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Ask HN: Can I temporarily combat the brain fog from lack of sleep?

11 points by non-entity ↗ HN
My sleep schedule the past few months have been completely shocked. Often I'm up all for an entire night or two not being able to pass out till the sun is up (or on workdays, not till long after). The resulting day I typically have pretty bad brain fog and have more trouble than normal focusing or keeping a good train of thought. Anything I can do to temporarily suppress this?

16 comments

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Gustomaximus
I find short naps are good if you have the discipline to keep them so. I've tried a few different timers setting and for me 17 minutes seems to work for enough time to fall asleep, feel refreshed but not him deep sleep where its hard to come back.

But really fixing the wider problem is best. The usual answer is exercises, sunlight and avoiding screens for a hour or so before bed.

motorokr
I think, there is too much energy accumulated in you due to various reasons, making it difficult for your body to relax. I'll suggest take deep breaths, (exhale time should be greater than inhale). Just try to relax body with each exhale. If possible, read first two chapters from the book `Attention revolution - by B. Alan Wallace`, and practice it for few days. If nothing works, seek professional help either from doctor or meditation teachers.
forgotmypw17
Take a day off and sleep whenever you feel tired. You may need some day sleep.
ochronus
Welcome to the club :( Sorry to hear - and no, I don't think there are temporary solutions, it's extremely hard to make up for significant lost sleep. Having a few nights of good sleep definitely helps with the brain fog but there are studies (and, of course counter-studies) saying that damage acquired from loss of sleep is mostly permanent. You should get to the root of why you are having such bad nights and eventually fix that root cause. If this keeps up I'd suggest seeing a specialist (but first you can try to observe what's happening when you can't go to sleep, is it your thoughts racing? Is it the short-term feedback loop of social media and HN?)
cpach
I’m not sure I follow. What do you mean with mostly permanent? A period of bad sleep can surely be devastating, but will it really mean you’re damaged for life just because of that…?
gaspoweredcat
nothing legal, however if youre willing to bend the rules a little then there are some options available:

Amphetamines (adderall/vyvanse/amfexa etc): these will easily clear the fog from lack of sleep, the downside being theyre expensive

Modafinil: this chemical was developed for narcolepsy but was soon found to be useful for cognitive enhancement, itll keep you going up to 48 hours with almost no loss of focus or ability and in some cases youll even be better. the other up side to this is that Modafinil is very cheap

rl3
>...itll keep you going up to 48 hours with almost no loss of focus or ability

That isn't true. Sleep deprivation will significantly impact your cognitive abilities even so, perhaps just not as much as it otherwise would.

Quality sleep on a regular basis is the foundation for anything sustainable, regardless of drugs.

afarrell
dexamfetamine might mean you don't feel the fog, but its your Working Memory will still be shot.
chefkoch
>Amphetamines (adderall/vyvanse/amfexa etc): these will easily clear the fog from lack of sleep, the downside being theyre expensive

and addictive and often neurotoxic..

afarrell
My current strategy: Use emacs org-mode as a crutch to store information that keeps falling out of your Working Memory.
meiraleal
keto, low carb and carnivore diets are known for helping with brain fog. By experience, fasting is the best for that.
RemingtonLak
10mg of THC Sativa edible. With possibly 80-160mg of caffeine whatever amount that is your trigger threshold.

THC helps to slow everything down a bit so you can clear the fog and focus one a singular thing. The caffeine to keep that edge going.

Also extremely conducive even if you're not a fan of this genre of music but game/trailer sound tracks like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1P5U7NlVoA

Music with lyrics or jazzy makes you need to focus on the music.

Alternative is this incredible little gem of youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD4dMdpNe_I incoherent background noise.

However, as few have said, bottomline is you can't circumvent sleep deprivation. Best you can do for yourself is take a power nap but even with sleep, because of the crap happening. I still recommendation the above suggestion.

gnatman
Start smaller with the THC if you’re inexperienced- like 2.5mg.
RemingtonLak
Good recommendation. I'm not even a casual user, but may be once every few months where 100mg would last me almost a year at 10mg bites. But yes, definitely start with a tiny bite. Who knows, may be the "micro dosing" may be enough.
tubularhells
No way around it, sort out your sleeping routine.
aguilar
I believe you should consult with a psychiatrist as soon as possible. The brain chemistry is really delicate and you should not risk medicate yourself. If you start taking stimulants, soon you have to increase the doses (homeostasis) and it will lead to more problems.

I had a similar problem: I couldn't sleep longer than 2 - 3 hours without waking up randomly. Now I'm taking a medicine every day and it's helping me regulate my life. Trust the science. Use the technology to have a happy plain life.