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Lie still in bed

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Re: Lie still in bed

#91

Post by haswell »

nerdchum wrote: post #25

This may work for non-neurotic people but laying still in bed is when the demons in my mind come out to play and remind me of all of my problems.

I’m pretty high on the neurotic scale. Two things that have helped me immensely:

1) I turn on an audio book that I love and know well with a 30 minute sleep timer. Recently this is the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It doesn’t keep me awake because I already know the story well. But it keeps my mind occupied enough to avoid the rumination. Podcasts don’t work for me because it’s new material.

2) Guided Yoga Nidra in bed. This involves a long sequence of instructions to notice and relax individual areas of the body. Thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, pinkie finger, front of the hand, back of the hand, wrist, and so on. This keeps the mind occupied and also helps release tension.

Re: Lie still in bed

#93

Post by drewcoo »

larodi wrote: post #71

Such articles are… really laughable, as people differ in their physiology and circadian rhythms and it is NOT generally advisable to blindly follow someone else’s experiences with sleep. There are books like ‘While we sleep’ which can give you some insight into the complexity of causes and effects and even this book was heavily criticised although the author did some actual research with cited sources etc. And I’m sa…

> Such articles are… really laughable

On the other hand, wrong takes on something everyone feels they have expertise in are what cause the most comments here on HN.

Re: Lie still in bed

#94

Post by m3kw9 »

A rule I set is that I don’t ever lie down on my bed unless I’m sleeping which means you don’t relax and use phone. Better if you don’t use your bed ever for any other activity than sleep and f’ing

Re: Lie still in bed

#95

Post by ambrose2 »

AndrewKemendo wrote: post #9

Very similar to “chop wood, carry water” Seems like I’m seeing a cultural shift happening in the last few months to people re/discovering zen-stoicism-minimalism Probably the cyclical nature of trends

People online were talking about zen and minimalism as being pretty trendy in 2010, so back then I had predicted that probably by now maximalism or something would be trendy as a response. I don’t think simple cyclical trends is a great model anymore.

Re: Lie still in bed

#96

Post by AndrewKemendo »

ambrose2 wrote: post #95
AndrewKemendo wrote: post #9

Very similar to “chop wood, carry water” Seems like I’m seeing a cultural shift happening in the last few months to people re/discovering zen-stoicism-minimalism Probably the cyclical nature of trends

People online were talking about zen and minimalism as being pretty trendy in 2010, so back then I had predicted that probably by now maximalism or something would be trendy as a response. I don’t think simple cyclical trends is a great model anymore.

Is your perspective that the concept of a trend cycle is somehow incompatible with it also being reactionary?

Re: Lie still in bed

#98

Post by xwdv »

I’ve never actually slept. I lay still in bed, until I find myself waking up. Time has passed, but I have no idea what happened during the time in between laying down and waking up. I only feel the effects of having slept. Similarly there is a version of me that has only ever slept, and knows nothing of the awakened life. Yet still I wonder, if there is even a third version unknown to both of us?

Re: Lie still in bed

#99

Post by bengale »

mrob wrote: post #66
microtonal wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my experience lying still doesn't really work, because it's a deliberate practice with a goal and your brain starts analyzing that as well. You know the inner voice that says: I am still not calming down, I am still awake. I once read that sleep therapists sometimes give people with bad sleeping problems the opposite advice: keep your eyes slightly open and try to stay awake. Not in the sense that you should put o…

Relevant Bob the Angry Flower comic: http://www.angryflower.com/221.html Instead of trying to focus on nothing at all, the standard trick to get around this problem is to focus on something extremely boring, such as your own breathing. The traditional "counting sheep" method of sleep induction could be considered a variant of this.

I use audiobooks that I’ve listened to many times. I know exactly what’s coming so it’s a bit boring but I can focus on the words.

Re: Lie still in bed

#100

Post by AltruisticGapHN »

Makes sense. Read the basics about the Autonomic Nervous System, the sympathetic and para-sympathetic branches.

You don't want to stay in sympathetic activation. Browsing on a phone may seem relaxing, but it keeps your sympathetic nervous system engaged. Think of it as "goal oriented activity".

I've got into a habit of laying on my back for like 10-20 mins before I turn to the side. It really does help calm me down a bit. I don't try to "stop thinking" or count or anything like that, just laying on my back and feeling the sensation.

Some arguments in favor:

- if you work in IT likely you're sitting a lot, and your psoas shorten. When you lie on your back it opens the psoas a little bit, so you feel that very gentle stretch in the tummy area

- for anxious people, we are designed by nature with eyes that can scan in front of us, but our back is less secure. I think lying on your back for a little while, lets you "secure" this area, as well as release the neck and back muscles a little more

  Following this intuition, in the summer when it's too hot to have a blanket, I found a trick where I would roll my duvet in like a long tube, then when I lay on my side, I would pull the "tube" with one arm, and press it against my back. This way I would not be covered on top, but have a more secure feeling in the back and I think it also helped me fall asleep.
Think of lying on your back as rest. It's not about willpower so much, but engaging the para-sympathetic part of the nervous system, which is typically about release/relaxed curiosity (ie. feeling the body a little bit) rather than being engaged and pursuing what nowadays is typically an endles stream of content.
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