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Show HN: Improve cognitive focus in 1 minute
Staring at something for 30-90 seconds has been proven to improve & boost mental focus on subsequent tasks (from Andrew Huberman - https://youtu.be/CrtR12PBKb0?t=3367 https://youtu.be/CrtR12PBKb0?t=3367
).
So I made something simple you can look at (and simultaneously meditate) for 1 minute to improve focus for your next task :) Let me know if it works for you
- adamzerner 3y agoThat's a really cool app. What JavaScript framework did you use?
- spartanatreyu 3y agoWhy do people always reach for a JS framework? It's just a css animation
- jacobsenscott 3y agoI couldn't not look at the timer. I lasted 10 seconds.
- ctack 3y agoI like it, but it overflows on my iPhone SE screen.
- junetic 3y agoThanks. I will check it. Let me know if it helps you with mental focus after (It actually does for me).
- chrisweekly 3y agoiPhone 13pro also slightly overflows left and right side when circle expands to its max size
- zerojames 3y agoThis reminds me of the old Headspace meditation app circle that was used to help steady breathing before beginning a session. I like it!
- giantg2 3y agoAnd now you've meta sidetracked me with your Show HN post.
- junetic 3y agohuberman talking about visual focus + brain effects - https://youtu.be/CrtR12PBKb0?t=3367 https://youtu.be/CrtR12PBKb0?t=3367
- leetrout 3y agoRelated, on the meditation side, "Sit" was posted on here the other day https://sit.sonnet.io/ https://sit.sonnet.io/
- slingnow 3y agoIf Huberman mentioned it in a podcast, it must be true and groundbreaking way to hack your brain to a better life! I can't wait to stare at this thing !!!!
- junetic 3y agoHaha. Well have you tried meditation?
- ssijak 3y agoonly after breaking a fast with a cold plunge and sauna afterward
- generalenvelope 3y agoif you didn't time your caffeine intake this morning it's all a wash /s
- generalenvelope 3y agoHuberman's pretty good at taking research he doesn't have the expertise to assess out of context and turning it into some protocol that everyone needs to do. The vast majority of things he talks about, if beneficial at all, are at the margins and people stand to gain far more from doing things like exercising and eating vegetables more. Edit: Alan Flanagan has spoken on the Huberman paradox in detail: - https://www.instagram.com/p/CkLPU7BMiIN/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CkLPU7BMiIN/ - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Bgc3uGu0uoI https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Bgc3uGu0uoI
- cassianoleal 3y agoWho's Alan Flanagan and why should I listen to his opinion on Huberman? From what I can tell, Huberman is a neuroscience Ph.D. whereas Flanagan is one in nutritional science is that right? If so, by credentials alone, Huberman seems like a better reference in matters of the nervous system. Note that I have no horse in this race, I'm really just curious!
- plaidfuji 3y agoI am SO COGNITIVELY FOCUSED on reading this comment section.
- fnordsensei 3y agoSpeaking of Huberman, I've had great use of the physiological sigh[1] for dealing with stress. 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0OBgihk2f8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0OBgihk2f8
- junetic 3y agocool. so exhale longer than inhaling and repeat multiple times. I think this works. thanks for sharing
- theGnuMe 3y agoyeah basically it is how you breathe after sobbing intensely.
- fnordsensei 3y agoIt's more of a double-take on the inhale. 1) Inhale 2) Microscopic pause 3) Inhale some more 4) Exhale longer than inhaling. From what I've noticed, more than two inhales is fine, it still works. It just shouldn't be an uncomfortable amount of air in the lungs. I've also noticed that my dog does this when he's about to go to sleep.
- Semaphor 3y agoDidn’t know it has a name, but I frequently do that when I’m not calm enough to sleep.
- theGnuMe 3y agoI do that, box breathing or even start a simple breathing meditation. Makes me yawn almost instantly.
- Semaphor 3y agoShort in, slow out when I’m almost sleepy enough, guided 4-7-8-0 (4 seconds breathing in, hold for 7, breathe out for 8) when I need to sleep but am simply not tired enough, and guided box breathing for stress.
- sippeangelo 3y agoThis does not work if you have ADHD and you notice how you can see your own reflection in the darkness of the dot and oh look I forgot to shave this morning… wait where did the dot go??
- junetic 3y ago:/
- ben_ 3y agoTrue, but this isn't really something the page author can address
- as1mov 3y agoI read your comment before going to the site. After starting the session, within a few seconds my mind drifted off into noticing how I couldn't see my reflection since my laptops screen is matte and why I prefer matte screens over a glossy one...and I've lost track of the dot too :/
- hnbad 3y agoI first got distracted by the "dot" starting to change size, then noticed my reflection while thinking about how the animation was probably supposed to represent breathing and ... yeah, I gave up when I started thinking about Black Mirror because I was thinking about how this problem could have been avoided and black is more reflective than white.
