11 ms·

Why Can’t We Fall Asleep?

152 points by phodo 11y ago

jfaat 11y ago
The twitter query string should be removed from this link
- dang 11y ago
  Thanks, done.
wodenokoto 11y ago
Does anyone know what the cognitive behavioural therapy the article refers to is? I know what it is in general, but how does it relate to sleep?
- jrapdx3 11y ago
  One important part of CBT for sleep is education about "sleep hygiene". This is the set of optimum behaviors or practices that promote sleep. Salient elements include establishing and maintaining a suitable sleep schedule, especially arising at a consistent time. "Winding down" well before bedtime, and minimizing light exposure in the evening will be helpful. IOW turning off light sources at the right time is encouraged. That light exposure part is getting a lot of discussion re: computers, phones, TV's, etc., being produced with ever brighter screens. Idea is that staring at a "device" activates the wake-drive and interferes with sleep onset. Other CBT measures aim to promote relaxation, reduce anxiety and "over-thinking" when it would be counterproductive. Put another way, reducing arousal at night is the goal. Goes without saying particular approaches will vary with the individual, but these are some of the basics.
  - thirdsun 11y ago
    I can't say how effective it is from a scientific perspective, but since it will be mentioned at some point in this discussion I might as well bring it up now: F.lux has become an essential tool for me. It changes the color temperature of your monitor, reducing cool/blue light and replacing it with warmer tones, which should helps getting good sleep. It does for me at least. Wish it was available for nom-jailbroken iPads though.
- silencio 11y ago
  It's basically CBT tailored towards insomnia. Identifying and addressing behaviors and thought patterns that make it difficult to sleep. Sleep hygiene, mindfulness, etc. As a sidenote, I did find a lovely PDF a while ago with a bunch of good sleep hygiene tips. As always, it's implementing the suggestions that is difficult, but :) http://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/docs/Info-sleep%20hygiene.pdf http://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/docs/Info-sleep%20hygiene.pd...
  - marak830 11y ago
    Thank you for the link, ill definatly read that when im home. I also agree with its hard to do the recommended sometimes :-s. 8 hour work, 2 hour total travel, then i need to code my own project -.-
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
- fredley 11y ago
  I have had great success with Sleepio: http://www.sleepio.com http://www.sleepio.com. It is a ~6 week CBT course that teaches you to have good hygiene, while at the same time understand what is preventing you personally from sleeping well, and developing your own routine.
- eCa 11y ago
  The ending felt a bit abrupt, so I guess that will probably be expanded on in part II or III of the series.
- codev 11y ago
  This article on a site I manage provides a great overview of sleep hygiene and other behavioural changes needed for good sleep http://en.hdbuzz.net/120 http://en.hdbuzz.net/120 It applies to anyone, not just Huntington's disease patients. The article is a humanised version of an article from a special edition of Experimental Neurology on sleep disorders: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00144886/243/supp/C http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00144886/243/su...
m_fayer 11y ago
I'm surprised the article mentions the blue light problem and devices but does not talk about flux, it's a little app that shifts the color temperature of your display to match what you're supposed to see at your location given the time of day. So, after sunset your screen basically turns orange. Although it's a bit annoying and takes some getting used to, I've tried it on and off and whenever I'm using it I fall asleep and stay asleep much better than without. A big problem for me with iPhones compared to android is that something like flux cannot work on them, so I have to avoid my device late in the evening to not disrupt my sleep.
- bauc 11y ago
  I use flux and have found it beneficial, I tend to sleep better since using it. It's made me more aware of the affects of light on sleep. What app are you using on android?
  - ikurei 11y ago
    The only flux-like app on Android I know of is Twilight[0]. I've been using it for longer that I can remember and I have no complains. [0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.urbandroid.lux https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.urbandroid...
    - marak830 11y ago
      Thanks ill try this one out.
      - KJKingJ 11y ago
        There's also CF.lumen [0], which I have running. It works best if you are rooted and can install the display driver. However, on non-rooted devices it behaves in a similar fashion to the other night time colour shifting apps. [0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.chainfire.lumen&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.chainfire.l...
nomercy400 11y ago
Is the blue light bothering you? - Windows/Linux: f.lux - Android: twilight
- ikurei 11y ago
  For Linux I had much more success using Redshift that flux. I can't quite remember what flux was missing that Redshift had. Does flux have an indicator on the notification/indicators area?
- provemewrong 11y ago
