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Calculate When You Are Most Awake

cjellibebi writes "Scientists have devised a formula that works out what times of the day you are most tired. Using their website, you can work out your alertness profile for any given day. It is also discussed on this BBC News article."

21 of 184 comments (clear)

  1. Guess what they recommend by jbellis · · Score: 5, Insightful

    for on-the-job sleepiness when you finish the questions?

    "A nap combined with 2 Pro Plus tablets will temporarily alleviate tiredness."

    I don't trust a "scientific method" that ends with a sales pitch. :-|

    1. Re:Guess what they recommend by aurispector · · Score: 5, Funny

      This is basically a sales pitch. The funny thing is that I don't see anywhere to actually ORDER the pro plus tablets!

      Knuckleheads.

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    2. Re:Guess what they recommend by Caseylite · · Score: 5, Informative
      From http://www.mypharmacy.co.uk/alternative_medicines/ medicines/p/pro_plus/pro_plus.htm:

      Each tablet contains the active ingredient: 50mg caffeine anhydrous Ph. Eur.<br>
      Also contains: sorbitol and magnesium stearate.


      So a nap and caffeine will alleviate tiredness? I'll stick to coffee.
    3. Re:Guess what they recommend by Tandoori+Haggis · · Score: 5, Informative

      Packets of sugar feee mints containing Sorbitol carry a warning about potential laxative effect.

      Just as you said...I'll stick with coffee!

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      My hyperlinks aren't worth the paper they're printed on.
  2. I already know by Phidoux · · Score: 5, Funny

    when I'm most tired. As soon as I arrive at work... Zzzzzzz

    1. Re:I already know by proudlyindian · · Score: 5, Funny

      Also the site software combined with apache logs showed that people were most sleepy when the REFERER was slashdot.org

      Striving to be common...

  3. We Are Slashdot. Resistance is futile. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Using their website, you can work out your alertness profile for any given day."

    Not for much longer, you can't. It's already getting slower...

  4. Not only that... by mrbarkeeper · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...but you can also calculate, when their webserver will be asleep!

  5. Looks like.... by wpiman · · Score: 5, Funny

    their website took a little snooze.....

  6. Doesn't account for important factors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hangover, drugs imbibed that day, energy expended dancing naked to the Transformers theme song in the morning, etc.

  7. saturday morning by JawzX · · Score: 5, Funny

    seems to me that saturday morning is the perfect time to post this news...anyone who's awake now (like me) obviously has a problem or a sucky job.

  8. Its an Advert for caffiene pills YHBAT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative


    you have been astro-turfed

    next on slashdot, scientists devise a new compound said to give men a huge wang

  9. Tired at work by skraps · · Score: 5, Funny

    Being tired at work is *good*. Give the man your worst hours. Keep the good hours for yourself.

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    1. Re:Tired at work by JediTrainer · · Score: 5, Funny

      I learnt to reserve blowouts for during the week from an old hand.

      Err... umm... too easy.

      --

      You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. The impossible just takes a little longer.
  10. unrealistic form options (for me at least) by mardoen · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Their form to enter the time I wake up in the "mornings" is flawed. No option after noon (I usually rise at 1-3 pm, go to sleep at 4-5 am).

    Guess they didn't think about students. Or unemployed programmers...

  11. Naps? by skraps · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Their system doesn't account for naps. I generally sleep from 3am-9am, and 6pm-8pm. Work for the man during the day. Take a nap to refresh yourself. Work for yourself at night. I've used this system on and off for a few years, and it works well.

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  12. Parents don't need to guess this... by pedantic+bore · · Score: 5, Funny
    The time that you're most awake and alert? Right before you become a parent.

    About 72 hours after the arrival of my first child, I was more tired than I'd ever been in my life. Just when things were starting to improve, a few years later, along came the second.

    At this point, I'm not even making the interest payments on my sleep debt, and the Sandman keeps threatening to send his goons around to beat the rest of it out of me.

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    Am I part of the core demographic for Swedish Fish?
  13. Science? Try advert by ansak · · Score: 5, Informative

    I don't know how scientific the whole thing is, but it's all a protracted (but low-key) advert for some kind of "pep" pills. And as if that weren't enough, the layout doesn't work for Firefox (non-portable HTML), and it's very easy to confuse its text generator.

    Just walk on, folks...ank

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    Still hoping for Gentle Treatment...
  14. Science, baby! by DaneelGiskard · · Score: 5, Funny

    "It's really quite simple," he told BBC News Online. "If people are tired during the day then they are not getting enough sleep."

    And next on BBC:

    "If you are thirsty, drink!", scientist claims.

  15. Real Book Recommendations by ChuckDivine · · Score: 5, Informative

    I will, perhaps foolishly, jump in with two real book recommendations.

    The shorter of the two is Stanley Coren's "Sleep Thieves." It goes quite heavily into the various consequences of sleep deprivation. It's quite scary.

    The longer of the two -- and probably more informative on the biology of sleep -- is William Dement's "The Promise of Sleep." Dement is viewed by many as the leading sleep researcher in the United States.

    It will take you much longer to read this books than take the linked for test, but you'll be much better informed. You might even be able to marshall substantial arguments against a PHB's death march.

    Both books also have tests to take to find out how sleep deprived you are. There are also recommendations for treating this condition.

    Both are available from your favorite book seller.

    --
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  16. Using your sleepy time of day for diagnostics by Tiburana · · Score: 5, Interesting
    One the things that those who practice ancient Chinese medicine believe is that certain types of energy run through meridians in the body, and are tied to individual organs or groups of organs. Supposedly, each energy has a peak time and a nadir time. For instance, the lung energy has its peak from 3-5 am and then the large intestine energy peaks from 5-7 am.

    Practitioners use this diagnostically by associating when people have a major dip in their energy level to show them which energy needs to be strengthened, which may indicate a pathology in that associated organ.

    The individual energies correlate to five elements that are each expressed by particular flavors, seasons, colors etc. and they will recommend a person increase their exposure to the things associated with the element where their energy is weakest.

    It would be interesting to see if the times of people's energetic nadir as predicted by this system or observed empirically did correlate to physical or emotional issues as predicted by this ancient system.

    I have to tell you I have been pretty skeptical learning about it all but there are a lot things that correlate with accepted western medical theory and some intuitive things that are just dead on, whether I believe in it or not.