4 ms·

Activity Does Not Always Equal Productivity

23 points by indus 13y ago

jere 13y ago
>Human beings are designed to operate in 90-minute cycles. At night, we move through the five stages of sleep in that time — the Basic Rest Activity Cycle. During the day, we are guided by our ultradian rhythms, and we move from high physiological alertness toward physiological fatigue in 90-minute intervals. I was in the comments here the other day defending the use of words like "design" and "purpose" to describe evolution. But even for me, this sets off my bullshit detector. I would accept the sleep thing, though a precise 90 minutes is a stretch: "In humans, the average length of the first sleep cycle is approximately 90 minutes and 100 to 120 minutes from the second to the fourth cycle, which is usually the last one." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep#Physiology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep#Physiology But does anyone have a citation for that kind of cycle during the day?
- indus 13y ago
  Growing up in a tropical climate, I saw people "shutting-down" for a nap post lunch and kept going.
- aestra 13y ago
  Ultradian rhythms are recurrent periods or cycles repeated throughout a 24-hour circadian day. What the article is talking about is called Basic Rest Activity Cycle. Don't know much about if there is much or any scientific support for it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_rest_activity_cycle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_rest_activity_cycle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultradian http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultradian
- RollAHardSix 13y ago
  Somewhat related to what your asking, but according to a rather famous study done by KA Ericsson on Deliberate Practice and it's effect of learning, the optimal learning (for violinists and I've seen similar results when applied to my Mixed Martial Artists) is 90 minutes of deliberate activity, a short break, 90 minutes of further deliberate practice, followed by a second break, by another 90 minutes of deliberate practice. (Time for training sessions is of course the enemy, and practice is deliberate enough to cause mental and physical fatigue). Source: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/blogs/freakonomics/pdf/DeliberatePractice(PsychologicalReview).pdf http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/blogs/freakonomics/pdf/D...
- polskibus 13y ago
  Here is what I found the most thorough yet concise resource on sleep. http://www.supermemo.com/articles/sleep.htm http://www.supermemo.com/articles/sleep.htm You'll see that the sleep patterns can vary a lot, however it still holds true that the last phase is most important. I wouldn't pay much attention to slicing and dicing the sleep pattern but focus on what brain works on at a particular phase. With regards to day cycle - the article on supermemo shows two main types - one that needs to shut down in the midday and one that doesn't. It should be easy to find out which group you belong to.

23 points by indus 13y ago

jere 13y ago

>Human beings are designed to operate in 90-minute cycles. At night, we move through the five stages of sleep in that time — the Basic Rest Activity Cycle. During the day, we are guided by our ultradian rhythms, and we move from high physiological alertness toward physiological fatigue in 90-minute intervals. I was in the comments here the other day defending the use of words like "design" and "purpose" to describe evolution. But even for me, this sets off my bullshit detector. I would accept the sleep thing, though a precise 90 minutes is a stretch: "In humans, the average length of the first sleep cycle is approximately 90 minutes and 100 to 120 minutes from the second to the fourth cycle, which is usually the last one." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep#Physiology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep#Physiology But does anyone have a citation for that kind of cycle during the day?

indus 13y ago
Growing up in a tropical climate, I saw people "shutting-down" for a nap post lunch and kept going.
aestra 13y ago
Ultradian rhythms are recurrent periods or cycles repeated throughout a 24-hour circadian day. What the article is talking about is called Basic Rest Activity Cycle. Don't know much about if there is much or any scientific support for it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_rest_activity_cycle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_rest_activity_cycle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultradian http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultradian
RollAHardSix 13y ago
Somewhat related to what your asking, but according to a rather famous study done by KA Ericsson on Deliberate Practice and it's effect of learning, the optimal learning (for violinists and I've seen similar results when applied to my Mixed Martial Artists) is 90 minutes of deliberate activity, a short break, 90 minutes of further deliberate practice, followed by a second break, by another 90 minutes of deliberate practice. (Time for training sessions is of course the enemy, and practice is deliberate enough to cause mental and physical fatigue). Source: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/blogs/freakonomics/pdf/DeliberatePractice(PsychologicalReview).pdf http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/blogs/freakonomics/pdf/D...
polskibus 13y ago
Here is what I found the most thorough yet concise resource on sleep. http://www.supermemo.com/articles/sleep.htm http://www.supermemo.com/articles/sleep.htm You'll see that the sleep patterns can vary a lot, however it still holds true that the last phase is most important. I wouldn't pay much attention to slicing and dicing the sleep pattern but focus on what brain works on at a particular phase. With regards to day cycle - the article on supermemo shows two main types - one that needs to shut down in the midday and one that doesn't. It should be easy to find out which group you belong to.