  If you are rooted, then CF.lumen is a better choice than twilight, because it is a hardware filter instead of a software overlay. And f.lux is also available for jailbroken iOS devices.
spuz 11y ago
It's interesting that the article mentions the importance of not disrupting the body's natural ability to produce melatonin but does not mention melatonin when talking about sleep medication. As far as I understand artifial melatonin actually increases REM sleep, does not trigger sleep walking and can be taken for longer than a week. In my experience it does increase the intensity of dreams which could be a negative side effect if you are prone to nightmares. I went through a period of poor pre bed habits - staying up late, using my phone and not taking the time to unwind and I would take .75 mg of melatonin right before going to sleep in an effort to 'correct' for my bad habits. I would not recommend this as a lifestyle at all but if you have to rely on medication, melatonin seems to be one of the more effective sleep aids out there.
- marak830 11y ago
  Im on melatonin at the moment. Its nice to hear about someone else, id nnever heard of it before the doctor recommended it before sleeping tablets.
  - DanielBMarkham 11y ago
    I've been on melatonin for a very long time. Maybe 10-15 years. It took a very long time for it to not work as well as it used to, but that finally happened. I find that even with poor sleep, you get more REM and more "recharge" with a healthy dose of melatonin. As far as sleep goes, in my mind it's a miracle drug.
  - provemewrong 11y ago
    I hadn't heard about melatonin until a thread on reddit where everyone was raving about it and sharing stories about how it knocks them right out. Now I ocassionally take a pill, but I don't really feel any effects and I'm still not entirelly sure if it is putting me to sleep faster or not. I still take it at least for the placebo effect and because it's fairly cheap.
    - marak830 11y ago
      My doc said it could take a week or two initally to have a real effect, ive just passed the 2 week mode, and im combining this with sleeping naked(sorry tmi i know, but hey, it helps haha), and lowering my evening caffeine ammount (i useto only have one no later than 7pm, now i make that one weak).
dimitar 11y ago
But it may be that the most important aspect of sleep hygiene has to do with light I'm not convinced. The most important thing for sleep is your eating habits - if you want to wake up early eat very early dinners. If you want to wake up at 8 am, your last meal of the day should be at 6 pm (14 hours before that). This works so well, that it overrides the effects of alcohol and caffeine and often even how tired you are. Even if you usually stay up until 3 am you'll get very sleepy at midnight and you'll wake up at 8. If fact even if you are prevented from sleeping until 3, you'll still wake up at 8 after just 5 hours of sleep. Have a full breakfast to avoid sleeping during the day - the next day you'll probably get sleepy at midnight again, even if you have dinner a bit later than 6. Why does this work? Your 'food clock' will override all the other timers that govern your sleep habits. I cannot find the sources for this, but there are pretty good biological reasons this works. I know that I have used this rule many times for my benefit when working shift work or travelling or even getting back in rhythm after a vacation. Edit: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7414437.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7414437.stm - I've added this report from the BBC as a source. I've used 14 hours instead of 16 but I find it works about the same for me.
- BuildTheRobots 11y ago
  Apparently you can use a similar trick to overcome jetlag by fasting. One of those articles might have more information about the 'food clock' overriding other timers. Though personally, I find the biggest difference in being able to sleep comes from avoiding screens and reading a book (or eink) instead.
  - Dragonai 11y ago
    Would it be safe to assume that reading from a Kindle Paperwhite with the backlight on is closer to being a screen than a book? I read mine very regularly at night and wonder if it's more effective to keep a lamp on and read with the backlight off (as opposed to reading in the dark with the backlight on and heavily dimmed).
    - BuildTheRobots 11y ago
digital-rubber 11y ago
Would be nice if you added some numbers (age, sex, type of beds) of your test groups etcetc. There is a lot of 'your' and 'you' in your text, but i don't remember any testing/measuring on me.
bmurphy1976 11y ago
I have not read the article (yet). I used to have trouble falling asleep, to the point where I was concerned enough to go to a doctor about it, but I never followed up after the first visit. Instead I not very intentionally made some adjustments on my own which resolved my situation: 1. No lights/noise. Get rid of all blinky things, particularly blue and green lights. Faint red lights are tolerable. Black electrical tape is a gift, use it! Noisy computer fans are bad! Turn off the computer or move it into a different room. 2. Take better care of yourself! Eat better, get more exercise, and get up at a consistent time every morning. A healthy routine is important. 3. Don't worry about it! If you lay awake all night worrying about the sleep you are "missing" you are only making the problem worse. You don't need to worry about it, you will be fine. We miss sleep ALL THE TIME and are still functional members of society. Once I stopped worrying, even the rare nights where I can't sleep go faster because I'm not focused on the clock. I use the time to think about more interesting and less worrisome things or get out of bed and do something productive. Also, as others have said, Flux is great! I also have Twilight on my Android phone! I love them both.
