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I think key to getting really good rest is to unplug. I know most people tend to sit on their phones or computer for a few hours. Some science suggest that isn'

I think key to getting really good rest is to unplug. I know most people tend to sit on their phones or computer for a few hours. Some science suggest that isn't good rest because your nervous system is still being stimulated. [1] I find I get the best rest when I unplug for a bit. Take a long walk, just for the sake of walking. Or lay down for 30 minutes and do nothing for a while. [1] http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mental-downtime/ http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mental-downtime/

sotojuan 10y ago
Doing some casual reading before sleeping has really helped.
- curiousgal 10y ago
  I feel like an entire different person when I am reading a book. It's very soothing, even if the book is dense and thought-provoking.
- Normal_gaussian 10y ago
  This is how I end up awake until 2am... That said I recently went for over two months without reading in the evenings - when I resumed reading (a friend literally pushed a book on me and said it needed to be read within a fortnight) I became notably calmer and less stressed. To have colleagues note that none of the workload had changed yet I was significantly more with it was startling, and the only change I could identify was the book.
  - sotojuan 10y ago
    I think my strategy backfires if the book is really good. Personally my night reading is very casual, usually a light non fiction book that doesn't provoke much deep thought. For me it's mostly about slowing down.
    - douche 10y ago
      There's nothing like cracking a book open to read a few pages before bed, then noticing that all of a sudden the sun is coming in through the window and it's time to go to work...
    - majewsky 10y ago
      I think it depends on the chapter length. 1. While I'm inside a chapter, I'll keep reading until the end of the chapter. 2. When I'm at the end of a chapter, I will stop if (and only if) I feel that I cannot invest the time to start the next chapter right now. So short chapters are bad because I will just keep going ("oh come on, only two more pages") and long chapters are bad because I will not even start them. The sweet spot for me was two years ago when I read www.hpmor.com.
      - badwolf 10y ago
        for me it's more: 1. While inside a chapter, I'll just finish this chapter... 2. At the end of the chapter "oh, I gotta find out what happens. Just one more quick chapter..."
- badwolf 10y ago
  I can't do that. I get into a story, and go balls to the wall immersing myself in it. Next thing I know, it's 3am and I have a meeting at 8
- eyelidlessness 10y ago
  This unfortunately ruined reading for me for a long time. I associated reading with sleep, and it became a pavlovian response: a few pages in, any time of day under any circumstances, I'd start to nod off.
  - richie5um 10y ago
    I've had this too.
  - CuriouslyC 10y ago
    This is easy to fix. Just spend at least as much time reading on a treadmill or other exercise device as you do before bed and you will learn to discriminate very quickly.
    - eyelidlessness 10y ago
      Good advice, but I bike for exercise. I doubt I can read and bike safely :)
      - notduncansmith 10y ago
        You could try a stationary bike.
        eyelidlessness 10y ago
        That sounds like a significant downgrade.
        CuriouslyC 10y ago
        I suppose that depends on the quality of the material you're reading. I like the outdoors, but unless I'm somewhere that is both beautiful and novel, a good book makes my synapses buzz a lot more.
      - mitchty 10y ago
- chongli 10y ago
  Doesn't work at all for me. I start reading and I can't stop. Next thing I know it's noon the next day and I'm done the book.
- r00fus 10y ago
  For me it's reading things like astrophysics and cosmology. I find it peaceful to ponder that I'm a small part of a very large construct. Though I have a lot of interest in the field, the perspective really just puts my mind at ease. (Has to be dead-tree though - even a kindle has too much reminders of my work)
xyzzy4 10y ago
> Take a long walk, just for the sake of walking. That's very location-specific. Many cities are very pedestrian unfriendly, for example every city in India.
- sotojuan 10y ago
  Hence the "or". If you can't walk, just lay down in peace for a bit or read a book.
- Normal_gaussian 10y ago
  Which is unsurprising, as the author is relating their personal experience of 'unplugging'.
- jessaustin 10y ago
  ...yet one observes many people walking in those same cities. Curious.
  - Dylan16807 10y ago
    Something can be unfriendly and almost impossible to relax during, while also capable of getting you places and probably not killed.
  - xyzzy4 10y ago
    A lot of people are also walking around war zones such as in Aleppo. It doesn't make it safe, or something you'd want to do to relax.
    - jessaustin 10y ago
      This is an obnoxious comparison. Gaps in the sidewalk, open drains, etc. are annoying, but they don't threaten lives in the same way that e.g. barrel bombs do.
      - xyzzy4 10y ago
        I don't like writing long posts on HN but there are a ton of reasons why it is very dangerous to walk around Indian cities at night due to risk of being hit by vehicles.
kowdermeister 10y ago
> Or lay down for 30 minutes and do nothing for a while. It was figured out a few thousand years ago and became known as meditation. When needed I found it a good tool, but unfortunately it haven't become a habit yet.
sridca 10y ago
> I think key to getting really good rest is to unplug. I know most people tend to sit on their phones or computer for a few hours. Some science suggest that isn't good rest because your nervous system is still being stimulated. Why is this (being stimulated) is a problem? Sleep already ensures that one gets a good rest.
- bogomipz 10y ago
  They didn't say that stimulation was a problem. Short wavelength blue light from smart phones/computers affect circadian rhythms: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/q-a-why-is-blue-light-before-bedtime-bad-for-sleep/ http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/q-a-why-is-blue-li...
MawNicker 10y ago
It is good to have a moment or two each day where I don't feel like I'm being watched. I do find myself unable to rest. Ever.
dominotw 10y ago
>Or lay down for 30 minutes and do nothing for a while. But you mind is never at rest. Its always thinking, ruminating. 'doing nothing' is impossible and absurd, you mind is always 'doing something' . A lot of people just mindlessly browse online or work too much because they don't want to deal with their own mind. Sure you can just chill and sit on the couch doing nothing, but thats relaxing only when you have the mental peace to do so. I don't think people mean what is implied by the article as 'rest'. Its not a time issue. How can you possibly be 'alone' if you are stressed out about job, health, money, relationships or whatever. Sitting on a wooden pier with an umbrella is not being 'alone' , its precisely the opposite .
- skrebbel 10y ago
  This is why walking works. Dont bring your phone. It just keeps that minimum of distraction to not freak you out and that makes it easier to actually face what's on your mind, to some extent.
- sirtaj 10y ago
  Turning off the continuous thought-churn and "stopping" the conscious mind is a large part of what meditation is for, at least to begin with. The reason they ask you to catch your thoughts and refocus them to a single point - the air travelling through your nose as you breathe, for example - is to teach you how to do exactly that. It takes time and practice but most people can do it.
  - dominotw 10y ago
    >Turning off the continuous thought-churn and "stopping" the conscious mind is a large part of what meditation is for I never really understood the 'stopping' part, how is that even possible? At best you can simply refocus it to something you find peaceful, if that is the case how is meditation any different from say watching a movie that you love or playing drums.
    - tkxxx7 10y ago
      Don't you ever remember a time when you had a choice between thinking and not? If not, you're far overdue for some meditation.
bkjsbkjdnf 10y ago
The real key to getting really good rest is some good kush.
jmkni 10y ago
I'm currently contracting at a location about an hours walk away from where I live, so am walking home every day while listening to music. Great for unplugging, and means I am recharged by the time I get home for an evening of non-work related hacking at code.

