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Why Can’t We Fall Asleep?

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Re: Why Can’t We Fall Asleep?

#101

Post by kristofferR »

justacat wrote: post #81
kristofferR wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try getting the Uvex S1933X glasses. They work for everything in your view (obviously) without messing around with software, and probably works better too. I have them, and they're amazing. I have pretty cool LED lighting in my apartment and can make my whole living room any color I want at night. If I set in to pure blue and put on the glasses, it's like being in pitch blackness (except a couple of items glow bright…

I know there’s a variety of led lighting options out there, do you have any recommendations based on your experience?

My living room is circular, and came with an edge close to the roof that was perfect for placing a LED strip on top of. So I just bought 15 meters (5x3) and an IR remote. Something similar to this:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-shipping-5M-5050-Flexibl...

Works great and costs basically nothing.

Re: Why Can’t We Fall Asleep?

#102

Post by sturakov »

zeidrich wrote: post #86
chdir wrote: post #75

I had a severe case of not being able to sleep if my mind was busy after dinner time e.g. coding, debugging, mentally solving a problem. Adjusting light temperature, using flux software etc. helped marginally, but never attacked the root of the problem. What really helped was meditation i.e. being able to take my mind away from everything & focus on /dev/null. It is like a magic button. I can fall asleep whenever I c…

I've fluctuated between being able to sleep easily and being unable to go to bed. In the end the issue has always been satisfaction. If I feel satisfied at the end of the day, there's no resistance to sleep. If I am "missing" something to satisfy me, I follow that craving and keep myself up far too late. Sometimes that's stimulation, sometimes it's entertainment, sometimes it's relaxation. Meditation 'cures' the issu…

It's very encouraging to hear someone else has trouble sleeping for the same reasons.

Just to add on to what you've said, I find myself holding off sleeping because it means that another work-day is waiting when I wake up.

Meaning, when the time to go to sleep (a good time) rolls around, all I can think of is all the things I haven't done that I should do. And that is stressful, so I end up holding off sleep even more, doing shit to distract myself. Such as Reddit, Quora, or YCombinator.

The things that I feel like I should have done are either personal growth or skill-improvement, or something (like you said) that I wanted to do to meet my own needs.

And it is really frustrating because it makes work a ton harder and it's discouraging, because I know I'm not performing at, or near, 100% like I could be.

I don't know what a good solution is, but it was helpful to read someone else who struggles with the same problem. Thanks for your story.

Cheers.

Re: Why Can’t We Fall Asleep?

#103

Post by spuz »

mistermann wrote: post #60
spuz wrote: post #18

It's interesting that the article mentions the importance of not disrupting the body's natural ability to produce melatonin but does not mention melatonin when talking about sleep medication. As far as I understand artifial melatonin actually increases REM sleep, does not trigger sleep walking and can be taken for longer than a week. In my experience it does increase the intensity of dreams which could be a negative…

> I would not recommend this as a lifestyle at all Is there a reason for that, is it dangerous longer term? I've been taking 10mg nighlty for a while now compared to your .75mg, a girl I know says her grandmother has been taking it for decades and swears by it, and she's fit as a fiddle.

I was using melatonin to compensate for otherwise easily rectifiable poor habits in the same way that many people stay up everynight and wake up with 5 cups of coffee. Fix your habits first then if you need further help think about medication.

Re: Why Can’t We Fall Asleep?

#104

Post by marak830 »

KJKingJ wrote: post #26
marak830 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks ill try this one out.

There's also CF.lumen [0], which I have running. It works best if you are rooted and can install the display driver. However, on non-rooted devices it behaves in a similar fashion to the other night time colour shifting apps. [0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.chainfire.l...

Oh thanks, i cant root unfourtanetly, doco (japan), has their phones locked down. At least havnt found a reputable guide lol.

Re: Why Can’t We Fall Asleep?

#105

Post by marak830 »

provemewrong wrote: post #66
marak830 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Im on melatonin at the moment. Its nice to hear about someone else, id nnever heard of it before the doctor recommended it before sleeping tablets.

