
Why Can’t We Fall Asleep? - phodo
http://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/why-cant-we-fall-asleep
======
m_fayer
I'm surprised the article mentions the blue light problem and devices but does
not talk about flux, it's a little app that shifts the color temperature of
your display to match what you're supposed to see at your location given the
time of day. So, after sunset your screen basically turns orange. Although
it's a bit annoying and takes some getting used to, I've tried it on and off
and whenever I'm using it I fall asleep and stay asleep much better than
without.

A big problem for me with iPhones compared to android is that something like
flux cannot work on them, so I have to avoid my device late in the evening to
not disrupt my sleep.

~~~
kristofferR
Try getting the Uvex S1933X glasses. They work for everything in your view
(obviously) without messing around with software, and probably works better
too.

I have them, and they're amazing. I have pretty cool LED lighting in my
apartment and can make my whole living room any color I want at night. If I
set in to pure blue and put on the glasses, it's like being in pitch blackness
(except a couple of items glow brightly).

It's not like looking at things with an orange tint at all, even though the
glasses are obviously orange.

That being said - the benefits I get by using them is amazing. It's weird how
much of a difference it can make, I get tired quickly after putting them on in
the evening. If I forget to put them on I usually end up staying up too late,
getting too little sleep and often ruining the next day. Personally I find it
way more effective than flux.

By the way - blue light isn't just a negative thing, but also a huge positive.
In the morning I use a Philips goLITE BLU HF3332, and it really improves both
my energy and mood quickly after just a few minutes of usage.

Those two simple items, a blue light and a pair of blue-blocking glasses, have
improved my life significantly. Try it out (especially the glasses, it's just
$9).

~~~
mistermann
> I have pretty cool LED lighting in my apartment and can make my whole living
> room any color I want at night.

This sounds very cool, any chance you could post a picture of your living room
with some different colors?

~~~
kristofferR
It's summer in Norway here so it doesn't really get dark before my bedtime
tonight, but here are some really short videos from a party a couple of months
ago:
[https://goo.gl/photos/PKyzv8HkCyVJSdzv7](https://goo.gl/photos/PKyzv8HkCyVJSdzv7)

Normally I have it set to a static color or a very slow and smooth fade, not
the crazyness seen in the vids.

Here's blue, which is totally dark with the Uvex glasses:
[https://goo.gl/photos/SCrU1PhbDmCuPi22A](https://goo.gl/photos/SCrU1PhbDmCuPi22A)

~~~
mistermann
I love that blue! So what's the cost for that type of a setup?

~~~
kristofferR
Probably below 40$ for the whole shebang. It's this, just with an additional 5
m strip and a power adapter: [http://www.aliexpress.com/item/10M-3528-RGB-LED-
Strip-Waterp...](http://www.aliexpress.com/item/10M-3528-RGB-LED-Strip-
Waterproof-IP65-DC12V-60LEDs-M-SMD-Strips-Lighting-
with-44-Keys/32311668753.html)

~~~
mistermann
Wow, that's cheap. So the blueness in the entire room is emanating from the
bright spots along the roof?

------
dimitar
_But it may be that the most important aspect of sleep hygiene has to do with
light_ I'm not convinced.

The most important thing for sleep is your eating habits - if you want to wake
up early eat very early dinners. If you want to wake up at 8 am, your last
meal of the day should be at 6 pm ( _14 hours before that_ ).

This works so well, that it overrides the effects of alcohol and caffeine and
often even how tired you are. Even if you usually stay up until 3 am you'll
get very sleepy at midnight and you'll wake up at 8. If fact even if you are
prevented from sleeping until 3, you'll still wake up at 8 after just 5 hours
of sleep. Have a full breakfast to avoid sleeping during the day - the next
day you'll probably get sleepy at midnight again, even if you have dinner a
bit later than 6.

Why does this work? Your 'food clock' will override all the other timers that
govern your sleep habits. I cannot find the sources for this, but there are
pretty good biological reasons this works. I know that I have used this rule
many times for my benefit when working shift work or travelling or even
getting back in rhythm after a vacation.

