The Science of Slumber: Why It’s Time to Just Go to Sleep. An experiment
After a lousy night of not so good sleep, sleep is on my mind. I know a lot of psychology and practices to help me sleep better. A good night’s sleep is probably the best part of your day or at least in the top five things. I thought I would rapidly check a llm to see if it hallucinates over sleep or not. In my opinion it’s bang on and it knows what it’s talking about because we talk a lot about sleep in the datasets used to create the llm.
What follows is a quick gen item that took a few minutes to create.... I use some prompt tricks to roll in a decent metaphor and tone guidance to make the article appealing to technical people.
This is a common type of article that is in things like Wired, Reader’s Digest and lots of average newspapers. Eventually, this type of article will be replaced by Narrow AI generation platform that is even more automated than everyone will expect. Think of it as an article factory with multiple machines to sense the new cycle and produce news matched to interesting issues that will grab reader’s eyeballs. Newspapers of the future will have a set of goals a set of interest and will run a machine in the loop to look out to the world what people are talking about or worried about and quickly generate these articles to match and extend those understandings or anxieties. From time to time some of the stories will go viral, and awards will be given to newspapers with the best AI news story generation. The words will be for good journalism correct news stories and great writing. Strangely the human judges will be augmented by AI judges that will be separate artificial intelligence utilities. The future of journalism is changing. These are predictions not hallucinations they just might come true or they may not.
In today’s always-on culture, sleep is often sacrificed at the altar of productivity. But dismissing sleep as wasted time overlooks its critical role in our overall well-being.
Sleep is essential for brain maintenance, cognitive function, and emotional balance. However, the modern attitude often treats it as an optional activity, leading many to neglect this vital physiological process.
Imagine your body as a complex machine. Sleep serves as a nightly system reboot, essential for optimal performance. Neuroscience has shown that during sleep, our brains undergo a process called synaptic homeostasis. This balances synaptic strength, rendering the brain more efficient. Sleep deprivation can lead to cognitive impairments, much like a computer system that becomes slower and more error-prone when it’s not properly maintained.
Efforts to induce sleep quickly and effectively have often led to a focus on techniques like the 4-7-8 breathing pattern and progressive muscle relaxation. This is pretty simple inhale deeply for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds, and then slowly exhale through a little round hole in your mouth for eight or more seconds, in a very controlled exhalation.
These methods aim to expedite the transition from wakefulness to sleep. Then there are pharmaceutical aids, commonly seen as quick fixes for sleep issues. However, these interventions can disturb the body’s natural rhythms and result in grogginess or other side effects.
The dilemma is further complicated by societal pressures that equate wakefulness with productivity. Yet, studies consistently show that adequate sleep boosts cognitive abilities and overall job performance. Skimping on sleep in the name of efficiency is counterproductive. It’s akin to refusing system updates on a computer and then wondering why it starts malfunctioning.
It’s time to change our perspective on sleep. Rather than viewing it as a passive state of non-activity, we should consider it an essential part of our daily cycle. Not only does sleep enhance cognitive functions, but it also plays a critical role in metabolic and emotional health. A robust body of research supports the view that quality sleep leads to enhanced memory, better decision-making skills, and improved emotional well-being.
So, instead of pushing sleep to the bottom of our priority list, let's acknowledge its irreplaceable role. A shift in mindset can make all the difference. Viewing sleep as an active process, a daily requirement for our complex biological system, can reframe how we approach this essential activity. Doing so not only enhances our personal health but also boosts our efficiency in the very arenas we were anxious to sacrifice sleep for.
In a world obsessed with more—more work, more activity, more awake time—it might just be that the key to better living lies in something as simple as going to sleep. And there’s nothing lazy or indulgent about it; it’s simply acknowledging a biological need. So, without shame or guilt, go to sleep. Your body and brain will thank you for it.
Here are a couple of podcasts with your good sleep in mind. Enjoy.
1. Sleep With Me: Designed to help you fall asleep by telling progressively dull stories, this podcast can be thought of as a real-time auditory guide to relaxation. (https://www.sleepwithmepodcast.com/)
2. The Sleep Scientist – Dr. Michael Breus: A deep dive into the science and mechanics of sleep, this podcast includes interviews with various experts in the field. Its evidence-based approach is likely to appeal to your analytical tendencies.
