Sleep: Everything You Need to Know

https://medium.com/the-healthy-life/b65f8e19ed18

by maroun • 13 years ago

368 172 13 years ago

treeface4• 13 years ago

This post seems like one big, long unsubstantiated bunch of app spam for "zeo". I don't think scientists understand the "fact retention" mechanism as well as OP claims, for instance. It's fairly clear that sleep is important, but there's a lot of unsourced information here that's presented as fact.

maroun9• 13 years ago

Thanks for your feedback! I worked for Zeo a year ago, however they've since shut down so I have no affiliation to them. I'll be sure to go in add the relevant sources.

monkeynotes• 13 years ago

The Zeo website seems to be alive and well, and all their apps are still available.

treeface4• 13 years ago

Sure thing. I don't mean to imply that you are intentionally misguiding. Your general advice (i.e. sleep enough and do it consistently) is good and the post was fairly well-written. Cheers, good sir.

daok• 13 years ago

I have a Zeo since 10 months... doesn't seem to be shut down. They continue to sell and to ship. Their website is working, I use it every day.

qwertyboy• 13 years ago

Actually, I'd love to read those sources, since - I have to admit - I read it the same way. At first it felt like total pseudo-science, and then I saw the app and "realized" that this has to be app-spam. So please, if you have actual scientific sources (mostly for the distinct functions of different phases of sleep), do share.

ashwinaj• 13 years ago

Great article! I changed my sleep habits about a couple of years ago, almost given up coffee, eat healthy and exercise regularly. I rarely ever feel grumpy or tired in the morning and a lot of that is attributed to 7+ hrs of peaceful sleep. You don't necessarily need an app for this, you just need a lot of will power.

andys627• 13 years ago

What about waking up between sleep cycles?

maroun9• 13 years ago

You never want to wake up in the middle of a Deep Sleep or REM sleep cycle. The best time to wake up is when you're in between cycles. Which is what the "Smart Alarms" are supposed to do, they wait until you come out of a sleep cycle to wake you up.

The Zeo is the most accurate (since it picks up brainwaves), however it's also slightly uncomfortable and buggy. I personally use the Jawbone UP which works good enough. All of the apps that say they do that aren't the most accurate since they rely on the movement of your mattress. However I know some people who swear by them.

jonathanjaeger• 13 years ago

I can't go without 10-15 minute power naps in the afternoon or evening. Whether it's physically effective or just placebo, it feels essential. That being said I drink coffee before the gym at around 7-8pm, which probably isn't the optimal time (though I have no problem falling asleep at 12:30-1:30am which is when I want to go to sleep).

maroun9• 13 years ago

Power naps can be very effective when used right (i.e if you're consistent with them). In the last month of my semesters I switch my sleep over to Polyphastic sleep schedule. 6 Hours of sleep at night and one 20minute nap in the afternoon. It gives me more time to study for finals/finish up class projects.

Check out this post for more information: http://dustincurtis.com/sleep.html

Dewie• 13 years ago

Do you mean polyphasic sleep? If you sleep two times in a 24 hour cycle, that's biphasic sleep.

antidaily• 13 years ago

Who lifts daily? Don't do that, bud.

dualogy• 13 years ago

5-6 days a week should be fine with the right kind of "split". But indeed at least one full rest day a week is going to do more good than harm. And indeed just lifting 3-4 days per week is certainly fully sufficient for most-any kind of lifting goal..

peterwwillis2• 13 years ago

Who tells other people how to live their lives? Don't do that, bud.

lukeqsee• 13 years ago

Doctors and we pay them well to do it.

chollida13• 13 years ago

> Who lifts daily?

I lift 5 times a week, with another day of cardio and I'm in my mid 30's. My life is pretty good.

> Don't do that, bud.

Based on what information? Many popular lifting schedules call for 5 days on and 2 off per week. I think your projecting your own personal experiences here.

treeface4• 13 years ago

I was initially thinking about responding to antidaily (huh...didn't realize how relevant that username was until just now) in the same way, but I couldn't decide whether he was against lifting on successive days or against lifting 7-a-week. I disagreed on the former, but agreed on the latter, so I let it lie.

avenger123• 13 years ago

I'm thinking of starting this up myself. Lifting weights has definite health benefits.

Do you go to a gym or have a home gym? What kind of program are you following?

