Comment by redanddead
3 hours ago
Just my 2c
Bryan Johnson says you should base your life around your sleep. He’s totally right
… but he won’t get young men to sleep in at 8pm
New sleep meds are creating a new lever here and serve a real empowering function in a way that culture hasn’t caught up to yet
When we think of traditional sleep meds we think of sedatives and it has an identity connotation to it. The new meds coming out, not just in sleep either, are changing a lot of things. I’m talking about designer drugs, new pathways, multiple agonists etc etc.
By total accident a month ago, I was prescribed a medication for sleep, lemborexant (not into trade names for drugs, more power to generics)
I didn’t plan on ever getting a sleep med. I don’t see myself as a sleep med guy lol. I didn’t walk into a clinic thinking I’d ever want one either. But to me this feels like a peptide or an athletic recovery supplement. And I think there’s even better and newer out there
Having this lever has personally helped me a lot. Why? Because it’s very easy to let sleep quality slip over time. Here are a few questions I wished someone had asked me a year or two ago:
-Have you been dreaming? When’s the last time you had a vivid dream? If you can’t even recall that, it’s a big red flag. If you haven’t been dreaming, your sleep quality could be junk
-Erections during sleep? Just something to take note of
-Waking up tired or ready for the day?
-How long does it take you to fall asleep? There’s a key distinction there between how long you’re in bed vs. how long you’re actually sleeping. Check your apple health data. It’s so easy to mess this up, in this modern age especially, it’s why I’m hooked. There are far too many variables that could affect a key function of your life, especially for young guys. An afterparty, a hookup, a stressful period in business, a productive all-nighter, or just overthinking instead of sleeping
People notice when you don’t sleep well
If you find a good sleep med it can be life changing. I found a natural supplement called muscimol that's a silver bullet for me. Gets me to sleep in 20 minutes every time, gives me great sleep, and isn't habit forming. It can be hard to find because people like to try to take huge doses to trip, even though it's an awful delirious experience(never tried it but read stories).
At low doses though it works by mimicking GABA in the brain, so it actually increases REM sleep time. A lot of sedatives will get you to sleep but give you worse sleep because it's working in a very unnatural way. It totally eliminates the issue of taking a long time to fall asleep.
Now you still have to be able to get yourself to bed in the first place, but that's half the battle already won. My life is so much better using it as I've always had a hard time falling asleep. Hopefully we'll have similar medication available to everyone soon as I really think it can solve a lot of suffering people experience
>… but he won’t get young men to sleep in at 8pm
i've never had a problem with staying or even falling asleep, instead my issue is *wanting* to go to bed and getting myself there. adhd, executive dysfunctoning/akrasia, screens, chores i procrastinated all evening, etc, all give me too many things to do at night instead of tucking myself into bed. i basically don't feel tired at all until i lay down. i don't notice i'm mentally wiped until i start bottomfragging in a video game at 2 am.
i've taken melatonin (and magnesium) for a long time, but only in the past few months i started taking it like 3 hours before bed, after reading scott alexander's psychiatry website, instead of right beforehand.
i also happen to have been recently RXd a drug called guanfacine which dampens sympathetic activity (think fight-or-flight) and when i take it with the above pills, i finally *feel* tired at 10 pm. my body is heavy and slow and my brain starts craving being turned off. it's remarkable. there's something about *feeling* tired that is humbling and makes me feel human. weird!
BJ et all aren't joking when they say the biggest performance enhancer is sleep and especially regularity. i would rather sleep 6 hours and wake up at my normal time, than slide my schedule around and hit 8 and sleep in. but when i hit 8 on my usual schedule it's like i have superpowers. i don't make gains at the gym unless i sleep well. and it's such a funny thing to say out loud, but i don't need coffee when i'm rested. when i'm rested and take a coffee, it feels like i just drank 3 coffees and i'm ODing on top of my natural alertness.
I totally agree
Melatonin gummies help for sure, I have zero complaints. I embed the lex into the gummy
Same with adhd btw
You should def try this. My prescriber just somehow knew, likely bc of vyvanse. I spoke to him again the following day, and I was telling him dude this is great, I want a permanent supply of this lol. Maybe it’s a common issue amongst us ADHD people
I’m really looking forward to Centanafadine, looks like it’s going through approvals this month?
I’m thinking of trying guanfacine, wonder if it’s actually worth it. It apparently widens your pfc veins or something? A very veiny brain sounds awesome
Cheers!