Sleep habits may have long-term benefits • Hacker News Board

Re: Sleep habits may have long-term benefits

#71

Post by elric » Sat, Mar 18, 2023, 2:52 PM UTC

vjk800 wrote: post #51

elric wrote: post #26

I'll keep saying it: sleep apnea is vastly underdiagnosed and undertreated. I had so many weird symptoms for so long, which all gradually started to disappear as I started to get my sleep apnea treated. Unless you're fat, doctors will rarely even consider the possibility. And once you do get a polysomnogram, the usualy course of action is to throw a CPAP machine at you and send you on your way, without much followup.…

How did you get it treated? I've heard of the machines for this, but its not a very appealing option. I've also heard of exercises for neck/throat/jaw region, but do they work?

With a CPAP machine, a lot of patience, OSCAR [1], and the help of the kind people over at Apnea Board [2].

I was given the machine, which was titrated to the wrong pressure settings, with the cheapest mask that was too small for my big nostrils. If it hadn't been for the fact that I had a friend whose life was greatly improved by CPAP, I probably would have thrown in the towel on the first night. But I stuck with it, asked for help on Apnea Board, tried to learn as much about apnea and PAP-therapy as I could, and eventually got to a point where I'm pretty happy with it.

[1] https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/ [2] http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/

Re: Sleep habits may have long-term benefits

#72

Post by lm28469 » Sat, Mar 18, 2023, 2:56 PM UTC

smeej wrote: post #38

I really wanted there to be controllable habits listed in this article, but instead it was about sleep characteristics. Telling me that "having trouble falling asleep," or "having trouble staying asleep," or "not feeling alert upon waking" are working against me is useless to me. These aren't "habits." I'm not choosing to do them until they become routine. They just happen to me. Tell me how to FIX those things. Tell…

Drop caffeine after noon, quite alcohol/cig/weed/screens anywhere close to bed time, keep evening meals small and low in carbs/sugar to avoid an insulin spike, wait at least 3 hours before hitting bed after a meal, more is better. Go to bed at roughly the same time every day, make sure your room is as dark as can be, make sure it's not warmer than 20c, exercise so that you're physically tired at the end of the day, only use your bedroom for sleep

Re: Sleep habits may have long-term benefits

#73

Post by elric » Sat, Mar 18, 2023, 2:56 PM UTC

hobo_mark wrote: post #40

elric wrote: post #26

I'll keep saying it: sleep apnea is vastly underdiagnosed and undertreated. I had so many weird symptoms for so long, which all gradually started to disappear as I started to get my sleep apnea treated. Unless you're fat, doctors will rarely even consider the possibility. And once you do get a polysomnogram, the usualy course of action is to throw a CPAP machine at you and send you on your way, without much followup.…

What symptoms did you have, if one may ask?

A wide variety of non-specific things. The most frightening of which was palpitations and skipped beats. Then panic attacks. Occasional ice pick headaches. Brain fog. Strangely, daytime sleepiness was not a symptom for me.

Re: Sleep habits may have long-term benefits

#74

Post by eastbound » Sat, Mar 18, 2023, 2:57 PM UTC

jb1991 wrote: post #46

Any advice in overcoming insomnia? I’ve tried everything I can think of. Melatonin, various vitamin supplements, exercise, dietary changes of a wide variety, nothing seems to help. Always waking up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep.

What has worked for me, but with only one month experience: An apparatus that pulls my lower teeth forward, prescribed by a doctor, that keeps me from snoring. Then suddenly, I slept so soundly that I didn’t wake up at odd times during the night. I used to wake up at 2am and stay awake until 6am, only to sleep between 6 and 8 and be late at work.

Re: Sleep habits may have long-term benefits

#75

Post by 11235813213455 » Sat, Mar 18, 2023, 2:58 PM UTC

elric wrote: post #26

I'll keep saying it: sleep apnea is vastly underdiagnosed and undertreated. I had so many weird symptoms for so long, which all gradually started to disappear as I started to get my sleep apnea treated. Unless you're fat, doctors will rarely even consider the possibility. And once you do get a polysomnogram, the usualy course of action is to throw a CPAP machine at you and send you on your way, without much followup.…

isn't sleep apnea usually related to another problem, like diet (most of the time), or smoking/drinking, another is the position of your jaw (the teeth shouldn't touch)

