

Lack of sleep 'raises cold risk' - ars
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7823599.stm

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markbao
Wait, people get more than 7 hours of sleep?

 _Typing this at 5:22 am after pulling an all nighter_

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kirubakaran
Chronic sleep deprivation will ruin your health and your mental capacity. It
is not something to be proud of. Numerous studies have proved this. Please
consider changing.

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noro
After months/years of not getting nearly enough sleep, how long until you get
back to your "normal" mental capacity? (That is, if you go back to getting a
reasonable amount of sleep.)

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biohacker42
I recall an article that claimed you build up sleep debt and have to pay it
back with equal time oversleeping. Obviously there is an upper limit on how
much sleep debt any one can accumulate.

In my personal experience, getting enough sleep and not "slipping" requires
real discipline. A good sleep schedule ain't easy to stick to, but it's worth
it in the long.

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bd
I remember awesome Google Tech Talk about sleep that mentioned sleep debt
requiring full repayment.

Dr. William Dement on "Healthy Sleep and Optimal Perfomance"

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hAw1z8GdE8>

It was linked from an older HN sleep thread:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=359041>

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sutro
I'm so tired lately I've gone beyond "cold risk" and have crossed into "sanity
risk."

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tsally
I wish I hadn't read this article at 2:30AM.

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eli
At the risk of sounding like a jerk... Duh.

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jcl
Yes, "duh", but:

 _Previous research has suggested that people who sleep seven to eight hours a
night have the lowest rates of heart disease. However, there has been little
direct evidence that getting a good night's sleep can help ward off a cold._

It's "obvious" that not getting enough sleep is bad for you, but without
research like this, we don't know in what ways or to what degree. Otherwise,
sleeping to prevent a cold is as "obviously" good for you as hanging garlic
around your neck or taking large doses of vitamin C.

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albertcardona
Summary:

"Sleeping for under seven hours a night greatly raises the risk of catching a
cold"

Considering the very high degree of genetic variability in humans, and the
effects of food, sunlight, sport and in general life style, I suspect a much
larger study would reveal a very large standard deviation around the claimed 7
hours.

