a pretty sizable body of research at this point suggesting that sleeplessness leads to cognitive deficits?
- blaser-waffle 6y ago
  Aye, I recall several studies about it. The one that sticks out the most is an Army study about how sleep deprived soldiers performed tasks (driving, etc.) at a capacity similar to someone who was legally drunk.
blackbrokkoli 6y ago
No it won't. I mean, maybe this one will, but the research regarding sleep duration is very, very sound. We are talking upwards of 50k people. Effects of sleeping too little are tightly and consistently associated with Alzheimer, cancer growth, bad emotional control, mental disorder episodes and heavy machinery accidents. I would say sleep is where cigarettes were in the late fifties or early sixties: Researchers and people who deal with the matter professionally already know too well how severe effects are. Ask for example ER-doctors in countries with summer/winter time, who are preparing for heavy load every time the switch makes people sleep an hour less. Yet, the vast majority of people, even quite knowledgeable ones, deny any negative effect of missing sleep, caffeine is freely available in children's products and sleep-deprived truck drivers flatten family cars every week like clockwork.
- TaupeRanger 6y ago
  No one is arguing that lack of sleep isn't detrimental. Everyone knows this from personal experience. But fear-mongering about long term effects is unsupported unless you're talking about clinically rare levels of chronic sleep deprivation. There are some studies that show increased cancer risk for moderately reduced sleep, and some that show no increased risk. Likewise with neurodegenerative diseases and other issues. The anxiety created by these weak studies might be worse than the effects of losing sleep that an overwhelming majority of people reading about them will experience.

momirlan 6y ago

True, other things like DNA and training have a much bigger effect.

arcturus17 6y ago
Training?
- mcguire 6y ago
  Sleep Boot Camp. You didn't have to take it?
  - arcturus17 6y ago
    Seems like I didn’t get the memo. Could really use something like that though.

jahewson 6y ago

It’s not worth losing sleep over.

slothtrop 6y ago

Isn't there a pretty sizable body of research at this point suggesting that sleeplessness leads to cognitive deficits?

blaser-waffle 6y ago
Aye, I recall several studies about it. The one that sticks out the most is an Army study about how sleep deprived soldiers performed tasks (driving, etc.) at a capacity similar to someone who was legally drunk.

blackbrokkoli 6y ago

No it won't. I mean, maybe this one will, but the research regarding sleep duration is very, very sound. We are talking upwards of 50k people. Effects of sleeping too little are tightly and consistently associated with Alzheimer, cancer growth, bad emotional control, mental disorder episodes and heavy machinery accidents. I would say sleep is where cigarettes were in the late fifties or early sixties: Researchers and people who deal with the matter professionally already know too well how severe effects are. Ask for example ER-doctors in countries with summer/winter time, who are preparing for heavy load every time the switch makes people sleep an hour less. Yet, the vast majority of people, even quite knowledgeable ones, deny any negative effect of missing sleep, caffeine is freely available in children's products and sleep-deprived truck drivers flatten family cars every week like clockwork.

TaupeRanger 6y ago
No one is arguing that lack of sleep isn't detrimental. Everyone knows this from personal experience. But fear-mongering about long term effects is unsupported unless you're talking about clinically rare levels of chronic sleep deprivation. There are some studies that show increased cancer risk for moderately reduced sleep, and some that show no increased risk. Likewise with neurodegenerative diseases and other issues. The anxiety created by these weak studies might be worse than the effects of losing sleep that an overwhelming majority of people reading about them will experience.