Forum: Author Hangout

A Harem Cliche

awnlee jawking 🚫

I've noticed that in harem stories, when the antagonist is sleeping (yes, actually sleeping) with his thralls, he usually lies on his back with the women resting their heads on various parts of his anatomy.

In my newspaper's medical section, there was a report that sleeping on your back is bad for you: it encourages parts of the anatomy to flop into a position where they block the airways and cause snoring or sleep apnoea, both of which reduce oxygen to the brain, potentially resulting in impairment.

In an article I read a couple of weeks ago, it claimed that sleeping on your side enables waste products to drain more efficiently from the brain, otherwise they could stick around and clog things up, which could lead to or exacerbate dementia.

So basically, those evil bastards who hoard all the gorgeous women are going to end up as senile, drooling wrecks when they get old.

Bwahahahaha!

AJ

Replies: Soronel LupusDei REP Michael Loucks Grey Wolf

Soronel 🚫

@awnlee jawking

I suspect that most would say the benefits are worth those drawbacks.

LupusDei 🚫

@awnlee jawking

May be lack of imagination, but there's really just two principal ways to sleep in a big group: 1) chaotic pile up upon one center, 2) "sardines in a can" linear spooning.

In linear spooning there's hardly a center, even if the man is between even numbers of females in front and behind him, and he can immediately interact with one, perhaps two, three, four in a stretch of them, with various levels of difficulty and reciprocation.

Since the center is sought, and one-on-many interaction preferred, the big pileup on one is logical development. To retain that interactivity, the man is cast in an active position, therefore on his back.

Replies: awnlee jawking awnlee jawking

awnlee jawking 🚫

@LupusDei

One hopes the antagonist doesn't wear compression hose to bed. If he's pinned in place for eight hours, he could be at risk of an embolism, just as if he were immobile on a long-haul flight for eight hours ;-)

AJ

awnlee jawking 🚫

@LupusDei

May be lack of imagination, but there's really just two principal ways to sleep in a big group: 1) chaotic pile up upon one center, 2) "sardines in a can" linear spooning.

Thinking about it, I think I read a story where the antagonist slept on his stomach and one of his women slept on his back. I knowing sleeping on the stomach is bad for the back, bad for the neck and has sometimes led to suffocation, but having someone sleeping on your back must be really bad for you.

Can anyone remember the story? It was on SOL.

AJ

REP 🚫
Updated:

@awnlee jawking

it encourages parts of the anatomy to flop into a position where they block the airways and cause snoring or sleep apnoea

The only body part I can think of that could cause that is the epiglottis, which is controlled by the neck muscles.

I tried to locate something to confirm your medical section's article - I found nothing. Everything I found indicated sleeping on your back is preferrable to sleeping on your side of front. However, there are potential problems with front, side, and back positions, but back seems to be the recommended position.

For me, that raises the question of - how credible is the source and the reporter?

Replies: Michael Loucks awnlee jawking

Michael Loucks 🚫

@REP

verything I found indicated sleeping on your back is preferrable to sleeping on your side of front.

My pulmonologist discovered, during a sleep study, that I have short bouts of apnea when sleeping on my back, but never when sleeping on my side. His prescription was to not ever sleep on my back (which I don't, usually).

Replies: Dominions Son

Dominions Son 🚫
Updated:

@Michael Loucks

My pulmonologist discovered, during a sleep study, that I have short bouts of apnea when sleeping on my back, but never when sleeping on my side. His prescription was to not ever sleep on my back (which I don't, usually).

Yes, sleeping on your back aggravates sleep apnea, but that's not remotely the same thing as saying sleeping on your back causes sleep apnea.

I also have sleep apnea, enough to use a cpap machine.

I will note that even as a kid I slept on my side far more often than on my back. On top of the sleep apnea, I also have life long weight issues. That also makes it harder to breath when laying flat on your back.

Replies: StarFleet Carl

StarFleet Carl 🚫

@Dominions Son

I also have sleep apnea, enough to use a cpap machine.

Same here. I used to fall asleep on my stomach, even if later on I'd wake up on my back.

