Ask HN: How Do You Sleep?
For about two months I've been unable to get quality sleep. My productivity at work has hit an all time low and I'm even finding it difficult to stay awake while driving.
Does anyone else deal with these issues? Were you able to fix your sleep?
52 comments
[ 3.5 ms ] story [ 113 ms ] thread2. If you can find the time, work out
3. Most people need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep. While it's also recommended to atleast get 1 block of 5 hours during sleeping.
4. Water, get an healthy amount of water in a day (though don't start chugging like a mad men, I said an healthy amount)
5. Having an balanced diet that is maintainable.
6. Having a cold shower in the morning wakes me up, so does taking a dump
7. Drop sweet drinks they're sugared water and hold more calories then you should drink
I'm not an doctor so take everything I say with an pinch of salt
Might also be worth to check if it's not due to too much stress.
2. Avoid blue screens 1 or 2 hours before sleep. I used to read my books on a Kindle Fire. I started reading paper books at night.
3. Exercise. The best time for exercising is when you have the time.
These three things should account for a significant improvement.
Caffeine after ~3pm is a no-go for me (other friends of mine have different cutoff times)
Also don't forget that alcohol can make sleep lower quality as well.
Working out regularly also helps, as well as avoiding screens for 1 hours before bed.
In my case, I fought with it for years...I just had to keep at it, until finally I started leaving it on.
At the beginning it felt hard, but I kept it, thinking that I’d get used to it. And I actually got used to it. Except that my sleep quality was deteriorating slowly without me noticing.
The pillow lead to a “hidden” neck pain that I was feeling all the time. During the last previous months my sleep was horrible, I’d randomly wake up a lot of times during the night.
Two weeks ago I thought about ditching the pillow. The results were magical : I’ve never felt having a better sleep during the past year, and my neck pain started disappearing.
I’m still surprised how a whole year has passed before I suspected that the pillow might be the cause.
I actually have some sleeping suplements like tryptophan and melatonin in my shopping cart ready to buy them.
I had the same problem. Using a CPAP since over 2 years now, and it has been life changing. The effect wasn't evident overnight for me and I think I am still recovering from decades of lack of proper sleep due to the apnea.
- Magnesium bath (aka epsom salts)
- Orally supplemented liquid magnesium (though I have heard folks say that absorbing magnesium through the skin is actually a better way than orally.)
- Cold shower for 2-5 minutes, warm shower for 4-8 minutes, repeat and play with the times, ending on warm if your goal is sleep. Ending on cold if your goal is to be awake/get over a sickness.
Edit, also:
- exercise, but not too late into the day
- minimize late night screen time (duh. only mentioning it because I recently discovered the Accessibility-->Display Accommodations-->Color Filters on the Iphone. If you set it up to use a custom color tint and slide INTENSITY and HUE to max, then turn on the Accessibility Shortcut at the bottom of Accessibility, you can basically get your phone display set up to toggle a red light mode, which is much easier on the eyes at night)
- somewhat controversially: cannabis
- if you're dieting, save your carbs until the end of the day
- meditation, yoga, foam rolling, stretching - immediately prior to bed
I also do random shit like wear a bite guard to prevent grinding and occasionally go through phases where I'll tape my mouth shut to promote nasal breathing
Out like a light.
Is it that you're finding it difficult to decide to lay down and call it a day? Is it that you lay down, but can't fall sleep? Is it that you do fall sleep, but you don't feel rested on waking up? Is it that you're waking multiple times during the night and can't get into deep sleep? Do you feel physically or mentally tired? etc.
Another weird thing is that I feel sleepier during the day than I do at night.
1) You're being blown about by discursive thought
2) Your circadian rhythm is out of sync
For 1), I'd recommend taking up mindfulness meditation and practicing before bed. This will reduce stress and out you in a better mental state for sleeping.
2) could be caused by any number of things ranging from drugs (caffeine, alcohol, cannabis, sleep aids, etc.), insufficient exercise, not enough light in the morning, too much light in the evening, shifting bedtimes, noisy sleep environment, snoring, etc. Most of the comments around here will help with this problem though I'd be skeptical of anyone telling you to use medication or drugs for it. (I'm not anti-drug, I just think we don't understnad sleep or the brain well enough yet to effectively improve or induce sleep with drugs yet and most existing treatments seem to make you unconscious, but not necessarily asleep).
