
I tried to hack my insomnia - uhhyeahdude
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/614478/i-tried-to-hack-my-insomnia-with-technology-heres-what-worked/
======
koheripbal
During a stressful part of my life recently I struggled with getting to sleep.
I just couldn't stop thinking about shit that was going on.

until one night I fell asleep on the couch in front of the TV, and it occurred
to me that I could just modify this behaviour to bed.

So I put a handful of old Star Trek episodes on my phone. Each night I put me
earphones on (so as not to disturb my wife), turn on an episode of Star Trek,
and I am asleep within the first five minutes. ... I can even repeat
episodes... it doesnt even matter since Im asleep within literally 5mins.

At first the earphones were annoying, but after a week you dont even notice
them.

The stress at work continues, but I sleep like a baby.

I think the familiarity of Star Trek (which I watched a lot as a kid) gives me
a subconsious sense of security.

~~~
slacka
Yes, audiobooks/podcasts at night are great.

Lack of sleep ages you, makes you overweight, and susceptible to many health
issues. Here's what I did to get enough sleep:

    
    
        * Make sure every monitor/portable device is using Redshift / Night Light blue light filter. 
        * Set a "sleep alarm"  After which no work on a screen. Only reading books/audiobooks
        * 0.5mg of Melatonin helps sleep naturally (more gives trippy dreams) 
        * AVOID sleeping pills (they're more addictive than crack)
        * Exercise 3-5 times a week
        * Get some natural sunlight during the day

~~~
hughdbrown
0.5 mg of melatonin? or 5.0 mg? 5 to 10 mg of melatonin is the amount in most
all doses sold on Amazon. I've never seen such a light dose.

~~~
collyw
Apparently it works as effectivley at lower doses.

Someone posted this a while back, and it goes into a lot of detail:
[https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/E4cKD9iTWHaE7f3AJ/melatonin-...](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/E4cKD9iTWHaE7f3AJ/melatonin-
much-more-than-you-wanted-to-know)

------
Eric_WVGG
I picked up very serious sleep problems (and seemingly permanent bags under my
eyes) right around puberty and lived with it for about twenty years. Tried
most of the "hacks" on this page (yes, including exercise) to no avail.

It all unexpectedly went away when I moved into my current apartment. I have
huge, unblocked, east-facing windows, and every morning I’m bathed in
sunlight. No more sleeping in; I’m wide awake, no arguments. Consequently, by
midnight I am dead to the world.

All of this makes me a bit worried for the future, as "big unblocked east
window in the bedroom" seems like a big ask for a rental. But yeah, it worked,
my sleep is solved for the time being. Except for chunks of February.

~~~
tanin
I unscientifically believe that we shouldn't use an alarm clock or any kind of
trigger to wake up.

My rational is: if your body has enough sleep, it'll wake up on its own.

On the flip side: it's actually very hard to sleep when your body doesn't need
sleep.

On another flip side: it's easy to stay awake even though your body needs
sleep.

With this, we should all sleep in a completely dark (blocked) room with no
sound and etc. The "big unblocked east window in the bedroom" (unless the
curtain blocks the light effectively) is a no for me.

I've read "why we sleep", and I get this conflict where:

1\. The author believes in the no-trigger-to-wake-up as well.

2\. Somehow I also get the impression that the author also believes that we
should use sunlight as a trigger for waking up. We'd feel fresher. But
wouldn't that cut off our sleep?

~~~
quanticle
The problem with that idea is that it completely misses the fact that most of
us have to get up at a specific time in order to get to work or school or
whatever else we have to do.

I tried the no-trigger approach for a while, when I was between jobs and
didn't have anything to do otherwise. What I found out is that my natural
schedule, without manual intervention, has me going to bed at approximately
2am and waking up at around 10:30-11am. When I regained employment, it was a
pretty rough transition to go back to waking up at 7am again. After going
through that experience, I'd caution people about buying into the no-trigger
method. Yes, your brain will naturally get you the amount of sleep that you
need. However, there is no guarantee that your natural sleep cycle will mesh
with the other obligations you have in your life.