- rickydroll 3y agoand the dot changes are not smooth but jump when the browser gets lost on other tasks.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- dahart 3y agoAre you sure it doesn’t work with repeated or sustained effort? Maybe it’s too short, surely one single 60-second sample isn’t enough to know, right? I was just googling a little, while there isn’t a ton of research, there seems to be growing clinical evidence that mindfulness & meditation practices do help people with ADHD. I don’t know that the 1 minute dot counts as mindfulness practice, but I’m also not aware of reasons to count it out. https://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/adhd-mindfulness-meditation-yoga https://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/adhd-mindfulness-meditation-y... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4694553/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4694553/ https://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/adhd-meditation#get-comfortable https://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/adhd-meditation#get-c...
- TheLonelyClown 3y agoVery nice :) Feedback: mostly I need to do this at work currently, which means I am going to retreat to a quiet place and grab my phone. Phone Screens going to sleep and the thing being interrupted by tapping anywhere on the screen are not compatible. Not sure if other people face this issue, but for me tapping anywhere on the screen in order to not make the phone go to sleep should not interrupt or restart this meditation. A small X in a corner would be better. Nit: The scrolling on your site is horrible broken on mobile. Keeps rubber banding and bouncing around.
- junetic 3y agoAck. Just applied a fix on the scroll. Not sure what to do with when mobile phone goes to sleep. Will look into it
- dtran 3y agoAwesome project! Reminds me of donothingfor2minutes.com from Calm, but with a different end goal of focus instead of calm. Regarding mobile phones going to sleep, Wake lock [1] might help, unless you can reduce to 59s since I believe 1m is the threshold (make sure to request within the context of the user hitting "start"). Unfortunately on older mobile browsers [2], the best workaround I found was using this NoSleep library[3]. Source: ran into this same issue when building https://www.phonefreehour.com https://www.phonefreehour.com [1] https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/WakeLock https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/WakeLock [2] https://caniuse.com/wake-lock https://caniuse.com/wake-lock [3] https://github.com/richtr/NoSleep.js https://github.com/richtr/NoSleep.js
- ethbr1 3y agoRecite your baseline. > And blood-black nothingness began to spin... a system of cells interlinked within cells interlinked within cells interlinked within one stem... and dreadfully distinct against the dark, a tall white fountain played.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- crawancon 3y agoNeat idea and implementation! I'm a bit jaded from the internet so I couldn't relax. I was waiting for something to jump out or a big eyeball or something. the white and black contrast was nice... though it started to mess with my eyes as I stared. maybe awkward for light/strobe sensitive folks?
- glandium 3y agoit messed with my eyes during (there would a white-blue-ish halo around the circle as it retracts), and _after_ (I saw a white circle of the size of the black circle) for a few seconds.
- Doe-_ 3y agoFun! I wonder if this lets you measure the average attention span of visitors? I'd be curious to see the impact on the average of the various platforms where this is shared.
- afandian 3y agoI recommend https://breathly.app/ https://breathly.app/ It's open source, runs on iOS and Android and has aboslutely no clutter.
- 65 3y agoThank you! I watched a podcast episode with Rick Rubin and Andrew Huberman and they did a breathing exercise at the beginning with an app like this. Rick Rubin never mentioned the name of the app and when I tried to search the app store for something like this it was all freemium junk. I got so annoyed I was about to make my own damn app, but now I don't have to.
- zagrebian 3y agoMaybe it would be better if the circle didn’t have such a high contrast. I don’t want a black circle burnt into my eyes after I’m done with this exercise.
- stevage 3y agoI use the browser extension Dark Reader and I found it a soothing low contrast.
- wruza 3y agoI believe everyone who wants dark mode actually wants Dark Reader instead. Also, half of the "dark mode"-enabled sites are more toxic to my eyes than their bright versions. Dark Reader allows to set the desired brightness, contrast, grayscale, etc. It's one of extensions that makes you instantly regret you didn't install it earlier.
- stevage 3y agoGenerally I prefer sites that actually implement their own dark mode. Dark Mode Reader is good, but it's not perfect. And it makes a lot of map-based sites pretty weird.
- junetic 3y agogood feedback! thanks
- troyvit 3y agoI enjoyed trying to tell if the circle had a 3d aspect to or not, and also trying to tell if it was completely black or actually dark dark gray. I'm not sure if I'm cognitively more focused but I'm going to try it again when I need that focus.
- hn8305823 3y agoI had a slightly different reaction: I was very distracted by the visual artifacts (brain processing, not the actual image), especially around the edge of the circle.
- catchnear4321 3y agoas a side project - neat as a focus tool or means of understanding the self - anyone that hasn’t tried to just sit or lay quietly, for the sake of doing so, ought to. it isn’t hard, it isn’t easy, it just isn’t something modern society really seems to encourage, let alone understand. you might find you feel different once you are done than from when you began. that might be a good thing.
- TheAceOfHearts 3y agoMy mind: initial resistance, I don't really wanna do it. Whatever I started it. Okay, focus on the circle. Wow this feels like it's taking a while. Oh I wonder how other people would react to being presented this. Some people would probably expect it to be some sort of scare jump prank. Back to focusing on the circle. What was the page called again? eyes go to URL bar Oh right, one minute focus. This is distracting I'll just start counting. 1, 2, [...], 42. Oh it finished.