Edit:
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7414437.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7414437.stm)
\- I've added this report from the BBC as a source. I've used 14 hours instead
of 16 but I find it works about the same for me.

~~~
xsace
_if you want to wake up early eat very early dinners._

 _Have a full breakfast to avoid sleeping during the day_

Those 2 facts seem conflicting to me. In one case food deprivation helps you
wake up while the other case it would make you feel asleep?

~~~
dimitar
It is an interesting question (so I up-voted it), but they are not conflicting
since it doesn't happen at the some.

I don't think it is really food deprivation - any healthy human being should
be able to go 16 hours between meals once in a while (assuming regular meals
most of the time). When you wake up you do wake up hungry, but you don't feel
impaired yet.

Food deprivation may start after that - so you might get lethargic and sleepy
because of it.

------
chdir
I had a severe case of not being able to sleep if my mind was busy after
dinner time e.g. coding, debugging, mentally solving a problem. Adjusting
light temperature, using flux software etc. helped marginally, but never
attacked the root of the problem. What really helped was meditation i.e. being
able to take my mind away from everything & focus on /dev/null. It is like a
magic button. I can fall asleep whenever I consciously wish to divert my
attention. Just a single book & a month of practice.

Next challenge : Wake up whenever I feel like. Haven't found the magic button
yet. All the fancy alarm clocks, sleep trackers, REM techniques aren't
helping.

~~~
udfalkso
What book?

~~~
matrix
Most likely he's referring to this book:

B. Stahl & E. Goldstein, A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook

~~~
ucsdrake
I'm curious why you say that. Where did you get that reference from?

Looking through chdir's comment history, the only reference to a book
regarding meditation and stress is Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante
Gunaratana.

I'm interested in the book chdir's referring to as well.

~~~
matrix
You're probably right. The book I mentioned is the one I see most frequently
recommended as a how-to guide to mindfulness. I have not read Mindfulness in
Plain English, but judging by the title it sounds like a similar approach.

------
spuz
It's interesting that the article mentions the importance of not disrupting
the body's natural ability to produce melatonin but does not mention melatonin
when talking about sleep medication. As far as I understand artifial melatonin
actually increases REM sleep, does not trigger sleep walking and can be taken
for longer than a week. In my experience it does increase the intensity of
dreams which could be a negative side effect if you are prone to nightmares. I
went through a period of poor pre bed habits - staying up late, using my phone
and not taking the time to unwind and I would take .75 mg of melatonin right
before going to sleep in an effort to 'correct' for my bad habits. I would not
recommend this as a lifestyle at all but if you have to rely on medication,
melatonin seems to be one of the more effective sleep aids out there.

~~~
marak830
Im on melatonin at the moment. Its nice to hear about someone else, id nnever
heard of it before the doctor recommended it before sleeping tablets.

~~~
provemewrong
I hadn't heard about melatonin until a thread on reddit where everyone was
raving about it and sharing stories about how it knocks them right out. Now I
ocassionally take a pill, but I don't really feel any effects and I'm still
not entirelly sure if it is putting me to sleep faster or not. I still take it
at least for the placebo effect and because it's fairly cheap.

~~~
marak830
My doc said it could take a week or two initally to have a real effect, ive
just passed the 2 week mode, and im combining this with sleeping naked(sorry
tmi i know, but hey, it helps haha), and lowering my evening caffeine ammount
(i useto only have one no later than 7pm, now i make that one weak).

------
glynjackson
I often work late or watch movies on my laptop in bed. About 6 months ago I
read about how screens/backlight have a negative effect on sleep pattens. I
found an app called Flux
([https://justgetflux.com/](https://justgetflux.com/)). A simple idea that
makes a computer's display adapt to the time of day. I still have problem
sleeping but, not as much as I use to!

------
thebouv
I can't fall asleep because I can't get my brain to STFU.

When I can lay down, regardless of hour of night, with a quiet brain, I fall
right asleep.

95% of the time though, my brain won't stop. I stay away from screens after a
certain hour, I try not to think about work (not always successful). But
still, sometimes my brain just won't quit. It's super frustrating.

