Naps or Not?

[Spec2 Girl]

mmmm nothing like an afternoon nap in the middle of winter with the fire on, windy and raining outside and you're all snuggled up on the lounge.

[JD@af]

Originally posted by Damien
Here is some bad news to all you nappers. A recent test has proen that too much sleep can shorten your life. The average person sleeps 6-7 hours, making the best sleep time 6.5 hours.

So do you really buy that? I heard that same study's results, but you know that many of these study's have skewed results, where the best case scenario data to support the case is utilized, and "extraneous" data is "screened," in order to receive research grant funding? It's hard to really buy into most of this stuff.

Personally, I firmly believe that if they wanted to, doctors could "prove" that smoking (of all things) promotes good health, longevity, and favors extended life expectancy.

[taranaki]

Originally posted by JD@af


Personally, I firmly believe that if they wanted to, doctors could "prove" that smoking (of all things) promotes good health, longevity, and favors extended life expectancy.

Indeed you are correct.In the 70's at the height of the tobbacco debate,the tobbacco companies always managed to wheel out an'expert medical opinion' that smoking was not harmful and that niccotine was a useful drug.THE saying goes...there are lies,damn lies and statistics.

[moondog]

and as far as statistics go, one of the easiest ways to confuse real figures is by using means/averages. That hides the outliers - in this case, those who need only 2-3 hours sleep a day, and those who do best with 9 or 10. Look at a normal distribution (which applies to most things), and you'll find that a good 5% of people (which adds up to a lot of people) are actually a loooong way from the mean.

For myself, I find if I have a few nights of 8 hour sleeps in a row, I'm really tired, and need to stay up till 2 or 3 am to get myself back on track.

[JD@af]

Originally posted by JD@af
I have a mixed bag response. During the work week, NEVER nap. If I do, like many of you, I won't be able to fall asleep when I need to when I go to bed later that evening.

Perfect example of why not to nap this evening. Was tired after work, so I had a very restful nap from 7:30 to 10:00.. now, it's almost 3:00 a.m. and I still can't sleep... serves me right, I guess

[JD@af]

Originally posted by moondog
and as far as statistics go, one of the easiest ways to confuse real figures is by using means/averages. That hides the outliers - in this case, those who need only 2-3 hours sleep a day, and those who do best with 9 or 10. Look at a normal distribution (which applies to most things), and you'll find that a good 5% of people (which adds up to a lot of people) are actually a loooong way from the mean.

In further support of this, the American Medical Journal is releasing a study this week that examines the way it and similar medical research journals research and release information to the public. It concludes that many medical reasearch studies are "misleading" and "do not take into account weaknesses" that fail to support what they are trying to prove. Confirmation from the source

[taranaki]

98.354% of statistics are made up on the spot.

[Gonthrax]

Originally posted by taranaki
98.354% of statistics are made up on the spot.

I've found that 97.682% of statistics made up on the spot are far from correct

[Damien]

This, meaning that your statistical statment has a chance of being made up on the spot.....right?
:silly2:

Scientists and those other peopel should keep their mouths shut. It scares people from doing
things they would normally do or from having fun.

I remember the first hearing about flesh-eating disease and how you can get it from just bumping
into a table or something. Satistics show though that your chances are low......but you only found
that out if you looked it up.

:monkeypisstatistics