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Today we have an example of how most science & health articles today are written, and further evidence that the number of people who understand & implement the scientific method is precipitously dropping. We have all heard that we're supposed to sleep more. Well, this particular scientist wondered how hours of sleep link up with death & morbidity rates. Sure enough, he found that those who sleep very little have shorter lives. He also found, however, that those with the *longest* nightly sleeps have shorter lives.
Here's where the reporting breaks down. Correlation does not imply causality. That means that the mere fact that two items occur together does *not* mean that one causes the other. For instance, lung cancer and wrinkled mouths often occur together. Does that mean lung cancer causes wrinkled mouths, or vice versa? Of course, we know the truth is that *both* are caused by smoking. Does obesity cause diabetes or vv? NO! Both are caused by excess sugar & refined carbohydrate intake.
So here is the question: could the need for excessive sleep be caused by the same thing that is causing the shorter lives & higher disease rates?
Here's where the reporting breaks down. Correlation does not imply causality. That means that the mere fact that two items occur together does *not* mean that one causes the other. For instance, lung cancer and wrinkled mouths often occur together. Does that mean lung cancer causes wrinkled mouths, or vice versa? Of course, we know the truth is that *both* are caused by smoking. Does obesity cause diabetes or vv? NO! Both are caused by excess sugar & refined carbohydrate intake.
So here is the question: could the need for excessive sleep be caused by the same thing that is causing the shorter lives & higher disease rates?
That very real possibility isn't brought up here. And here's my anecdotal evidence for why I think it's a strong possibility: after years of sleepwalking through my days, even consulting a neurologist to find out why I was narcoleptically dropping into sleep in the middle of conversations, I found out I have a strong need for at least 8 hrs of sleep. Problem solved. Until it went up. 9hrs during pregnancy. 8.5 in between. Until I kicked sugar. Now that I'm only having sugar on very rare occasions, I'm back down to being okay w/ 7.5-8 hrs of sleep.
Is it the sugar itself? Or could it be the yeast infestation that is caused by the sugar? (The years my sleep need was rising were the same ones I can now look back and see signs of candidiasis increasing.) I don't know, but I'm certain that I need more sleep when I'm eating a lot of sugar than when I don't. And that sugar is the same cause of most heart disease, diabetes, depression, obesity - all the maladies mentioned in the article as being linked to long sleep.
Does too much sleep cause heart disease? Or is something else causing both the heart disease and the need for excessive sleep? It's too bad they didn't ask that question. Why does it matter? This scientist is getting hung up on "can you extend your life by setting your alarm earlier?" (And the reporter is letting him.) If sugar is the root cause, sleeping less won't do anything but cause more car accidents.
(Don't even get me started on the paranoia headlines about lemons in your water. Worst. Reporting. Ever.)
Is it the sugar itself? Or could it be the yeast infestation that is caused by the sugar? (The years my sleep need was rising were the same ones I can now look back and see signs of candidiasis increasing.) I don't know, but I'm certain that I need more sleep when I'm eating a lot of sugar than when I don't. And that sugar is the same cause of most heart disease, diabetes, depression, obesity - all the maladies mentioned in the article as being linked to long sleep.
Does too much sleep cause heart disease? Or is something else causing both the heart disease and the need for excessive sleep? It's too bad they didn't ask that question. Why does it matter? This scientist is getting hung up on "can you extend your life by setting your alarm earlier?" (And the reporter is letting him.) If sugar is the root cause, sleeping less won't do anything but cause more car accidents.
(Don't even get me started on the paranoia headlines about lemons in your water. Worst. Reporting. Ever.)
- mood:
sleepy
AMDG
Purpose
A collection of news that tells the truth about the world, in a world that holds News as an article of Faith, but rarely gets even half the picture.
Michaelangelo maria lactansThere are many kinds of success in life worth having. It's exceedingly interesting and attractive to be ...a President, or a ranchman, or the colonel of a fighting regiment, or kill grizzly bears and lions. But... a household of children... certainly makes all other forms of success and achievement lose their importance by comparison.
Theodore Roosevelt
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