sotojuan 10y ago

Doing some casual reading before sleeping has really helped.

curiousgal 10y ago
I feel like an entire different person when I am reading a book. It's very soothing, even if the book is dense and thought-provoking.
Normal_gaussian 10y ago
This is how I end up awake until 2am... That said I recently went for over two months without reading in the evenings - when I resumed reading (a friend literally pushed a book on me and said it needed to be read within a fortnight) I became notably calmer and less stressed. To have colleagues note that none of the workload had changed yet I was significantly more with it was startling, and the only change I could identify was the book.
- sotojuan 10y ago
  I think my strategy backfires if the book is really good. Personally my night reading is very casual, usually a light non fiction book that doesn't provoke much deep thought. For me it's mostly about slowing down.
  - douche 10y ago
    There's nothing like cracking a book open to read a few pages before bed, then noticing that all of a sudden the sun is coming in through the window and it's time to go to work...
  - majewsky 10y ago
    I think it depends on the chapter length. 1. While I'm inside a chapter, I'll keep reading until the end of the chapter. 2. When I'm at the end of a chapter, I will stop if (and only if) I feel that I cannot invest the time to start the next chapter right now. So short chapters are bad because I will just keep going ("oh come on, only two more pages") and long chapters are bad because I will not even start them. The sweet spot for me was two years ago when I read www.hpmor.com.
    - badwolf 10y ago
      for me it's more: 1. While inside a chapter, I'll just finish this chapter... 2. At the end of the chapter "oh, I gotta find out what happens. Just one more quick chapter..."
badwolf 10y ago
I can't do that. I get into a story, and go balls to the wall immersing myself in it. Next thing I know, it's 3am and I have a meeting at 8
eyelidlessness 10y ago
This unfortunately ruined reading for me for a long time. I associated reading with sleep, and it became a pavlovian response: a few pages in, any time of day under any circumstances, I'd start to nod off.
- richie5um 10y ago
  I've had this too.
- CuriouslyC 10y ago
  This is easy to fix. Just spend at least as much time reading on a treadmill or other exercise device as you do before bed and you will learn to discriminate very quickly.
  - eyelidlessness 10y ago
    Good advice, but I bike for exercise. I doubt I can read and bike safely :)
    - notduncansmith 10y ago
      You could try a stationary bike.
      - eyelidlessness 10y ago
        That sounds like a significant downgrade.
        CuriouslyC 10y ago
        I suppose that depends on the quality of the material you're reading. I like the outdoors, but unless I'm somewhere that is both beautiful and novel, a good book makes my synapses buzz a lot more.
    - mitchty 10y ago
chongli 10y ago
Doesn't work at all for me. I start reading and I can't stop. Next thing I know it's noon the next day and I'm done the book.
r00fus 10y ago
For me it's reading things like astrophysics and cosmology. I find it peaceful to ponder that I'm a small part of a very large construct. Though I have a lot of interest in the field, the perspective really just puts my mind at ease. (Has to be dead-tree though - even a kindle has too much reminders of my work)