~~~
ACow_Adonis
Wild idea: maybe some people's sleep cycles are just inherently incompatible
with society and the arbitrary schedules and obligations that a particular
society and context has landed on.

And I don't say that with any joy...

~~~
yummypaint
Yeah i sometimes wonder about this in the context of our evolutionary history.
Having some people around who naturally stay up late to tend the fire and keep
a look out seems advantageous. I suppose teenagers can fill this role, but
their numbers fluctuate.

------
om3n
I'm in a particularly stressful time in my life (just moved, intense new job)
where I've been struggling to sleep. There will be some nights where I simply
don't sleep at all; just lay awake in bed all night. Of course I'm aware of
all the health/safety/productivity issues associated with no sleep, and the
anxiety of not sleeping just furthers my inability to fall asleep.

This is what I've been attempting to do to help with my sleep problems, with
reasonable success:

    
    
      1. Lift heavy each week day.
    

I'm using a PPL routine with at least one big lift each day. I also trying to
burn a significant amount of calories each day in the gym.

    
    
      2. Strict evening routine.
    

I try to go to bed within the same hour each night if I can help it.

    
    
      3. Reduce responsibilities.
    

One of the biggest issues for me is missing my routine. I now try to keep my
weekday schedule the same (don't go out at night) so I can have plenty of
wind-down time at home before bed.

    
    
      4. Wind down time.
    

I try to do something relaxing before going to bed that will distract my mind
(like play a low intensity videogame, read about non work-related topics,
etc.)

    
    
      5. Supplements.
    

I drink a cup of chamomile tea and take 5 mg of melatonin before I go to bed,
and this seems to help (or might be a placebo)

    
    
      6. Listen to something calming and familiar while I fall asleep.
    

Unlike others in this thread, no Star Trek for me; I like to listen to twitch
streamer ZFG speedrun Ocarina of Time. I turn the volume on my phone to the
lowest setting, put the phone face-down on the bed next to me, and the audio
commentary seems to be helpful background noise.

~~~
sharadov
I am not sure where you live and if you are open to trying it, but weed helps
( specifically an indica heavy blend).

~~~
01100011
Indicas give me hangovers. I've found sativas work better in the long run, but
you have to wait for the euphoria and energy to wear off and that can
sometimes take a while.

~~~
throwaway61345
Definitely try CBD oil if you want to avoid the psychological effects of THC.
There are also CBD-heavy strains if you do like to smoke.

------
Chazprime
My insomnia is a little different than the author's; I fall asleep easily but
wake up three or four hours later. And when I'm up, I'm _wide_ awake.

I tried just about everything discussed here....meditation, podcasts, watching
television, reading before bed but nothing really helped me consistently. I
even bought a treadmill and started running every day which does help, but the
thing that actually did the trick best was a few puffs of marijuana about an
hour before bedtime. It was sufficient to take me "out of my head" enough to
get a better night's sleep without feeling foggy the next day.

~~~
0xcde4c3db
One of the problems with insomnia as a construct is that it lumps a bunch of
problems together that probably don't have the same mechanisms. The _vast_
majority of insomnia treatment and advice is focused on "initial insomnia",
i.e. inability to fall asleep when you first go to bed.

------
Funes-
Meditating right before going to bed, given that you haven't stared at any
screen for an hour prior, can help _tremendously_ with insomnia. That and
intense and regular exercise, a clean diet, hydration... Healthy habits, to
cut it short. Also, make sure your bedroom is dark and its temperature is
cool.

------
hiccuphippo
I've heard a couple of times of this technique by the US Army in which you
relax your body starting by the face, then arms, torso, legs. Finally you
picture yourself in a canoe in the middle of a lake or something similar to
avoid thinking of anything. Anyone knows how effective is this?

[https://medium.com/s/story/combat-tested-training-unwind-
and...](https://medium.com/s/story/combat-tested-training-unwind-and-sleep-
anywhere-in-120-seconds-27d5307b7606)

~~~
goostavos
I find its not that effective if not paired with the 8 hours of marching in
heavy gear :|

