Sleep myths 'damaging your health' • Hacker News Board

Re: Sleep myths 'damaging your health'

#41

Post by raducu » Thu, Apr 18, 2019, 10:52 AM UTC

b_tterc_p wrote: post #13

swsieber wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Get rid of screen time for 3 hours before bed. Also, I highly recommend the book "Why we sleep" Edit: you can also experiment woth wearing socks (by changing limb temperature you influence blood flow and heat dissappation

Socks is one of the surprisingly good suggestions

Socks on or off?

Re: Sleep myths 'damaging your health'

#42

Post by Pawamoy » Thu, Apr 18, 2019, 11:06 AM UTC

JamesBarney wrote: post #35

tomrod wrote: post #3

Staying in bed is a big issue with me. If I get less than 5 hours I take a major productivity hit. I've identified most drivers of my insomnia, but not all. Low caffeine, go to be without a full stomach, get up at a consistent time, keep the room cool. Beyond that, if you have suggestions I'm all ears.

Melatonin and bright light early in the morning. For the bright light I have a 10,000 lux sun lamp hooked up to an automated power switch. So every morning before I wake up I get a huge dose of sunlight.

Is its brightness slowly increasing or do you get flashed all of a sudden? For me, the latter would immediately trigger a very painful headache for the next 4 hours!

Re: Sleep myths 'damaging your health'

#43

Post by raducu » Thu, Apr 18, 2019, 11:10 AM UTC

tomrod wrote: post #3

Staying in bed is a big issue with me. If I get less than 5 hours I take a major productivity hit. I've identified most drivers of my insomnia, but not all. Low caffeine, go to be without a full stomach, get up at a consistent time, keep the room cool. Beyond that, if you have suggestions I'm all ears.

I never quite get to follow this routine, but, when I do I get the best sleep (+20% deep sleep, +20% REM, 4X light sleep (as opposed to 5X% light sleep that I normally get)):

- soft earplugs

- shave, bathe and have all my clean clothes ready for the next day -- because I usually snooze my alarm and do everything in a hurry -- knowing that I can just wake up and go is such a good feeling

- drinking 30 minutes before bed a cup of tea made of: 2 grams of glycine, 2 grams of Taurine, 200-400mg of L-Theaning, 1 pill of zync + magnesium + calcium (I'm somewhat convinced that calcium is not good for sleep, but I'm usually deficient), chamomile, st john's wort; sometimes 1 cap of ashwagandha(not an extract so I don't know the exact quantities)

- having low anxiety that particular day (tough one) - heavy curtains that do a good job at blocking light; tape all charger LEDs

- watching one Isaac Arthur's video about space habitats or some other calming videos with my noise cancelling headphones and phone's screen set to block blue light

Re: Sleep myths 'damaging your health'

#44

Post by zuzuleinen » Thu, Apr 18, 2019, 11:28 AM UTC

raducu wrote: post #41

b_tterc_p wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Socks is one of the surprisingly good suggestions

Socks on or off?

On

Re: Sleep myths 'damaging your health'

#45

Post by jhayward » Thu, Apr 18, 2019, 11:40 AM UTC

saagarjha wrote: post #5

> People with the condition are more likely to develop high blood pressure, an irregular heartbeat and have a heart attack or a stroke. I'm pretty sure that obsesity has been linked to snoring, so is it possible that this is just a side effect?

It is possible. Snoring pre-dates weight gain in many people though, and in fact snoring-related sleep issues may be causal in obesity.

Re: Sleep myths 'damaging your health'

#46

Post by stochastic_monk » Thu, Apr 18, 2019, 12:17 PM UTC

tomrod wrote: post #3

Staying in bed is a big issue with me. If I get less than 5 hours I take a major productivity hit. I've identified most drivers of my insomnia, but not all. Low caffeine, go to be without a full stomach, get up at a consistent time, keep the room cool. Beyond that, if you have suggestions I'm all ears.

I like late night workouts. I sleep easier and more; additionally, eating before bed usually doesn’t bother me in this context.

Re: Sleep myths 'damaging your health'

#47

Post by WhuzzupDomal » Thu, Apr 18, 2019, 12:29 PM UTC

Margaret Thatcher SAID she had 4 hours a night. Not sure who actually believed it, just sounds like hype to me.

Re: Sleep myths 'damaging your health'

#48

Post by EADGBE » Thu, Apr 18, 2019, 1:27 PM UTC

turndown wrote: post #21

Who on earth thinks drinking helps you sleep better? I've missed out on the best factoids it seems.

I certainly don't make a habit out of it, but when I do drink before bed, I wake up much more alert and feel refreshed than usual.

of course, I've never had an issue falling asleep, especially after having kids. It's not a sleep-aid to me.

Re: Sleep myths 'damaging your health'

#49

Post by swsieber » Thu, Apr 18, 2019, 1:49 PM UTC

rimliu wrote: post #40

swsieber wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Get rid of screen time for 3 hours before bed. Also, I highly recommend the book "Why we sleep" Edit: you can also experiment woth wearing socks (by changing limb temperature you influence blood flow and heat dissappation

Was there not a news just a few days ago about the research finding that screen time has no effect?

Maybe? There's been lots of research saying it does though, and I don't think I'd regret a decision to have less screen time before bed.

You might be thinking about the article about screen time and children, developmentally.

Re: Sleep myths 'damaging your health'

#50

Post by zantana » Thu, Apr 18, 2019, 2:08 PM UTC

raducu wrote: post #43

tomrod wrote: post #3

Staying in bed is a big issue with me. If I get less than 5 hours I take a major productivity hit. I've identified most drivers of my insomnia, but not all. Low caffeine, go to be without a full stomach, get up at a consistent time, keep the room cool. Beyond that, if you have suggestions I'm all ears.

I never quite get to follow this routine, but, when I do I get the best sleep (+20% deep sleep, +20% REM, 4X light sleep (as opposed to 5X% light sleep that I normally get)): - soft earplugs - shave, bathe and have all my clean clothes ready for the next day -- because I usually snooze my alarm and do everything in a hurry -- knowing that I can just wake up and go is such a good feeling - drinking 30 minutes before b…

I'm going to check out Isaac Arthur, it looks like there are audio only versions on soundcloud, which works better for me. I've used Art Bell and Terrence McKenna (via the Psychedelic Salon) in the past, and pretty much anything that is mildly interesting yet monotone and frequently I use a sleep timer since I'm generally asleep pretty quickly when this works.

For me the sleep prep is more about momentum than duration, if I'm moving in the relaxing direction the duration of the prep is not as important and I can go to sleep shortly after watching TV or using my PC.