- manmal 3y agoMeditation in a nutshell.
- Zelphyr 3y agoAgreed. The powerful part is, “Back to focusing on the circle.”
- namaria 3y agoAnd it's a bit like weight lifting. I started with just the bar. In several weeks I was lifting my body weight. You start with just one minute. Pretty soon it's effortless to calm your mind for several whenever you want.
- bluecheese452 3y agoThat is an extraordinary rate of progression!
- jeffgreco 3y agoI was a young internet user at the turn of the century so kept waiting for a jump scare -_-
- DLion 3y agoAhaha same, I thought about it for a few seconds
- gigglesupstairs 3y agoThe first time I encountered such a jump scare was someone presenting their animation done in Macromedia Director. Not kidding, it was really traumatic in nature at the time. And I just didn’t get the fun others supposedly felt for this kind of “fun”.
- globular-toast 3y agoIndeed, my PTSD prevents me from doing this without inspecting the source code.
- throw310822 3y agoThe first time I used a meditation app I could not stop laughing hysterically at the thought that the guy soothingly giving directions from the app might suddenly go BAAAAUAAARGH! just for the fun of it.
- amflare 3y agoI can never trust a meditation app for exactly this reason. I know there are too many trolls out there. This also reminds me of this skit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLZJxjCOplc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLZJxjCOplc
- y-curious 3y agoYEP! Came to the comments to see if I am just paranoid.
- SketchySeaBeast 3y agoIt would be great if you had a link or source for the claims on the page before you start.
- dinkleberg 3y agoInstead of spending a minute reading their sources, you could just try it out and see if it works for you.
- SketchySeaBeast 3y agoI'm going to be honest to you, I'm not going to use this, but I am interested in if/how/why it works. That might be able to convince me, but I don't want to dick around with the placebo effect.
- boringg 3y agoMade it to 45 seconds before looking at the clock - though i had the mouse over the circle so it was greyed and in the middle I needed to move it around because it was distracting. Cool site though. How long does the "mental boost" last for? I.e. 1 min of focus for x amount of boost?
- kapep 3y agoThe abrupt reset snapped me out of my thoughts which felt kind of unpleasant to me. Unless it is an intentional part of the experience, I would probably use a smoother end animation. Something that gently prepares you to get back to work (even if it just for a few seconds) instead of kicking you straight back into the world with unfinished thoughts.
- seventytwo 3y agoHuberman seems to be well-respected, but I just can’t shake my feeling that he’s constantly trying to sell me stuff.
- slingnow 3y agoDon't shake that feeling. He has a whole line of supplements that he has endorsed, and you better believe there's money in what he's doing.
- joshmlewis 3y agoHe talks about supplements sometimes but I don't ever feel like he pushes them and usually says you can get them wherever but I suggest here. I don't agree with everything he says but it's clear he puts a ton of time and research into the episodes he does and I don't blame him for trying to make money. So many of his guest episodes contain invaluable knowledge and that's a fine trade off for me.
- kranner 3y agoHis podcast is sponsored by Athletic Greens. He has promoted their product in every single episode that I've listened to. That's a bit more than sometimes.
- tsol 3y agoIn general he's good at not being so pushy, but that part bothers me. There's nothing explicitly wrong, but it's not a great look. And it's a little bit unethical depending on how you think about it.
- kieckerjan 3y agoNice work! Does the trick for me. Tangentially, I would love to have something like this in which I can "program" my own breathwork routines (reps and sets including breath holds). Been trying various apps, but haven't yet found one that ticks all my boxes. (Tips welcome.)
- junetic 3y agoI would also like to know! Breathwork is important and it'd be nice to follow some routines and also somehow track my breath during sessions or throughout the day
- ohyes 3y agoI kept thinking “all hail hypnotoad” and waiting for a jumpscare. I did feel remarkably calmer towards the end.
- bzmrgonz 3y agoI think the instructions need to be further clarified. We should match the expansion of the dot with our inhales?
- jaystraw 3y agoin say the late 90's, i remember getting an email with a link to a webpage that explained, "your CRT can be used as a camera, and if you stay in position in front of your screen we'll take a picture of you and display it" i'm maybe 12, and thinking of all sorts of things as i sat proudly waiting for an image of me to come back. after 15 odd seconds, i was shown a picture of a laughing primate. who was neither me or human. staring at this circle, i thought i was gonna get pranked again
- mentos 3y agoI fell for this one when I was 10. Was a fun mix of terror and amusement.
- FergusArgyll 3y agoabout 20 seconds in: Can I vape while focusing?
- rpastuszak 3y agoNice one! The first version of Sit. was just a dot to stare at: https://sit.sonnet.io https://sit.sonnet.io (Felt like too much UI for me so I dropped it.)
- joloooo 3y agoI enjoyed this version more. While less focus oriented it was more calming than the high-contrast dot. thanks for sharing!
- thinkingtoilet 3y agoA small piece of feedback. I started to breath naturally with the pulse of the circle then found it to be a little too fast. I think slowing the pulse down would be nice. And to add to what others have said, I think the contrast of the colors could be more pleasant. Thanks for sharing!
