You can get used to sleep deprivation

[Beachlife!]

When I was 18, I was exhausted and driving back from a trip up north with my GF's family. I was so tired that I was having trouble keeping my car on the road. In a 45 minute I got pulled over twice for swerving and both times the cops checked me for alcohol and sent me on my way. They should have pulled me from the car and hauled me off to jail as sure as if I was drunk.

[Hero_Mike]

I have a lot of experience with sleep deprivation from being at high altitude - 12,000 feet and higher - both for me and my co-workers at the time. Oxygen content in air was between 60 and 65% of what it is at sea level. We would spend up to a month at altitudes like this, while still having to work 6 or usually 7 days a week, between 10 and 14 hours a day. It wasn't always that we were working so long that we did not have time to sleep, but that being up at altitude prevented us from having quality sleep. So 8 hours in bed did not translate into 8 hours of sleep, even if you were very tired. That's the effect of altitude - it's like sleep apnea. You fall asleep but your breathing slows or stops, and when it restarts it wakes you up. Repeatedly.

Despite being careful and avoiding strenuous activity, we would almost always be tired - even after waking up. Falling asleep and sleeping soundly because of exhaustion rarely lasted more that a few hours. Sure, we would "get used to it", but thankfully none of us were driving or doing any other repetitive tasks where we were likely to spontaneously fall asleep. But the persistent sleep deprivation led to headaches, digestive problems, inability to focus or concentrate, irritability, and a weakened immune system. I don't know if it lead to actual "impairment" in mental capacity or judgment, but it certainly seemed harder to think through a difficult problem.

Does a person get "used to it"? Well, my Peruvian hosts told me that it would normally take them about 3 months to get used to the effects of living and working at high altitude. They would then rotate out and return home, usually to sea level, and feel "better" due to the equivalent of "altitude training", for about 3 to 4 days - a week at most. If they stayed at sea level for less than, say, 10 days, coming back up to altitude was easier, but even repeated trips up didn't seem any easier if the time spent "back down" was more than about 2 weeks. That would not be very much fun.

[Xia]

Maybe some people can "get used to it". I have trouble sleeping and when I ended up on an early schedule, I had a lot of trouble with it. I ended up being so tired I was falling asleep every evening right after I got home on most days, waking up for dinner, then I would end up staying up late because I have trouble getting to sleep before a certain time no matter my schedule (the naps didn't help, but I wouldn't be able to sleep that early even without them.) It didn't work out very well.
I need a lot of sleep (more than 8 hours) to function properly and don't do well with not enough sleep, I actually do better on no sleep than I do when my sleep is cut short. I end up feeling really run down and awful all day if I don't get enough sleep, and I am more susceptible to getting sick. If I have to go without enough sleep for more than a few days in a row I usually end up catching a cold or flu.

[rhiandmoi]

I think having a baby wake you up in the middle of the night for most people is sleep disruption vs sleep deprivation. Depending on how long your sleep cycles are and and how long you're awake at the wakings you can train yourself to get nearly all your productive sleep in the shorter intervals. What I think gets to me the most is that I know I'm going to be woken at 3 am so if I don't get to bed by 11 I know my sleep cycle is not going to be over when the baby wakes me up and I'm going to pay for it the next day.

[Xia]

I forgot to mention that it takes me on average 1-2 hours to fall asleep after going to bed (or after I've been woken by something). :/

[E. Q. Taft]

You could try the "Uberman Sleep schedule" described here:

http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2002/4/15/103358/720

Or, somewhat more colloquially by CRACKED, which is where I first heard of it:

http://www.cracked.com/article/127_5...o-awesomeness/

The idea is to sleep in 20-30 minute naps every four hours. The theory is that it's only the REM sleep that's important; normally it takes you a while to get to that state. But if you continue on this schedule long enough, eventually your brain will accept it and fall into REM sleep immediately. Of course, during the 10 days or so after you start the schedule, you'll be getting no REM sleep at all, so it's quite a feat to get through, and not at all pleasant.