I'm thinking of half hour max early morning, rotating between major body parts.

lurkinggrue2• 13 years ago

Wish I had the time for that.

psychometry• 13 years ago

There's nothing wrong with lifting daily as long as you take at least one day between working the same body part(s).

vlasev3• 13 years ago

There are some proponets of squatting daily or almost daily to somewhat submaximal effort, notably John Broz from Average Bros Gymnasium. I have done it myself with success over a two month period. Training the same muscles every day is a lot about how much stress you have in the rest of your life and how good your recovery habits are.

cdjk2• 13 years ago

There is Bulgarian Method, but I kind of doubt that most people have the time for that...

obviouslygreen2• 13 years ago

I really wonder how much sleep people lose worrying about their sleep habits.

Trying to micromanage everything from your sleep schedule to your work schedule to your calorie intake to your fat intake to your social media intake to your exposure to cell phone radiation results in being even more stressed out than you would be if you weren't attempting to keep track of eighty different pseudoscientific lifestyle prescriptions.

Go to sleep. Wake up. Eat food. Do those things, and try to enjoy life while you have it... burning it trying to "optimize" everything is a painful waste of time.

criley• 13 years ago

I reject the idea that optimization leads to burnout. If you're consciously thinking about ALL of those variables at once, yes, you will achieve burnout.

But the entire point of life optimization isn't to sit around thinking about all of this, it's to build healthy habits that allow our "autopilot" to pilot us down previously consciously decided paths.

You should be unconsciously a better person after reinforcing new healthy habits, quite identical to your final phrase of "wake up, eat," etc.

If you're burning out with optimization, you are literally doing it wrong.

obviouslygreen2• 13 years ago

I've done this myself to a point, but the point I'm making is that there's so much of this flying around and so much debate about so many often-unsubstantiated 'optimizations' that there's often not any real reason to believe they are optimizations.

And if they're not, people are going to waste a lot of time trying to learn new habits, then find out that they are no better off or perhaps worse, except now they're stuck with new, bad habits to unlearn.

My argument is less with optimization than with spending too much time and effort attempting it without actually gaining anything, or having a reasonable expectation of the same.

maroun9• 13 years ago

I absolutely agree. At the end of the day what matters the most is whether you can do something consistently. That's what produces results and leads to change.

The more you have to "work" to lead a healthy life the less likely it is that you'll stay consistent. Find what works for you and incorporate it into your routine.

jimmaswell• 13 years ago

I don't think many on the Hacker News crowd are worried about harmless cellphone radiation. At least, I hope so.

ryguytilidie• 13 years ago

You're looking at this completely wrong. It's more about changing your habits than constantly thinking about what you're doing. If as a result you eat better food, the time you're awake is of better quality, and you eat better, do you really think its not worth the slightest bit of effort?

ansible• 13 years ago

I really wonder how much sleep people lose worrying about their sleep habits.

If you are actually worrying about it, that is bad. If you are thinking about it a little here and there, and trying to improve what you are doing, that is good. It's all about the balance, which is sort of your point too.

malbiniak2• 13 years ago

> I really wonder how much sleep people lose worrying about their sleep habits.

I've been having an increasing issue with sleep (not being able to fall asleep, then waking up early and not being able to fall back asleep). I've tried to combat it by being more aware of my habits and patterns, but that's resulting in sleep anxiety. Compounded with the effects of sleep deprivation and I'm easily losing sleep worrying about my sleep habits.

Sample set of 1, though.

vlasev3• 13 years ago

Maybe you do not feel sleepy at the right times? Do you ever feel sleepy during the day? If this is so and the rest of your life permits, you should just let yourself drift into sleep.

oyvindeh2• 13 years ago

You can add one to your sample set.

AFAIK, worry is the main reason for poor sleep. And encountering posts like this at HN and in newspapers all the time may add to the problem.

For example, I had almost gotten back my sleep a couple of months back. And then, every newspaper (and HN) was full of this new research saying that lack of sleep alters genes. I didn't even have to read the articles, the headlines were enough: "Too little sleep is bad for you, it alters genes! My, oh my!". Thanks! Welcome back, sleep problems.

But on what grounds can they conclude that altered genes is bad for your health? The research sure says that things is happening in your body, and that some processes related to e.g. the immune system has been altered. But how bad is it really? Will you die earlier?

