
In Search of Forty Winks: Gizmos for a good night’s sleep - BDGC
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/02/08/in-search-of-forty-winks?mbid=gnep&intcid=gnep&google_editors_picks=true
======
Someone1234
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.

~~~
abraham_s
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.

~~~
Someone1234
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.

------
nfriedly
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.

------
agentgt
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 :)

~~~
sandworm101
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.

------
codyb
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
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...

------
sandworm101
>> 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](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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conium_maculatum)

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

~~~
kwhitefoot
Copernicus?

Surely Socrates.

~~~
sandworm101
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
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
"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.

------
mmanfrin
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
> 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?

~~~
mmanfrin
I don't remember exactly which, but I _think_ it was this one:

[https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sleep-cycle-alarm-
clock/id32...](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sleep-cycle-alarm-
clock/id320606217?mt=8)

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

------
teawithcarl
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.

------
Havoc
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
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.