xyzzy4 10y ago

> Take a long walk, just for the sake of walking. That's very location-specific. Many cities are very pedestrian unfriendly, for example every city in India.

sotojuan 10y ago
Hence the "or". If you can't walk, just lay down in peace for a bit or read a book.
Normal_gaussian 10y ago
Which is unsurprising, as the author is relating their personal experience of 'unplugging'.
jessaustin 10y ago
...yet one observes many people walking in those same cities. Curious.
- Dylan16807 10y ago
  Something can be unfriendly and almost impossible to relax during, while also capable of getting you places and probably not killed.
- xyzzy4 10y ago
  A lot of people are also walking around war zones such as in Aleppo. It doesn't make it safe, or something you'd want to do to relax.
  - jessaustin 10y ago
    This is an obnoxious comparison. Gaps in the sidewalk, open drains, etc. are annoying, but they don't threaten lives in the same way that e.g. barrel bombs do.
    - xyzzy4 10y ago
      I don't like writing long posts on HN but there are a ton of reasons why it is very dangerous to walk around Indian cities at night due to risk of being hit by vehicles.

kowdermeister 10y ago

> Or lay down for 30 minutes and do nothing for a while. It was figured out a few thousand years ago and became known as meditation. When needed I found it a good tool, but unfortunately it haven't become a habit yet.

sridca 10y ago

> I think key to getting really good rest is to unplug. I know most people tend to sit on their phones or computer for a few hours. Some science suggest that isn't good rest because your nervous system is still being stimulated. Why is this (being stimulated) is a problem? Sleep already ensures that one gets a good rest.

bogomipz 10y ago
They didn't say that stimulation was a problem. Short wavelength blue light from smart phones/computers affect circadian rhythms: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/q-a-why-is-blue-light-before-bedtime-bad-for-sleep/ http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/q-a-why-is-blue-li...

MawNicker 10y ago

It is good to have a moment or two each day where I don't feel like I'm being watched. I do find myself unable to rest. Ever.

dominotw 10y ago

>Or lay down for 30 minutes and do nothing for a while. But you mind is never at rest. Its always thinking, ruminating. 'doing nothing' is impossible and absurd, you mind is always 'doing something' . A lot of people just mindlessly browse online or work too much because they don't want to deal with their own mind. Sure you can just chill and sit on the couch doing nothing, but thats relaxing only when you have the mental peace to do so. I don't think people mean what is implied by the article as 'rest'. Its not a time issue. How can you possibly be 'alone' if you are stressed out about job, health, money, relationships or whatever. Sitting on a wooden pier with an umbrella is not being 'alone' , its precisely the opposite .

skrebbel 10y ago
This is why walking works. Dont bring your phone. It just keeps that minimum of distraction to not freak you out and that makes it easier to actually face what's on your mind, to some extent.
sirtaj 10y ago
Turning off the continuous thought-churn and "stopping" the conscious mind is a large part of what meditation is for, at least to begin with. The reason they ask you to catch your thoughts and refocus them to a single point - the air travelling through your nose as you breathe, for example - is to teach you how to do exactly that. It takes time and practice but most people can do it.
- dominotw 10y ago
  >Turning off the continuous thought-churn and "stopping" the conscious mind is a large part of what meditation is for I never really understood the 'stopping' part, how is that even possible? At best you can simply refocus it to something you find peaceful, if that is the case how is meditation any different from say watching a movie that you love or playing drums.
  - tkxxx7 10y ago
    Don't you ever remember a time when you had a choice between thinking and not? If not, you're far overdue for some meditation.

bkjsbkjdnf 10y ago

The real key to getting really good rest is some good kush.

jmkni 10y ago

I'm currently contracting at a location about an hours walk away from where I live, so am walking home every day while listening to music. Great for unplugging, and means I am recharged by the time I get home for an evening of non-work related hacking at code.