- smallerfish 3y agoRight, agreed - it seems fast. What breathing frequency are you aiming for, and is there any science to it? Also, you could think about extending to box breathing.
- addandsubtract 3y agoI think it needs a pause at the end of each animation cycle. Like, I breathe in and then wait half a second before breathing back out. Same for the other way around.
- barbazoo 3y agoYes, what I felt too. Is there a secret query param by chance to control the baseline speed?
- bewuethr 3y agoI thought the same, and then thought it's maybe slowing down? And if it isn't, it would be nice.
- y-c-o-m-b 3y agoSame here and it actually started triggering a little bit of anxiety in doing so (I take short breaths or hold my breath when anxious). Maybe it should utilize the 4-7-8 pattern.
- Karawebnetwork 3y agoI feel the same. I've been using "Box Breathing" gifs* for a long while and this one here feels like I'm just making myself get out of breath with shallow breathing that do not fill my lungs. Perhaps it is the point but the page does not go into details. * https://quietkit.com/box-breathing/ https://quietkit.com/box-breathing/
- HumblyTossed 3y agoStarted it, then almost immediately got a text from daycare and clicked away. I guess I'll try again later.
- cchance 3y agoFirstly... my ADHD did not allow me to complete this. Secondly... My distrust of the internet did not let me complete this as it told me a jump scare was guaranteed to happen eventually.
- metadat 3y agoLife's tough when you voluntarily place yourself in the role of the victim and give away all your power. That phrasing, "wouldn't let me complete this", is a self-defeating way to talk to yourself. Switching it up a bit can make a significant difference, for example: "That first try was a struggle, it might take some practice for me to improve". -- In case you or other HN friends are curious and find this technique intriguing, it stems from the philosophy suggesting healthy thinking can reduce distress and promote well-being. The field of study is called Cognitive (or Dialectical) Behavioral Therapy, aka CBT / DBT. Millions of people have found it an effective framework and strategy to permanently improve the way we speak to ourselves and relate to the world. Here's the book I liked most (but there is an ocean of them): DBT Skills Training Manual by Marsha Linehan https://www.amazon.com/DBT%C2%AE-Skills-Training-Manual-Second/dp/1462516998/ https://www.amazon.com/DBT%C2%AE-Skills-Training-Manual-Seco... While you're alive, you might as well live your best life. Sincerely, your buddy Metadat p.s. sorry for the medium-length text wall, I didn't realize this would take be more than a sentence, but after initially posting only the first sentence, it was downvoted and it was apparent some explanation would be more helpful.
- geoelectric 3y agoWorth mentioning DBT is a subset of CBT, not a synonym. https://www.skylandtrail.org/4-differences-between-cbt-and-dbt-and-how-to-tell-which-is-right-for-you/ https://www.skylandtrail.org/4-differences-between-cbt-and-d... DBT originally stems from therapies for Borderline Personality Disorder. While it has applications beyond that for things like anxiety and bipolar management, it may or may not be the right answer for people who don't struggle with negative impulses or behaviors. I'd probably start with sources on more general CBT for someone just needing a nudge or who is more depressive than impulsive.
- 3y ago
- boplicity 3y agoThis is a bit like one of my personal focus hacks. When I'm struggling, especially in the morning, I'll often set a five minute timer, and tell myself: "surely you can focus on something for five minutes." This is usually enough to get me over the hump, and in the mood to actually get stuff done. I do think there's something that happens after a short period of intentional focus, where you cross a "barrier" into a state of mind that is more conducive to long-term focus. But there's definitely sometimes real resistance to crossing that barrier.
- globular-toast 3y agoThis sounds similar to the "pomodoro method".
- ApolloFortyNine 3y agoThe problem with pomodoro is eventually you learn that its a trick just to get you started, so your brain eventually goes back to just wanted to never start again. That's how it feels for me anyways though.
- boplicity 3y agoNo technique works without enough genuine desire and motivation to accomplish whatever it is you're aiming to accomplish. (And the belief that you actually have a chance of accomplishing it.) If things like Pomodoro or similar aren't working, then the next step is to figure out if you believe in the path you're on, and are motivated enough to continue on it.
- growingkittens 3y ago*And a working executive function system in your brain. No amount of genuine desire and motivation can fix that issue.
- ApolloFortyNine 3y agoOf course, I'm just saying I see Pomodoro as more of a mental trick than anything else. More than anything just starting is the most important part.
