In Search of Forty Winks: Gizmos for a good night’s sleep

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/02/08/in-search-of-forty-winks?mbid=gnep&intcid=gnep&google_editors_picks=true

by BDGC • 10 years ago

35 25 10 years ago

codyb• 10 years ago

This was a good read. A nice anecdote full survey of the better sleep inducing gadget market and the myriad of ways people are attempting to tackle it.

Gives some real credence to the old adage "There's more than one way to skin a cat".

And it just goes to show, even if a space is crowded, if you can think outside the box there's probably a way to get in.

Especially when it's something as fundamental as a good nights sleep.

Plus a few good laughs never hurts an article. Cheers to the New Yorker for providing me with a weeks worth of interesting articles for my subway rides without fail every issue.

Outdoorsman• 10 years ago

Up-vote...

Not sure why you got down-voted...the New Yorker is quite famous for an occasional lighthearted "survey--type" article like this...maybe the down-voter is unaware of this...

I've been a subscriber for over 25 years...like you, I look forward to each issue...

Someone12342• 10 years ago

What a load of strange voodoo devices. Seems like if you slap an LED onto something you can sell anyone snake oil...

If you're legitimately struggling with sleep/tiredness, go do a sleep study at a doctors, if you're worried about the cost of a sleep study you can buy a cheap (under $30) pulse oximeter and pre-screen yourself for several conditions (e.g. obstructive and central sleep apnea, some heart issues, some other breathing problems), and only then go get a real sleep study if you have them.

Then once you get diagnosed spend $150 on a CPAP/APAP/BiPap which you'll use for up to five years, and it will do far more to improve your sleep than some magical set of glasses or w/e these snake oil salesman are selling this week. Plus a legitimate medical device gives you useful diagnostic information (e.g. AHI level) and you can continue to take advantage of your oximeter even with the CPAP to monitor your sleep/condition.

I am just saying this is one area which medical science DIDN'T forget.

rhinoceraptor• 10 years ago

this is one area which medical science DIDN'T forget

Yep, there's all sorts of pills that knock you out for a few hours, but don't give you restful sleep.

tashi• 10 years ago

This is great advice for people with respiratory and heart problems, but in my experience there are other reasons someone's stupid jerk of a body might not know how to sleep properly.

For narcolepsy, circadian rhythm disorders, and other life-ruining sleep disorders that don't have a clear solution, a) a pulse oximeter won't show anything useful, b) if you're in the U.S. your insurance company will fight tooth and nail to keep from paying for a sleep study, and c) a diagnosis is only a small first step towards managing sleep.

When you're so sleepy that you can barely function and your doctors can't help very much, it's easy to justify spending a lot of money on any tools that might help.

abraham_s• 10 years ago

Do you have a suggestion for a pulse oximeter that I can use overnight. Quick googling doesn't give me anything in the price range.

Someone12342• 10 years ago

On Amazon look up the "CMS 50D+" (note the + at the end). It will do what you want, and produces a CSV file.

It is currently $36 so a little over what I said, but has been below $30 previously.

shmulkey18• 10 years ago

Where can you buy a CPAP/APAP/BiPap for $150?

tomcam• 10 years ago

Curasa has one for $200 that I've used for a year so far

agentgt• 10 years ago

This is just anecdotal but the problem with spending a large amount of money on a great bed, pillow, and other comforts is that you get extremely use to it (ignoring medical issues).

So once you go to a hotel, friends house, etc it becomes impossible to sleep there.

For example what is the deal with hotels not having fitted sheets. Or just spending a little more for higher thread count. I remember as a kid I could sleep on anything. Sadly now if I don't have 500 thread count Egyptian cotton and down pillows.. its going to be a shitty night.

Thus some sort of travel bedding solution might interest me otherwise if I start traveling again I'm thinking about practice sleeping on the floor since that is at least consistently available :)

Havoc2• 10 years ago

if I don't have 500 thread count Egyptian cotton and down pillows.. its going to be a shitty night.

