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>' You just don't remember how different is it to sleep longer.' Exactly. Not too long ago the combination of child, work and school forced me to completely r

>' You just don't remember how different is it to sleep longer.' Exactly. Not too long ago the combination of child, work and school forced me to completely re-evaluate how I was spending my time and what is actually important to me. One big change I ended up making was getting to bed at the same time every night and clocking a consistent 8 hours. Within a week or so the difference was remarkable in both my mood and acuity through the mid-afternoon - ideally I'd take a 45 minute nap around 13:30, but that's not an option with my current job. In order of effect, the best things I've ever done for day to day clarity: 1.) Going to bed and rising at consistent times with 8 hours inbetween. 2.) Drinking plenty of water. At least 8 ounces per waking hour for me. 3.) Regular exercise. I feel best lifting weights 3 or 4 days a week, but I expect the specifics are less important than simple movement and exertion.

jsabo 12y ago
That was my experience too, though I think my enthusiasm for #3 was the main driver of the others. I found I really enjoyed lifting, and was much more successful when I was sleeping and eating well, so it became a virtuous cycle. With all of that, the depression and migraine issues that had plagued me through high school, university, and the following years became pretty scarce. If I change any of those things though, problems quickly become apparent.
pyre 12y ago
> At least 8 ounces per waking hour for me. That's 3.8L per day [(24 hours - 8 hours sleeping) * 8 fl oz = 3.8L]. Recommended intake is 2-3L[1]. Just be careful of water poisoning... [1] http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256 http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healt...
- lfuller 12y ago
  This is all dependent on your level of exercise and rate of perspiration. A 72kg person would have to drink around 6.5L of water for it to become dangerous[1]. [1] http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9927321 http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9927321
- incision 12y ago
  Sure. My case is a bit unusual as I'm far above average in height and weight. On average, the recommendation for my size is around 5.0L/day. In relation to that, the top of my head figure of 3.8L seems like a good lower bound. It's always interesting trying to do conversions in a world made for folks are 5'8" and <200lbs. I'd be shredded to the bone if had a 'healthy' BMI and I'd be dropping pounds a week on a 2000 calorie diet.
- Gatsky 12y ago
  Interesting fact - a healthy person's kidneys can excrete 25 litres of water a day. Drink more than this, and you expand your total body water volume to dangerous levels, which can lead to swelling in soft tissues and lungs (which can be life threatening). This happens in patients with psychogenic polydipsia. Of course, drinking anywhere near 25L is not 'safe' either, and can still cause electrolyte abnormalities, neurocognitive dysfunction, seizures... Stick to the recommended intake, adjusted for water losses during significant exertion or high temperatures.
- Encosia 12y ago
  Unless I'm mistaken, water poisoning is only a credible threat when you consume exclusively those high volumes of water and nothing else to raise the salinity of the water in and around your cells. Over the course of a day, most of us get (much) more than enough sodium from other sources to eliminate any risk of water poisoning from 3.8L of water per day.
  - irremediable 12y ago
    Yeah -- similarly to you, I'm pretty convinced that water poisoning is only a worry if you're unwell (mentally and/or otherwise) or do unusual things like water-drinking competitions.
- thedevopsguy 12y ago
  Ecstasy and water poisoning are related. Ecstasy makes users extremely thirsty. Water poisoning related deaths at raves have been reported. About 6 L is enough to put a lot of people in a very dangerous place.
contingencies 12y ago
You just don't remember how different is it to sleep longer. Exercise is like that, too. If you stay relatively stationary for a few weeks, then get out and do some serious exercise, you are more awake than you remember possible. Similarly, smoking (especially green) and drinking are like that, too. When you stop, it takes awhile to get over, then it's amazing. Probably being outside in nature in general has additional benefits, re: general sensory stimulation, removal of droning mechanical/electric noise, variety of light conditions, rhythmic subtleties of tone in the shadow of a moving tree, etc. You notice northern hemisphere people that come to the tropics revert near-instantly to depression when boarding flights back home in their winter. I saw it in a set of Russians in Vietnam earlier this year... it was incredibly well choreographed! PS. I went on a brief hunt via thesaurus.com and Wikipedia for an effect along the lines of 'acclimatisation' but failed to come up with a trans-disciplinary term. Please post if you know of one.

jsabo 12y ago

That was my experience too, though I think my enthusiasm for #3 was the main driver of the others. I found I really enjoyed lifting, and was much more successful when I was sleeping and eating well, so it became a virtuous cycle. With all of that, the depression and migraine issues that had plagued me through high school, university, and the following years became pretty scarce. If I change any of those things though, problems quickly become apparent.

pyre 12y ago

> At least 8 ounces per waking hour for me. That's 3.8L per day [(24 hours - 8 hours sleeping) * 8 fl oz = 3.8L]. Recommended intake is 2-3L[1]. Just be careful of water poisoning... [1] http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256 http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healt...

lfuller 12y ago
This is all dependent on your level of exercise and rate of perspiration. A 72kg person would have to drink around 6.5L of water for it to become dangerous[1]. [1] http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9927321 http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9927321
incision 12y ago
Sure. My case is a bit unusual as I'm far above average in height and weight. On average, the recommendation for my size is around 5.0L/day. In relation to that, the top of my head figure of 3.8L seems like a good lower bound. It's always interesting trying to do conversions in a world made for folks are 5'8" and <200lbs. I'd be shredded to the bone if had a 'healthy' BMI and I'd be dropping pounds a week on a 2000 calorie diet.
Gatsky 12y ago
Interesting fact - a healthy person's kidneys can excrete 25 litres of water a day. Drink more than this, and you expand your total body water volume to dangerous levels, which can lead to swelling in soft tissues and lungs (which can be life threatening). This happens in patients with psychogenic polydipsia. Of course, drinking anywhere near 25L is not 'safe' either, and can still cause electrolyte abnormalities, neurocognitive dysfunction, seizures... Stick to the recommended intake, adjusted for water losses during significant exertion or high temperatures.
Encosia 12y ago
Unless I'm mistaken, water poisoning is only a credible threat when you consume exclusively those high volumes of water and nothing else to raise the salinity of the water in and around your cells. Over the course of a day, most of us get (much) more than enough sodium from other sources to eliminate any risk of water poisoning from 3.8L of water per day.
- irremediable 12y ago
  Yeah -- similarly to you, I'm pretty convinced that water poisoning is only a worry if you're unwell (mentally and/or otherwise) or do unusual things like water-drinking competitions.
thedevopsguy 12y ago
Ecstasy and water poisoning are related. Ecstasy makes users extremely thirsty. Water poisoning related deaths at raves have been reported. About 6 L is enough to put a lot of people in a very dangerous place.

contingencies 12y ago

You just don't remember how different is it to sleep longer. Exercise is like that, too. If you stay relatively stationary for a few weeks, then get out and do some serious exercise, you are more awake than you remember possible. Similarly, smoking (especially green) and drinking are like that, too. When you stop, it takes awhile to get over, then it's amazing. Probably being outside in nature in general has additional benefits, re: general sensory stimulation, removal of droning mechanical/electric noise, variety of light conditions, rhythmic subtleties of tone in the shadow of a moving tree, etc. You notice northern hemisphere people that come to the tropics revert near-instantly to depression when boarding flights back home in their winter. I saw it in a set of Russians in Vietnam earlier this year... it was incredibly well choreographed! PS. I went on a brief hunt via thesaurus.com and Wikipedia for an effect along the lines of 'acclimatisation' but failed to come up with a trans-disciplinary term. Please post if you know of one.