- raducu 11y ago
  I used to take hours to fall asleep. Some things that helped a lot: 1. Twilight on android and on my laptop 2. Thicker curtains. 3. "Meditating" in bed with my eyes closed. My version of meditation is laying in bed with my eyes closed and actively trying to shut off all thoughts; at first it seems it's not working because I'm suddenly aware of everything around me and I feel more awake. But after 5-10 minutes I no longer see the "noise" with my eyes closed but instead I start seeing images. Once I start seeing images with my eyes closed I know I'll be asleep in a few minutes.
  - bmurphy1976 11y ago
    Hah, that sounds very much like something I used to do when I was younger. I would focus on one muscle at a time intentionally making each relax as much as possible. Start at the top of my head and work my way down to my toes. Once I was fully relaxed I would focus on clearing my mind, emptying it of thoughts. See nothing, hear nothing (except maybe my breathing/heart beat). I haven't had to do that in years. I really don't have trouble falling asleep anymore (much to my wife's dismay).
restalis 11y ago
Something I noticed in my falling asleep pattern (and did not found in the article yet) is the relation with the air I breathe. It's very easy for me to fall asleep somewhere in the middle of green forest and the other way around - I noticed that I sleep badly in a medium that for some reasons had insufficient aeration. Is it possible for the loss of sleep across the century to have something to do with the quality of our air?
liox 11y ago
While enrolled in a nighttime masters degree a few years ago I started taking low dose melatonin and it had a huge impact on my ability to get restful sleep. It prompted me to look into other sleep hacks and since then I've really been able to hone my ability to get great sleep most any night and under any condition — even when the duration isn't as long as I'd like. I really feel like a new person. Here are some of the tricks I've found work well: - Low dose melatonin: I've tried higher doses but there's a fair amount of literature out there stating that less is more [0]. My own experiences seem to confirm this, but melatonin definitely affects people differently! I can take it and be able to hop out of bed (morning person), but my gf (who's NOT a morning person) has tried it and ended up feeling even more like a zombie. Melatonin's definitely not for some people. - f.lux: I've always felt that it gives your screen the quality of the page of a book. It's hard to describe the feeling, but removing the blue light definitely has a relaxing effect. I'm at the point now where if I turn off in the evening (maybe to see a graphic) I'll actually cringe. - Sleep Cycle app: I started using this app when I read about how timing your wake up based on 90 minute sleep cycles [1] can help you avoid that morning groggy feeling. This was interesting because I'd definitely had those mornings where I got less sleep than usual but still felt awake – I was always curious about the reason. I've used the app for a little over a year and typically wake up before my alarm anyway, but the app seems to be pretty good at determining when I'm in the lightest stage. - Earplugs: Living in a city that does garbage collection at 3am prompted this one. Earplugs are my go-to sleep hack whenever I'm traveling. I've found they help for general concentration as well. I'm convinced the above helped me successfully complete my masters degree and also hold down 3 jobs (9-5 and 2 after hours startup roles) since then. It might seem like a lot of lifestyle change, but I did it gradually as I learned more about the science of sleep and also experienced the benefits first hand. They probably won't work for everyone, but they're worth a shot to see if they can help you! [0] http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2001/melatonin-1017 http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2001/melatonin-1017 [1] http://lifehacker.com/remember-the-90-minute-rule-to-ensure-a-refreshing-nigh-1551241082 http://lifehacker.com/remember-the-90-minute-rule-to-ensure-...
Qantourisc 11y ago
If anyone feels brave. You could also dynamically set the screen brightness. I have a script for DDC communication with the screen on Linux (if you screen and video card supports it). It uses the program ddccontrol, but my script is really messy and needs a lot of cleanup. If you have nvidia: check https://goo.gl/BIW8ax https://goo.gl/BIW8ax for DDC crash issues.
henryV 11y ago
My problem is the opposite. I can fall asleep very easily. Over 8 or 9 o'clock in the evening, if I'm doing something that doesn't require too much attention (like watching a film or something like that) I start to feel asleep and it's very hard not to. The funny thing is that, if I let myself sleep for a few minutes (5-15), then I wake up fresh and ready to be awake a bunch of hours more (and it doesn't prevent me from getting asleep later).
- riledhel 11y ago
  This is (sort of like) humans used to sleep until the industrial revolution. Couple of links http://www.livescience.com/12891-natural-sleep.html http://www.livescience.com/12891-natural-sleep.html http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16964783 http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16964783
