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Something that has helped me kick some bad but undeniably comforting habits in the last year is keeping actual data. For a few months I logged simple stuff, lik
by thom 5y ago
Something that has helped me kick some bad but undeniably comforting habits in the last year is keeping actual data. For a few months I logged simple stuff, like whether or not I’d imbibed alcohol, how much sleep I’d got, whatever. And on the other side I’d track simple subjective measures of my mood and energy. I put all this into some simple linear regressions and the evidence was so overwhelmingly clear that it became very hard to convince myself that staying up until 1am was the only way to have quality ‘me time’, or having a boozy night with my wife was the only way to fully relax.
I don’t really go for quantified self stuff generally, I do quite like living intuitively as much as I can. But sometimes you do need to call yourself on your own bullshit.
- nefitty 5y agoI tracked every minute of my time several years ago, for about a year. The shock of how much time I was spending playing Battlefield is what helped me kick video games.
- C19is20 5y agoI can recommend apps like kubios (my fav), hrv4 and elite hr (I use all three daily). Coupled with even a cheap heart rate monitor, you can see the effects of 'everything' on your body/ soul as well as track sleep etc. Oura rings do similar, but they're subscription based.
- netizen-936824 5y agoI second this. These monitors are invaluable for gaining insight into how we're doing health and stress-wise
- _gshc 5y agoAny recommendation for a decent but cheap tracker?
- TheAdamAndChe 5y agoI've got the Garmin Forerunner 45s, I like it a lot. It's got a built in GPS, so you can track your runs without bringing a phone.
- netizen-936824 5y agoI'm glad you noticed the down sides, most people don't get to see that different perspective. Alcohol does a serious number on us without us realizing it. Alcohol really doesn't help us relax (besides in the few hours after consumption) and induces more stress over the long term Personally my cannabis use patterns can mess with my sleep, I've noticed how much by simply using a sports band sleep tracker. Its surprisingly accurate at predicting my overall energy levels
- thom 5y agoYeah, two things highly correlated with overdoing alcohol for me are worse sleep (irrespective of going to bed early, I'll sometimes get reflux for example) and clearest of all are anxiety attacks. I'll sometimes wake up with a sense of unshakeable doom (which in turn could lead to some suboptimal behaviours), but cutting out booze reduces these occurrences basically to _zero_, even on my worst, most stressful days thinking about problems at home or work. Not going to claim it's all been plain sailing, and I don't really want or intend to maintain a permanent state of sobriety, but the article certainly matches my experience, and having hard evidence really helps.
- netizen-936824 5y ago>I'll sometimes wake up with a sense of unshakeable doom I'm sorry you experience this. Its very unpleasant, to put it lightly. What you're experiencing is the down regulation of GABA in the brain. Personally when I use GABAergics like alcohol, I always experience an increase in negative thought patterns after. I now avoid them like the plague, but they do have their uses for things like general anxiety disorders (as a last resort only IMO) and acute issues like panic attacks (this is where they shine) Regular or high dose use (most drinking patterns that I've observed) will cause down regulation more readily than having a drink or two once a year or so. This is also beneficial as it minimizes the cancer risk associated with drinking
- physicles 5y agoThe perfect app I found for this (on HN) is Daylio. It captures info at the right level of detail. Even has a place for a bit of writing or a photo each day.