So I made two lists. One for projects, one for worries.
The list of all the projects was for things I wanted to do. Things like learn piano, visit Moscow, floss more regularly, literally every project. I saved that on dropbox. It had over 60 or 70 projects on it. I added 50 on the first day, then as I thought of more things or saw the visual triggers (that cookbook I bought to learn to cook more meals, the light that doesn't work because it has a weird bulb), I would add them to the list immediately over the next few weeks.
And another list of all the things I was worried about. Might be things like the client is 3 days late on payment, does he have the money? Did I make a fool of myself at X's birthday? Why does Z keep shooting my ideas down so savagely. I put these all in a temporary tab in notepad++, mixed in with other tabs I tend to have open. It persists between turning the computer on and off, but if you close the tab without saving, it just gets deleted. As it was temporary, I felt I could put embarrassing or even mean thoughts on it. I think this had 7 or 8 things.
With the projects I soon realised I couldn't do 60 things at once and focused on 4. The list is there to find more projects to do as I finish stuff.
With the worries, next time I look at it, most of them are gone. And I just close it, gone forever. First time I closed it, it was so liberating. After doing that every now and again over a month or two, I only have to do it once every blue moon, it's a useful trick when I start feeling a bit overwhelmed.
Might not work for you, but worth a shot.
This is called "worry time" and it has helped me in the past.
Another article describing it is here: https://healthypsych.com/psychology-tools-schedule-worry-tim...
It's not a silver bullet but it's a useful tool to have in one's toolbox.
I've had similar issues before and I've noticed that if I think about work, projects, my day, etc. I could go on for a long time without falling asleep. I began to notice that if I think about generally fiction/stories, I can fall asleep much more quickly. In my case I think about plots of movies I've recently watched (or a long time ago), whether it's Avengers or Dragon Ball etc. Perhaps you could give that a try.
I went from a varied sleep schedule, trying to catch up on the weekends, etc to a solid 7.5-8h routine every night and it's made a tremendous difference. Best of luck to you!
[0] https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZ1YGJ5/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_...
[1] http://routineexcellence.com/why-we-sleep-book-review-summar...
I enjoyed the term 8 hour sleep "opportunity", that he uses. Much more relatable for me.
- No phones in the bedroom
- Eliminate light sources in the bedroom.. blackout curtains help a lot.
- No coffee after 2pm
- Lessen your daily stress as much as possible. (everyone is different so this is tough to generalize)
.. one thing that also really seems to help is listening to something while falling asleep. especially, and probably most importantly, something that you've already listened to many times before.
i'm a very light sleeper, and i thought this would never work for me, but it totally does.
I know friends that fall asleep with episodes of futurama or the office playing in the background. I usually choose foreign language audio books that I've listened to many times.
The listening takes your mind off whatever is keeping you awake, and the fact that you've listened to it many times before keeps you from needing to pay active attention.
These days I don't even set my audible sleep timer for more than 15 minutes.
- Last tip is to make sure you have a routine. If you're not going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, it's difficult to develop a rhythm that your body will adjust to.
I find that I don't get tired until 4-5am (pretty sure my sleep schedule is messed up). Since I work remote I can either work late, or I get up early with less sleep.
I previously tried to use melatonin at night, but I've been taking it less since I'm not sure if it's helping or not.
Here are a few suggestions in no particular order:
- Light is very important in setting your circadian rhythm and making sure you are able to sleep. Try to maximize your sunlight / blue light exposure in the morning and then try your best to avoid sunlight and screens for as long as you can manage before bed (minimum half an hour). If you go outside in the late afternoon for a walk (strongly recommended!), wear sunglasses. If you have to use screens in the evening, install software to reduce blue light.
- Caffeine has a 6 hour half life in your system. That means that if you drink 4 cups of coffee and try to go to bed twelve hours later, your caffeine levels are still like you just drank a whole cup of coffee right before bed.
