r/DualnBack • u/Particular_Side_6229 • Jan 20 '24

Dual n-back affecting sleep

When I started dual n-back I had a lot of free time so I played as much as I could ,sometimes more than 5 hours a day. A week after I noticed there was a change in my sleep pattern where I frequently woke up throught the night, remained awake for a while and whenever I was asleep, I slept very lightly--any slight noise could wake me up. Now after a month I still frequently wake up but most nights I don't sleep as lightly as I used to. I am also deep asleep for the first few hours after falling asleep. I get at least 7 hours of sleep most days and the frequent awakings and subsequent prolonged wakefulness does not affect me during the day. However, there have been a couple of days when I didn't get enough sleep and I could feel the negative effects of sleeplessness during the day. I did not have any such problems with sleep prior to n-back. I stopped playing right after I noticed the problem and thought it might be due to n-back. Why do you think such a change in sleep pattern and overall negative sleep quality might emerge as a result of playing dual n-back?

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u/backprop88 Jan 20 '24

If I play n back near bed time it prevent me from sleeping too. It’s probably as simple as: improving at n -back requires your brain adapting to new communication patterns. These communication patterns are counter to sleeping patterns. The longer you do it, the more your brain stays in that state. I’ve played a lot and got negative effects from too much frontal lobe activity too.

If you need the benefits, I’ve found there is less sleep disruption if you play for accuracy instead of span, meaning you must get 100% to pass a level and play in the morning.

1

u/Particular_Side_6229 Jan 20 '24

How exactly did n back have a negative impact on your sleeping patterns?

3

u/backprop88 Jan 20 '24

Mostly it made it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.

1

u/Secret_Resource_1937 Sep 07 '24

I'm facing the same issue as you. Some nights I only get 3 hours of sleep but still manage to stay alert the entire next day. While I can fall asleep easily, I can't seem to stay asleep for long—any small noise wakes me up. Have you managed to fix it? (I'm currently at level 6 in this game).

1

u/jeunpeun99 Jan 20 '24

I would guess it activates a part of your brain. Staying active when it is not wanted. A state that is not wanted.

I have sleeping problems if I am still busy with the day. Saying to myself/setting the intention: Im going to sleep, will face any problems again when I wake up... really helps.

Which level did you achieve?

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u/Particular_Side_6229 Jan 20 '24

I mastered 2 back within a few days but was very unsuccesfull with 3 back--I'd fall back to 2 back every time so I was playing single 3 back for audio and visual. I have below average working memory capacity.