I wonder what melatonin does
Forget melatonin, I want to know wtf cheese is doing to my brain when I sleep on it.
You need healthy, natural sleep. Chew some valerian root and get more exercise.
Eff. I require sleeping pills. I guess I can look forward to a melted brain in old age.
What about alcohol?
Fucks you up
This has been fairly well known for at least 15 years among medi-academia. But discovering the specific pathways involved leaves me (femininely) turgid
The study was only on zolpidem. IMO it can probably be generalised to other Z drugs, and possibly benzos. Drugs that work by entirely different mechanisms like melatonin and orexin antagonists could be completely different.
What about Benadryl?
Unknown, but it's an anticholinergic, and those are associated with dementia.
I wonder if ketamine has the same effect, he asked apropos of nothing...
Anesthesia
yes
Actually maybe not? Iirc most "traditional" anesthesia basically knocks you down to the bare minimum of brain activity to remain alive and reliably regain consciousness (which is why being under anesthesia is usually a "blink and you miss it" ordeal, your brain isn't active enough to be aware that time has passed).
However, if I'm not mistaken, stuff like ketamine or nitrous don't do that, and sedate you in a manner more similar to natural sleep.
Fuck.
Now what?
That usually helps me sleep better too
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