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I tried to hack my insomnia

technologyreview.com

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Re: I tried to hack my insomnia

#31

Post by klyrs »

forgotmypw wrote: post #28

Insomnia is a fake idea invented to promote the industrial work cycle. If you go to sleep when you're so tired, as opposed to when the societal clock says you should, you won't have any trouble sleeping.

> If you go to sleep when you're so tired, as opposed to when the societal clock says you should, you won't have any trouble sleeping.

Great PMA, but you're absolutely wrong.

I did that last night, got tired and went to bed around 10pm. And then I woke up at 1am. Now that it's approaching 6, I'm getting tired. But this happens to me occasionally and I know from past experience that my two options are:

1) Go back to bed at around 7, wake up at 8 or 9, and feel awful all day

2) Power through, and feel awful all day.

Maybe I'll be tired enough tonight that I'll catch up on this morning's loss. But given past experience, I'll probably get 2-4 hours of sleep a night for the next week. When I say "wake up" I mean that I'm alert and can't get sleepy -- I can stay in bed and be bored for hours, and sleep won't come no matter how tired I feel.

Re: I tried to hack my insomnia

#34

Post by osrec »

Unlike many members of my family who can fall asleep regardless of the circumstances, I need to feel sleepy/tired to sleep. I'm fairly fit, so getting to that state with a job that involves me sitting at a desk can be a challenge.

When I do sleep, I sleep pretty well, but getting to that state can be tough. I simply have to do some physical work each day to tire my body - otherwise, sleeping is near impossible. The gym is often not enough (and if I go in the evening, it actually wakes me up). I find I need to do something moderately strenuous and mundane, like carrying a few groceries for a mile or two, or maybe sweeping + mopping a few floors round the house or perhaps some DIY.

Also, if I'm unable to sleep, rather than trying to sleep, I find it's better to get up and do some work, even if means being in front of a screen. That knocks me out eventually!

Re: I tried to hack my insomnia

#35

Post by magashna »

renaudg wrote: post #4

I've been using the Dreem headband for a year and a half and there are enough factual errors about it in this piece to make me distrust the rest of it. Firstly, it doesn't require leaving your smartphone on all night as she writes. Once started, it's autonomous (it even reportedly shuts down its onboard WiFi/BT, probably for power saving reasons but also to alleviate any fears about having an RF emitter so close to y…

I use sleep for android which has my sleep/wake times, heart rate, and I use the mic to record sleep talking. Doesn't really bother my privacy. If they want my insane ramblings from when I'm asleep that's fine with me. I sleep talk a lot and none of it makes any sense but it's good for a laugh. One of my favorites was talking about "the most beautiful sweater" for about 30 seconds

Re: I tried to hack my insomnia

#36

Post by Chazprime »

My insomnia is a little different than the author's; I fall asleep easily but wake up three or four hours later. And when I'm up, I'm wide awake.

I tried just about everything discussed here....meditation, podcasts, watching television, reading before bed but nothing really helped me consistently. I even bought a treadmill and started running every day which does help, but the thing that actually did the trick best was a few puffs of marijuana about an hour before bedtime. It was sufficient to take me "out of my head" enough to get a better night's sleep without feeling foggy the next day.

Re: I tried to hack my insomnia

#39

Post by dean177 »

koheripbal wrote: post #6

During a stressful part of my life recently I struggled with getting to sleep. I just couldn't stop thinking about shit that was going on. until one night I fell asleep on the couch in front of the TV, and it occurred to me that I could just modify this behaviour to bed. So I put a handful of old Star Trek episodes on my phone. Each night I put me earphones on (so as not to disturb my wife), turn on an episode of Sta…

I used to do this but with chess videos. Most commentators don’t vary their tone much which probably helps.

Since then I have been: - Trying to exercise every day - No screens after 10:30.

Seems to be making a big difference for me.

Re: I tried to hack my insomnia

#40

Post by SirHound »

koheripbal wrote: post #6

During a stressful part of my life recently I struggled with getting to sleep. I just couldn't stop thinking about shit that was going on. until one night I fell asleep on the couch in front of the TV, and it occurred to me that I could just modify this behaviour to bed. So I put a handful of old Star Trek episodes on my phone. Each night I put me earphones on (so as not to disturb my wife), turn on an episode of Sta…

Me and my wife rewatch old Family Guy and Bobs Burger episodes, knocks us straight out.
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