- provemewrong 11y ago
  >The funny thing is that, if I let myself sleep for a few minutes (5-15) You're essentially taking a nap and waking up before entering deep sleep. This is the refreshing kind of nap. Conversely sleeping just a few minutes more and waking up in the middle of deep sleep would make you feel grumpy and tired. There are some polyphasic sleep techniques that basically exploit this and have sveral short naps of light sleep throughout the 24 day instead of a night's sleep.
thebouv 11y ago
I can't fall asleep because I can't get my brain to STFU. When I can lay down, regardless of hour of night, with a quiet brain, I fall right asleep. 95% of the time though, my brain won't stop. I stay away from screens after a certain hour, I try not to think about work (not always successful). But still, sometimes my brain just won't quit. It's super frustrating.
- erikb 11y ago
  For me it helps to play computer games after work/school which take me away from my real world problems and don't challenge me too much. Basically something that gives me a good feeling of no fear and maybe even success without doing much for it. That helped me a lot to fight this brain-STFU problem. Good tv shows also work, because watching tv basically is no challenge but is able to transfer your thoughts from your problems to problems that aren't yours which is less stressful.
- knodi123 11y ago
  I've heard practicing zazen can help with the STFU aspect. Presumably it's something they have techniques to deal with. I know several people who do it, and they assure me it's taught them a lot about how to control their minds. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zazen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zazen
- JustSomeNobody 11y ago
  I have this same problem. I have found that if, right before bed, I find some single simple puzzle or problem to think about I can mute the other stuff and just focus on that. I feel like it helps me fall asleep faster.
- IndianAstronaut 11y ago
  Try watching documentaries about space.
- prostoalex 11y ago
  This was helpful http://aypsite.org/books-dm.html http://aypsite.org/books-dm.html Basically, the trick is to concentrate all your attention on one mantra, and then remove the mantra to quiet the thought process. It's a learned skill, so just takes practice.
AC__ 11y ago
Smoke some weed and ground yourself, literally ground yourself(run a wire from the ground plug of a wall outlet), while you sleep. Humans are fucking retarded, we have way too much HF radio waves and EMF in our environment now.
chdir 11y ago
I had a severe case of not being able to sleep if my mind was busy after dinner time e.g. coding, debugging, mentally solving a problem. Adjusting light temperature, using flux software etc. helped marginally, but never attacked the root of the problem. What really helped was meditation i.e. being able to take my mind away from everything & focus on /dev/null. It is like a magic button. I can fall asleep whenever I consciously wish to divert my attention. Just a single book & a month of practice. Next challenge : Wake up whenever I feel like. Haven't found the magic button yet. All the fancy alarm clocks, sleep trackers, REM techniques aren't helping.
- burke 11y ago
  Same experience here. For me it was two realizations: 1. Focusing awareness via meditation techniques is a great sleep aid. 2. When your mind is buzzing, it's because it thinks it needs to work through problems or solidify memories before it shuts down for the night. Sometimes it's right, and rather than fighting that: a. Give your mind other time to garbage collect than the moments before sleep; b. Don't feed your mind new problems in the last hour or two before bed.
  - orbitur 11y ago
    > b. Don't feed your mind new problems in the last hour or two before bed. This has always been the key problem, for me and I suspect for many others. I need to be asleep by midnight or 1am if I want any chance of feeling okay the next day. That means I need to stop working around 10pm or earlier, to give my mind ample time to just fucking let go of whatever I was concentrating on. I can leave the laptop open, browse reddit, follow Twitter links, or watch TV. But the IDE and email have to close. It sucks, it's hard, but I discovered sleep is pretty damn valuable, and most of the time what I'm working on isn't actually due at 7am the next morning.
- udfalkso 11y ago
  What book?
  - matrix 11y ago
contingencies 11y ago
#1 reason is probably coffee. #2 reason is probably artificial lighting slash screens.
glynjackson 11y ago
I often work late or watch movies on my laptop in bed. About 6 months ago I read about how screens/backlight have a negative effect on sleep pattens. I found an app called Flux (https://justgetflux.com/ https://justgetflux.com/). A simple idea that makes a computer's display adapt to the time of day. I still have problem sleeping but, not as much as I use to!
glynjackson 11y ago
Is there any evidence that dark colour schemes when coding help sleep pattens? I ask because after using the default theme of sublimetext for 6 months then going back to white background for a few days made it difficult to sleep at night. Anyone else found this?
Gnarl 11y ago
Try sleeping in a place away from sources of RF/EMF. Tent in the woods, log cabin, car even (not a Tesla though).