Re: Sleep habits may have long-term benefits

#76

Post by criddell » Sat, Mar 18, 2023, 3:00 PM UTC

nicolas_t wrote: post #19

marginalia_nu wrote: post #11

As a tangent, I got a new bed couple of weeks ago. My old one had been around for ages and was well past it's expiration date. It cost a small fortune but Jesus Herbert Christ on a tandem bicycle has it made a difference on how I feel during the day. I fall a sleep faster, wake up more well rested. First few mornings I was just sort of confused by the feeling of waking up profoundly physically relaxed. Felt very weir…

How did you chose your new mattress? I've had a hard time knowing from the short impressions in a mattress store if that mattress is really what I want or just feels nice for 5 minutes in a store

Buy from a place that has a good reputation for no-hassle returns.

Re: Sleep habits may have long-term benefits

#77

Post by nmcfarl » Sat, Mar 18, 2023, 3:01 PM UTC

isoprophlex wrote: post #48

smeej wrote: post #38

I really wanted there to be controllable habits listed in this article, but instead it was about sleep characteristics. Telling me that "having trouble falling asleep," or "having trouble staying asleep," or "not feeling alert upon waking" are working against me is useless to me. These aren't "habits." I'm not choosing to do them until they become routine. They just happen to me. Tell me how to FIX those things. Tell…

This annoyed the hell out of me as well. I thought, oh cool, some advice to improve my sleep. Point 5: "feeling well rested after waking up at least five days a week" But of course! I'll fix my sleep by ensuring I wake up well rested.

This is probably a clear metric for our annoying friends who complain that they don’t get high enough quality sleep, but go to bed at 2 and have an alarm set for 7 every day. Sure you may have worked best on 5 hours sleep in college (though probably not), but if you aren’t "feeling well rested after waking up at least five days a week", you might try more sleep.

Some people need this advice, and a clear metric to hit. I’ve known them, and although I failed to make a dent, eventually something did. Maybe it was an article like this.

Re: Sleep habits may have long-term benefits

#78

Post by theshrike79 » Sat, Mar 18, 2023, 3:02 PM UTC

vecter wrote: post #17

marginalia_nu wrote: post #11

As a tangent, I got a new bed couple of weeks ago. My old one had been around for ages and was well past it's expiration date. It cost a small fortune but Jesus Herbert Christ on a tandem bicycle has it made a difference on how I feel during the day. I fall a sleep faster, wake up more well rested. First few mornings I was just sort of confused by the feeling of waking up profoundly physically relaxed. Felt very weir…

Is there anything special about your new bed that’s causing your better sleep or just the fact that it’s new and not saggy?

Everyone is different, I found that I sleep the best on a firm futon combined with a 2cm thick memory foam mattress from Ikea.

If the bed is too soft, it might be comfy for a few nights but then my back and neck start hurting.

Re: Sleep habits may have long-term benefits

#79

Post by theshrike79 » Sat, Mar 18, 2023, 3:03 PM UTC

CalRobert wrote: post #7

I've wondered if my kids will literally kill me through sleep deprivation.

Sleep deprivation prevents memories from forming, that's my theory on why people have more than one kid. They actually don't form memories for most of the first year or so. The only memories they have are the pictures they took of the happy moments.

Nobody takes a video of their kid screaming their lungs out at 3am with snot running from every orifice because their favourite toy fell off the bed or the pillow is the wrong colour.

Re: Sleep habits may have long-term benefits

#80

Post by theshrike79 » Sat, Mar 18, 2023, 3:08 PM UTC

jb1991 wrote: post #46

Any advice in overcoming insomnia? I’ve tried everything I can think of. Melatonin, various vitamin supplements, exercise, dietary changes of a wide variety, nothing seems to help. Always waking up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep.

Sleep hygiene was #1 for me. If I'm not sleeping or having sex, I get out of the bed.

I never go to bed if I'm not tired and if it takes too long for me to fall asleep I get back up, trying to force sleep will just cause physical pain. I usually have a ~30 minute nonsense trivia podcast playing for me to fall asleep to. If I can hear it ending, I get up and do something else.

#2 was switching to a job that's less stressful. If my day-job requires me to juggle 20 things at the same time, it's impossible for me to wind down enough to sleep - or at least I couldn't figure out a way. For a co-worker journaling worked, basically they offloaded their brain to a physical notebook and that gave enough peace of mind to relax and fall asleep.