One advantage to the CPAP - I can just put a pillow over my face if it's too light in the room.

Replies: Dominions Son

Dominions Son 🚫

@StarFleet Carl

One advantage to the CPAP - I can just put a pillow over my face if it's too light in the room.

Which is a big problem for me, my left eyelid doesn't quite close all the way in a relaxed state.

Fortunately, the type of mask I have for my cpap is compatible with a sleep mask. No need to pull a pillow or blanket over my face.

Replies: StarFleet Carl

StarFleet Carl 🚫

@Dominions Son

the type of mask I have for my cpap is compatible with a sleep mask

Mine ALMOST is. But I've run into this before, with sleep masks, even before I was on the CPAP. They don't QUITE fit my face, which allows a little bit of light to leak in around the edges. They probably make wider ones, but I've never found them in a retail environment.

awnlee jawking 🚫
Updated:

@REP

The first link I found on Google is from the Mayo Clinic.

In 90% of medical studies, the conclusions of the authors are not supported by the underlying data so it's worth taking any media headline claim with a pinch of salt, but sleeping on one's back being a cause for snoring and sleep apnoea was been reported so many times that I consider it good science. The stuff about the brain's waste products possibly less so.

AJ

Replies: Dominions Son

Dominions Son 🚫

@awnlee jawking

The first link I found on Google is from the Mayo Clinic.

I read through that link. There is nothing there that lists sleeping on your back as an underlying cause of sleep apnea.

It may act as a trigger for individual episodes, but that's not the same as causing the underlying problem.

Replies: awnlee jawking

awnlee jawking 🚫

@Dominions Son

It may act as a trigger for individual episodes, but that's not the same as causing the underlying problem.

You're right, just as standing on a train track is not the underlying problem causing you to get hit by a train.

AJ

Replies: Dominions Son

Dominions Son 🚫

@awnlee jawking

You're right, just as standing on a train track is not the underlying problem causing you to get hit by a train.

Not the same thing at all. With sleep apnea the underlying problem is a defect in the muscles of the throat that allows them to collapse onto the airway.

Most people do not have this defect and sleeping on their back will not in itself lead to them developing this defect.

Go back to that Mayo clinic link you posted and look at the list of risk factors. Sleeping position is not in the list.

Replies: awnlee jawking

awnlee jawking 🚫

@Dominions Son

With sleep apnea the underlying problem is a defect in the muscles of the throat that allows them to collapse onto the airway.

With my example, the underlying problem is the trains using the track.

There's a circumvention worth trying in both cases - don't sleep on your back and don't stand on the train track.

AJ

Replies: Dominions Son

Dominions Son 🚫

@awnlee jawking

don't sleep on your back

Which will help if you already have sleep apnea, particularly a mild case.

If you don't, it makes little to no difference.

Replies: awnlee jawking

awnlee jawking 🚫

@Dominions Son

I can recall a few correlations involving snoring and sleep apnoea.

Obesity is a no-no. Losing weight might improve the condition.

Neck diameter also has a correlation. In some sports, eg rugby, players deliberately strengthen their neck muscles which also increases the neck diameter, but I've no idea whether the correlation still applies in that instance.

Singing appears to have a protective effect. So the proverbial fat lady who sings suffers the increased probability due to obesity but the reduced probability due to singing. I have no idea whether the two will cancel each other out.

AJ

Michael Loucks 🚫

@awnlee jawking

I've noticed that in harem stories, when the antagonist is sleeping (yes, actually sleeping) with his thralls, he usually lies on his back with the women resting their heads on various parts of his anatomy.

Hah! In AWLL it's almost always spooning. 😜😜😜 (The 'cuddle position' is as you describe, not the sleeping position).

Grey Wolf 🚫

@awnlee jawking

The answer to this conundrum should be obvious to anyone who reads most SoL harem stories:

The men with said harems are superhuman and therefore have no fear of trifling medical issues of the sort described. That's why they have the harems in the first place.

;)

Reply to topic

Forum: Author Hangout

A Harem Cliche

WARNING! ADULT CONTENT...