Its all relative. e.g. In humid countries high thread count sucks. Better to have something super thin that keeps the mozzies out.

practice sleeping on the floor since that is at least consistently available :)

Bathtub sounds cleaner frankly...

sandworm1013• 10 years ago

If you learn to sleep on something less than a full bed, as 1/2 the world does, then you should be good to go at any hotel. I personally have never found anything the west would call a mattress that is firm enough for my tastes. The best sleeps I've had have been on a 1" thermarest inside a bivi sack strapped to a cliff. It's not about the bed. It's about what you are doing and how stressed you are while doing it.

nfriedly• 10 years ago

They should add birth control to the list :P I think I've had maybe 3 nights of uninterrupted sleep in the year and a half since my son was born.

te_chris• 10 years ago

I bought a phillips wake-up light alarm clock from Amazong for about £75 (the one with the colour spectrum light). Seems to help.

Havoc2• 10 years ago

I must admit I have little faith in any electronic device solving sleeplessness (aside from medical issues). White noise generator...maybe...if you can't fix the underlying issue - bad environment.

For me a combination of right temp (coldish), melatonin (500mg), flux (the PC app) and rooibos (because no caffeine) does the trick.

zodPod• 10 years ago

You take... 500mg of melatonin? Do you mean mcg? Or is the pill itself like 10mg of melatonin and 490mg of filler?

If you're seriously taking 500mg of melatonin, please see a doctor for advice on the right dosage. The proper dosage is between 0.2mg and 20.0mg according to WebMD. I have never seen a melatonin pill higher than like 6mg.

mmanfrin2• 10 years ago

The only modern device I've found that did tangible good was a sleep app that woke me up within a time range based on how active my body movements were. I found it was much easier to weak up.

The Phillips light was also decent, but not as good as the app.

The main problem was that it felt weird to have my phone laying on my bed, and I worried it'd fall on the ground.

jhanschoo• 10 years ago

The only modern device I've found that did tangible good was a sleep app that woke me up within a time range based on how active my body movements were.

Can you provide a reference so I can check it out?

mmanfrin2• 10 years ago

I don't remember exactly which, but I think it was this one:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sleep-cycle-alarm-clock/id32...

teawithcarl• 10 years ago

Four things that actually help -

1) a shower before sleeping.

2) stop using iPad/iPhone and TV two hours before sleep. (I also use orange light bulbs which don't emit blue light near bedtime.)

3) begin sleep and wake up at regular times.

4) settling down mentally for the day gradually two hours before sleep.

sandworm1013• 10 years ago

> In 1879, a Canadian medical journal recommended hemlock. Presumably, no repeating was required.

That hemlock was almost certainly not THAT hemlock.

"Tsuga [...]is a genus of conifers in the pine family Pinaceae. The common name hemlock" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsuga

"Conium maculatum (hemlock or poison hemlock) is a highly poisonous perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae, native to Europe and North Africa." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conium_maculatum

I seriously doubt that the Canadian journal was suggesting the same hemlock used on Copernicus.

kwhitefoot• 10 years ago

Copernicus?

Surely Socrates.

sandworm1013• 10 years ago

Yes, my mistake. Too many historical figures and too many execution methods. I commented because while hiking I often run into people who think that hemlock trees are somehow dangerous.

jmorphy88• 10 years ago

I really miss Wakemate. Despite the wristbands being not terribly well-made (I went through three of them), it's the only system that did exactly what I needed it to do, which is to wake me up within a 20-minute window at a point where bodily movement is higher than usual. Worked like a charm for me. There are apps that do this but they require you to sleep with your phone next to you on the bed, and I can't imagine that they work as well as a wristband...

fallingfrog• 10 years ago

"As a child, I was convinced that turning in meant missing out on illicit fun." Hahahahaha.. Just wait till you have kids. What goes around, comes around. You're going to hoard sleep like it's the last cup of water in the Sahara. Since my first was born I remember sometimes with amazement that there was a time when I could just go to sleep anytime I wanted, but yet I chose to stay up late.. I must have been crazy.

In Search of Forty Winks: Gizmos for a good night’s sleep

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