152 points by phodo 11y ago

jfaat 11y ago

The twitter query string should be removed from this link

dang 11y ago
Thanks, done.

wodenokoto 11y ago

Does anyone know what the cognitive behavioural therapy the article refers to is? I know what it is in general, but how does it relate to sleep?

jrapdx3 11y ago
One important part of CBT for sleep is education about "sleep hygiene". This is the set of optimum behaviors or practices that promote sleep. Salient elements include establishing and maintaining a suitable sleep schedule, especially arising at a consistent time. "Winding down" well before bedtime, and minimizing light exposure in the evening will be helpful. IOW turning off light sources at the right time is encouraged. That light exposure part is getting a lot of discussion re: computers, phones, TV's, etc., being produced with ever brighter screens. Idea is that staring at a "device" activates the wake-drive and interferes with sleep onset. Other CBT measures aim to promote relaxation, reduce anxiety and "over-thinking" when it would be counterproductive. Put another way, reducing arousal at night is the goal. Goes without saying particular approaches will vary with the individual, but these are some of the basics.
- thirdsun 11y ago
  I can't say how effective it is from a scientific perspective, but since it will be mentioned at some point in this discussion I might as well bring it up now: F.lux has become an essential tool for me. It changes the color temperature of your monitor, reducing cool/blue light and replacing it with warmer tones, which should helps getting good sleep. It does for me at least. Wish it was available for nom-jailbroken iPads though.
silencio 11y ago
It's basically CBT tailored towards insomnia. Identifying and addressing behaviors and thought patterns that make it difficult to sleep. Sleep hygiene, mindfulness, etc. As a sidenote, I did find a lovely PDF a while ago with a bunch of good sleep hygiene tips. As always, it's implementing the suggestions that is difficult, but :) http://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/docs/Info-sleep%20hygiene.pdf http://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/docs/Info-sleep%20hygiene.pd...
- marak830 11y ago
  Thank you for the link, ill definatly read that when im home. I also agree with its hard to do the recommended sometimes :-s. 8 hour work, 2 hour total travel, then i need to code my own project -.-
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
fredley 11y ago
I have had great success with Sleepio: http://www.sleepio.com http://www.sleepio.com. It is a ~6 week CBT course that teaches you to have good hygiene, while at the same time understand what is preventing you personally from sleeping well, and developing your own routine.
eCa 11y ago
The ending felt a bit abrupt, so I guess that will probably be expanded on in part II or III of the series.
codev 11y ago
This article on a site I manage provides a great overview of sleep hygiene and other behavioural changes needed for good sleep http://en.hdbuzz.net/120 http://en.hdbuzz.net/120 It applies to anyone, not just Huntington's disease patients. The article is a humanised version of an article from a special edition of Experimental Neurology on sleep disorders: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00144886/243/supp/C http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00144886/243/su...

m_fayer 11y ago

I'm surprised the article mentions the blue light problem and devices but does not talk about flux, it's a little app that shifts the color temperature of your display to match what you're supposed to see at your location given the time of day. So, after sunset your screen basically turns orange. Although it's a bit annoying and takes some getting used to, I've tried it on and off and whenever I'm using it I fall asleep and stay asleep much better than without. A big problem for me with iPhones compared to android is that something like flux cannot work on them, so I have to avoid my device late in the evening to not disrupt my sleep.

bauc 11y ago
I use flux and have found it beneficial, I tend to sleep better since using it. It's made me more aware of the affects of light on sleep. What app are you using on android?
- ikurei 11y ago
  The only flux-like app on Android I know of is Twilight[0]. I've been using it for longer that I can remember and I have no complains. [0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.urbandroid.lux https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.urbandroid...
  - marak830 11y ago
    Thanks ill try this one out.
    - KJKingJ 11y ago
      There's also CF.lumen [0], which I have running. It works best if you are rooted and can install the display driver. However, on non-rooted devices it behaves in a similar fashion to the other night time colour shifting apps. [0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.chainfire.lumen&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.chainfire.l...

nomercy400 11y ago

Is the blue light bothering you? - Windows/Linux: f.lux - Android: twilight

ikurei 11y ago
For Linux I had much more success using Redshift that flux. I can't quite remember what flux was missing that Redshift had. Does flux have an indicator on the notification/indicators area?
provemewrong 11y ago
If you are rooted, then CF.lumen is a better choice than twilight, because it is a hardware filter instead of a software overlay. And f.lux is also available for jailbroken iOS devices.

