I'm in High School and regularly go to bed later than 3 because of the points you raised. F.lux has also made my life much better. I love to wake up early, that's my other problem. I hate to sleep in and waste time.
Why Entrepreneurs Can't Sleep
41–50 of 64 posts
Re: Why Entrepreneurs Can't Sleep
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've found my poor sleep correlates with how late I'm working on a problem. I try to go to bed around 11pm. If I'm done working by 6pm I'm more likely to sleep ok. 8pm is pushing it. Any later than that the problem won't be out of my head by the time I lay down, and it stays there all night.
Working on a problem late can sometimes be beneficial. I've been up late with a problem in my head and went to bed with little downtime. It's hard to go to sleep, definitely. However, I've actually dreamt the solution a few times, and woke up the next morning knowing exactly what to code. This happened two nights ago. I was coding something fairly complex and had a hard time connecting everything together. It was som…
Couldn't agree more... happens to me all the time.
Re: Why Entrepreneurs Can't Sleep
#43Looks like there has been significant research on chronotype (A person's preference for daytime vs. nighttime activities). One study showed "About 1/10 people are actually hard-wired... to be early risers" and "2/10 people are what are known as night owls". So there maybe some proof to your genetics theory. People maybe hardwired to reach peak functionality at different times. http://www.kwollity.com/2010/03/are-you-…
Which would make sense in evolutionary terms. You want someone in your group to be awake at night as a watch. Its also very helpful to have very early morning risers, to prepare stuff for the group.
Re: Why Entrepreneurs Can't Sleep
#44You'll see links to F.lux [0] occasionally on HN, but I can't overstate how F.lux has changed my life. Before F.lux, my laptop would suck me in. I would browse HN, Metafilter, and Twitter even as my eyes stung and my head felt like a bag of sand. Eventually I would go to bed at 3am, confused about how time flew by so quickly. The next morning was always rough. Some days I would wake up at 8am and arrive at work on ti…
As I understand it, F.lux works because your body uses light cues to determine the rate of melatonin production. Essentially: less light (or warmer light) => more melatonin production => sleepiness. Rather than mess around with your monitors' color balance (which I find extremely annoying), I just skip the first step and pop an over the counter melatonin pill. It works splendidly, doesn't seem to be habit forming (be…
As far as I know vivid dreaming is not equivalent to better recollection of dreams. A dream is vivid when and only when you are aware of the fact that you're dreaming while it happens. It isn't necessarily true just because you're able to recall.
Re: Why Entrepreneurs Can't Sleep
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
I tried melatonin a few times and experienced some very groggy mornings. I also experienced a few nights where I could not sleep after taking a 3mg tab. For those considering it, let me suggest a very small dose (0.5-0.75 mg, or 1/4th of a tablet) and 9-10 hours to try it out. Don't pop one of these at 2am and expect to feel great the next day.
Are your groggy mornings after only sleeping a few hours? I only use melatonin if I am able to get at least 7 hours of sleep, or maybe 6.5 in a pinch, but with or without melatonin I'll be groggy in the morning with less than 6.5 hours of sleep. I take 1mg doses, although I initially took 3mg and didn't notice a difference. This study seems to show that 3mg is overkill, and that .3mg is probably sufficient: http://jc…
I had one night of hitting the sack at 10am after taking 3mg and not sleeping at all (maybe 4am?). The other night I took 3mg 8-9 hours before waking up and I still felt groggy.
I wouldn't deter people from melatonin but they should start with very small doses.
Re: Why Entrepreneurs Can't Sleep
#46Theory 5: Hackers are always on their devices so they experience the effects of inappropriate light at night to a greater extent.
First thing is nope I had the problems like his before I had a computer. Had it when I was a kid and right though out high school, right now I'm staying with my parents while I focus on some products, and am waking around 10am again, thats my naturally sleep pattern 2am-10am.