There are many things altering your genes. If I look at a picture of a cute kitten, I am pretty sure you can see that in my genes. Also, meditation dramatically alters you genes. (There are stories about monks who hardly need to sleep at all, because they get the rest they need through meditation.)

So, are there big problems with sleeping too little, are there really reasons to worry? I don't know. But like in in many other fields (e.g. nutrition), results of early studies have been stated as "facts", while later studies show that things are a bit more complicated. Antioxidants comes to mind.

There are research suggesting that too little sleep causes heart disease. (Note the word "suggests".) But, if there is a link, is the reason lack of sleep? Or does other factors add to it or cause it, e.g. eating more junk food, that you get more easily annoyed (increasing blood pressure), etc.?

I am not suggesting that you should sleep less, and I believe sleep is important. But I am unsure about how much you should worry if you sleep poorly.

In general, I believe more and more in eating balanced, exercising moderately (walking is good!), and most importantly, taking a break when my body tells me it's time to rest (listening to your body is underrated, and we learn from early childhood to suppress what it tells us). And, very important, stop reading health news. Because adding to almost any problem, is how media (and others) report findings to sell more of their products. They skew reality, and you probably end up worrying more than you should.

lucian19002• 13 years ago

If you have trouble falling asleep all the time, it is a problem that must be solved. The "go to sleep" step simply doesn't work for me much of the time. If I did nothing at all to try to sleep, I would stay awake for days, then sleep out of exhaustion (which has happened in the past).

DigitalJack• 13 years ago

I thought it was a good article, but a lot of it seemed like opinion stated as fact.

I wear ear plugs at night, but no mask. I suffer from "night terrors" however, and when they strike I am very disoriented. The earplugs make that worse, and I imagine a mask would be a bad idea too.

I use these earplugs because we go through a lot. http://www.amazon.com/SparkPlugs-Disposable-Earplugs-Nascar-...

They are large, but still comfortable.

showerst• 13 years ago

Totally anecdotal, but I suffer from occasional night terrors too, and have found that an eye mask actually helps quite a bit. Something about the consistent deeper darkness seems to stop me from 'waking up' and having a spell. Mine were also much worse when I slept in new places, and having the eye mask seems to eliminate that distinction as far as my body is concerned.

Between the eye mask, limiting eating large meals later at night, and cutting back on caffeine, I've reduced my night terrors by about 90% in the past 2 years. YMMV.

johnchristopher• 13 years ago

If you haven't done so yet you both should rule out sleep apnæ with your doctor.

vlasev3• 13 years ago

Your experience is just one data point (it seems that the prevalence among adults is <1%) so if the advice seems like it doesn't work for you, perhaps consider that you may be an outlier. Your experience is important but it doesn't invalidate the advice in the article.

drostie2• 13 years ago

One tip which I didn't see: set an alarm for going to bed, not waking up. You should be able to wake naturally, but artificial lighting changes your perception of when you should go to sleep, shifting you from a naturally 23-hour circadian rhythm to a 25-hour one.

So just set an alarm for 11pm, and when you hear it, immediately stop what you're doing, save any open documents, turn the TV or computer off. The next 30 minutes are for brushing teeth, settling into bed, and preparing for the following morning only. By then you should be settling into a good night's sleep.

maroun9• 13 years ago

I couldn't agree more. This has worked wonders for a lot of people I know. I'm going to update the post so that it mentions this. Thanks! :)

dkersten• 13 years ago

I agree with this. I have a wake up alarm, but I'm usually awake before it goes off.

I've also never been a morning person, but when I keep to a strict go-to-bed time, I feel refreshed and awake in the morning even if its early. I guess part of this is that when I'm careful when I go to bed, I also time that I 1) get a plenty of sleep and 2) get up on a 90-minute boundary.

Unfortunately I have a habit of ignoring my go-to-bed alarm :-(

hndl• 13 years ago

I thought I could wake up before my alarm went off too, but after a little retrospection I considered that perhaps I "trained" myself to get up at the time. That is, I used to use the alarm, then stopped using it, but continued to get up at the same time.

tptacek2• 13 years ago

A plug here for F.lux, which attempts to correct for the unnatural color balance of computer screens and seems to have more or less eliminated my insomnia problems; the only times I have trouble sleeping anymore are traceable either to caffeine after noon, or forgetting that I've disabled F.lux.

gingerlime3• 13 years ago

I love f.lux, but it doesn't seem to work so well with my dual-monitor setup on xubuntu... and I'm never really sure if it's working properly. I wish it had some kind of a 'temperature indicator' or something.

