Sleep: Everything You Need to Know

There's a difference between not dreaming and not remembering your dreams. Everybody dream every night.

This is just speculation, but perhaps you sleep better on your side, so that you don't remember your dreams as easily? E.g. if you wake up several times a night, you will remember more dreams than if you don't wake up during the night.

this is funny, because of how soft it is on the eyes at night... blame it on your stamina, work being interesting or your superior motivation and lack of distracting beings around. Dont blame it on a software man.

You can add one to your sample set.

AFAIK, worry is the main reason for poor sleep. And encountering posts like this at HN and in newspapers all the time may add to the problem.

For example, I had almost gotten back my sleep a couple of months back. And then, every newspaper (and HN) was full of this new research saying that lack of sleep alters genes. I didn't even have to read the articles, the headlines were enough: "Too little sleep is bad for you, it alters genes! My, oh my!". Thanks! Welcome back, sleep problems.

But on what grounds can they conclude that altered genes is bad for your health? The research sure says that things is happening in your body, and that some processes related to e.g. the immune system has been altered. But how bad is it really? Will you die earlier?

There are many things altering your genes. If I look at a picture of a cute kitten, I am pretty sure you can see that in my genes. Also, meditation dramatically alters you genes. (There are stories about monks who hardly need to sleep at all, because they get the rest they need through meditation.)

So, are there big problems with sleeping too little, are there really reasons to worry? I don't know. But like in in many other fields (e.g. nutrition), results of early studies have been stated as "facts", while later studies show that things are a bit more complicated. Antioxidants comes to mind.

There are research suggesting that too little sleep causes heart disease. (Note the word "suggests".) But, if there is a link, is the reason lack of sleep? Or does other factors add to it or cause it, e.g. eating more junk food, that you get more easily annoyed (increasing blood pressure), etc.?

I am not suggesting that you should sleep less, and I believe sleep is important. But I am unsure about how much you should worry if you sleep poorly.

In general, I believe more and more in eating balanced, exercising moderately (walking is good!), and most importantly, taking a break when my body tells me it's time to rest (listening to your body is underrated, and we learn from early childhood to suppress what it tells us). And, very important, stop reading health news. Because adding to almost any problem, is how media (and others) report findings to sell more of their products. They skew reality, and you probably end up worrying more than you should.

Surely F.lux is fairly pointless unless the only source of light in your room is your computer monitor?

I would imagine that any windows or external lighting is going to have a far greater effect than F.lux. I tried F.lux a while ago when it was recommended in a previous HN post but for me the only difference it seemed to have, was to make my computer monitor more difficult to read by making it too dim.

cdjk is right: start with starting strength (or something similar like stronglifts) before moving to a different program. 3 times a week, takes about 45 mins. you start with an almost empty bar (to practice proper form), increase weight every single workout and do this until you can bench 1xbw, squat 1.5xbw and deadlift 2xbw (this is achievable after only 3-5 months). after reaching that goal you'll already be astoundingly fit and strong compared to most people you know. for me it worked a lot better than a halfhearted 5x a week split.

here's the basic workout, among other beginner programs:

http://i.imgur.com/FvuUb.gif (cheatsheet) or http://pastebin.com/FqDwRp8m (text).

one of the best thing about powerlifting is that it helps correcting some typical programmer ailments like an hollow back or forward slumping shoulders (both are unhealthy and, honestly, just plain unsexy).

you can do SS at home or in a gym; doing it at home requires space and upfront investments for the barbell, bench and squat rack.

gyms differ in quality. most chains don't want their customers to do real training. read this: http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/everything-you-know-abou... - tl;dr: lift free weights and don't unquestioningly trust the gym (-trainers) - their primary interest is money, not your progress. the gym i went to had just one squat rack, so i often had to wait (can take 20mins). also, gyms, of course, add commute time.

the good thing about gyms is that you can ask others to form-check you, but you have to be able to identify the competent athletes. imo at the cheaper gyms most people know even less about proper workout than i do; they focus on upper body and biceps. i've heard this is called "prison style" workout, but i'm pretty sure most convicts know more about proper form than your average gym-goer :)

if money isn't a problem, you could also try crossfit. it's fun and very effective, but usually not cheap. crossfit venues usually have competent trainers.

alternatively, see if there's an olympic lifting club near you. membership is usually even cheaper than a gym subscription (mine is just 25 euros a year), people are competent, they have enough barbells for everyone and workout is basically the same (full body strength, but more focus on legs, hips and back).