I tried to hack my insomnia

Just googled to see if 'sleeptech' is a thing. And yes, it is. This is where we spend 1/3 of our lives after all.

I've been using the Dreem headband for a year and a half and there are enough factual errors about it in this piece to make me distrust the rest of it.

Firstly, it doesn't require leaving your smartphone on all night as she writes. Once started, it's autonomous (it even reportedly shuts down its onboard WiFi/BT, probably for power saving reasons but also to alleviate any fears about having an RF emitter so close to your head for 8 hours)

Secondly, getting an accurate hypnogram (detailed sleep phases) on a consumer EEG device is a huge deal in itself (she doesn't seem to understand the point), but this one goes even further by promising to actively enhance slow wave/deep sleep through precisely timed audio stimulations (white noise pulses). The research in this area is apparently the starting point of the company.

Thirdly, the app does include the kind of CBT program she praises at the end of the article. I find the combination of this with a device that provides an accurate sleep log to be a potentially more efficient combination than CBT alone.

One area where I do have reservations with this class of devices is privacy : not only do you have your exact sleep/wake times + hundreds of MBs of your EEG data uploaded to their servers every morning, the latest version apparently has a built-in microphone !

It's reserved for future use (an obvious application is snoring / sleep apnea detection) and reportedly not activated yet, but of course it's closed source firmware and you have to take their word for it, and even if you trust their intentions (I do, and there's always GDPR), you also have to trust their security as well.

Disclaimer : I have no stake or direct interest in Dreem, but I'm very familiar with their product and even interviewed with them at one point.

During a stressful part of my life recently I struggled with getting to sleep. I just couldn't stop thinking about shit that was going on.

until one night I fell asleep on the couch in front of the TV, and it occurred to me that I could just modify this behaviour to bed.

So I put a handful of old Star Trek episodes on my phone. Each night I put me earphones on (so as not to disturb my wife), turn on an episode of Star Trek, and I am asleep within the first five minutes. ... I can even repeat episodes... it doesnt even matter since Im asleep within literally 5mins.

At first the earphones were annoying, but after a week you dont even notice them.

The stress at work continues, but I sleep like a baby.

I think the familiarity of Star Trek (which I watched a lot as a kid) gives me a subconsious sense of security.

Meditating right before going to bed, given that you haven't stared at any screen for an hour prior, can help tremendously with insomnia. That and intense and regular exercise, a clean diet, hydration... Healthy habits, to cut it short. Also, make sure your bedroom is dark and its temperature is cool.

>may get unintended side effects.

Oh, if one sees the enormity of complexity body & mind has - one can be sure he can not foresee all side effects. I like that you gave examples like caffeine which messes up your nervous system or alcohol which destroys your conscious attention and lever, among other things :)