4 ms·

I'm not sure how much this will do to change anyone. Sure, it's bluntly stated but, well, most people realize quite well that lack of sleep is awful and dangero

I'm not sure how much this will do to change anyone. Sure, it's bluntly stated but, well, most people realize quite well that lack of sleep is awful and dangerous. People don't usually do it because they want to do it. Long hours at work, deadlines, stress, occasional bout of Netflix addiction. Out of all of those, there's only one that's easy to resolve and I'd wager that Netflix isn't usually the biggest contributor to chronic lack of sleep.

cassianoleal 5y ago
Also being a night person on a day people's world.
- WilTimSon 5y ago
  Yup. Even being a day person and maintaining a solid schedule is hard. Oh, you'd like to go to bed on time but the two/three friends you still retain as an adult want to have a drink because today's the only day of the week they're free. And then tomorrow you want to go to sleep early but it's cleaning day and you need to do it cause then it'll be a tough day at work and so on, forever and ever.
brimble 5y ago
Imagine a medieval king who decided their castle should be lit up like day at nighttime, hundreds of candles in mirror-walled rooms, 365 days a year, and also that the entire castle save only the bed chamber would host the finest entertainers and all the most interesting friends and strangers in the world, party games and amusements in a hundred palace rooms, and a mage who could show the king any wonder of the world in his crystal ball, and a bazaar with the finest goods on display, the best academics, et c., et c., basically on tap, and this wild best-the-world's-ever-seen carnival would never. Close. So that all the king must do is open his bed chamber door, any hour, any day, to be enthusiastically welcomed into a veritable (and sometimes literal) orgy of entertainment. 24. 7. Year-round. Think that king might have a rather disrupted sleep schedule? It seems obviously insane to live like that, no? Instant reaction is "my god, why would you do that", right? Consider that a totally ordinary middle class house in the West is arguably worse than that. No wonder everyone "can't" sleep or "is just a night owl" (sure, some may actually be, not saying zero people are). Frankly it's a miracle we get anydamnthing done, and sleep at all. I'd encourage everyone to try candle-only lighting after sundown (or maybe extremely dim candle-temp electric lighting, though if you're just trying it briefly consider the candles, they're a bad idea for a bunch of reasons long-term but fine for a few days—you'd be surprised how little you need, I found two beeswax tapers were the minimum to read by without discomfort, but my eyes are still young-ish), no electric devices whatsoever (there's actually still a ton you can do—card games, board games, play music, read, draw, write, et c.), no whole-room lighting, just for a week or so. See if you're still a "night person" by day 7. [EDIT] Bonus round on the thought experiment at the top: imagine the king is, despite this questionable decision, actually fairly responsible and leaves the castle to go run the kingdom during the day, most days, retiring to this ultra-carnival-home only late in the day. You'll expect that to go even worse as far as sleep is concerned, right?
- scarby2 5y ago
  All of my lights are tunable for color temperature and brightness and everything is tuned for warm and dim in the evening. It's helped my sleep no end. However i also have sleep apnea and am unable to tolerate the machine, so all of these things are still true. (i've had some surgery - need some more, and i still do try the machine, i've just never been able to get more than a few hours sleep with it
  - brimble 5y ago
    Since you brought up apnea, I want to clarify that my post is not meant to explain all difficulty sleeping or dismiss all folks' situations. Some have sleep apnea or other medical issues. Some really might be built different in a way that makes them night owls (I was sure I was for years, as seem to be so many people). Just that there seems to be a pretty obvious explanation for probably most of the trouble when you lay out what the environment in a normal house looks like at night these days.
- bot41 5y ago
  That is a fun and good analogy .. that I read at nearly midnight while sitting with my laptop and external monitor at full brightness communicating with strangers in other parts of the world.
- fleddr 5y ago
  You're absolutely right. I'm supposedly a "night owl" and "not a morning person" but it's total nonsense. I've spent considerable time in my travels in tropical nations. Two days there and I'm a completely different person. The day starts at 5:30 AM, as soon as light arrives. And will you look at that, I'm jumping out of bed full of energy. Absolutely unimaginable back home. It's made possible because life slows down after 6PM. You eat, relax, and go to bed around 9pm. For the simple reason that there's nothing to do, and nobody else is doing anything either. Unlimited light and distractions has made me a night owl, it's not a natural thing or character trait.
  - brimble 5y ago
lr4444lr 5y ago
You forgot the most important one: caring for young kids in a nuclear family society with two working parents.
- tyoma 5y ago
  I was waiting for this comment. I have no problem falling asleep and staying asleep, but if one kid keeps you up until 2 and the other wakes you up at 6:30 you can only sleep so long.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

cassianoleal 5y ago

Also being a night person on a day people's world.