- mywacaday 3y agoNearly impossible to see the circle in dark mode on mobile. Neat idea though
- Souk 3y agoA friend of mine was asked to do "cohérence cardiaque" breathing exercises so I made them something similar [1]. The circle will slowly change hue, before cycling back to blue after about 5 minutes (They were supposed to do this exercise for 5 minutes and I thought having a timer wouldn't be relaxing) [1] https://souf.dev/cc https://souf.dev/cc
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- syngrog66 3y agoI admire fact you created it. And focus is good. But honestly theres no need for this to be software or be on the Internet. I've been able to stare at things for over 40 years now, both out in the real world around me. As well as at imagined things inside my mind's eye. I can stare at things today. Right now, even! And for as long or short as I want, tailored to my unique needs. And with max privacy. No power or connectivity needed. I think increasingly that major portions of humanity are.. well, insane, to be frank. Perhaps its me thats the crazy one? ;-)
- schaefer 3y agoAnother way to look at it is: The software does have a purpose. Launching the software requires two specific acts of intention. First to open the software, and second to affirm our intention and click the start button. Then the intention is realized by sticking with the exercise for the duration of the timer. Since the very purpose of the software is to change the way an individual is currently relating to their own mindset, these can all be quite useful tools towards that end. -- Obviously, not Everone's cup of tea. Perhaps specifically not yours. but then you said "there's no need for this software" and not "I don't need this software". A personal preference doesn't imply a universal truth.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- bithive123 3y agoIf you're crazy then I am bonkers. I'm having a hard time accepting that this and most of the comments are not some elaborate joke. Meditation is some kind of relaxation or productivity life hack? To observe even briefly the nature of one's own mind requires following some kind of formula or system? Bah, humbug!
- gpmcadam 3y agoI waited around 30 seconds for this page to load before I gave up. I can't say it improved my focus but I did appreciate the 30s of calm. Good work!
- gniv 3y agoNow that I've been acquired by a cat, I've learned to sit quietly for longer periods. She has endless patience if she's not disturbed.
- michaelteter 3y agoYes. What is going on in their minds? My cat would sometimes sit close and directly facing the wall, eyes open, for many minutes at a time.
- stanac 3y agoMaybe your cat was angry with you and that was the way to tell you "I don't want to talk to you"
- m3kw9 3y agoMaybe make the circle complete as time expire could make people stop wondering when it will be done.
- m3kw9 3y agoThe problem of focus is a problem of motivation, you could band aid it by doing this but if you can’t solve why you are not drawn to the task you will always have this issue. Can you focus hours playing a good game? Yes? Then why is this game innately making you focus and your task isn’t? Maybe it can be looked at differently? Can it be fixed?
- captainbland 3y agoI often think this to myself. Why is it when I start on something "new and shiny" I get this burst of enthusiasm and motivation, but when it loses its novelty it becomes hard work? I keep trying to think if there is some way I can trick my brain into thinking things are always interesting and novel so that I can reliably get into a flow state and feel happier about what I'm doing.
- karmajunkie 3y agoThis is basically the "Breathe" meditation helper from the mindfulness app on the apple watch (not sure if Android/WearOS has something similar…) Useful if you don't have one but the watch version is a bit handier for my use.
- laweijfmvo 3y agoIndeed seeing this reminded me of the Breathe app, which was renamed to Mindfulness and has Reflect and Breathe exercises. It’s nice because you can configure the breathing rate, the visuals are pretty nice looking, and I even like the haptics.
- moltenc 3y agoThe year is 2024 and a website requires running untrusted scripts on your computer to display one dot on the screen.
- gentleman11 3y ago> ...has been proven to... I came here looking for the paper or research that proves this. Do you have a source?
- jumperabg 3y agoI am not sure if I was focusing or I waited for something else to happen, for example a zombie to pop up screaming.
- jmbwell 3y agoI like it! Have you considered adding a little easing to the animation so that the changes are more gradual?
- lenerdenator 3y agoMy ADHD (in Darth Vader voice): "Your powers are weak, old man."
- swah 3y agoRelated term is trataka (see https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=trataka&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...)
- autoexec 3y agoThe button doesn't work without JS enabled, but just staring at the "start" button for 1 minute would probably work just as well right?
- rbosinger 3y agoMaybe be able to control the breathing speed (the circle animation speed) would be handy. Unless this is supposed to be scientifically the speed I should be breathing for optimal health or something. My body wanted to go a little slower than the circle moved and I found myself speeding up to keep time. Or is that the point?
- blobbers 3y agoHuberman’s opinion on cognitive focus; possibly an opinion he has some authority on!! (As opposed to all the other opinions he seems to love to opine)
- j4hdufd8 3y agowhy he only has authority on cognitive focus?
- laweijfmvo 3y agoI assume because he’s a neuroscientist/neurobiologist, so this would be in his personal field of expertise.
- theonething 3y agoTried it and love it. Super simple. Does what it says on the tin and nothing else. Thanks for making it!
- abhinai 3y agoDid it really help?
