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Precisely! Longevity is FAR down the list for me. Thus I ascribe to the foolish idea that every hour of sleep you lose comes off the 'tail-end' of your life. (3-4 hrs max sleep at the moment, many yrs with less).
30 yrs of working night shift / Asia support and coming home to barking neighbor dogs (neighbors worked days and left their (7) dogs home barking all day), ... preceded by 20 yrs of farming (including dairy farm boarding school (4AM 'wake-up-call') ruined any chances of sleep.
Ought to be croaking-off any minute now (That's fine)
SR, this was so helpful for me to read. I've never been a great sleeper--6 hours has always been my sweet spot. Then I got a year long bout of insomnia and was getting 0 to 2 hours some nights. Now I've improved---a "bad" night is 4 hours, good is still 6. Even after only 4 hours I feel fine. I just don't get sleepy at 10:30 like I used to. Now it's more 12:30 to 2 am---and regardless, I still wake up between 5:30 and 6, ready to go. You read such dire things about getting less than 7 to 8 hours of sleep, so good to know that you are still going strong with years of half of that! Many thanks for posting.
Since I assume you no longer have those constraints that were limiting your sleep, why do you think you aren't sleeping longer now?
I'm sure exercise is important, but my spouse was active, energetic, never smoked and never sick. Was diagnosed with cancer and passed in 1.5 months. Two good friends exercised every day, were active in volunteering, walked a couple of miles every day...both died of heart attacks. My grandmother always said, "the day you're born there is a number on your forehead, when it's called...."
The fad was 1000 push-ups a day. There's a book, the website, the videos, the whole shooting match.
It's actually not that hard, since you don't have to do them all at once, and some people kinda redefine what a "push-up" is. Hint: Wall push-ups count.
He doesn't do them all at once.
He has been doing this for years. He is one of my former Air Force co-workers. We had to do push-ups as part of our yearly physical fitness test. Plus sit-ups and running.
Genetics drives longevity but not necessarily lifespan. The article is talking about variables ex the genetic component. It's more or less a click bait / non-science article.
.... I've never been a great sleeper--6 hours has always been my sweet spot. Then I got a year long bout of insomnia and was getting 0 to 2 hours some nights. Now I've improved---a "bad" night is 4 hours, good is still 6. Even after only 4 hours I feel fine. I just don't get sleepy at 10:30 like I used to. Now it's more 12:30 to 2 am---and regardless, I still wake up between 5:30 and 6, ready to go. You read such dire things about getting less than 7 to 8 hours of sleep, so good to know that you are still going strong with years of half of that!
This is one of my biggest issues. I am a confirmed night owl. Now that I'm retired and have no commitments my sleep schedule is all over the place. I usually go to bed between 12:3--1 AM. Sometimes I put my head to the pillow immediately, but more often then not, I play on my computer games (sometimes until 3 AM ) What really gets me sleepy is if I try to read before bed--sometimes it's only a page and I can't hold my head up. And I never know when I'll wake up (anywhere between 5:30 AM-10:30 AM) If I wake too early and I'm still groggy, I'll fix myself a cup of tea and either read, play my games or go back to sleep.
What I find that is really useful is getting some fresh air everyday. On days I don't go to the gym I tend to be a couch potato and sit in front of the TV. Since the whole goal of moving to FL was to spend time at the beach, I've been encouraging myself to drive the 5 minutes it takes to get to the Gulf so I can plunk myself in a beach chair and get a change of scene.
I absolutely HATE to exercise, but for me it's a necessary evil. When I first got to FL I was so out of shape and I hurt so badly I could barely walk. PT and getting a personal trainer (along with orthotics and a gel topper for my mattress) has really turned it around for me. There are days when I hurt but I attribute that to the weather, my rotten sleep schedule and spotty nutrition.
I saw this shirt in a local department store--this about sums it up for me (I eventually bought the shirt--my trainer was not amused....)
It is even more important than genetics, or exercise. The whole idea is to reduce the amount of INSULIN you produce. Carbs make you produce a lot of it. Sugar is the cause of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimers, cataracts, and a big contributor to inflammation in the body, which leads to arthritis - you know, all the typical "diseases of aging".
It's never too late to correct or improve the above conditions. See Dr. Jason Fung on intermittent fasting. A 2 day fast, or periodic week long fast, or even eating 2 meals daily instead of 3, is a good way to reduce your insulin output. You will have more energy, mental clarity, lose excess weight, reduce pain and inflammation, and be amazed at how well you feel.
This is good and very true. I will try to read this every time I feel tempted.
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) What really gets me sleepy is if I try to read before bed--sometimes it's only a page and I can't hold my head up. And I never know when I'll wake up (anywhere between 5:30 AM-10:30 AM) If I wake too early and I'm still groggy, I'll fix myself a cup of tea and either read, play my games or go back to sleep.
Going to print out this