ics3• 13 years ago

I recommend F.lux as well, but I've noticed a very unfortunate effect over the last few months... because of how soft it is on the eyes at night, I've learned that with it enabled I can continuously work 16-26 hour sessions without even realizing that I missed a sleep cycle. Obviously, this isn't a problem with F.lux itself, and I've tried very hard to tweak my settings so that this doesn't happen (it is auto-on/off, have experimented with different temp. levels too). In fact, I've gotten so used to it that when I know I need to go to bed soon I disable it entirely– once the blue light starts irritating me, I switch to a lamp and paper until I'm ready to get some shut-eye.

Notes: I don't drink coffee, green tea once in a while, and minimal late-night stimuli (lights mostly off, no music, ...).

SeanDav2• 13 years ago

Surely F.lux is fairly pointless unless the only source of light in your room is your computer monitor?

I would imagine that any windows or external lighting is going to have a far greater effect than F.lux. I tried F.lux a while ago when it was recommended in a previous HN post but for me the only difference it seemed to have, was to make my computer monitor more difficult to read by making it too dim.

superuser22• 13 years ago

You're clearly not a student :). I'd love to choose when to go to bed, but that's not really compatible with a workload challenging enough to appease admissions counselors.

huntaub• 13 years ago

You can get all of your work done before a certain time. It just involves more rigorous organization. It is never good to put anything at a higher priority than your health.

PagingCraig• 13 years ago

Excuses.

dredmorbius• 13 years ago

If you think life's going to become any more considerate of your sleep requirements, think again.

Use time-boxing as a scheduling mechanism. If you find you have more work to do than time to do it, start lopping off items from your to-do list, and/or identifying how you can accomplish a sufficient effort in the time available.

That is likely to be a far more useful life lesson than whatever subject it is you're studying at the moment.

You also have to learn how to schedule downtime. People cannot run 100% 24/7/365, and attempting to do this is at best very painful, and at worst, literally, suicidal.

groundCode• 13 years ago

you're clearly not a parent.

encoderer2• 13 years ago

Just curious: Do you think your workload will decrease in the future, or that the workloads of the highly paid professionals here are less than what's required from you in school?

Don't expect life to get easier. More rewarding, IMO, but not easier.

drostie2• 13 years ago

Just to respond a little, I actually just finished with my Master's in applied physics, so yeah, it can work with an academic life. ^_^ Actually it can even be beneficial, much like turning off the Internet -- where yes, you lose access to help docs, but you also lose access to distractions.

If you want a little more unorthodox advice I'd offer, "don't buy the textbook unless either (a) it is a workbook which must be submitted for the grade or (b) you were really so powerfully impressed that you want this book as a lifelong reference." Ask the professor to ask the library to put the textbook on reserve in the library -- so that nobody in the course can take it out, but rather you share it at the library. If this leaves you muttering about Kant's categorical imperative, remember that if someone else is using it, you can form an impromptu study group and make a new friend. :D. For that matter, student societies should have copies of the texts, and a study lounge at the department might also have them. If nothing else works, copy homework problems from a friend taking the same course and look up the same material in alternative texts in the library (or on the Internet) -- but that's almost never necessary.

adito• 13 years ago

someone suggest the opposite[1]:

    If you sleep set hours, you’ll sometimes go to bed
    when you aren’t sleepy enough. If it’s taking you
    more than five minutes to fall asleep each night,
    you aren’t sleepy enough. You’re wasting time lying
    in bed awake and not being asleep. Another problem
    is that you’re assuming you need the same number of
    hours of sleep every night, which is a false 
    assumption. Your sleep needs vary from day to day.

    ...

    The solution was to go to bed when I’m sleepy 
    (and only when I’m sleepy) and get up with 
    an alarm clock at a fixed time (7 days per week).

I've done this tips and have good sleep each night (and also become an early riser as side effect).

[1] http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/05/how-to-become-an-ea...

colkassad• 13 years ago

The only time I fall asleep in less than 5 minutes is if I am completely exhausted. I have to go through a mental winding down period while I lay in bed. Usually through reading or just closing my eyes and thinking about something pleasant. This usually takes me about a half-hour on average. Anyway, from my point of view, I never understand how someone can just lay down and be asleep in a few minutes.

bane• 13 years ago

I had to opportunity to work one time where the time I came in didn't really matter. I decided to sleep when I was tired and wake when I was refreshed. Over the next few months I started to slowly cycle around the clock as my sleep time shifted about a half hour to an hour later each day and thus did my wake up time. It was a bit strange, but once I got into the rhythm of it...I've never been as productive in my entire career.

lucian19002• 13 years ago

I've stayed in bed and not fallen asleep until it got light again outside. I am almost never sleepy, it is very annoying.