~~~
erikb
For me it helps to play computer games after work/school which take me away
from my real world problems and don't challenge me too much. Basically
something that gives me a good feeling of no fear and maybe even success
without doing much for it. That helped me a lot to fight this brain-STFU
problem.

Good tv shows also work, because watching tv basically is no challenge but is
able to transfer your thoughts from your problems to problems that aren't
yours which is less stressful.

------
bmurphy1976
I have not read the article (yet).

I used to have trouble falling asleep, to the point where I was concerned
enough to go to a doctor about it, but I never followed up after the first
visit. Instead I not very intentionally made some adjustments on my own which
resolved my situation:

1\. No lights/noise. Get rid of all blinky things, particularly blue and green
lights. Faint red lights are tolerable. Black electrical tape is a gift, use
it! Noisy computer fans are bad! Turn off the computer or move it into a
different room.

2\. Take better care of yourself! Eat better, get more exercise, and get up at
a consistent time every morning. A healthy routine is important.

3\. Don't worry about it! If you lay awake all night worrying about the sleep
you are "missing" you are only making the problem worse. You don't need to
worry about it, you will be fine. We miss sleep ALL THE TIME and are still
functional members of society.

Once I stopped worrying, even the rare nights where I can't sleep go faster
because I'm not focused on the clock. I use the time to think about more
interesting and less worrisome things or get out of bed and do something
productive.

Also, as others have said, Flux is great! I also have Twilight on my Android
phone! I love them both.

~~~
raducu
I used to take hours to fall asleep. Some things that helped a lot: 1\.
Twilight on android and on my laptop 2\. Thicker curtains. 3\. "Meditating" in
bed with my eyes closed.

My version of meditation is laying in bed with my eyes closed and actively
trying to shut off all thoughts; at first it seems it's not working because
I'm suddenly aware of everything around me and I feel more awake. But after
5-10 minutes I no longer see the "noise" with my eyes closed but instead I
start seeing images. Once I start seeing images with my eyes closed I know
I'll be asleep in a few minutes.

~~~
bmurphy1976
Hah, that sounds very much like something I used to do when I was younger. I
would focus on one muscle at a time intentionally making each relax as much as
possible. Start at the top of my head and work my way down to my toes. Once I
was fully relaxed I would focus on clearing my mind, emptying it of thoughts.
See nothing, hear nothing (except maybe my breathing/heart beat).

I haven't had to do that in years. I really don't have trouble falling asleep
anymore (much to my wife's dismay).

------
wodenokoto
Does anyone know what the cognitive behavioural therapy the article refers to
is?

I know what it is in general, but how does it relate to sleep?

~~~
silencio
It's basically CBT tailored towards insomnia. Identifying and addressing
behaviors and thought patterns that make it difficult to sleep. Sleep hygiene,
mindfulness, etc.

As a sidenote, I did find a lovely PDF a while ago with a bunch of good sleep
hygiene tips. As always, it's implementing the suggestions that is difficult,
but :) [http://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/docs/Info-
sleep%20hygiene.pd...](http://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/docs/Info-
sleep%20hygiene.pdf)

~~~
marak830
Thank you for the link, ill definatly read that when im home.

I also agree with its hard to do the recommended sometimes :-s. 8 hour work, 2
hour total travel, then i need to code my own project -.-

------
nomercy400
Is the blue light bothering you?

