Hacker News Reader

Comment by geoka9 | Hacker News Reader

Haven't read the article yet, but it sounds grim, I don't think it can be good for me.

Instead of forced sleep deprivation, try this for a week: intermittent fasting and calorie restriction, good nutrition (veggies, nuts, olive oil, eggs, etc.), no drinking (at all), going to bed early (like 10 pm), waking up early (at dawn in the summer at 4 am would be perfect), but naturally, without an alarm clock.

Doing this, you may find out that you only need 5-6 hours of sleep, especially in the summer. And moderate (outdoors) exercise - this is important.

Since a lot of you guys are in the bay area, you have a lot of sun during the year; that makes this routine a lot easier and more rewarding (sunshine increases the feeling of "high" for most people).

After doing this for a while, you might find out you're naturally high all the time, without going through crashes.

View on HN

“Sleep deprivation really has opposite effects in healthy people and those with depression,” says Benedetti. If you’re healthy and you don’t sleep, you’ll feel in a bad mood. But if you’re depressed, it can prompt an immediate improvement in mood, and in cognitive abilities.”

> good nutrition (veggies, nuts, olive oil, eggs, etc.)

I'd highly recommend reducing carb intake; cut out your bread, sugar, starch, pasta and try to stick with meat and greens. Low carb diets (Keto, Adkins, etc.) made a huge difference for me health wise.

Ugh. Carbs are fuel. Cutting out the specifics you mentioned are good, but generally cutting out carbs is not good for most people.

Depends on the carbs. Leafy greens and other vegetables are carbs, and for the most part they're compatible with paleo style diets. It's the processed carbs like bread and sugar that should be avoided.

Carbs are one source of fuel/calories. Fats are another, and protein as well (albeit to a much lesser extent).

Yes, but if you look at studies for the vast majority of people the common denominator across diets like the GP mentioned is improved diet quality and eating less. Most people don't need to remove carbs themselves. Sure, pasta is refined grain etc, but if you are well and not overeating then there's nothing wrong with it. A (if not the) primary problem is that people tend to overeat things that contain lots of carbs and/or fats that fail to satiete.

To your point, restricting carbs in those diets is one of the keys to eating less. You mention (and rightly so) that "people tend to overeat things that contain lots of carbs and/or fats that fail to satiate": if there aren't carbs in the mix, fats (and protein) satiate more quickly (and for longer) than when accompanied by a hefty portion of carbs.

'djsumdog pointed out diets that many have found successful and meet the requirements that 'georka mentioned, moving the conversation forward constructively. If you have diets suggestions that also meet those requirements, or constructive criticism that 'georka's or 'djsumdog's points are off base and have alternatives, great!

As for "Most people don't need to remove carbs", at least in the US, while complete removal isn't necessary, I believe many could benefit from restricting their carb intake, keeping everything else constant (as long as they're getting adequate protein and vitamins/minerals). Whether that's due to shifting the macronutrient balance or just from the reduced caloric input, they should see a benefit, and likely will not feel hungry. It sounds like you agree that low carb diets can benefit people. In that case, if you have other diets you prefer, offer them up constructively (though likely elsewhere, as this is now well-off the beaten path of this thread).

> waking up early (at dawn in the summer at 4 am would be perfect), but naturally, without an alarm clock

There are alarm clocks that simulate a sun rise (over half an hour or so), which works well for me in winter. It allows to wake up slowly without the stress of a noise in the middle of the dark night.

I've been using a Philips Wake-up Light for this in the past four years and it helps me a lot in winter. It's not perfect but it's a lot better than waking up to a screaming alarm clock :-).

Recently I replaced most of the lights in my house with Philips Hue lights and I was pleased to find out that these can also be used as wake-up lights. This seems to work even better for me, possibly because the bedroom lights up more evenly (as opposed to the wake-up light right next to my bed).

Reply on news.ycombinator.com