If you’re like me and noise cancelling headphones make you seasick, try 3M Peltor Optime ear protectors - very effective.
Thanks for this. I've always hated noise cancelling headphones - they make my ears hurt. I'll give these a shot.
Dealing with Insomnia
41–50 of 169 posts
Re: Dealing with Insomnia
#42I never made the link with the sound levels before.
I just figured this out recently too. >6pm when people left the office and >8pm when the dull humming of the HVAC turned off gave this odd feeling of calm like it had been subconsciously aggravating me for hours.
Also stumbled on a wiki article on "Directed Attention Fatigue" [1] which implied that the brain's way of focusing is not like turning up the heat on a laser, but more like applying multiple blinders to a horse to create a tiny reticle of focus. That basically meant clear out as many visual-field and sound distractions as possible to minimize the energy required for attention (and increase stamina, too).
One thing I also try w/ the noise-cancelling headphones is only wear them during productive work, so that my brain subconsciously associates headphones on = work time.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directed_attention_fatigue
Re: Dealing with Insomnia
#43A few years ago I found myself experiencing a different sort of very debilitating sleeping problem. It started, as I recall, as something that would just happen on airplanes, my legs would feel almost like a buildup of lactic acid unless I moved them around. I could keep them still maybe for a few second at most, until the sensation built to a point where it was irresistibly uncomfortable and swinging or tapping my feet would instantly provide relief. Restless leg syndrome.
While at first confined to trying to sleep in an airplane chair (interestingly it never happened while sitting in front of a computer to work, or sitting at the dinner table, just when sitting to sleep) eventually it followed me into the bedroom, where it became a serious problem. Basically within seconds of lying down my legs would start winding up. Think like, in order to get them to settle down having to rapidly kick against the bed for 15 seconds and getting like a 2 minute window to try to fall asleep before the sensation built back up. And then even in my sleep, I would still be kicking around. Not very practical to say the least.
What finally solved it for me was a doctor suggesting I try trazodone. It’s an SSRI which was originally developed as an antidepressant, turns out to suck for that, but it is a very nice little sedative. As long as I have 6hrs to sleep, 25mg completely stops the restless leg syndrome and doesn’t make me wake up groggy. It was an absolute lifesaver.
On a separate note, I can absolutely relate to getting my best work done at night. Many times an all-nighter would result in more productive work than multiple days that led up to it. The next day would be a wash, but usually I could find myself back to a diurnal rhythm within a day or two. I never went full vampire because frankly I find it far too exhausting to be trying to keep that level of focus day after day, but many times over the years when workload got out of control a shift to working nights was a crucial strategy.
Re: Dealing with Insomnia
#44> Finally, the world is asleep and even a person who has trouble focusing in the face of distraction has a chance of getting something done. "The world is asleep" is basically my definition of serene and peaceful. --- A while back, there was a national holiday, so I had the day off. I didn't actually have anything I wanted to do with that day, so I used it to plan out my next work project. It was a very productive da…
This shouldn't come across as flippant but how can you be productive if you never think deeply?
I think I get what you mean.
To me, it's a matter of degree. Reading slack, reading emails, 1:1s, project sync meetings, merging PRs, etc all require nearly no depth of thinking. Creating a design for a small problem or understanding unfamiliar code requires a bit more, debugging more still.
The possibility (and actuality) of interruptions is also a matter of degree. A day with one meeting after lunch and nothing on fire allows for deeper focus than a day with nothing but 30 minute gaps between meetings and 15 people on Slack all wanting something.
The deepest thinking - the kind that is best suited to having an entire day of space - helps the most with the hardest problems: planning a complex project, understanding a new bit of type theory, etc.
(And it is not necessarily true that these problems are impossible to solve in the face of distractions, but a day of focus might match the output of a distracted week - and sometimes it's hard to budget a whole week just to think about something!)
edit: s/is only strictly necessary for the hardest problems/helps the most with the hardest problems/
Re: Dealing with Insomnia
#45I'm reading this book(Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker) right now. The number one piece of advice it provides is to set an alarm to go to bed and try to fall asleep at the same time every night, even on weekends. Other pieces of advice include lowering the temperature to 65°F at night(really), reduce or stop caffeine and alcohol intake, avoid screen time and light at night, and several other pieces of advice.
It's an okay book. Not the best I've read, but if you feel tired during the day, it's worth a read. My sleep quality has markedly increased since starting to read it.
Re: Dealing with Insomnia
#46Try magnesium. Stress depletes magnesium. The cells in our body need magnesium and calcium for their operation. When you're low on magnesium your cells can't go into off state. When that happens your muscles become stiffer and you can't sleep. Magnesium supplementation is the solution.
"Supplementation of 500 mg of Mg has been associated with significant improvement in the insomnia severity index, sleep time, sleep efficiency, sleep onset latency, serum cortisol concentration, serum renin, and melatonin." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5637834/
"As compared to the placebo group, in the experimental group, dietary magnesium supplementation brought about statistically significant increases in sleep time..." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3703169/
"When Mg2+ was reintroduced in food and water, sleep organization and ECoG recordings were restored to their original patterns." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8232845
Re: Dealing with Insomnia
#47> After reading many reviews I kept on coming back to the same brand which I had sworn to never buy another item of due to their disrespect of users’ systems integrity, aka the ‘rootkit debacle’ Does Sony really have the best noise cancelling headphones? What brands/models have worked for people here? I've continuously struggled with distracting noises through my education.
I use Sennheiser's PXC 550s and have recommended them before. The cost is reasonable compared to Bose/Sony, and the quality of the product is excellent.
Re: Dealing with Insomnia
#48I feel like I leave this comment every few months on HN but the podcast “Sleep with Me” has been so immensely helpful to me that I take every opportunity to share it. Something about Scooter’s voice and the way he talks about nothing gets my brain in just the right spot to turn off. It has been more effective for me than any sleep aid medication I’ve tried. I know it won’t be a magic bullet for everyone but trying a…
I fall asleep too using podcasts but that only works for 1-2 hours then I wake up without being able to fall asleep again.
Re: Dealing with Insomnia
#49I'm using NC headphones for years. Highly recommend Sony MX3 or even MX2.
The issue for me is that I'm now worried of the constant Bluetooth waves that go into my brain since I wear these headsets pretty much the entire time I spend at the computer (quite a lot). I actually gave up wearing them due to this concern.
I tried finding a headphone that does noise canceling and produces audio without bluetooth. There's nothing on the market. Something with a processor for NC and normal audio input for audio.
Re: Dealing with Insomnia
#50I think my biggest problem is that I don't exhaust myself physically. Humans are built for constant labor. We're the endurance-running champions of the animal kingdom. As recently as last century, almost all jobs were physically exhausting. Mind work is exhausting as well, but in a different way. At the end of a strenuous day of coding, and endless meetings, I'm drained. Completely wiped out. I feel physically exhaus…
I was about to post that. It's definitely true in my experience. Only thing that's ever worked for when I get real bad insomnia is strenuous cardio/HIIT-type workouts.
But that's something people can't sell you so that's the last thing people try.
Even this advice that Jacques says about no napping during the day. IF I'm working out, I need that nap. I suggest he try cutting everything out except for the morning bike ride and see how far it takes you.
And yeah, people shit far too much on that book, "While We Sleep" maybe some of the findings need more data but they do ring true, especially the part about underestimating lack of sleep does to our mind and body.
Btw, didn't know you played synths.