
Sleeping with Your Gadgets On - malomalo
http://blog.42floors.com/sleeping-with-your-gadgets-on/
======
stinos
_How to block all blue light from your devices_

I can't help but think 'turn them off' is the most obvious answer here. The
author seems to think he _needs_ the iPad/laptop to fall asleep. Well, that's
simply being untruthful to yourself. It's just a habit, and with some correct
training (and eventually even seeing a psychologist) he can replace it with
another, probably healthier, habit. Like reading a book or meditation.

~~~
the_watcher
He tried removing it entirely, he mentioned reading in the post. Why isn't it
ok that he found a way to get to sleep easier with his devices?

~~~
stinos
Because in my opinion (solely based on intuition and vague memories of things
read in scientific articles on the matter), as a solution for sleep problems,
it's still inferior to just turning them off.

I know he mentions books in the articles but put them away because they either
were either too exciting or too boring. To me that sounds like not having
tried hard enough. As I said: replacing such nightly habit with another one
isn't easy.

~~~
eli
I'm not sure I get why reading a book is so much worse than a reading on an
iPad. You mean because of the backlit screen?

~~~
the_watcher
Blue light. It's the whole reason f.lux and blue light filters exist, and why
the Kindle Paperwhite is such an amazing device: front-lit with no blue light.

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pud
Thanks to this article, today I learned that there's a name for the thing I
have, "delayed sleep disorder."

I became an entrepreneur at age 22 not because I wanted to change the world,
but because I just wasn't able to wake up early enough for a "real job." I
figured there had to be a way to make the same amount of money I was making at
the time, but keep my own hours. I always tell people I have "vampire hours."

I'm 38 years old now. I typically go to sleep around 4am+ every night and wake
up around 11am or noon. I usually don't take meetings before 1pm and have
unknowingly designed my life and career around this disorder.

I was also diagnosed with ADHD as a kid, which, according to Wikipedia, is
linked to this sleep disorder.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_sleep_phase_disorder](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_sleep_phase_disorder)

~~~
eli
Be careful diagnosing yourself on the internet. There are a variety of things
(some with cures!) that can make it hard to fall asleep or wake up. I'd
strongly suggest seeing a specialist if you aren't sleeping well.

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JTxt
I have flux on my desktop, but I'll be looking for a filter for my iphone.
(Edit: I like the orange glasses idea better.)

Here's what I do: an alarm goes off at 10:30pm and I take melatonin. If I
actually shun devices, I can eventually sleep. But my brain is curious and
wants to browse. I try to tell myself that I can in the morning. That
sometimes works.

Lately I've been tracking my sleep with "sleep time". I also have a folder of
sleeping and hypnosis apps that I cycle through. They talk me through relaxing
muscles, calming my thoughts, deep breathing, binaral beats... I've sleeped
better lately and actually look forward to it some.

Also exercise seems to help, if I do. (Edit: I'm enjoying the other tips here,
thanks.)

~~~
simonbarker87
When I was following the starting strength program I was asleep before my head
hit the pillow - if you're thinking about following a heavy weight, compound
exercise program this is one of the nice benefits. A 2 times body weight dead
lift is a very effective way of feeling exhausted.

~~~
mcormier
I can vouch for deadlifts putting you to sleep as that is part of my regular
routine. 30-40 reps of Turkish Get-ups at 25% of your body weight is also very
effective.

[http://stats.preenandprune.com/](http://stats.preenandprune.com/)

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picklestime
For blocking blue light, instead of filtering the devices, just filter your
eyes:

[http://www.amazon.com/Uvex-S1933X-Eyewear-SCT-Orange-Anti-
Fo...](http://www.amazon.com/Uvex-S1933X-Eyewear-SCT-Orange-Anti-
Fog/dp/B000USRG90/)

I've been wearing those for ~2 hours before sleeping and they work very well.

~~~
mosselman
These probably work wonders on your sex life too.

~~~
picklestime
heh. my fiancée jokingly refers to me as "nerd bono"

(she also has a pair and wears them)

~~~
mosselman
Hahaha cool.