- Alcohol and Marijuana may seem to help you fall asleep but they're both detrimental to sleep quality and quantity. Alcohol is one of the strongest inhibitors of REM sleep we know of, even in very small quantities. If you're having sleep trouble, drop alcohol. If you really must drink, try to drink earlier so that less of it is in your system when you try to sleep. Marijuana also suppresses REM sleep, though it doesn't seem to cause you to wake up as much in the middle of the night as alcohol does so it may not be as bad I'd still say you should stay far away from Marijuana if you're having sleep problems. REM is very very important to many mental faculties.
- Sleeping pills like Ambien do not put you to sleep. They make you unconscious but it is not sleep. It's more comparable to being knocked out with a baseball bat. Avoid sleep drugs like the plague unless you're talking to a doctor with special training regarding sleep. Most doctors have almost no training on sleep and don't understand or respect its importance.
- I find my exercise levels very important to my sleep quantity and quality and notice a definite decline when I stop exercising. Try to exercise every day, even if its just a long (half hour plus) walk outdoors. Try to vigorously exercise an absolute minimum of twice a week though if your regular exercise is rather relaxed.
- Take up mindfulness meditation. Meditating will teach you the tools you need to recognize when you're unproductively lost in thought and break out of it. This is vital for me being able to fall asleep as thinking about work or other random mental rabbit holes is a big barrier to me personally falling asleep. Mindfulness helps you develop the mental superpower of saying "Oh, I don't actually want to think about that. Let's drop this train of thought." Also, it will help you manage your stress levels throughout the day which is very important for sleep.
- Invest in earplugs. It can make a real difference. Though, I do worry that I'm becoming a bit dependant on mine.
- Develop a strict sleep schedule and stick to it. Even on the weekends. Bounding around what time you fall asleep will destroy your ability to sleep reliably.
Hope some of that is helpful to someone.
- Make your bedroom dark, quiet and cool
- Get a memory foam pillow
- Install blue-light filter on your phone, laptop or desktop (Twilight on Android, f.lux on Mac & Windows)
- Have your Vitamin D levels checked, take supplements if necessary
- Take 0.3 mg of Melatonin if you're having trouble sleeping
- Read Say Good Night to Insomnia [0]
[0] https://www.amazon.com/Say-Good-Night-Insomnia-Drug-Free/dp/...
What does your exercise schedule look like? Try (at least at the beginning) light exercise for an hour a day and at least several hours before you go to bed. This can be activities as simple as brisk walking.
Try going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day.
Good luck!
- check CO2 levels in your bedroom - allergens(dust,pollen, etc) in your sleeping environment can cause breathing problems. - Acid reflux can also cause sleep issues. I've had good results raising the head of the bed by 6 inches to reduce this. - For daytime energy I've had very good results with supplemental potassium(500mg x 3). High daytime energy means more activity, which makes you tired, which makes falling asleep as night easier.
I found that blocking all sources of light during sleep and using light to make it easier to wake up works best for me.
To be a little more serious, I sleep around 8 hours a night, usually from around 10 or 11 until 6 or 7. This fits well with sunset and sunrise times most of the year.
The biggest "hack" for me is getting up at the same time everyday. If you stay up an hour later or go to sleep a little earlier it's no big deal. Don't worry about waking up at night too, it's no big deal unless it's excessive.
Exercise helps. As does sleep hygiene. No screens in bed.
I don't think you need to buy a fancy pillow or mattress. I sleep on a cheap mat on the floor and it's fine.
#1: No before bed bad emotions or anxiety. Anything that'll get me anxious, angry or cause a fight mentally is stuff I try to avoid well before bed. (If you are married do not engage in conversation that can lead to an argument.)
#2: Make sure the room is cool and get a blanket. If the room is hot or the blanket too thick it'll make sleep uncomfortable at best.
#3: If you want to watch something before bed then it had better be boring. Boring stuff makes you want to stop watching something so you'll be less interested in that and more interested in sleeping. To make it easier, use an auto power-off mode for the device so you'll sleep without thinking about turning something off.
Those three helped me a lot.