5 ms·

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)

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)