I would also like to see data on this, Joe. I am what would be considered very fit for my age. I sleep very deeply for about four to five-and-a-half hours a night. When I wake to usually use the bathroom, I am up and my energy level is high. I cannot go back to sleep nor do I want to just lie in bed. To your point; along with quality of sleep, it is my belief that eating habits and alcohol intake are obvious factors in sleep quality. I don’t eat past around 7:30pm and don’t drink at all. This has to be a huge factor in quality of sleep and hopefully taken into account when conducting studies of this nature. I am, by the way, sixty-years-old. My assumption is that with many metrics, eight hours of sleep is an arbitrary number. I’d be interested in reading your thoughts. Great comment!
@@jons78733 I'm 65 yo multi IM finisher (5 full IM and 20 Half IM and Hundreds of shorter distance races) and been doing triathlons as a hobby for 35+ yrs. Good sleep for me is anywhere close to 7 hrs. but 6 hrs. is acceptable. However, that is not true if my Deep sleep is less than 30 mins. When I was in my 30's I got a solid 8 hrs. of sleep and wished I had 9 hrs. to feel good. Back then, I didn't have the various sleep trackers we have today. So, it is difficult to compare quality of sleep then vs. now. I use both Garmin and Oura Ring for my sleeping data. They both give close to the same result. I also, for a short time time, used Whoop and found it to show similar results as my Oura ring. My experience seems to indicate that quality of sleep is as important as how much I sleep (especially as I have gotten older). Plus, I have found out that occasional naps also help tremedously with how I feel regardless of how much sleep I had. Things that improved my sleep in order of imporatance. Cool Room, Dark Room, Steady loud 4-7 Hz sound, no alcohol or caffeine at any time, consistent sleep time and regular training session schedule with proper days for recovery. There is also a device I tried that helps with sleep... but, it may be a placebo effect... and yet, strangely it works. It is the Apollo Neuro device. Still can't figure out how that works... but, I still remain skeptical after using it for a year with mostly positive results. BTW, the studies I have seen reflect that older we get the less sleep we need. So, yes the 8 hr. standard is arbitrary to some degree... but, it is still considered the best duration for sleep. However, I have never seen what is the optimal Deep Sleep at any age.
@@joemoya9743 - Excellent reply! This is all interesting to me and reading about your situation makes me feel fortunate that I do sleep very deeply; though my sleep times are shorter in duration than what is considered optimal. I do train in the morning all the time and usually begin within an hour time window from day to day. I do something physical most every day but have my recovery days. I would call these days "active recovery days". I do drink coffee but, other than that it is water or herbal teas with no caffeine. So, it seems we are on the same page on most of the daily protocol. So many of my friends have trouble achieving deep sleep. Perhaps your point with regard to needing fewer hours as we age is what I am experiencing. (Though I continuously try to convince myself that I am not aging.....😊)
Would be immensely helpful if you would do a lecture on the causes of chronic hypOtension and or chronic BP dysregulation when sodium, potassium and cortisol are in normal range (assuming you believe the results are accurate)
You go hard, very hard, on everything else. The best quality sleep, managing light, room temperature, and focus your entire day around dealing with the health repercussions of your shift work. And then get the skill set to get out of shift work completely and into a better job.
Try a quick nap before work. Go directly to bed after arriving at home. Sleep in the dark. The idea is to prioritize sleep right after work. Hope it helps ;)
