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Ask HN: Does coding give you brain fog?

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Re: Ask HN: Does coding give you brain fog?

#51

Post by mcjiggerlog »

koverda wrote: post #41
mcjiggerlog wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Heh, I also made a chrome extension for the same thing and with the same name! https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/break-timer/hklkdb...

nice! i'll try it out. solid name

It's all open source - https://github.com/tom-james-watson/breaktimer

I haven't had much time to work on it for a while. Contributions are very welcome!

Re: Ask HN: Does coding give you brain fog?

#52

Post by ozovehe »

Yes. I'm sprawling on a bench now after hours of coding, I should be on my way home. The top of my head feels like pepper was poured on it. I can't really endure a conversation at the moment. I believe it's a combination of sleep deprivation and hours of intense mental exercise. Listening to music helps

Re: Ask HN: Does coding give you brain fog?

#53

Post by robodale »

I'm under a tight/looming development deadline during the day and remodeling the lower level of my house at night. I find after prolonged mental strain during the day, I find it hard to do basic math with fractions to do simple cuts of wood (5-3/8 minus 2-1/4)...uhhh...

Re: Ask HN: Does coding give you brain fog?

#54

Post by kyriakos »

Raphmedia wrote: post #33
kyriakos wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also visit the office kitchen 10 times a day, fill up a glass of water and go back. I don't necessarily finish it, next time just spill the remaining and refill. I believe developing these habits helps avoid burning out and other desk work consequences such as RSI.

> next time just spill the remaining Get plants! Take the responsibility to water them. You will have another reason to walk around the office!

thats a cool idea actually

Re: Ask HN: Does coding give you brain fog?

#55

Post by brett-za »

Yes, exactly this! Sometimes on my drive home I think it's not such a good idea to be behind the wheel.

It's usually a combination of long days of coding and stress that causes my brain fog. The same factors cause me to regularly wake up at 3a.m. with my mind too busy to go back to sleep.

Re: Ask HN: Does coding give you brain fog?

#56

Post by ivm »

bantic wrote: post #15

Not exactly brain fog but I often find myself in extreme left-brained mode after a challenging day of coding. If I meet friends after work I am a horrible conversationalist for up to an hour while my brain slowly (and reluctantly) stops actively churning on coding problems. Related to the right-to-left thinking mode changes, sometimes the words that I am using at become eerily meaningless or unfamiliar. I've spent a…

Oh yes, this is the worst part of programming. I do not like being low on empathy.[0]

Metta meditation helps to reset this but sometimes it's so heavy – it's better to take a nap first.

[0]: http://blog.case.edu/think/2012/10/30/empathy_represses_anal...

Re: Ask HN: Does coding give you brain fog?

#57

Post by bjourne »

No, rather the opposite. Coding makes my mind clearer. If you get a headache and neck ache, then that is most likely due to poor ergonomic setup. Things like better chair and sitting right should help. Or perhaps you need terminal glasses.
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