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mariusz79
I'm asleep in about 10 minutes and so can you: \- no computer, tablet, tv 60
minutes before the bed.. \- no lights in the bedroom \- breath-in & breath-out
while counting from 100 to 1

:)

~~~
louhike
What happens if I don't fall asleep at 0? Will I die? Will I get a BSOD?

~~~
MattBearman
You carry on into negatives. Eventually you'll get to -32,768, and then you
can start again from 32,767 - assuming you have a 16 bit brain that is. God
help you if yours is 32 bit.

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Nanzikambe
In a similar vein, I've had problems sleeping all my life. The easiest
solution was exercise, I began rollerblading to/from work as well as pretty
much everywhere (~ 15-20km per day). During that period it never took more
than a minute or two to fall asleep.

Now I live in a city with laws against roller blading in the street and
cobbled pavements, so once I again I'm insomniac.

I shall try the articles suggestions

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jaysonelliot
What would work just as well for the author would be simply listening to
audiobooks.

He says "For me falling asleep takes a cooling down period where my mind
slowly disengages. That’s why watching old TV shows is so effective; it gives
me something to focus on without letting me really engage."

You can get the same effect by listening to an audiobook, without having to
worry about the glow of a screen at all. I use a cheap dollar-store speaker
tucked under my pillow, where the muffled drone of the book is still distinct
and listenable, but just soporific enough to lull me to sleep. The only thing
to remember is to set a timer so it turns off, rather then continuing on for
hours and potentially waking you up again.

------
pound
What helped me was stopping drinking coffee. Even one cup in the morning. Two
days of headache, two weeks of not being focused and suddenly I can actually
fall asleep at 11pm.

Before that my brain was too alert up to ~1am.

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corin_
> _That’s why watching old TV shows is so effective; it gives me something to
> focus on without letting me really engage._

This is what I've been doing for years, there's probably about 20 films that I
must've seen dozens of times each, and a few TV shows that I know and like
enough to be able to watch time and time again without needing to focus on
exciting plot twists because I already know them. Works really well for me,
but this is the first time I've come across another person doing the same
thing.

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3rd3
"LPT: Have sleep-onset insomnia (difficulty falling asleep)? Stop thinking
with words and think with images instead."

[http://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/1uy56a/lpt_have...](http://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/1uy56a/lpt_have_sleeponset_insomnia_difficulty_falling/)

I’m not sure if there is any evidence backing this up. Trying this myself
didn’t work too well because my eyes tend to seize a little bit when I try to
'think with images'.

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the_watcher
Congrats on finding something that works. If you ever want to try reading
again, try rereading books. It works pretty similarly to how old TV shows work
for you (at least for me). As long as you stick to simple to read books (stuff
designed for young adults but still interesting to adults works well: Ender's
Game, The Hobbit, The Phantom Tollbooth, etc.)

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ohsnapman
A blue light is also good for dealing with jet lag. Here's one from Philips
that has a rechargeable battery and is portable:

[http://www.truesunmedical.com/blue-light/53-philips-
golite-b...](http://www.truesunmedical.com/blue-light/53-philips-golite-blu-
sad-light.html)

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tammer
I've been a f.lux fanatic for a long time. Recently, though, I've been getting
headaches that seem to be relieved by turning it _off_. I think it has
something to do with getting a variety of color input rather than mostly red
or mostly blue, but an expert I am not.

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thrillgore
I find my solution more practical -- I flip the devices onto my desk face
down/put into sleep mode

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ozh
There are mentions in this article of tricks that may or may not work for you,
but in any case, do try F.lux if you haven't already. It's very, very great
when working late on the screen.

~~~
sizzle
Lux for android is a great, (paid) automated solution

~~~
coyotebush
Twilight (color adjustment is in the free version) works nicely too.

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charlescmt
So why not just get blue blocker glasses so you don't have to filter
everything in the house individually???

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mosselman
On your mac you can use alt+shift+dim to get 4ths of the normal box.