\- Windows/Linux: f.lux

\- Android: twilight

~~~
ikurei
For Linux I had much more success using Redshift that flux.

I can't quite remember what flux was missing that Redshift had. Does flux have
an indicator on the notification/indicators area?

------
liox
While enrolled in a nighttime masters degree a few years ago I started taking
low dose melatonin and it had a huge impact on my ability to get restful
sleep. It prompted me to look into other sleep hacks and since then I've
really been able to hone my ability to get great sleep most any night and
under any condition — even when the duration isn't as long as I'd like. I
really feel like a new person.

Here are some of the tricks I've found work well:

\- Low dose melatonin: I've tried higher doses but there's a fair amount of
literature out there stating that less is more [0]. My own experiences seem to
confirm this, but melatonin definitely affects people differently! I can take
it and be able to hop out of bed (morning person), but my gf (who's NOT a
morning person) has tried it and ended up feeling even more like a zombie.
Melatonin's definitely not for some people.

\- f.lux: I've always felt that it gives your screen the quality of the page
of a book. It's hard to describe the feeling, but removing the blue light
definitely has a relaxing effect. I'm at the point now where if I turn off in
the evening (maybe to see a graphic) I'll actually cringe.

\- Sleep Cycle app: I started using this app when I read about how timing your
wake up based on 90 minute sleep cycles [1] can help you avoid that morning
groggy feeling. This was interesting because I'd definitely had those mornings
where I got less sleep than usual but still felt awake – I was always curious
about the reason. I've used the app for a little over a year and typically
wake up before my alarm anyway, but the app seems to be pretty good at
determining when I'm in the lightest stage.

\- Earplugs: Living in a city that does garbage collection at 3am prompted
this one. Earplugs are my go-to sleep hack whenever I'm traveling. I've found
they help for general concentration as well.

I'm convinced the above helped me successfully complete my masters degree and
also hold down 3 jobs (9-5 and 2 after hours startup roles) since then. It
might seem like a lot of lifestyle change, but I did it gradually as I learned
more about the science of sleep and also experienced the benefits first hand.
They probably won't work for everyone, but they're worth a shot to see if they
can help you!

[0]
[http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2001/melatonin-1017](http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2001/melatonin-1017)

[1] [http://lifehacker.com/remember-the-90-minute-rule-to-
ensure-...](http://lifehacker.com/remember-the-90-minute-rule-to-ensure-a-
refreshing-nigh-1551241082)

------
henryV
My problem is the opposite. I can fall asleep very easily. Over 8 or 9 o'clock
in the evening, if I'm doing something that doesn't require too much attention
(like watching a film or something like that) I start to feel asleep and it's
very hard not to.

The funny thing is that, if I let myself sleep for a few minutes (5-15), then
I wake up fresh and ready to be awake a bunch of hours more (and it doesn't
prevent me from getting asleep later).

~~~
provemewrong
>The funny thing is that, if I let myself sleep for a few minutes (5-15)

You're essentially taking a nap and waking up before entering deep sleep. This
is the refreshing kind of nap. Conversely sleeping just a few minutes more and
waking up in the middle of deep sleep would make you feel grumpy and tired.
There are some polyphasic sleep techniques that basically exploit this and
have sveral short naps of light sleep throughout the 24 day instead of a
night's sleep.

------
restalis
Something I noticed in my falling asleep pattern (and did not found in the
article yet) is the relation with the air I breathe. It's very easy for me to
fall asleep somewhere in the middle of green forest and the other way around -
I noticed that I sleep badly in a medium that for some reasons had
insufficient aeration. Is it possible for the loss of sleep across the century
to have something to do with the quality of our air?

------
Qantourisc
If anyone feels brave. You could also dynamically set the screen brightness. I
have a script for DDC communication with the screen on Linux (if you screen
and video card supports it). It uses the program ddccontrol, but my script is
really messy and needs a lot of cleanup. If you have nvidia: check
[https://goo.gl/BIW8ax](https://goo.gl/BIW8ax) for DDC crash issues.

------
glynjackson
Is there any evidence that dark colour schemes when coding help sleep pattens?
I ask because after using the default theme of sublimetext for 6 months then
going back to white background for a few days made it difficult to sleep at
night. Anyone else found this?

------
contingencies
#1 reason is probably coffee.

#2 reason is probably artificial lighting slash screens.

------
Gnarl
Try sleeping in a place away from sources of RF/EMF. Tent in the woods, log
cabin, car even (not a Tesla though).

------
jfaat
The twitter query string should be removed from this link

~~~
dang
Thanks, done.

------
AC__
Smoke some weed and ground yourself, literally ground yourself(run a wire from
the ground plug of a wall outlet), while you sleep. Humans are fucking
retarded, we have way too much HF radio waves and EMF in our environment now.

