4 ms·
People always talk about the winters, but the thing that really messes with you is the summers, if you're light-sensitive then that's a really long period of no
by Nullabillity 4y ago
People always talk about the winters, but the thing that really messes with you is the summers, if you're light-sensitive then that's a really long period of not getting any proper sleep.
- rippercushions 4y agoThis is why virtually all Nordic households have blackout curtains.
- Nullabillity 4y agoI lived in Norrbotten for 10 years. Blackout curtains help, but it's not the same thing.
- Schiphol 4y agoIn Spain every house comes with 'Persian blinds' (https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persiana https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persiana) installed. They completely block the passage of light and are a perfectly adequate solution to this problem. It's a mystery to me why no other country in Europe seems to know or care. So much so that there's no English version of the above Wikipedia page.
- jdmoreira 4y agoSame in Portugal
- Schiphol 4y agoI get how these blinds (or the shutters stavros talks about in a sibling comment) would initially be more popular in Southern countries, but one would think that places with 6 months of always-on daylight would catch up eventually.
- weinzierl 4y agoIn Germany every house, except maybe very old ones under historical preservation, has these too. Most often these are centimeter thick plasticky ones on the outside. They are thick and strong enough not only to block out all light but also protect the window glass from hail.
- cromulent 4y agoIn English they are commonly called "venetian blinds". In northern Europe they are often installed between the panes in the triple glazing.
- Semaphor 4y agoDifferent things: https://budgetblinds.com/puyallup/community-connection/blog/tacoma-venetian-blinds-vs.-persian-blinds-what-are-the-differences/ https://budgetblinds.com/puyallup/community-connection/blog/...
- stavros 4y agoIn Greece we have exterior shutters (as seen here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_shutter https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_shutter). They fit an outside frame, and modern ones don't let any light at all in (not even light bleed in the edges). The room is just always completely dark. I'm similarly puzzled as to why many other countries don't seem to have these. I've never managed to sleep as well elsewhere.
- Nullabillity 4y agoMy current apartment has them. They're far less effective than the worst-installed blackout curtains. When pulled down fully they block maybe.. half the light? Blackout curtains themselves do a good job, but have a lot of side bleed. Blinds even out the problem by.. also adding side bleed between each of the sheets.
- Schiphol 4y agoIf you have "side bleed" between sheets we are not talking of the same thing. Really.
- teodorlu 4y agoThat depends a lot. I live in Oslo now, and have lived in Trondheim and Finnmark near Kirkenes before. Never used blackout curtains in Oslo or Trondheim, absolutely needed them in Finnmark. I wouldn't say that blackout curtains are the norm in the Nordic countries, especially not Denmark. But if you're in a place where there's midnight sun, I suggest getting some.
- Symbiote 4y agoBlackout curtains are easily available in Denmark, and I have some, but I don't think that's common.
- cinntaile 4y agoWhich is a bit surprising cause they let plenty of light in. Roller shutters work much better for this purpose.
- yencabulator 4y agoI never saw such in Finland growing up. Thick roll-up shade, sure, but the edges would leak light. I'd say most Finns at least learn to sleep with light in the room.
- blamazon 4y agoI'm light-sensitive but for me the problem of sleep can be remedied adequately with technology. Aluminum foil is one easy way to make a room extremely light-proof, and from there one just has to simulate the sunrise/sunset with lighting, for which there's a bunch of consumer electronics available these days that are good enough to trick my brain into sleeping correctly. Supplemental melatonin helps me to get back on schedule if I mess up, or switch schedules. By contrast, in my experience artificial lighting in the polar night helps but just can not warm my soul enough to dispel the oppressive dark mood of winter.
- Semaphor 4y agoWouldn’t sleeping masks help? I love those (also earplugs and weighted blankets), but I’m not actually that light sensitive.
- whoooooo123 4y agoYou don't put those on until you're actually in bed trying to sleep. It still messes with you that it doesn't get dark when it's late and bedtime is approaching.
- Semaphor 4y agoThat makes sense, thank you.
- Nullabillity 4y agoI'm happy that it works for you, but I've never been able to sleep at all with that kind of pressure against my face.
- Semaphor 4y agoHave you tried those with space for the eyes? They should lessen the pressure. But personally, I enjoy it.
- Nullabillity 4y agoMy eyes are fairly recessed already, the problem is more about the overall pressure on the face, which is a pretty inherent problem to that approach.