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Thinking too much can be bad for you (2012)

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Re: Thinking too much can be bad for you (2012)

#71

Post by Jtsummers »

float4 wrote: post #69
hnick wrote: post #66

Thinking keeps me awake. It's getting worse as I get older. Maybe it's anxiety or something related, and sometimes it's worried thoughts, but often it's just running through scenarios. Video games, media plots, what I need to do next week. My brain is far more active after 10pm, and I am personally more motivated. I get a burst of energy but it's not really the right time to clean the house so lying in bed has it all…

I'm exactly the same, only I've done it ever since I was very little and it simply never went away (I'm in my early 20s now). Usually I'm awake in my bed for at least an hour. Sometimes two. I just really can't stop thinking. It's not anxiety in my case. Any people here who were in a similar situation and were able to get rid of it, or make significant improvement?

Physical exercise after work, cut out screen time a couple hours before you want to sleep (especially engaging screen time), consider cutting off caffeine earlier in the day (or totally for a while and ease back in), get treated for anxiety (not necessarily medication, therapy techniques like CBT can help in a wide variety of areas).

The biggest one for me was physical exercise. Working out hard for 1-3 hours after work (most people can't put in 3 hours, I know) left me sufficiently physically exhausted that whatever mentally engaging activities I got into later, I was crashing by midnight no matter what. Doing this after work was also critical as it helped create a clean break from work (where many stressful or technically engaging thoughts come from for me). Exercising in the morning did not have the same effect.

Re: Thinking too much can be bad for you (2012)

#73

Post by kajecounterhack »

float4 wrote: post #69
hnick wrote: post #66

Thinking keeps me awake. It's getting worse as I get older. Maybe it's anxiety or something related, and sometimes it's worried thoughts, but often it's just running through scenarios. Video games, media plots, what I need to do next week. My brain is far more active after 10pm, and I am personally more motivated. I get a burst of energy but it's not really the right time to clean the house so lying in bed has it all…

I'm exactly the same, only I've done it ever since I was very little and it simply never went away (I'm in my early 20s now). Usually I'm awake in my bed for at least an hour. Sometimes two. I just really can't stop thinking. It's not anxiety in my case. Any people here who were in a similar situation and were able to get rid of it, or make significant improvement?

Aside from (mostly) practicing normal sleep hygiene recommendations, I listen to a sitcom that I've already watched many times using wireless earbuds as I fall asleep. Sometimes I do both ears, somtimes one ear, depending on whether I feel like sleeping with my head turned. I'm normally a back sleeper.

Because I've already seen the episodes, they don't stimulate any thinking. They're comedy, so all happy and lighthearted. Well written comedy is funny on multiple-goarounds, but other than some chuckles the point is mostly to help me fall asleep happy. On a bad night I'll listen to two episodes, but mostly I'm asleep halfway through the first episode.

My go to shows fwiw are It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The Office. Parks and Recreation also works. It's OK to have plot, as long as you already know the plot / have seen the show enough, so you aren't trying to watch the episode.

Since some of these shows moved off Netflix I've had to buy them on Google Play store. FWIW Google Play's player is better than amazon video's for mobile (it's basically youtube's player).

The wireless earbuds I use are these: $35, https://www.amazon.com/Soundcore-Bluetooth-Headphones-Waterp... and they're connected by a cord so you don't lose one of the buds when you sleep (used to happen to me). I have two sets of earbuds now, because I really struggle to sleep without it now that it's part of my routine and I can't risk them not being charged.

Re: Thinking too much can be bad for you (2012)

#74

Post by hnick »

hundoh wrote: post #67
hnick wrote: post #66

Thinking keeps me awake. It's getting worse as I get older. Maybe it's anxiety or something related, and sometimes it's worried thoughts, but often it's just running through scenarios. Video games, media plots, what I need to do next week. My brain is far more active after 10pm, and I am personally more motivated. I get a burst of energy but it's not really the right time to clean the house so lying in bed has it all…

I'm a night owl living on a 9-5 schedule, and I have the same problem. Most of the day I'm a little tired, then at night I get a burst of energy. It's frustrating. I think the ideal solution would be to find a good job that lets me work my ideal hours, but barring that I've found a useful strategy. After my wife goes to bed, I'll go downstairs for an hour or two and read, write, and think. By letting my brain burn of…

For a while last year, I did just accept it and stay up late until I felt more tired, usually around 1:30am. We were both working from home and I'd sleep in a little bit (which is also getting harder in my late 30s). This wasn't perfect but it was better. But now my wife is back at the office and is out of bed before 8am, which wakes me up and usually I can't get back to sleep easily so I've been struggling since.

I've tried exercise both during the day and the evening in case it's a physical thing, but it either doesn't help or makes it worse. Sometimes my active brain state amplifies physical aches and pains and itches and it just runs away from me and is very distracting.