But I'll agree the computer CAN makes it worse ... because even as the guy mentioned controlling light can be critical. On the flip side it can make it easier to sleep by mentally tiring you, if you have a problem you have to test it and see. Both are true for me.
As for what he said about lighting 100% agree with it. I summed it up the other day here talking about how I created a fake sun rise in my room : http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2990669 what I didn't mention was I hid every single light source. My room was pitch black, I rewired my body clock by controlling the light.
Re: Why Entrepreneurs Can't Sleep
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
As I understand it, F.lux works because your body uses light cues to determine the rate of melatonin production. Essentially: less light (or warmer light) => more melatonin production => sleepiness. Rather than mess around with your monitors' color balance (which I find extremely annoying), I just skip the first step and pop an over the counter melatonin pill. It works splendidly, doesn't seem to be habit forming (be…
As far as I know vivid dreaming is not equivalent to better recollection of dreams. A dream is vivid when and only when you are aware of the fact that you're dreaming while it happens. It isn't necessarily true just because you're able to recall.
That's not at all what I meant by "vivid." I meant clear and intense, not necessarily a lucid dream. I only mentioned that recollection may be equivalent, because it's possible that, while not using melatonin supplements, I was technically dreaming just as much, but my sleep/wake pattern was such that I never recalled the dreams in the morning.
Re: Why Entrepreneurs Can't Sleep
#48I keep hearing about how blue light in the morning helps you wake up and have more energy throughout the day. Does anyone have experience with this product: http://www.amazon.com/Philips-goLITE-BLU-Therapy-Device/dp/B...
I've used the goLITE BLU device for just over a year now and have found it to be really effective for giving me more energy. Use cases: full blast soon after waking up to reset my circadian rhythms and then on a lower setting later in the day. (You obviously need to be careful not to use it too late in the day as it will inhibit the synthesis of serotonin into melatonin.) I would describe the energy boost as subtle, but effective and long-lasting.
That said, it's way overpriced. You could make your own device for MUCH less. Basically, any blue leds operating around 470 nm, which are pennies apiece on digi-key, would work. Wire up a whole bunch in parallel, put them behind a diffuser and you're good to go!
Re: Why Entrepreneurs Can't Sleep
#49You'll see links to F.lux [0] occasionally on HN, but I can't overstate how F.lux has changed my life. Before F.lux, my laptop would suck me in. I would browse HN, Metafilter, and Twitter even as my eyes stung and my head felt like a bag of sand. Eventually I would go to bed at 3am, confused about how time flew by so quickly. The next morning was always rough. Some days I would wake up at 8am and arrive at work on ti…
Thanks for mentioning F.lux. I recall reading about it a while back but never tried it. I'm planning to install it tomorrow.
I did a quick search for an iPad equivalent, but nothing promising turned up. I'll keep looking. Much of my evening and night reading is on the iPad and I've wondered if the 'glow' has been disrupting my sleep.
If anyone has suggestions for non-jailbroken iOS devices, please share. Thanks.
Re: Why Entrepreneurs Can't Sleep
#50You'll see links to F.lux [0] occasionally on HN, but I can't overstate how F.lux has changed my life. Before F.lux, my laptop would suck me in. I would browse HN, Metafilter, and Twitter even as my eyes stung and my head felt like a bag of sand. Eventually I would go to bed at 3am, confused about how time flew by so quickly. The next morning was always rough. Some days I would wake up at 8am and arrive at work on ti…
Thanks for mentioning F.lux. I recall reading about it a while back but never tried it. I'm planning to install it tomorrow. I did a quick search for an iPad equivalent, but nothing promising turned up. I'll keep looking. Much of my evening and night reading is on the iPad and I've wondered if the 'glow' has been disrupting my sleep. If anyone has suggestions for non-jailbroken iOS devices, please share. Thanks.
Yes, please! Even if it is not a software solution (like some kind of physical filter I could place on top of the screen.)
I've got f.lux on my laptop, but I predominantly use my iPad in the evenings.