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Sleep: Everything You Need to Know

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Re: Sleep: Everything You Need to Know

#121

Post by dredmorbius »

superuser2 wrote: post #76
drostie wrote: post #29

One tip which I didn't see: set an alarm for going to bed , not waking up . You should be able to wake naturally, but artificial lighting changes your perception of when you should go to sleep, shifting you from a naturally 23-hour circadian rhythm to a 25-hour one. So just set an alarm for 11pm, and when you hear it, immediately stop what you're doing, save any open documents, turn the TV or computer off. The next 3…

You're clearly not a student :). I'd love to choose when to go to bed, but that's not really compatible with a workload challenging enough to appease admissions counselors.

If you think life's going to become any more considerate of your sleep requirements, think again.

Use time-boxing as a scheduling mechanism. If you find you have more work to do than time to do it, start lopping off items from your to-do list, and/or identifying how you can accomplish a sufficient effort in the time available.

That is likely to be a far more useful life lesson than whatever subject it is you're studying at the moment.

You also have to learn how to schedule downtime. People cannot run 100% 24/7/365, and attempting to do this is at best very painful, and at worst, literally, suicidal.

Re: Sleep: Everything You Need to Know

#122

Post by 13b9f227ecf0 »

You don't need to time sleep and you don't need to weigh calories. You just need to make sure nothing is fucking up your true sleepiness and that nothing is messing up your appetite.

You have sophisticated systems in you to govern consumption of sleep and food. Just don't screw things up with drugs, digital stimulation, social isolation, or junk food. It's all the same issue.

Re: Sleep: Everything You Need to Know

#123

Post by ics »

brittohalloran wrote: post #120
ics wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recommend F.lux as well, but I've noticed a very unfortunate effect over the last few months... because of how soft it is on the eyes at night, I've learned that with it enabled I can continuously work 16-26 hour sessions without even realizing that I missed a sleep cycle. Obviously, this isn't a problem with F.lux itself, and I've tried very hard to tweak my settings so that this doesn't happen (it is auto-on/off,…

Really? You worked for 26 hours and didn't realize it because your screen was the right color?

Read it again– I'm not saying F.lux is the source of my sleep issues, just that it's made the exacerbation of said issues occur less noticeably (to me, of course).

Before I started using F.lux there was an obvious taxing period around 1-2am where my eyes might have started to get blurry or headache would set in, assuming I had woken up and started working by ~8am. From there I would either go to bed or brute force the next few hours, despite being aware of the time in general. Now, I don't get that feeling until much later– either at 22hrs when the sun has come up and F.lux begins fading out, or a little later if I'm not paying attention until after the sun has come up and the screen's been blue for a while. (At that point, I either notice the sun through the trees or get a splitting headache).

To further describe where I work: shaded area, floor to ceiling books, no clock, no phones. I do graphic work during the day and by early evening I'm in the command line until whenever. I can usually get out during the day, but sometimes I just don't. I think the proper advice here would be to stop working at home while living in the city, but that's enough OT– I was simply pointing out my experience using F.lux!

Re: Sleep: Everything You Need to Know

#125

Post by malbiniak »

vlasev wrote: post #97
malbiniak wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I really wonder how much sleep people lose worrying about their sleep habits. I've been having an increasing issue with sleep (not being able to fall asleep, then waking up early and not being able to fall back asleep). I've tried to combat it by being more aware of my habits and patterns, but that's resulting in sleep anxiety. Compounded with the effects of sleep deprivation and I'm easily losing sleep worrying ab…

Maybe you do not feel sleepy at the right times? Do you ever feel sleepy during the day? If this is so and the rest of your life permits, you should just let yourself drift into sleep.

I always feel sleepy between 2:30 and 3:00pm each day. Unfortunately my job (and my coworker's desire to flood my calendar) don't allow for midday naps.

Trust me, I've tried.

Re: Sleep: Everything You Need to Know

#126

Post by 6d0debc071 »

nkohari wrote: post #27
treeface wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure thing. I don't mean to imply that you are intentionally misguiding. Your general advice (i.e. sleep enough and do it consistently) is good and the post was fairly well-written. Cheers, good sir.

I'm not picking on you specifically, but I think this is an example of a very common problem on HN. Someone posts a very harshly-worded negative comment. Then the OP responds to it, and the commenter walks back their comment and praises the post. It seems like once people realize they're communicating with other real-life human beings, they are much more civil. Couldn't we try to consider that ahead of time, and avoi…

Being sincerely complimentary... or at least addressing points you might want to bring up in a delicate manner... requires a shift in the way people relate to others. It seems to me that taking a handful of generic compliments and sprinkling them among your real message will start to induce people to skim read it as a high noise to signal ratio.

Re: Sleep: Everything You Need to Know

#128

Post by NuZZ »

ctdonath wrote: post #127

What of being woken several times each night? I have two kids and two dogs and a wife; between them all I'm woken at least twice.

According to an article I saw on HN a week ago, apparently, evidence shows we evolved to naturally wake up once each night about half way through, for around an hour. Of course, we went to sleep when it became dark and woke with the sun. Something that isn't conducive with todays lifestyle.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5542453

Re: Sleep: Everything You Need to Know

#129

Post by gavinpc »

ctdonath wrote: post #127

What of being woken several times each night? I have two kids and two dogs and a wife; between them all I'm woken at least twice.

Ha, I also have two kids and two dogs and a wife.

Take a moment to thank your parents, everyone, if only because you ruined about a year of their sleep (at least).

Re: Sleep: Everything You Need to Know

#130

Post by reeses »

ics wrote: post #123
brittohalloran wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? You worked for 26 hours and didn't realize it because your screen was the right color?

Read it again– I'm not saying F.lux is the source of my sleep issues, just that it's made the exacerbation of said issues occur less noticeably (to me, of course). Before I started using F.lux there was an obvious taxing period around 1-2am where my eyes might have started to get blurry or headache would set in, assuming I had woken up and started working by ~8am. From there I would either go to bed or brute force th…

Go to bed!
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