This advice only works for some people.

loceng• 13 years ago

I like this idea. It'd be a big shift from what I currently do, though I feel I could be more productive at night then.

exue• 13 years ago

In general, most humans run 'late' on a 24.5-25.5 hour cycle with lack of any light - it's natural lighting that tends us towards 24 again. So it's true that artificial lighting messes with it, but not in that we were pre-disposed to sleeping earlier every day without it.

charlieok2• 13 years ago

If you happen to use an iPhone, I highly recommend Sol:

http://www.juggleware.com/blog/2012/01/sol-sun-clock-for-iph...

I'm not sure what the equivalent on Android might be; if anyone knows, hopefully they'll weigh in.

processyellow• 13 years ago

Lux is a good one. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vito.lux

mlwarren• 13 years ago

OP mentions that earbuds (plugs) are one of the best things he's done to improve sleep. Has anyone out there reviewed a few different brands of earplugs? I've used Hearos Ultimate Softness but I'm reading that there are better plugs out there. It looks like the best consumer grade plugs have a NRR of 33. Anyone have suggestions or insight into this?

dpeck• 13 years ago

Completely anecdotal, but when we had our child I did night shifts, and wife decided to use plugs to make sure she'd get enough sleep to be ready to go for the morning.

She settled in on the soft silicone variety, like these http://www.amazon.com/Macks-Pillow-Silicone-Earplugs-Value/d... but she gets the pharmacy or grocery store brand. They let in enough noise that you're not completely isolated, but dampen enough that you're able to sleep through usual noise like spouse snoring, dogs waking up to stretch/scratch/re-position, baby gurgling over the monitor, etc.

Edit: And they're much much more comfortable than the foam varieties tried.

rwmj2• 13 years ago

I've tried (generic) wax and foam earplugs, and have settled on cheap foam ones. They don't cost more than about $2 for a whole load of them (6 pairs or something like that), and are both reusable and washable.

codewright• 13 years ago

"Turbo shots" or "red eyes" in your coffee are a placebo btw. Espresso has a lower concentration of caffeine than standard drip. So by putting a "turbo shot" in your cup, you're actually lowering the caffeine concentration.

Wants to be hyper-rational and metric-aware about his sleep but didn't know anything about caffeine?

Okay.

pranjalv123• 13 years ago

I don't think that's true. A 16 oz Starbucks coffee has 330mg, while a 2oz Starbucks espresso has 150mg. So the espresso has 4x as much caffeine per ounce.

(http://www.cspinet.org/new/cafchart.htm)

yor• 13 years ago

I think you're thinking of the difference between robusta and arabica beans. Arabica has less caffeine than robusta, and -- at least in America -- more espresso roasts are arabica.

guizzy• 13 years ago

Espresso has a lower volume of caffeine, but it definitely has a higher concentration.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/caffeine/AN01211/METHOD=prin...

Espresso, restaurant-style 1 oz. (30 mL) 40-75 mg

Generic brewed 8 oz. (240 mL) 95-200 mg

The brewed coffee thus has between 11.9 mg and 25 mg of caffeine per oz.

If you added a shot of espresso (let's assume the weakest one at 40 mg of caffeine) to an 8 oz of very strong coffee (at 200 mg of caffeine), you'd still be increasing the concentration to ~26.7 mg/oz.

And that's stretching the limits of these calculations; a 200 mg 8 oz coffee is crazy strong, amounting to two and a half cans of Red Bull.

wonnage2• 13 years ago

Espresso has a higher concentration of caffeine. Most espresso drinks are mixed with a ton of milk, so lattes, etc. do end up being less concentrated than drip. But dropping a shot of espresso in your coffee will up the caffeine concentration slightly.

gerjomarty• 13 years ago

I hear a lot about cutting caffeine after 3pm to have it not affect your sleep, but I generally assume people are talking about coffee when they mention this time. I care more about when I should stop drinking tea, which apparently contains less caffeine.