I think what might really be missing is a sense of closure or achievement. A lot of things in life can give gratification without meaning, but the days I do something like finish fixing the shower or putting up shelves, it does seem a bit easier to switch off at night. Cooking is the closest I get most days.

Re: Thinking too much can be bad for you (2012)

#75

Post by tunesmith »

colechristensen wrote: post #49
bumbada wrote: post #35

It is not really "not thinking", but not using your conscious mind, which can only focus on a single thing. You think with your subconscious mind too. But this can do multiple things at the same time, way faster than the logical mind. The harder you focus on a single thing, the more you ignore the entire system and the slower you perform. It is not just instinct as the article say, a tennis player does not play by in…

There is a word that is missing from the language or at least common usage, and that is differentiating something done with conscious effort of every little detail, and something you just do without thinking about it. (there are probably lots of words which somewhat fit the bill) The hardest way to do something is complete conscious control of every step, the easiest way is something you can do perfectly on autopilot…

Isn't that Type 1 vs Type 2 thinking, Daniel Kahneman?

Sure, it's great if we could use Type 1 thinking for everything, but the problem is when things are counterintuitive. So what you really need is a good rule to follow to know when to engage in Type 2 thinking.

My current programming team is doing way too much Type 1 thinking.

Re: Thinking too much can be bad for you (2012)

#76

Post by IndrekR »

amatecha wrote: post #59
ChipSkylark wrote: post #55

Being already known by my friends and family to be an "overthinker" and prone to "analysis paralysis", I sometimes wonder why I'm still a SWE. I've slowly started to realize over time that my profession is filled with overthinking and over-engineering, and that our interview process can even select for it. IMO its hard to be the person that aces the technical interview gauntlet then walks out of the building and turn…

As someone who's been programming for years, one of my biggest complaints in software is over-engineering. It's so universally prevalent, I literally expect to get downvoted for even making this comment. I strongly advocate for simplicity in software implementation, allowing for maintainability and flexibility... the cleanest solution that reaches the goal and doesn't lock us too far into a narrow approach that may b…

Reminds me this comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19977678

There are other coping mechanisms you can use, although some of them are arguably worse than procrastination (eg overengineering).

Re: Thinking too much can be bad for you (2012)

#77

Post by r-bryan »

unix_fan wrote: post #29

My writing skills only improved after I stopped thinking about it. I’m still trying to figure out how to tap into this with other skills.

The book _Writing on Both Sides of the Brain_ (Henriette Klauser) got me unstuck. Ignoring the left-brain/right-brain stuff, imagine that you have a creative, let it fly part and a critical editor part. Constant criticism from the editor can slow all creativity to a stop. Instead, tell the editor, "I promise you'll get your chance. For now, sit down and shut up." Then create in peace, but follow through on that promise.

Re: Thinking too much can be bad for you (2012)

#78

Post by airhead969 »

HugoDaniel wrote: post #41

thinking too much certainly does not help with sex

Absofuckinglutely. Too much mind.

My arsenal for this includes: Beer, wine, wine coolers, hard cider, stoli vodka, malibu, rum, champagne, cbd isolate sublingual tincture, music, Hue mood lighting, candle-like scents, soft sheets, massage, MIV, cell phones in the microwave (faraday cage), and not talking about anything current.

If involved parties aren't relaxed, it's unlikely to be that good.

Re: Thinking too much can be bad for you (2012)

#79

Post by incog_nit0 »

ChipSkylark wrote: post #55

Being already known by my friends and family to be an "overthinker" and prone to "analysis paralysis", I sometimes wonder why I'm still a SWE. I've slowly started to realize over time that my profession is filled with overthinking and over-engineering, and that our interview process can even select for it. IMO its hard to be the person that aces the technical interview gauntlet then walks out of the building and turn…

Recently I've been interviewing and assessing technical tests regularly.

We have this one technical coding challenge. Most of the submissions are 1000+ LOC and quite heavily engineered. One submission though was 300 LOC, runs 3x as quick as everyone elses and is the only one to get 100% in our acceptance tests. The author was very self-deprecating about it - describing it as a quickly cobbled together submission.

I'm nearly 40 and find I over analyze the design of everything. Which is great when I'm architecting a high level software feature, but when I get to coding I'm almost at analysis paralysis over every, damn detail. I miss that sense of flow.

Re: Thinking too much can be bad for you (2012)

#80

Post by colechristensen »

tunesmith wrote: post #75
colechristensen wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a word that is missing from the language or at least common usage, and that is differentiating something done with conscious effort of every little detail, and something you just do without thinking about it. (there are probably lots of words which somewhat fit the bill) The hardest way to do something is complete conscious control of every step, the easiest way is something you can do perfectly on autopilot…

Isn't that Type 1 vs Type 2 thinking, Daniel Kahneman? Sure, it's great if we could use Type 1 thinking for everything, but the problem is when things are counterintuitive. So what you really need is a good rule to follow to know when to engage in Type 2 thinking. My current programming team is doing way too much Type 1 thinking.

Close but no, thinking vs doing.
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