4 ms·

If you're up and reading in bed the answer is almost always yes. You never want your brain to associated laying in bed with anything other than sleep or sex.

Kristine1975 11y ago
Why not?
- zero_iq 11y ago
  Apparently because it breaks the mental association between being in bed and sleeping, which can exacerbate sleep problems/insomnia and reduce quality of sleep.
  - levesque 11y ago
    And what about reading a few minutes to clear your mind of the previous day?
    - wyldfire 11y ago
      IMO unless you have trouble falling asleep, the "bed is for sleep or sex" advice is not as useful as "just make sure you get enough sleep."
      - levesque 11y ago
        I agree, just wanted to see what he would come up with.
  - incongruity 11y ago
    That's begging the question (in the original and still proper use =) – the OP's claim has become a bit of a platitude on the internet and yet I've seen scant evidence for it. It may well be there, but, admittedly, as I said above, it doesn't seem to be really all that wise.
incongruity 11y ago
I find this so ridiculous - both as someone who has worked in research psychology and as a person who, like many others, has a bed and likes to sleep... If we were such simple creatures that we could be so easily conditioned to not sleep because of previous non-sleep activities in bed, sex of all things would be one of the biggest drivers of insomnia. It produces a significant reward and we're very much wired to want it - as such, it would make a powerful unconditioned stimulus if anything could. Therefore, the previous poster's claim isn't even valid on its face. Sex should absolutely be done elsewhere if we're so easily conditioned away from sleep. Instead, I'd substitute the idea that things like light exposure do matter (so tv and digital tools are often counter to falling asleep). Another useful idea is the rule of thumb that if you're trying to sleep but can't, after some period of time of tossing and turning, get up, keep the lights dim but do something else and come back in a little bit and try to get yourself in the sleep groove again. It's conceptually not so different from a pilot aborting a landing and going around again, I guess.
- mbrock 11y ago
  If you're having sex while reading this, you should definitely stop. You don't want to associate browsing Hacker News with anything except procrastinating at work... so put your pajamas back on.

Kristine1975 11y ago

Why not?

zero_iq 11y ago
Apparently because it breaks the mental association between being in bed and sleeping, which can exacerbate sleep problems/insomnia and reduce quality of sleep.
- levesque 11y ago
  And what about reading a few minutes to clear your mind of the previous day?
  - wyldfire 11y ago
    IMO unless you have trouble falling asleep, the "bed is for sleep or sex" advice is not as useful as "just make sure you get enough sleep."
    - levesque 11y ago
      I agree, just wanted to see what he would come up with.
- incongruity 11y ago
  That's begging the question (in the original and still proper use =) – the OP's claim has become a bit of a platitude on the internet and yet I've seen scant evidence for it. It may well be there, but, admittedly, as I said above, it doesn't seem to be really all that wise.

incongruity 11y ago

I find this so ridiculous - both as someone who has worked in research psychology and as a person who, like many others, has a bed and likes to sleep... If we were such simple creatures that we could be so easily conditioned to not sleep because of previous non-sleep activities in bed, sex of all things would be one of the biggest drivers of insomnia. It produces a significant reward and we're very much wired to want it - as such, it would make a powerful unconditioned stimulus if anything could. Therefore, the previous poster's claim isn't even valid on its face. Sex should absolutely be done elsewhere if we're so easily conditioned away from sleep. Instead, I'd substitute the idea that things like light exposure do matter (so tv and digital tools are often counter to falling asleep). Another useful idea is the rule of thumb that if you're trying to sleep but can't, after some period of time of tossing and turning, get up, keep the lights dim but do something else and come back in a little bit and try to get yourself in the sleep groove again. It's conceptually not so different from a pilot aborting a landing and going around again, I guess.

mbrock 11y ago
If you're having sex while reading this, you should definitely stop. You don't want to associate browsing Hacker News with anything except procrastinating at work... so put your pajamas back on.