Can I just halve the time required if tea has half the caffeine (let's say)?

fyi80• 13 years ago

Can you pick a decaf herbal tea for afternoon drinks?

nateweiss• 13 years ago

There are some pretty good decaf black teas (not herbal) which are reasonably satisfying if you want to have a cuppa later in the day.

If you're in the US, the Stash decaf range is IMO the best of the common supermarket brands (the normal American teas like Lipton and Tetley are pretty terrible in their decaf versions). If there's a gourmet store around, they may have the English brands such as Typhoo or PG Tips in decaf, which are pretty great. If you're in the UK then any advice on tea from the likes of me should just be ignored out of hand... :)

burriko• 13 years ago

Last year I made the decision to switch to drinking only decaf tea after 3pm, and since then I've found that I have much less trouble getting to sleep. Purely anecdotal of course, but I highly recommend it. Initially I was worried about the taste, but there's honestly not a huge difference.

octotoad• 13 years ago

I'm not a coffee/tea drinker and I don't drink soft drinks (caffeine or otherwise) apart from when its mixed with alcohol. I personally find it takes me a lot longer to get to sleep after having consumed pre-mixed alcohol involving things like cola. Beer, on the other hand, does not seem to have the same effect even when consumed at the same time of day.

repdetec• 13 years ago

*than

ffn• 13 years ago

Really interesting read... but out of curiosity, how does exercise play into the sleep schedule? In order to maintain a good sleep rhythm, when is latest one should exercise? Also I'd like to know where you get your supposedly free stopwatches.

sakbhatn2• 13 years ago

Physical activity that makes you feel tired and/or relaxes your mind is very good before going to bed as your thoughts will not wander and you will doze off within minutes. I used to have this problem of going to sleep after switching off lights and going to bed. I started doing simple exercises like cleaning/arranging my room or relaxation yoga which would take my mind off thinking a lot before falling asleep. Also I started reading books (not e-books, which make you insomniac) for 15-20 minutes everyday before going to sleep. You can exercise just before going to bed. For a free stopwatch you can use your smartphone or alarm clock.

dllthomas• 13 years ago

Consistency is key, I've heard time and again and my own experience seems to support (FWIW).

However, perfect consistency is hard to maintain. Even if one avoids the late parties and whatnot, eventually emergencies get in the way or illness comes along and increases the amount of sleep required.

My question is, when consistency must falter, what piece is most important? Going to bed at the same time, getting up at the same time, getting the same amount of sleep, or getting at least some particular amount of sleep? The article here claims it is not the last.

0x09• 13 years ago

This is the part I wish he hadn't glossed over, especially since at least a small handful of studies suggest that we naturally adopt > 24h cycles when left away from light cues and set time responsibilities.

Abundnce10• 13 years ago

How am I supposed to hear my alarm in the morning if I'm wearing earbuds/earplugs?

maroun9• 13 years ago

If you're consistent you should reach the point to where you don't need an alarm and your body is capable of waking up at the same time everyday.

However even if you're wearing earplugs you'll be able to hear an alarm, they don't block off noise that much.

zalzane• 13 years ago

Earplugs don't actually block out a whole lot of noise.

For example, if I wear my earplugs in the library, it'll completely muffle the sound of people whispering around me, but I'll still be able to hear the oblivious jock talking at full volume to his buddy at the table across from me.

benblack86• 13 years ago

Earplugs don't block out all noise. You will still be able to hear a loud unwanted noise near to your bed.

rwmj2• 13 years ago

Does the headband really work? Detecting "brainwaves" and eye movements sounds fairly dubious to me. Does it cover your eyes?

lurkinggrue2• 13 years ago

It is a bluetooth EEG headband.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EEG

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_consumer_brain–co...

stinos• 13 years ago

... waiting for research of the influense of bluetooth on sleep, especially when in close proximity to a brain :]

ultimoo• 13 years ago

I am surprised the article doesn't mention anything about alcohol and its effect on sleep. Does anyone want to chime in on this?

diminoten• 13 years ago

Ruins your restful sleep because your body does this thing where it tries to overcompensate for the depressing effect of the alcohol by overstimulating things. You may fall asleep more easily, but then your actual sleep will suck, compared to a non-alcoholic induced sleep.

