Buy the best bed for your needs as soon as possible. Best bang for the buck IMO.
I would agree with this. I had bad sleep and therefore bad everything else until I decided to get a better bed. Good sleep makes everything better.
Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?
131–140 of 530 posts
Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?
#132The best mattress you can afford is the single best investment you can make in your life. You spend 1/3 of your life asleep. Getting more high quality sleep has a direct impact on your mood, general health and personal productivity/effectiveness.
PS. Don't buy memory foam, it doesn't breathe well, makes you sweat and if its a thick layer of memory foam will make it impossible to turn on at night (you will sink into a stupid, sealed hole). A little layer of memory foam is bearable, but what would be the point then? The only reason they add it is marketing. A good breathable mattress is far better.
>Don't buy memory foam, it doesn't breathe well, makes you sweat and if its a thick layer of memory foam will make it impossible to turn on at night (you will sink into a stupid, sealed hole)
I bought a high-quality memory foam mattress from a major brand and don't have these issues. There is some "tech" associated with mattress construction to counter these potential problems. One of the best purchases I've made.
Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?
#133Earlier quoted context omitted.
Source?
I am not OP but this is a nice meta-study https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2019.0008... Looking at yields only (which is a small part of the study; sustainability depends on many other factors) it looks like log response ratio for organic vs conventional is -0.4 (but depends on crop type, etc, see figs 5,6). This response ratio means organic yields were typically ~2/3rds of conventional across US, E…
Considering much food is thrown out and wasted, perhaps lower yields would make us find better ways to reduce waste.
Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?
#134A motorcycle. Traffic is a non-issue now, in addition to the loads of fun I get from it.
Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?
#135[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?
#136A Wacom tablet, years ago, when I was working in the graphic arts.
Compared to a mouse, the change in my daily ergonomics was astounding, because using a mouse would hurt my entire arm. When I switching to a tablet (using a custom mouse mode), the mouse click was replaced by tapping the tablet which saved my entire career. Although, fast-forward 10 years, now I do full-stack programming, so I don't use it anymore.
Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?
#137Earlier quoted context omitted.
Source?
I am not OP but this is a nice meta-study https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2019.0008... Looking at yields only (which is a small part of the study; sustainability depends on many other factors) it looks like log response ratio for organic vs conventional is -0.4 (but depends on crop type, etc, see figs 5,6). This response ratio means organic yields were typically ~2/3rds of conventional across US, E…
I recommend the studies from the Royale Institute.
They looked at yields on a longer term and discovered, that after a transition phase of around 5 years the numbers were comparable, but with organic agriculture realizing better yields in times of draught.
Additionally they looked at caloric yields per acre. I just grabbed an explanatory blog post from said institute:
https://rodaleinstitute.org/blog/can-organic-feed-the-world/
Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?
#138I improved considerably my life by stopping to purchase things and living with very few possessions, eating organic wild food as much as possible
I'm not sure I could go that far but I agree I become much happier after I stopped buying tons of things (I have a closet full of microcontrollers, some of them I haven't even unpacked...). Now I think well about each purchase, sometimes postponing it for months to make sure it's something I really need. Works great.
I had that closet too, I ended up giving them away and stopping buying those things for a good long while. I liked buying them and looking at them, but never ended up building very much
Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?
#139Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am not OP but this is a nice meta-study https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2019.0008... Looking at yields only (which is a small part of the study; sustainability depends on many other factors) it looks like log response ratio for organic vs conventional is -0.4 (but depends on crop type, etc, see figs 5,6). This response ratio means organic yields were typically ~2/3rds of conventional across US, E…
Considering much food is thrown out and wasted, perhaps lower yields would make us find better ways to reduce waste.
The problem is that we currently have starvation due to poor distribution of food. Rich people can afford higher prices and will continue to waste (in fact, lots of rich people already eat organic), while the poor will feel the squeeze.
Re: Ask HN: What did you purchase that measurably improved your quality of life?
#140Free, but a good ad blocker makes a huge difference.
Wireless chargers, and favor devices that support it. Being able to simply set down headphones, earbuds, phones, and have them charge without looking for the right cable is great.
Robot vacuum.
Electric screwdriver, makes repairs and furniture setup much quicker.