WilTimSon 5y ago
Yup. Even being a day person and maintaining a solid schedule is hard. Oh, you'd like to go to bed on time but the two/three friends you still retain as an adult want to have a drink because today's the only day of the week they're free. And then tomorrow you want to go to sleep early but it's cleaning day and you need to do it cause then it'll be a tough day at work and so on, forever and ever.

brimble 5y ago

Imagine a medieval king who decided their castle should be lit up like day at nighttime, hundreds of candles in mirror-walled rooms, 365 days a year, and also that the entire castle save only the bed chamber would host the finest entertainers and all the most interesting friends and strangers in the world, party games and amusements in a hundred palace rooms, and a mage who could show the king any wonder of the world in his crystal ball, and a bazaar with the finest goods on display, the best academics, et c., et c., basically on tap, and this wild best-the-world's-ever-seen carnival would never. Close. So that all the king must do is open his bed chamber door, any hour, any day, to be enthusiastically welcomed into a veritable (and sometimes literal) orgy of entertainment. 24. 7. Year-round. Think that king might have a rather disrupted sleep schedule? It seems obviously insane to live like that, no? Instant reaction is "my god, why would you do that", right? Consider that a totally ordinary middle class house in the West is arguably worse than that. No wonder everyone "can't" sleep or "is just a night owl" (sure, some may actually be, not saying zero people are). Frankly it's a miracle we get anydamnthing done, and sleep at all. I'd encourage everyone to try candle-only lighting after sundown (or maybe extremely dim candle-temp electric lighting, though if you're just trying it briefly consider the candles, they're a bad idea for a bunch of reasons long-term but fine for a few days—you'd be surprised how little you need, I found two beeswax tapers were the minimum to read by without discomfort, but my eyes are still young-ish), no electric devices whatsoever (there's actually still a ton you can do—card games, board games, play music, read, draw, write, et c.), no whole-room lighting, just for a week or so. See if you're still a "night person" by day 7. [EDIT] Bonus round on the thought experiment at the top: imagine the king is, despite this questionable decision, actually fairly responsible and leaves the castle to go run the kingdom during the day, most days, retiring to this ultra-carnival-home only late in the day. You'll expect that to go even worse as far as sleep is concerned, right?

scarby2 5y ago
All of my lights are tunable for color temperature and brightness and everything is tuned for warm and dim in the evening. It's helped my sleep no end. However i also have sleep apnea and am unable to tolerate the machine, so all of these things are still true. (i've had some surgery - need some more, and i still do try the machine, i've just never been able to get more than a few hours sleep with it
- brimble 5y ago
  Since you brought up apnea, I want to clarify that my post is not meant to explain all difficulty sleeping or dismiss all folks' situations. Some have sleep apnea or other medical issues. Some really might be built different in a way that makes them night owls (I was sure I was for years, as seem to be so many people). Just that there seems to be a pretty obvious explanation for probably most of the trouble when you lay out what the environment in a normal house looks like at night these days.
bot41 5y ago
That is a fun and good analogy .. that I read at nearly midnight while sitting with my laptop and external monitor at full brightness communicating with strangers in other parts of the world.
fleddr 5y ago
You're absolutely right. I'm supposedly a "night owl" and "not a morning person" but it's total nonsense. I've spent considerable time in my travels in tropical nations. Two days there and I'm a completely different person. The day starts at 5:30 AM, as soon as light arrives. And will you look at that, I'm jumping out of bed full of energy. Absolutely unimaginable back home. It's made possible because life slows down after 6PM. You eat, relax, and go to bed around 9pm. For the simple reason that there's nothing to do, and nobody else is doing anything either. Unlimited light and distractions has made me a night owl, it's not a natural thing or character trait.
- brimble 5y ago

lr4444lr 5y ago

You forgot the most important one: caring for young kids in a nuclear family society with two working parents.

tyoma 5y ago
I was waiting for this comment. I have no problem falling asleep and staying asleep, but if one kid keeps you up until 2 and the other wakes you up at 6:30 you can only sleep so long.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]