Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Aug 20, 2015 17:32:17 GMT -5
I think this is a fun thought experiment.
What would you do if you could take a pill or get some sort of safe medical procedure which would cause you to never need sleep? What would you do with the extra 6-9 hours a day? Is such a thing something you'd want to do in the first place?
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Aug 20, 2015 17:54:08 GMT -5
OMG! 1.) i'd loose weight. I'd finally have the time to consistantly menu plan, prep food, track what I eat, and get in some actual excercise. (When i was successful at loosing AND managed to keep it off - it worked out to about 2 hours a day to keep it all going... ) 2.) I'd spend an hour a day reading and/or watching a movie/show I'd like to watch - and this would be "quality" watching or reading as I wouldn't be too exhausted to 'enjoy' a novel or movie/show that required some actual thought/effort on my part. as it is I usually get in about 3 hours a week - when I can 'flat line' with a some stupid TV or a throwaway book/newspaper/magazine. 3.) I'd spend some time working to complete the dozens of unfinished (but enjoybable to me) projects I have started. 4.) I'd enjoy being able to work in my yard (ie garden) or work on some 'house' thing - like paint my kitchen (it's been 18 years...) 5.) I'd spend more time on my hobbies. I'm kinda tired (and dealing with the stupid respiratory virus that's going around) or I'd add more stuff to my list. Another thing that would free up alot of time/emotional/mental pain would be if I didn't have to eat. Then I wouldn't need those 2 extra hours a day to achieve and keep a "healthy weight" - it would also make social gatherings more interesting because it wouldn't just be about the Food and Drink. ...
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haapai
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Post by haapai on Aug 20, 2015 18:02:24 GMT -5
There's definitely some sci fi written with this premise. I remember reading a series with this at its core. Not needing sleep was a side effect of engineering offspring for intelligence, beauty, and resistance to disease. Persons who had this trait also aged very slowly, making them functionally immortal. They very quickly out-competed everyone else and found themselves the target of extreme taxation (which did not have much effect on their wealth) and violence (which drove them underground or into exile.)
As I recall, very few of them used their sleeplessness to work double shifts, their wealth was mostly due to not making many mistakes during the normal working hours.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Aug 20, 2015 18:07:09 GMT -5
Who the hell would want to stay awake indefinitely? Everyone needs a mental time out.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Aug 20, 2015 18:33:47 GMT -5
You'd probably be expected to work 16-20 hr's/day for a full time salary.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2015 18:41:15 GMT -5
Start my own fight club.
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cktc
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Post by cktc on Aug 20, 2015 18:45:58 GMT -5
I think I'd end up quite depressed. As is there are things I should be doing that I don't. More time to think about how terrible the house looks, my crummy diet, and how much TV I watch? More time to feel guilty about not wanting to spend time with family? I might spend more time with friends, grooming or exercising, but I'm fairly certain I'd just hate myself because I'd have so much more time to do stuff I didn't want to do.
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Aug 20, 2015 18:46:35 GMT -5
Eh, not sleeping gets old after a while. You start seeing shit and get really paranoid.
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Aug 20, 2015 18:48:31 GMT -5
You'd probably be expected to work 16-20 hr's/day for a full time salary. No one has to know you're taking meth- erm, I mean, completely safe and legal pills that allow you to not sleep and be more productive!
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Virgil Showlion
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Post by Virgil Showlion on Aug 20, 2015 19:25:44 GMT -5
I think this is a fun thought experiment.
What would you do if you could take a pill or get some sort of safe medical procedure which would cause you to never need sleep? What would you do with the extra 6-9 hours a day? Is such a thing something you'd want to do in the first place? You'd actually go nuts rather quickly. The brain needs at least 8 hours of sleep every day to process and consolidate information taken in during the previous 16 hours. Get less than 8 hours a day and your mental acuity suffers. Get less than 6 hours a day and your health, mood, and mental acuity suffer markedly. As much as people like to brag, there are apparently very few exceptions to the rule. Conditions like mania, schizophrenia, paranoia are also linked to sleep disorders. But if we're talking purely hypothetical, I would probably just do what I do today, only in time intervals 150% as long. Hence work would be 12 hours, recreation, chores, etc. would be 12 hours. I'd probably nap, too. Nothing beats a good nap.
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Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Aug 20, 2015 20:55:13 GMT -5
Eh, not sleeping gets old after a while. You start seeing shit and get really paranoid. Yes, in real life. I'm proposing a hypothetical reality where you wouldn't HAVE to sleep and wouldn't suffer any negative physical effects from doing so.
But it would be kind of interesting to see if there's a psychological need to sleep. That would be weird to be awake all the time. I wonder if someone could get used to it?
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milee
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Post by milee on Aug 20, 2015 21:20:42 GMT -5
You forgot the number one rule about Fight Club!!!!
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MJ2.0
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Post by MJ2.0 on Aug 20, 2015 21:31:21 GMT -5
Eh, not sleeping gets old after a while. You start seeing shit and get really paranoid. Yes, in real life. I'm proposing a hypothetical reality where you wouldn't HAVE to sleep and wouldn't suffer any negative physical effects from doing so.