I hadn't heard about melatonin until a thread on reddit where everyone was raving about it and sharing stories about how it knocks them right out. Now I ocassionally take a pill, but I don't really feel any effects and I'm still not entirelly sure if it is putting me to sleep faster or not. I still take it at least for the placebo effect and because it's fairly cheap.

My doc said it could take a week or two initally to have a real effect, ive just passed the 2 week mode, and im combining this with sleeping naked(sorry tmi i know, but hey, it helps haha), and lowering my evening caffeine ammount (i useto only have one no later than 7pm, now i make that one weak).

Re: Why Can’t We Fall Asleep?

#106

Post by marak830 »

ikurei wrote: post #14
bauc wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use flux and have found it beneficial, I tend to sleep better since using it. It's made me more aware of the affects of light on sleep. What app are you using on android?

The only flux-like app on Android I know of is Twilight[0]. I've been using it for longer that I can remember and I have no complains. [0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.urbandroid...

Update: i used it last night, it seemed to help a lot. I cant be sure if it was due to being exhausted, but ill keep trying it!

Re: Why Can’t We Fall Asleep?

#107

Post by bemmu »

chdir wrote: post #75

I had a severe case of not being able to sleep if my mind was busy after dinner time e.g. coding, debugging, mentally solving a problem. Adjusting light temperature, using flux software etc. helped marginally, but never attacked the root of the problem. What really helped was meditation i.e. being able to take my mind away from everything & focus on /dev/null. It is like a magic button. I can fall asleep whenever I c…

I've tried meditation, which seemed to helpful for my mental well being, but seemed not to be the same state of mind I need to be in to fall asleep. The type of meditation I looked into involves not pursuing thoughts and just acknowledging them. Sleep seems to be more about following silly imaginary things across different associations.

Re: Why Can’t We Fall Asleep?

#108

Post by bemmu »

JaggedJax wrote: post #85
chdir wrote: post #75

I had a severe case of not being able to sleep if my mind was busy after dinner time e.g. coding, debugging, mentally solving a problem. Adjusting light temperature, using flux software etc. helped marginally, but never attacked the root of the problem. What really helped was meditation i.e. being able to take my mind away from everything & focus on /dev/null. It is like a magic button. I can fall asleep whenever I c…

The alarm I use on my phone is set to only turn off when a specific NFC tag is scanned. I have the tag placed down the hall in my bathroom. It is the best alarm trick I've used to date and the only one that hasn't worn off after a couple of months. I absolutely hate it in the morning, but it works. The one danger is getting frustrated and powering off my phone, but I've found even my half asleep self doesn't want to…

That's brilliant, has this been featured on Lifehacker yet? Seems like perfect material for them.

Re: Why Can’t We Fall Asleep?

#109

Post by prostoalex »

thebouv wrote: post #65

I can't fall asleep because I can't get my brain to STFU. When I can lay down, regardless of hour of night, with a quiet brain, I fall right asleep. 95% of the time though, my brain won't stop. I stay away from screens after a certain hour, I try not to think about work (not always successful). But still, sometimes my brain just won't quit. It's super frustrating.

This was helpful http://aypsite.org/books-dm.html

Basically, the trick is to concentrate all your attention on one mantra, and then remove the mantra to quiet the thought process. It's a learned skill, so just takes practice.

Re: Why Can’t We Fall Asleep?

#110

Post by mistermann »

kristofferR wrote: post #100
mistermann wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I have pretty cool LED lighting in my apartment and can make my whole living room any color I want at night. This sounds very cool, any chance you could post a picture of your living room with some different colors?

It's summer in Norway here so it doesn't really get dark before my bedtime tonight, but here are some really short videos from a party a couple of months ago: https://goo.gl/photos/PKyzv8HkCyVJSdzv7 Normally I have it set to a static color or a very slow and smooth fade, not the crazyness seen in the vids. Here's blue, which is totally dark with the Uvex glasses: https://goo.gl/photos/SCrU1PhbDmCuPi22A

I love that blue! So what's the cost for that type of a setup?
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