- VladimirGolovin 3y agoVery timely and helpful, thank you! A suggestion: the pulse animation would look much better with ease-in / ease-out animation curves instead of the harsh linear curve it's currently using. EaseInOutSine from this cheat sheet would do fine: https://easings.net/ https://easings.net/
- myfonj 3y agoIf you'd like to try those easings straight away, you can use this bare-bones rip-off in interactive sandbox [0]. Still basic: animation is symmetrical, so easing "in" has the same easing as "out", just reversed. Under 2 kB total. HTML, mostly CSS and literally two lines of JS only for restarting the animation. [0] https://myfonj.github.io/sandbox.html#%3C!doctype%20html%3E%3Chtml%20lang%3D%22en%22%3E%3Ctitle%3Ehalf%20minute%20focus%3C%2Ftitle%3E%0A%3Cmeta%20name%3D%22color-scheme%22%20content%3D%22dark%20light%22%3E%0A%3Cmeta%20name%3D%22viewport%22%20content%3D%22width%3Ddevice-width%2C%20initial-scale%3D1%22%3E%0A%3Cstyle%3E%0Ahtml%20%7B%0A%20--easing%3A%20cubic-bezier(.7%2C%200%2C%20.3%2C%201)%3B%0A%20--limit-seconds%3A%2030%3B%0A%20--in-out-seconds%3A%205%3B%0A%20--cycles-count%3A%20calc(var(--limit-seconds)%20%2F%20var(--in-out-seconds)%20*%202)%3B%0A%20--duration-seconds%3A%20calc(.5s%20*%20var(--in-out-seconds))%3B%0A%20min-height%3A%20100vh%3B%0A%20display%3A%20grid%3B%0A%20place-items%3A%20center%3B%0A%7D%0Abutton%20%7B%0A%20XXanimation-name%3A%20run%3B%0A%20animation-direction%3A%20alternate%3B%0A%20animation-timing-function%3A%20var(--easing)%3B%0A%20animation-duration%3A%20var(--duration-seconds)%3B%0A%20animation-iteration-count%3A%20var(--cycles-count)%3B%0A%20width%3A%2040vmin%3B%0A%20height%3A%2040vmin%3B%0A%20background-color%3A%20canvastext%3B%0A%20color%3A%20canvas%3B%0A%20border%3A%20none%3B%0A%20border-radius%3A%2050%25%2050%25%3B%0A%7D%0A%5Baria-pressed%5D%20%7B%0A%20color%3A%20canvastext%3B%0A%20animation-name%3A%20run%3B%0A%7D%0A%40keyframes%20run%20%7B%0A%20from%20%7B%0A%20%20transform%3A%20scale(1)%3B%0A%20%20opacity%3A%20.5%3B%0A%20%20filter%3A%20blur(1vmin)%3B%0A%20%7D%0A%20to%20%7B%0A%20%20transform%3A%20scale(2)%3B%0A%20%20opacity%3A%20.9%3B%0A%20%20filter%3A%20blur(.1vmin)%3B%0A%20%7D%0A%7D%0A%3C%2Fstyle%3E%0A%3Cbutton%0A%20onclick%3D%22setAttribute('aria-pressed'%2Ctrue)%22%0A%20onanimationend%3D%22removeAttribute('aria-pressed')%22%0A%3EClick%20to%20animate.%3C%2Fbutton%3E https://myfonj.github.io/sandbox.html#%3C!doctype%20html%3E%...
- KTibow 3y ago
- tootie 3y agoTrigger warning: I have narcolepsy and the dot induced a cataplexy
- lagt_t 3y agoHuberman passes studies conclusions as settled science.
- h-c-c 3y agoIsn't that what science is? Our understanding changes all the time based on new experiments. "Settled science" isn't a thing imho.
- lagt_t 3y agoScience is the art of prediction. When I say settled science I mean that the predictability has overcome all possible experiments so far. For example, how planets move around a star is settled science. Huberman sometimes passes the results of a single experiment as if there are no more hurdles to overcome.
- croemer 3y agoHuberman wildly oversells and overgeneralizes. Apparently that's what listeners want.
- steve-atx-7600 3y agoAnd uses a lot of words in doing so. “Effect” and “size” together are usually absent.
- laweijfmvo 3y agoI think he’s just a curious guy who loves to experiment on himself, and talk (a lot) about it. The problem comes when people listen to his podcast looking for magic bullets and take everything as strictly true or false.
- karolist 3y agodoes the pulsating dot contain randomised white noise or it's solid and it is my vision?
- layer8 3y agoOn an iPhone mini, the circle at maximum size extends a bit beyond the left and right screen edges (slightly more on the left it seems, so not exactly centered). In addition, the page is scrollable vertically by about 10% (except that the “About” doesn’t scroll), despite there being no content that would require scrolling.
- pil0u 3y agoBack to focus on the dot that flattens on the edges.
- dimask 3y agoNice, I really like it. A quiet nice way to bring meditation during my work time actually.
- KerryJones 3y agoFeedback: - This is great to link to breathing - After reading multiple breathing books (Breath by James Nester, Outlive by Peter Attia, Oxygen Advantage, etc.), there's a lot of evidence to breath slower. Specifically, 5.5 seconds in, and 5.5 seconds out, make the dot match or be closer to matching that rate could actually cause a lot of physical benefit by people matching with it - Alternative if you don't want that, make it a control setting so someone (like myself) can do it.
- giberson 3y agoI found the animation end point and start point to be rather abrupt. Can you add/tweak the easing function so the stopping isn’t sudden? For me it produces a cognitive thunk that takes me out of concentration on breathing. Otherwise it seems it could be effective.