But it would be kind of interesting to see if there's a psychological need to sleep. That would be weird to be awake all the time. I wonder if someone could get used to it?
There is. Sleep is where we subconsciously go over the information we received that day. Ever wonder why people "sleep on it" for big decisions?
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Aug 20, 2015 21:35:12 GMT -5
Well, from the sci fi angle - The Doctor doesn't sleep much and he's nearly immortal... He finds plenty to keep himself busy -- but then he's got a snazzy Blue Police Box to time travel in, so nevermind... I guess it doesn't matter all that much.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Aug 20, 2015 21:56:02 GMT -5
Yes, in real life. I'm proposing a hypothetical reality where you wouldn't HAVE to sleep and wouldn't suffer any negative physical effects from doing so.
But it would be kind of interesting to see if there's a psychological need to sleep. That would be weird to be awake all the time. I wonder if someone could get used to it?
There is. Sleep is where we subconsciously go over the information we received that day. Ever wonder why people "sleep on it" for big decisions? Think of your brain as a computer. Sleep allows your brain to defrag its self of unnecessary junk and allows a clean startup when you wake. A computer not well maintained breaks down sooner than a well maintained one.
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Jaguar
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Post by Jaguar on Aug 20, 2015 22:03:05 GMT -5
You could always start lucid dreaming and learn a new language or something while you sleep.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Aug 20, 2015 22:04:26 GMT -5
I would love to say that I would work out, do all the house projects I have to do, and spend more time with friends and family - but honestly, I would probably watch tv. Maybe see a bunch of movies.
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sarcasticgirl
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Post by sarcasticgirl on Aug 20, 2015 22:29:54 GMT -5
I'd probably go postal!
I need the glorious break that is sleep or else I'd lose my effing mind.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using proboards
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haapai
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Post by haapai on Aug 21, 2015 8:03:52 GMT -5
I'd have to get a second job to fund all my new hobbies.
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ArchietheDragon
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Post by ArchietheDragon on Aug 21, 2015 8:46:49 GMT -5
Would it be just me or would my kids not sleep either?
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Aug 21, 2015 9:08:14 GMT -5
I'd create an Ashley Madison account.
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MJ2.0
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Post by MJ2.0 on Aug 21, 2015 9:30:20 GMT -5
Would it be just me or would my kids not sleep either? I was wondering this too because if no one else ever slept I think murders, domestic disputes and violent crime would go up 300%.
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steph08
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Post by steph08 on Aug 21, 2015 9:50:07 GMT -5
Would it be just me or would my kids not sleep either? I need to know this as well. If I had another 6-8 hours of "me time," then I could do a lot of crap! If my kid was also awake, my house would still be a mess, I still wouldn't cook elaborate meals, I still wouldn't take up any new hobbies, etc.
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NancysSummerSip
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Post by NancysSummerSip on Aug 21, 2015 11:07:03 GMT -5
I'd spend more time writing, and more time working out/training.
Probably squeeze in housework time, too.
I don't sleep much as it is (about 7 hours a night) but I could certainly use those 7 hours for other things.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2015 12:15:17 GMT -5
That would be great. I would read more, garden more, make more soap, go for more walks/bike rides/canoe rides, get a dog, more house projects, spend more time with friends/family, take some art / photography/cooking /music/classes, volunteer more, cook more.
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teen persuasion
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Post by teen persuasion on Aug 21, 2015 14:59:30 GMT -5
There is. Sleep is where we subconsciously go over the information we received that day. Ever wonder why people "sleep on it" for big decisions? Think of your brain as a computer. Sleep allows your brain to defrag its self of unnecessary junk and allows a clean startup when you wake. A computer not well maintained breaks down sooner than a well maintained one. That's not the way my brain works when I wake up. As I'm coming awake my mind is a jumble of random nonsense, it may seem to be following a story and then it will take a quick left turn or throw a random thought in the midst, like "5000". Back on topic, not needing to sleep is only an advantage if others do need to sleep. Otherwise it would just be more of the same stuff we regularly do, all run together.
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kittensaver
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Post by kittensaver on Aug 21, 2015 15:02:36 GMT -5
Read a lot more. Sew and knit a lot more. Volunteer in my community. Learn a new language. Learn to play the violin. Rescue many more kittens.
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Robert not Bobby
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Post by Robert not Bobby on Aug 21, 2015 15:04:36 GMT -5
Oh gosh...read, and if my significant other was sleeping...naa, I'm not that kind of guy.
Reading and jogging...boring, I know.
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msventoux
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Post by msventoux on Aug 21, 2015 17:36:09 GMT -5
Waste more time on the internet, waste more money buying fountain pens. I don't make optimal use of my time now, but I know it's not lack of time that's my problem, it lack of caring about getting the things done that I "should".
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Artemis Windsong
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Post by Artemis Windsong on Aug 21, 2015 19:08:04 GMT -5
Sleep is my hobby.
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