Source: I read a book on it once about a year or so ago. The name of the book was [Buzz: The Science and Lore of Alcohol and Caffeine](http://www.amazon.com/Buzz-Science-Lore-Alcohol-Caffeine/dp/...).

gardarh• 13 years ago

From what I understand being drunk when going to sleep relaxes the muscles around your throat increasing your chance of apnea. The relaxed muscles around the throat means that the airway closes yielding a similar effect to choking (which is essentially what apnea is). The end result is that you choke periodically throughout the night meaning that the quality of your sleep is much inferior to what it could be; this is probably a large contributing factor to hangovers.

Edit: My source is a knowledgeable person on the subject, feel free to contradict or doubt the truthfulness of the answer - makes sense to me at least.

topherjaynes• 13 years ago

I was shocked by this omission too, just for the shear fact it's a depressant that's usually taken in high doses right before the sleep cycle. I'd be willing to bet, especially in college Alcohol has more effect than caffeine on you sleep schedule.

brd• 13 years ago

For anyone interested, heres a list of additional things that may help you sleep: http://www.favemaven.com/themaven/tips-and-tricks-better-sle...

I'm also a big fan of flux which lowers the amount of blue light emitted by your monitor: http://stereopsis.com/flux/

Its one page from my first django project which has been abandoned for a while. Its basically a curated affiliate link site (similar to what refer.ly has become)

mrbill• 13 years ago

Loved my Wakemate, but have since moved to all-Android. Are there any decent equivalents to the Zeo/Wakemate that work with Android phones and are still in business?

binderbizingdos2• 13 years ago

no no no, i don't even need to read any of that. 6 hours sleep. perfect for me. not tired, almost always in a good mood. very simple and effective. i don't need no recipes, to know about deep sleep and all that.

you should not forget that people are very different. so don't try to impose all these rules on everyone just because it works for you.

maroun9• 13 years ago

Thanks for your comment! At the end of the day you have to find what works best for you. For some (lucky) people they can kick ass on just 6 hours of sleep. For others, they need to be consistent and sleep for 7-8hrs.

I didn't mean to impose anything on anyone, just trying to share some of the things I've learnt :).

binderbizingdos2• 13 years ago

ok, but your shouldn't make it look like rocket science. it's pretty simple for me and maybe I'm lucky, but I guess the most important thing is to tell people to experiment with their sleep. i would say most of these sleep issues have a rather simple cure and you don't need sleep apps, wrist devices, zeos etc.

gingerlime3• 13 years ago

Interesting post, but I'm not sure if some of this advice can work for me. I've tried earplugs, but to be honest, it makes me paranoid that I won't hear the fire alarm or burglar coming in, which makes me much less relaxed. This isolated feeling is also weird for me. Covering my eyes just feels uncomfortable and also isolating. It's probably just me.

Also, I'm not entirely sure where I heard/read it, but I thought it's actually good to wake up with (natural) light, which brings you into a more natural cycle or something. I think I also heard it could help with jet lag, releasing melatonin or something of that sort.

maroun9• 13 years ago

When you first see sunlight in the mornings it helps regulate your circadian rhythm and it tells your body "The sun is out this is when I should wake up". Which is why if you're traveling you want to make sure you wake up at the right time locally and open the windows right away, it'll help reduce the # of days in which you're jetlagged.

However if you're sleeping at home you want your body to sleep for as long as it needs to, uninterrupted. That means no sunlight, no noise and no alarms. If you get into a consistent schedule you're body will wake up at around the same time everyday. However if you have sleep debt that you need to make up, you also want to give your body the chance to sleep a little extra.

thisisnotatest• 13 years ago

I think you vastly overestimate the effectiveness of earplugs. You might not hear a cat's scampering on the floor, but you are not going to miss anything like someone speaking at a normal volume in the room, much less a fire alarm. As one data point, I have never missed my smartphone alarm clock in five years of sleeping with earplugs.

sneak3• 13 years ago

I don't trust advice from anyone who uses apostrophes with plurals. If you can't figure out basic English, why should I be convinced you've figured out things more complicated?

Hytosys• 13 years ago

That's like dismissing Einstein's work because he pleasantly married his cousin. Some people place less importance or stress on certain things than other people do. Get over it, this article is truly helpful.

maroun9• 13 years ago

Hey thanks for the feedback! Grammar is definitely something I need to be better about for future posts.