- olegdater 3y agowould be cool if it used webcam and then would detect if you stop looking at the circle, then reset the timer if detected the aim would be to be focused for 1 min
- st3ve445678 3y agoAm I supposed to match my breathing to the way the circle moves? The instructions make no mention of it.
- lynguist 3y agoIt looks like the hackernewsverse really needed this. What unexpected positivity in the comments! And when I read this I feel somewhat more connected to you others. It’s not just text that was already plastered here. It is someone’s written thoughts.
- dusted 3y agoThat was amazingly disturbing. I'm generally not disturbed by my noisy visual field, but this.. Giant halo around the breathing dot, as the contrast faded in and out the roundness started to disintegrate and as it changed size while fading to grey it started straight up breaking into geometric patterns, like the geometry was chopped up around the edges. I have no problem looking into nothingness for a long time (I can stare at ceilings until the lines disappear, or into the sky until the clouds seem to meld away).. Given how this was probably not intended to be a visual illusion, it did a great job of it! :D
- groby_b 3y agoCongrats on building this! Initial feedback: That circle is gargantuan, focusing on it takes no significant mental bandwidth. Yes, that's the point of meditation, but if you challenge people a bit, it makes it easier for them to stay focused, especially for beginners. (Or maybe it's a mobile page and I just shouldn't watch it on my desktop monitor?) Like the pulse in general, but maybe a bit too fast. Absolutely hate the coloring - black is having a mood impact, and washed out grey is just meh. That's probably a personal reaction, but worth keeping in mind if you want to build on it. Having a clearer indication of time left might be helpful for people beginning to meditate. (If I'd built it, I'd progressively make the focus object vanish until it's gone at the end, but, again, that might be personal preference.)
- rsyring 3y agoThere is a muted countdown at the very bottom center.
- neves 3y agoWhen I have a hard time to focus, I use this feature in my Mi Band. It is nice to have it always with ou
- anonymous344 3y ago1. how is it so fast? 2. dark mode?
- hirvi74 3y agoFor all the ADHD people saying that we are unable to meditate, just know that ADHD might be beneficial in some forms of meditation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvuVhCIQgfQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvuVhCIQgfQ
- hwbunny 3y agoI usually watch my desktop background or other art. The more you watch an art piece the more interesting nuances you tend to discover. This could also ruin an at first perfect looking art piece once you see discover some very disturbing details ;P.
- treprinum 3y agoI hoped for something from /r/unexpected or /r/AbruptChaos at the end to verify that my focus really improved ;-)
- cupcakecommons 3y agoIt's not a jumpscare. Had to let it run to completion before using it.
- zestyping 3y agoI could only make it for 30 seconds before I couldn't stand the sharp corner in the animation curves any longer and opened the Dev Tools to try to fix the easing! :)
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- hereforcomments 3y agoAwesome! I've added this to CJS Chrome extension and randomly (2%) it will throw me to the site. So during the day I'll do some breathwork to manage stress and get into focus.
- analog31 3y agoI fell asleep. Well, at least that's another cognitive improvement.
- rrr_oh_man 3y agoWent from start to finish, but it hasn't helped a bit. :(
- MisterKent 3y agoI like the idea, and the simplicity of the site. Two minor requests: - Ability to hide the timer at the bottom completely (one less distraction for my brain) - Dark mode (or maybe selectable colors?) -- I think it could be useful right before going to bed, clear my mind out etc. Ideally, both could be saved to local storage so the settings persist.
- alphabet9000 3y agothe maze game (screamer) permanently rewired my brain to avoid anything like this on the internet forever. staring at the dot for 2 seconds is already nerve wracking - will an exorcist face suddenly pop up? is it worth the risk? never again
- evanjrowley 3y agoYou could make some $ if you presented an ad instead of a dot.
- mirekrusin 3y agoGamify it, pro paid version shows more and more distracting ads on next levels. Buy bundle with adult ads etc.
- evanjrowley 3y agoAnd then port it to the Apple Vision Pro to leverage eye tracking.
- junetic 3y agohaha love these ideas
- holoduke 3y agoI started looking at it and forced myself to not look somewhere else. Without directly looking I saw some vague thing below the circle. Was it a timer? Was it some kind of "too bad you lose" text. I did not watch.
- dtgriscom 3y agoYeah, I saw that, and Didn't Look (I'm so proud). How can that be useful for people who are following the instructions? (Very strange.)
- stevage 3y agoIMHO the breaths are too fast. There is a type of breathing recommended for calming the body which is something like 4 seconds in, hold 4 seconds, 4 seconds out, wait 4 seconds, repeat.
- wruza 3y agoNot that I had any subsequent tasks at hand, but thanks. Few things I'd consider: 1. Make it to not stop when the time's out. New users will wonder if a minute passed and see 0:00, happy. Regular users will know the trick and will learn to spend as much time as they need around a minute, instead of feeling interrupted. Some will be angry, they failed anyway. 2. Make the "dot" smaller and blurry to avoid sharp halo. 3. Fade-in unintrusive "vvv" under 0:00 to suggest scrolling down for a random short advice/info. What was expected, how to deal next time, and so on. Educational and praising component. 4. Dark mode for those who can't browser extensions. 5. Click on a circle is probably barely discoverable due to the nature of the process. I'd push it down to #3.