spuz 11y ago

It's interesting that the article mentions the importance of not disrupting the body's natural ability to produce melatonin but does not mention melatonin when talking about sleep medication. As far as I understand artifial melatonin actually increases REM sleep, does not trigger sleep walking and can be taken for longer than a week. In my experience it does increase the intensity of dreams which could be a negative side effect if you are prone to nightmares. I went through a period of poor pre bed habits - staying up late, using my phone and not taking the time to unwind and I would take .75 mg of melatonin right before going to sleep in an effort to 'correct' for my bad habits. I would not recommend this as a lifestyle at all but if you have to rely on medication, melatonin seems to be one of the more effective sleep aids out there.

marak830 11y ago
Im on melatonin at the moment. Its nice to hear about someone else, id nnever heard of it before the doctor recommended it before sleeping tablets.
- DanielBMarkham 11y ago
  I've been on melatonin for a very long time. Maybe 10-15 years. It took a very long time for it to not work as well as it used to, but that finally happened. I find that even with poor sleep, you get more REM and more "recharge" with a healthy dose of melatonin. As far as sleep goes, in my mind it's a miracle drug.
- provemewrong 11y ago
  I hadn't heard about melatonin until a thread on reddit where everyone was raving about it and sharing stories about how it knocks them right out. Now I ocassionally take a pill, but I don't really feel any effects and I'm still not entirelly sure if it is putting me to sleep faster or not. I still take it at least for the placebo effect and because it's fairly cheap.
  - marak830 11y ago
    My doc said it could take a week or two initally to have a real effect, ive just passed the 2 week mode, and im combining this with sleeping naked(sorry tmi i know, but hey, it helps haha), and lowering my evening caffeine ammount (i useto only have one no later than 7pm, now i make that one weak).

dimitar 11y ago

But it may be that the most important aspect of sleep hygiene has to do with light I'm not convinced. The most important thing for sleep is your eating habits - if you want to wake up early eat very early dinners. If you want to wake up at 8 am, your last meal of the day should be at 6 pm (14 hours before that). This works so well, that it overrides the effects of alcohol and caffeine and often even how tired you are. Even if you usually stay up until 3 am you'll get very sleepy at midnight and you'll wake up at 8. If fact even if you are prevented from sleeping until 3, you'll still wake up at 8 after just 5 hours of sleep. Have a full breakfast to avoid sleeping during the day - the next day you'll probably get sleepy at midnight again, even if you have dinner a bit later than 6. Why does this work? Your 'food clock' will override all the other timers that govern your sleep habits. I cannot find the sources for this, but there are pretty good biological reasons this works. I know that I have used this rule many times for my benefit when working shift work or travelling or even getting back in rhythm after a vacation. Edit: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7414437.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7414437.stm - I've added this report from the BBC as a source. I've used 14 hours instead of 16 but I find it works about the same for me.

BuildTheRobots 11y ago
Apparently you can use a similar trick to overcome jetlag by fasting. One of those articles might have more information about the 'food clock' overriding other timers. Though personally, I find the biggest difference in being able to sleep comes from avoiding screens and reading a book (or eink) instead.
- Dragonai 11y ago
  Would it be safe to assume that reading from a Kindle Paperwhite with the backlight on is closer to being a screen than a book? I read mine very regularly at night and wonder if it's more effective to keep a lamp on and read with the backlight off (as opposed to reading in the dark with the backlight on and heavily dimmed).
  - BuildTheRobots 11y ago

digital-rubber 11y ago

Would be nice if you added some numbers (age, sex, type of beds) of your test groups etcetc. There is a lot of 'your' and 'you' in your text, but i don't remember any testing/measuring on me.

bmurphy1976 11y ago

I have not read the article (yet). I used to have trouble falling asleep, to the point where I was concerned enough to go to a doctor about it, but I never followed up after the first visit. Instead I not very intentionally made some adjustments on my own which resolved my situation: 1. No lights/noise. Get rid of all blinky things, particularly blue and green lights. Faint red lights are tolerable. Black electrical tape is a gift, use it! Noisy computer fans are bad! Turn off the computer or move it into a different room. 2. Take better care of yourself! Eat better, get more exercise, and get up at a consistent time every morning. A healthy routine is important. 3. Don't worry about it! If you lay awake all night worrying about the sleep you are "missing" you are only making the problem worse. You don't need to worry about it, you will be fine. We miss sleep ALL THE TIME and are still functional members of society. Once I stopped worrying, even the rare nights where I can't sleep go faster because I'm not focused on the clock. I use the time to think about more interesting and less worrisome things or get out of bed and do something productive. Also, as others have said, Flux is great! I also have Twilight on my Android phone! I love them both.