The beauty of Medium is that I can have people help me proofread my posts before I publish them :).

nazka• 13 years ago

If someone see my comment, there are many information here: http://www.supermemo.com/articles/sleep.htm It is really big so the best solution is to see it fast and read the summary. And it's worth it.

okonomiyaki3000• 13 years ago

I usually sleep on my side but, when I do, I never dream. If I force myself to sleep flat on my back, I almost always dream. What's up with that?

oyvindeh2• 13 years ago

There's a difference between not dreaming and not remembering your dreams. Everybody dream every night.

This is just speculation, but perhaps you sleep better on your side, so that you don't remember your dreams as easily? E.g. if you wake up several times a night, you will remember more dreams than if you don't wake up during the night.

13b9f227ecf0• 13 years ago

You don't need to time sleep and you don't need to weigh calories. You just need to make sure nothing is fucking up your true sleepiness and that nothing is messing up your appetite.

You have sophisticated systems in you to govern consumption of sleep and food. Just don't screw things up with drugs, digital stimulation, social isolation, or junk food. It's all the same issue.

setrofim_• 13 years ago

A very interesting post. However, it is making some strong claims without really backing them up. It would be nice to see some citations.

ctdonath2• 13 years ago

What of being woken several times each night? I have two kids and two dogs and a wife; between them all I'm woken at least twice.

NuZZ• 13 years ago

According to an article I saw on HN a week ago, apparently, evidence shows we evolved to naturally wake up once each night about half way through, for around an hour. Of course, we went to sleep when it became dark and woke with the sun. Something that isn't conducive with todays lifestyle.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5542453

ctdonath2• 13 years ago

I've seen the "first sleep" references too. That's not what I'm talking about. Waking up naturally for a half hour in a pleasant relaxed state is one thing. Having the dog bark "let me out or I'm peeing on the carpet" and having to run downstairs, having the other dog jump on me at random intervals, having two kids separately get me up for a half hour each fussing about whatever, and having m'lady decide she must check her email at oh-dark-thirty, well, that's quite something else.

gavinpc• 13 years ago

Ha, I also have two kids and two dogs and a wife.

Take a moment to thank your parents, everyone, if only because you ruined about a year of their sleep (at least).

Derbasti• 13 years ago

As an audiologist, I would not recommend wearing earbuds all night. Ventilation is important for your ears.

Also, your ears are very adaptable: plugging your ears with earbuds will decrease the sound pressure by about 10 dB, which isn't really all that much. As a hearing loss, it would not require treatment. Your ears will adapt and you will still hear most startling sounds. In fact, your ears will have to "concentrate" more, which is known to lead to fatigue.

DocG• 13 years ago

I think drinking cold water before bed is not as good as you make it to be.

Cold water is like shock to your system. It wakes your body up.

Your body needs to work on warming the water first.

Although water itself should be good, warm/hand temperature water should be best.

sakbhatn2• 13 years ago

I agree with short naps concept but i think rather than following "the earlier in the day, the better", another concept of mid-day napping can be followed. You just need to take a short nap of 30 minutes ,15-20 minutes post-lunch. That is the time we can easily fall asleep, also you feel very refreshed and productive once you wake up!

throw7• 13 years ago

One of things that helps me is a sleeping cap. Mine is just a thin lightweight hat. I surmise this helps in the same way the article suggests to wear socks to keep your extremities warm. The only thing is, I hate wearing socks to bed, instead I wear the cap! :)

I also like to think the act of putting on my sleeping cap is also a nice subconscious cue that it's sleep time.

ChikkaChiChi• 13 years ago

If you want to use a screen at night and you don't want to mess with your sleep cycle, make sure you have a device with an AMOLED screen that has the ability to run a profile that uses red pixels only.

Samsung Android devices like the Note and the Galaxy S3 have AMOLED. On the Play Store, there is a free app called Galactic Night that will let you run the device in red only. Add on another free app called Screen Filter, and suddenly you have a device with perfect lighting that allows you to keep your night vision and let your eyes rest while you drift off to sleep. CyanogenMod used to have this feature; not sure if it still does.

Backlit LCD screens (even ones that use Flux or Red profiles) won't work because even the black pixels are backlit. I've tried using a jailbroken iPad with Color Profiles and it's just not the same.

Finally, you can use an e-reader but I recommend a light source you can add a red gel to. This will have the same effect.

Source: I've been reading on a screen before bed since the days of the Palm III. Also, I used to develop film in a real darkroom.

Sleep: Everything You Need to Know

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