- Cocorentin 3y agoI started trying meditation ten years ago, and initially, it was going well. However, after I developed anxiety, the imagery in meditation often triggered a sense of panic in me. Does anyone know about the relationship between long-term meditation and depersonalization? There are some papers discussing this topic.
- serp002 3y agoI'm not sure if this is exactly what you're talking about, but i'm going through a book called 'The Mind Illuminated' and the author has a section of the book called the 'Dark Night', which talks about how you can have a lot of issues if your meditation practice develops but your everyday life does not reflect it. He mentions a specific type of anxiety comes with this as well. My be worth looking into.
- Cocorentin 3y agoThanks for your reply, I am going to check this book. We've been talking a lot about the advantage of meditation in this society, but it seems there are also some dark sides of it...
- sexy_seedbox 3y agoThis reminds me of Wim Hof's breath work / breathing exercises.
- 6510 3y agoMy gut says it should breath out slower than inhale. (shrink slower than expand) I have a fun test where I blank my mind and look at the seconds on a clock. This is great to see how fucked up your state of mind is. Ideally there are no automated bodily processes that override that what you intend to do on the short term. That you should sleep eat drink, go to the toilet and stretch your legs is obvious. It's worth fighting those processes a little bit but unless you have a sensible excuse (like losing weight or driving a car) there is no need to meddle with them. Short term distractions from within should be suppressed when trying to get something done but also embraced when you are not. I love the idea that narrowing your field of view makes you more focused and do work with less effort and faster. I do think easier is not always your friend. A fancy bicycle that takes less effort and shortens your trip does make the trip less of an exercise. Maybe you should widen your vision before easy tasks.
- loudandskittish 3y agoSo, does the fact that I have zero trouble focusing on the dot for 60 seconds mean I DON'T have ADHD, contrary to what so many people on social media have been trying to convince me?
- quirkyblah 3y ago10x'd productivity today. Thank you!
- TibbityFlanders 3y ago[dead]
- reilly3000 3y agoOne of the lesser discussed aspects of ADHD is rapid eye movement. This exercise brought mine into focus. Every ~18 seconds I noticed the circle jumped to another size as my gaze was rapidly averted and reset. I tried it a few times and focused intensely and had the same outcome. It’s one of the ways neurotypical folks can intuitively use to (subconsciously) discover our traits and deem us untrustworthy. Shifty… If you find that last statement to be outlandish, please take a look at these resources. https://neuroclastic.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Thin-slice-judgements-autism-asd.pdf https://neuroclastic.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Thin-sli... https://www.nature.com/articles/srep40700 https://www.nature.com/articles/srep40700 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-41654-9 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-41654-9
- reilly3000 3y agoOne more on ADHD eye movements from an interesting study that used VR in a novel way: Based on these studies, ADHD manifests as deficits of goal-directed attention, such as reduced ability to suppress saccades, less accurate saccades to target location, and difficulties in maintaining fixation on a target object. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-24552-4 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-24552-4
- blharr 3y agoMaybe it's placebo, but imo it worked pretty strongly! For about 30 minutes, I got a decent increase in work done
- tiborsaas 3y agoThis reminded me of Mulder from X-iles when he taped an X on windows.
- omnster 3y agoGreat work, helped me to calm down a bit! There was a bit of jumpscare for me at the end though: when the circle jumps back to being a button again. May I suggest adding a slower deflation?
- PeterStuer 3y agoI tried it. I almost fell asleep (not a joke). I still felt drowsee during the next task (writing this comment).
- wt__ 3y agoI stopped after a few seconds because I thought will staring at a black circle just give me eye strain (again)?
- wscourge 3y agoAnybody who ever meditated knows well that 1 minute of uninterrupted focus is very, very hard.
- AtNightWeCode 3y agoNice. The pulse is a bit too fast for syncing breathing I think. Also, exhales should be slower than inhales.
- instagib 3y agoGood to get people to try things for mental health. Huberman has a ton of content. I’ve used this one and it’s pretty good also. Trataka meditation with Dr. K, a gamer->monk->doctor. https://youtube.com/watch?v=vBdgpxqYkQ0 https://youtube.com/watch?v=vBdgpxqYkQ0
- 8ed30dc 3y agoI just get some error after gray ball was dispear from screen Application error: a client-side exception has occurred (see the browser console for more information). main-b85113564a892656.js:1 DOMException: Failed to execute 'removeChild' on 'Node': The node to be removed is not a child of this node.
- troydavis 3y agoHere's a free, ad-free phone app that does a slightly more engaging version of the same thing: https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/the-breathing-app/id1285982210 https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/the-breathing-app/id1285982210 , https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.ayny.breathingapp&hl=en_US&gl=US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.ayny.breat... The technique it implements is called resonance breathing AKA resonance frequency breathing: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8924557/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8924557/ If you've wanted to try meditation but haven't made time, try 3 minutes in that app and work up to 5-10. 5 minutes is enough to measure a difference in HRV.