macalimuu Posted October 14, 2003 The importance of a good night’s sleep can not be overestimated. Getting more than 7 hours of sleep a night helps in retention and deep encoding of information, which is essential in graduate school. Also, getting sufficient amounts of sleep results in a better mood and a greater level of happiness. Given this, I decided to conduct a study on those factors which influenced the amount of sleep I was getting, in order to determine how to get more sleep. One factor which I predicted would have especially large effects was my girlfriend at the time, Xaliima . I have induced that several of my acquaintances believe that Xaliima would have significant positive effects on sleep -- in the words of one such acquaintance, Faarax , "Man, she’s hot. I’d really like to sleep with her." Other acquaintances have also expressed an interest in her sleep-inducing properties. There are many reasons why one might postulate that Xaliima would increase sleep -- the quote above points to an important one, that she is quite hot, being a mammal with a body temperature of around 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. A warm blanket has been identified as a source of good sleep, and it is quite possible that Xaliima performs a similar function and could be a human blanket. Design Over the course of 28 consecutive nights, I collected data on the number of hours of sleep I obtained, and on a number of factors that might potentially affect the amount of sleep obtained. These variables included: • whether or not I had read in bed that night • whether it was a weeknight or weekend night • whether I had attended a social event • whether I had been feeling ill the previous day • whether I had an academic deadline. • how late in the day my first meeting or class was • how much sleep I had gotten the night before • how much sleep I had gotten the previous two nights • whether or not I had slept at Xaliima’s public housing subsidized apartment or my own rented apartment • whether I had to work overtime or not I used these variables in order to develop a regression model to explain the amount I slept. Results The first step towards developing a regression model of how much sleep I got was to transform all the binary variables (such as whether or not I had slept at Xaliima’s public hosuing subsidized apartment) into 0 and 1 so that I could treat them as quantitative variables. In essence, I got an average of two hours and one minute less sleep when I slept at Xaliima’s apartment rather than my own. This is clear evidence for Xaliima's sleep-retardant properties. Discussion After obtaining these results, the appropriate course of action became clear. I spoke to Xaliima and explained my study and its results, as well as the importance of getting sufficient sleep, I concluded by explaining that, due to her sleep-retardant properties, I could not continue to sleep with her, an act she termed "breaking up." I should mention that Xaliima suggested that my data, being from an observational study rather than an experimental study, only shows correlations rather than causation, and that it was quite possible that I had only chosen to sleep at her apartment on nights when I was less tired, or that I had actually chosen to get less sleep on nights when I had come to her apartment. She proposed that, instead of taking hasty action, we conduct an experimental study where we flip a coin each night to determine whether I would sleep at her apartment or my own, in order to prove a causative effect. Obviously, I rejected this suggestion. Although this study is insufficient to conclusively prove Xaliima’s causative role, this strong a correlation, and the importance of getting enough sleep, are sufficient together to suggest that action needs to be taken expeditiously. When Faarax, whom I mentioned earlier in the paper, discovered that Xaliima and I had broken up, he expressed interest anew in sleeping with her. I attempted to warn him about Xaliima’s sleep-retardant properties. In response, he referred to me as an "***** ." This clearly demonstrates his lack of understanding of the value of sleep. (Although it would be fair to point out that since I only sampled from my own amount of sleep, my results may not generalize to Faarax. Nonetheless.) I would like to conclude by encouraging others to embark on this sort of data-collection activity in their own lives. By helping me identify and eliminate the foremost factor reducing the amount of sleep I get, it has enriched my life. I believe it will enrich your life as well. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Macalin Posted October 14, 2003 I should mention that Xaliima suggested that my data, being from an observational study rather than an experimental study, only shows correlations rather than causation, and that it was quite possible that I had only chosen to sleep at her apartment on nights when I was less tired, or that I had actually chosen to get less sleep on nights when I had come to her apartment ------------ ^^LOL shes one SMART XALIMA---I like HER Macalimuu Wallahi U AMAZE me adeer...You have conductted the MOST comprehensive 'XALIMONALYSIS' i have ever seen.... One suggestion: to Proof that the cause is xalima,(and not your tired night-lol)maybe you should try giving 'farax' the chance to sleep @ xalimas and see if its gonna have the same effect as it did on YOU---FAIR? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rudy-Diiriye Posted October 14, 2003 try sleeping next to a xalimo! u will get a good nite sleep! it works like magic.!! :cool: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Adna Posted October 14, 2003 salaama I DON'T WANNA SOUND LIKE RUDE BUT I SOME TIMES FEEL LIKE WHY AN EARTH U GUYS USE AS AN EXAMPLE HALIMA :mad: ,,,, THAT DOESN'T SAY MY NAME IS BUT IT MIGHT BE ANY ONE ESE'S NAME. IT CAME TO MY INTENTION HORTA WHY NOT USING OTHER NAMES I NEED AN ANSER BEFORE IT GOTS TOO LATE..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Macalin Posted October 14, 2003 ^^ LOL Asraa---Xalimo farah is the somali equivalent of 'John/Jane DOE..Comprende? LOL..Interesting Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Changed Posted October 15, 2003 Asra..lol u just reminded me of the night we hanged out for dinner, remember me , u nafisa , maliakah...lol .those were the days i dont know ..why farax too, there is guy i know whose name is farax and i asked him what it felt like to be on the spot light ..he said he didnt care Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Adna Posted October 15, 2003 Salaam,,,, Mizz unique,,, Remember what u said to me about that ....yeah I rmemeber the night . runtii we should have an other night like that don't we?.... missed al of you,,, ooh well got to live with it. Lakkad it's interesting cuz some ppl my feel ofended u c what i mean,,,,,, any ways i'm just kidding no hard feelng guys,, cuze i love you all Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