I'm not necessarily convinced this works or is ultimately healthy, but it's out there if you want a look. Even if it's not good for you in the long run, I can imagine circumstances where it could prove extremely useful. If it works.

[SplishFish]

Originally Posted by Beachlife!

Keep in mind, getting 'used to' it isn't the same thing as feeling normal while sleep deprived. You can get used to feeling groggy, a big light headed and muddled in your thoughts, but it doesn't mean it feels the same or as good as not being sleep deprived. After long enough though that becomes your new normal.

Having gone through many periods of extended sleep deprivation, the one thing that always surprised me about getting sleep again was how lucid and real the world suddenly felt.

I had a friend in collage who was the classic stay up all night for weeks on end type of student (not partying, but socializing, studying, and doing extra curricular work). The change in her personality when she finally had a couple full nights' sleep was amazing, verging on alarming. She was so bright and giggly you would think she was high on meth. Nope, she just got a full eight hours and that giggly personality was her real self.

[Gayle]

Originally Posted by E. Q. Taft

You could try the "Uberman Sleep schedule" described here:

http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2002/4/15/103358/720

Or, somewhat more colloquially by CRACKED, which is where I first heard of it:

http://www.cracked.com/article/127_5...o-awesomeness/

The idea is to sleep in 20-30 minute naps every four hours. The theory is that it's only the REM sleep that's important; normally it takes you a while to get to that state. But if you continue on this schedule long enough, eventually your brain will accept it and fall into REM sleep immediately. Of course, during the 10 days or so after you start the schedule, you'll be getting no REM sleep at all, so it's quite a feat to get through, and not at all pleasant.

I'm not necessarily convinced this works or is ultimately healthy, but it's out there if you want a look. Even if it's not good for you in the long run, I can imagine circumstances where it could prove extremely useful. If it works.

REM sleep is NOT restful! In narcolepsy, you often fall into REM sleep without going through the other stages. And pop in and out all night and even during the day. When you’re in the REM stage your muscles are paralyzed, but your brain is active. If you’ve gone through the complete cycle, you’re dreaming and generally recognize it as such. If you go immediately into REM, you’re hallucinating and panicking. If you’ve ever had an episode of sleep paralysis and hypnogognic hallucinations (aka, The Hag), THAT’s what going into REM sleep right away is like. There are weeks when I’d kill for some Delta wave sleep.

http://www.sleepfoundation.org/artic...epsy-and-sleep
http://www.hauntednc.com/article_sleepparalysis.htm

[Esprise Me]

I think altitude is something you really can get used to, as in, your body actually makes more red blood cells. I don't know of an equivalent mechanism for coping with sleep deprivation. I believe people can get used to it in the same sense people can get used to being drunk--with enough practice, you can make a pretty convincing showing of not being impaired. But you're still impaired.

[Steve N]

My employer currently has me on an absolutely insane schedule: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I work the morning shift (4:00 or 5:00 AM until 1:00 or 2:00 pm) then the overnight shift on Friday and Saturday (11:00 pm until 7:00 am.) This means I have to try to sleep at night during the week, then turn it around and sleep during the day on weekends..meaning I have no consistent sleep schedule.

Oddly, the night shifts are much easier..probably because I've worked thrid shift off-and-on for most of my adult life..but the early morning shifts are absolutely brutal. I'm always either trying to force myself to sleep when I'm not tired, or force myself to stay awake when I'm exhausted. I'm constantly suffering migraines and other health issues, simply because of the lack of quality sleep. I could have a consistent sleep cycle if I slept in the evenings, but then I'd never see my wife or have any other life outside of work.

I've been stuck on this hellshift for over two years now. I fought tooth and nail when it was first suggested, and was told "suck it up, buttercup." Of course, in today's job market employers know full well they have carte blanche to treat you like crap, because if you don't like your job, there's a long line of unemployed people just waiting to take it.

SN