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Dealing with Insomnia

jacquesmattheij.com

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Re: Dealing with Insomnia

#31

Post by elliekelly »

I feel like I leave this comment every few months on HN but the podcast “Sleep with Me” has been so immensely helpful to me that I take every opportunity to share it. Something about Scooter’s voice and the way he talks about nothing gets my brain in just the right spot to turn off. It has been more effective for me than any sleep aid medication I’ve tried.

I know it won’t be a magic bullet for everyone but trying a podcast for a few nights is about as low-risk as a potential insomnia solution gets.

I’m not affiliated with the podcast at all other than being a very happy listener. Or maybe non-listener is a more accurate term? I’m usually asleep in the first ten minutes or so.

Re: Dealing with Insomnia

#34

Post by bosie »

piinbinary wrote: post #12

> Finally, the world is asleep and even a person who has trouble focusing in the face of distraction has a chance of getting something done. "The world is asleep" is basically my definition of serene and peaceful. --- A while back, there was a national holiday, so I had the day off. I didn't actually have anything I wanted to do with that day, so I used it to plan out my next work project. It was a very productive da…

This shouldn't come across as flippant but how can you be productive if you never think deeply?

Re: Dealing with Insomnia

#35

Post by wakkaflokka »

drpancake wrote: post #22
_qbxp wrote: post #16

I had bad insomnia during graduate school, tried just about everything under the sun (medication, sleep studies, lifestyle changes, herbs) and eventually did CBT-I with a therapist, and that was my ultimate solution. She had me start with going to bed at 3am and waking up at 7am for a week. I was absolutely exhausted, felt like my days were dreams. Then, we pulled forward he’s time to 2am. Checked how long it took me…

CBT-i more or less fixed me too. It should be noted that sleep restriction (the practice you're describing here) is only part of CBT-i but it seems to be the most important. I also gave up coffee and I stop looking at screens 30-60 mins before my bed time. Before the therapy ~30% of my nights were sleepless. This article helped a lot: http://ilya.sukhar.com/blog/an-algorithmic-solution-to-insom...

Really good point - there was a bunch of other restrictions/lifestyle changes that probably helped contribute. I think the main one was going from two cups of coffee (morning, and then afternoon) to one cup (morning) really helped me.

Also the recommendation that if I couldn’t fall asleep within 15-ish minutes, to get out of bed and do something until I’m tired again instead of lay there and “try” to sleep.

Re: Dealing with Insomnia

#36

Post by asadkn »

ASMR works well for me, most of the time (quality of ASMR matters - what's popular is just clickbait and not great content). Other times I need to meditate for a while to calm down and clear my head.

Personally, the most important thing for me is to not work or think about anything that would get me in the obsessive problem-solving or worry mode, around the bed time hours.

Re: Dealing with Insomnia

#37

Post by gmtx725 »

caymanjim wrote: post #29

I think my biggest problem is that I don't exhaust myself physically. Humans are built for constant labor. We're the endurance-running champions of the animal kingdom. As recently as last century, almost all jobs were physically exhausting. Mind work is exhausting as well, but in a different way. At the end of a strenuous day of coding, and endless meetings, I'm drained. Completely wiped out. I feel physically exhaus…

Completely agree. Being mentally drained and physically drained are completely different things. I personally think we need a balance of physical and mental pursuits in our lives to be truly healthy. Anecdotally, my insomnia has improved massively since I started running for an hour every day after work a few years ago. Even so, I wish my job didn't require me to be so sedentary.

Re: Dealing with Insomnia

#38

Post by shoulderfake »

caymanjim wrote: post #29

I think my biggest problem is that I don't exhaust myself physically. Humans are built for constant labor. We're the endurance-running champions of the animal kingdom. As recently as last century, almost all jobs were physically exhausting. Mind work is exhausting as well, but in a different way. At the end of a strenuous day of coding, and endless meetings, I'm drained. Completely wiped out. I feel physically exhaus…

Try going for a 5min jog after work even if you feel exhausted. Tell yourself just 5 mins. Then re-assess your fatigue after 5mins.

Re: Dealing with Insomnia

#39

Post by victor106 »

btam wrote: post #8

> After reading many reviews I kept on coming back to the same brand which I had sworn to never buy another item of due to their disrespect of users’ systems integrity, aka the ‘rootkit debacle’ Does Sony really have the best noise cancelling headphones? What brands/models have worked for people here? I've continuously struggled with distracting noises through my education.

Beware of eardrum suck when you buy noise cancelling headphones

https://www.soundstagesolo.com/index.php/features/178-eardru...

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