raducu 11y ago
I used to take hours to fall asleep. Some things that helped a lot: 1. Twilight on android and on my laptop 2. Thicker curtains. 3. "Meditating" in bed with my eyes closed. My version of meditation is laying in bed with my eyes closed and actively trying to shut off all thoughts; at first it seems it's not working because I'm suddenly aware of everything around me and I feel more awake. But after 5-10 minutes I no longer see the "noise" with my eyes closed but instead I start seeing images. Once I start seeing images with my eyes closed I know I'll be asleep in a few minutes.
- bmurphy1976 11y ago
  Hah, that sounds very much like something I used to do when I was younger. I would focus on one muscle at a time intentionally making each relax as much as possible. Start at the top of my head and work my way down to my toes. Once I was fully relaxed I would focus on clearing my mind, emptying it of thoughts. See nothing, hear nothing (except maybe my breathing/heart beat). I haven't had to do that in years. I really don't have trouble falling asleep anymore (much to my wife's dismay).

restalis 11y ago

Something I noticed in my falling asleep pattern (and did not found in the article yet) is the relation with the air I breathe. It's very easy for me to fall asleep somewhere in the middle of green forest and the other way around - I noticed that I sleep badly in a medium that for some reasons had insufficient aeration. Is it possible for the loss of sleep across the century to have something to do with the quality of our air?

liox 11y ago

While enrolled in a nighttime masters degree a few years ago I started taking low dose melatonin and it had a huge impact on my ability to get restful sleep. It prompted me to look into other sleep hacks and since then I've really been able to hone my ability to get great sleep most any night and under any condition — even when the duration isn't as long as I'd like. I really feel like a new person. Here are some of the tricks I've found work well: - Low dose melatonin: I've tried higher doses but there's a fair amount of literature out there stating that less is more [0]. My own experiences seem to confirm this, but melatonin definitely affects people differently! I can take it and be able to hop out of bed (morning person), but my gf (who's NOT a morning person) has tried it and ended up feeling even more like a zombie. Melatonin's definitely not for some people. - f.lux: I've always felt that it gives your screen the quality of the page of a book. It's hard to describe the feeling, but removing the blue light definitely has a relaxing effect. I'm at the point now where if I turn off in the evening (maybe to see a graphic) I'll actually cringe. - Sleep Cycle app: I started using this app when I read about how timing your wake up based on 90 minute sleep cycles [1] can help you avoid that morning groggy feeling. This was interesting because I'd definitely had those mornings where I got less sleep than usual but still felt awake – I was always curious about the reason. I've used the app for a little over a year and typically wake up before my alarm anyway, but the app seems to be pretty good at determining when I'm in the lightest stage. - Earplugs: Living in a city that does garbage collection at 3am prompted this one. Earplugs are my go-to sleep hack whenever I'm traveling. I've found they help for general concentration as well. I'm convinced the above helped me successfully complete my masters degree and also hold down 3 jobs (9-5 and 2 after hours startup roles) since then. It might seem like a lot of lifestyle change, but I did it gradually as I learned more about the science of sleep and also experienced the benefits first hand. They probably won't work for everyone, but they're worth a shot to see if they can help you! [0] http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2001/melatonin-1017 http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2001/melatonin-1017 [1] http://lifehacker.com/remember-the-90-minute-rule-to-ensure-a-refreshing-nigh-1551241082 http://lifehacker.com/remember-the-90-minute-rule-to-ensure-...

Qantourisc 11y ago

If anyone feels brave. You could also dynamically set the screen brightness. I have a script for DDC communication with the screen on Linux (if you screen and video card supports it). It uses the program ddccontrol, but my script is really messy and needs a lot of cleanup. If you have nvidia: check https://goo.gl/BIW8ax https://goo.gl/BIW8ax for DDC crash issues.

henryV 11y ago

My problem is the opposite. I can fall asleep very easily. Over 8 or 9 o'clock in the evening, if I'm doing something that doesn't require too much attention (like watching a film or something like that) I start to feel asleep and it's very hard not to. The funny thing is that, if I let myself sleep for a few minutes (5-15), then I wake up fresh and ready to be awake a bunch of hours more (and it doesn't prevent me from getting asleep later).

riledhel 11y ago
This is (sort of like) humans used to sleep until the industrial revolution. Couple of links http://www.livescience.com/12891-natural-sleep.html http://www.livescience.com/12891-natural-sleep.html http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16964783 http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16964783
provemewrong 11y ago
>The funny thing is that, if I let myself sleep for a few minutes (5-15) You're essentially taking a nap and waking up before entering deep sleep. This is the refreshing kind of nap. Conversely sleeping just a few minutes more and waking up in the middle of deep sleep would make you feel grumpy and tired. There are some polyphasic sleep techniques that basically exploit this and have sveral short naps of light sleep throughout the 24 day instead of a night's sleep.

thebouv 11y ago

I can't fall asleep because I can't get my brain to STFU. When I can lay down, regardless of hour of night, with a quiet brain, I fall right asleep. 95% of the time though, my brain won't stop. I stay away from screens after a certain hour, I try not to think about work (not always successful). But still, sometimes my brain just won't quit. It's super frustrating.

erikb 11y ago
For me it helps to play computer games after work/school which take me away from my real world problems and don't challenge me too much. Basically something that gives me a good feeling of no fear and maybe even success without doing much for it. That helped me a lot to fight this brain-STFU problem. Good tv shows also work, because watching tv basically is no challenge but is able to transfer your thoughts from your problems to problems that aren't yours which is less stressful.
knodi123 11y ago
I've heard practicing zazen can help with the STFU aspect. Presumably it's something they have techniques to deal with. I know several people who do it, and they assure me it's taught them a lot about how to control their minds. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zazen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zazen
JustSomeNobody 11y ago
I have this same problem. I have found that if, right before bed, I find some single simple puzzle or problem to think about I can mute the other stuff and just focus on that. I feel like it helps me fall asleep faster.
IndianAstronaut 11y ago
Try watching documentaries about space.
prostoalex 11y ago
This was helpful http://aypsite.org/books-dm.html http://aypsite.org/books-dm.html Basically, the trick is to concentrate all your attention on one mantra, and then remove the mantra to quiet the thought process. It's a learned skill, so just takes practice.

AC__ 11y ago

Smoke some weed and ground yourself, literally ground yourself(run a wire from the ground plug of a wall outlet), while you sleep. Humans are fucking retarded, we have way too much HF radio waves and EMF in our environment now.

chdir 11y ago

I had a severe case of not being able to sleep if my mind was busy after dinner time e.g. coding, debugging, mentally solving a problem. Adjusting light temperature, using flux software etc. helped marginally, but never attacked the root of the problem. What really helped was meditation i.e. being able to take my mind away from everything & focus on /dev/null. It is like a magic button. I can fall asleep whenever I consciously wish to divert my attention. Just a single book & a month of practice. Next challenge : Wake up whenever I feel like. Haven't found the magic button yet. All the fancy alarm clocks, sleep trackers, REM techniques aren't helping.

burke 11y ago
Same experience here. For me it was two realizations: 1. Focusing awareness via meditation techniques is a great sleep aid. 2. When your mind is buzzing, it's because it thinks it needs to work through problems or solidify memories before it shuts down for the night. Sometimes it's right, and rather than fighting that: a. Give your mind other time to garbage collect than the moments before sleep; b. Don't feed your mind new problems in the last hour or two before bed.
- orbitur 11y ago
  > b. Don't feed your mind new problems in the last hour or two before bed. This has always been the key problem, for me and I suspect for many others. I need to be asleep by midnight or 1am if I want any chance of feeling okay the next day. That means I need to stop working around 10pm or earlier, to give my mind ample time to just fucking let go of whatever I was concentrating on. I can leave the laptop open, browse reddit, follow Twitter links, or watch TV. But the IDE and email have to close. It sucks, it's hard, but I discovered sleep is pretty damn valuable, and most of the time what I'm working on isn't actually due at 7am the next morning.
udfalkso 11y ago
What book?
- matrix 11y ago

contingencies 11y ago

#1 reason is probably coffee. #2 reason is probably artificial lighting slash screens.

glynjackson 11y ago

I often work late or watch movies on my laptop in bed. About 6 months ago I read about how screens/backlight have a negative effect on sleep pattens. I found an app called Flux (https://justgetflux.com/ https://justgetflux.com/). A simple idea that makes a computer's display adapt to the time of day. I still have problem sleeping but, not as much as I use to!

glynjackson 11y ago

Is there any evidence that dark colour schemes when coding help sleep pattens? I ask because after using the default theme of sublimetext for 6 months then going back to white background for a few days made it difficult to sleep at night. Anyone else found this?

Gnarl 11y ago

Try sleeping in a place away from sources of RF/EMF. Tent in the woods, log cabin, car even (not a Tesla though).