------
tartoran
2 new tricks to add here (that work magic for me at least)

\- child pose for about 10 minutes with the head/forehead resting on a pillow

\- forced yawning, but without needing to actually make a sound, (and without
needing to open the mouth wide). Hard to explain, there's some oral/neck
musculature that is not triggered voluntarily that I've been experimenting on
which becomes somewhat easier to control with exercise. I'd start with lots of
yawning first

------
not_a_moth
things that definitely made a difference for me:

a) only dim lights after sunset (reflect for a moment on how unnatural it is,
after million or years of modern human evolution, that we all of a sudden have
light after sundown. (especially blue light screens, seriously, use apps) ;
this disrupts your circadian rhythms and melatonin cycles, so it's a big deal.

b) black out shades. don't underestimate - I've monitored my sleep +2 years
with multiple fitness trackers, and noticed a clear positive difference in
restlessness levels. it also cured my problem of waking up in the middle of
the night to pee believe it or not.

c) air tight wax ear plugs ; sounds will wake you up and you often won't know
why. a motorcycle, someone closes a door etc.

d) chilly room. I find ~70F is great. again going back to evo history, it's
always been chillier at night.

e) habit x 10. go to bed at the same time, wake up at the same time. be
unplugged for at least an hour before sleep and relax for a bit when you wake
up. follow point a) after sundown. your sleep drive will take over. this might
take months to get there, especially if you're a high cortisol individual, but
biology will take over if you let it.

------
renaudg
I've been using the Dreem headband for a year and a half and there are enough
factual errors about it in this piece to make me distrust the rest of it.

Firstly, it doesn't require leaving your smartphone on all night as she
writes. Once started, it's autonomous (it even reportedly shuts down its
onboard WiFi/BT, probably for power saving reasons but also to alleviate any
fears about having an RF emitter so close to your head for 8 hours)

Secondly, getting an accurate hypnogram (detailed sleep phases) on a consumer
EEG device is a huge deal in itself (she doesn't seem to understand the
point), but this one goes even further by promising to actively enhance slow
wave/deep sleep through precisely timed audio stimulations (white noise
pulses). The research in this area is apparently the starting point of the
company.

Thirdly, the app does include the kind of CBT program she praises at the end
of the article. I find the combination of this with a device that provides an
accurate sleep log to be a potentially more efficient combination than CBT
alone.

One area where I do have reservations with this class of devices is privacy :
not only do you have your exact sleep/wake times + hundreds of MBs of your EEG
data uploaded to their servers every morning, the latest version apparently
has a built-in microphone !

It's reserved for future use (an obvious application is snoring / sleep apnea
detection) and reportedly not activated yet, but of course it's closed source
firmware and you have to take their word for it, and even if you trust their
intentions (I do, and there's always GDPR), you also have to trust their
security as well.

Disclaimer : I have no stake or direct interest in Dreem, but I'm very
familiar with their product and even interviewed with them at one point.

~~~
magashna
I use sleep for android which has my sleep/wake times, heart rate, and I use
the mic to record sleep talking. Doesn't really bother my privacy. If they
want my insane ramblings from when I'm asleep that's fine with me. I sleep
talk a lot and none of it makes any sense but it's good for a laugh. One of my
favorites was talking about "the most beautiful sweater" for about 30 seconds

~~~
climb_stealth
What is the app called you are using? Is it Sleep as Android? Thanks!

------
bradlys
Yeah, I suffered from insomnia for most of my life. I didn't really realize it
was an issue until I was about 20-21. I think it took falling asleep at the
wheel and rear ending someone, crashing on my bicycle multiple times from not
being able to stay awake (going downhill at 20+mph btw), and a plethora of
other stupid events for me to realize maybe I should seek help finally. I
think it's pretty amazing to see what I accomplished on so little but,
ultimately, it's sad because I know I could've done way more with better
sleep.

And it was 100% stress related. Taking pills, trying breathing exercises, and
everything else didn't fix it. It could make me slightly better than doing
nothing but it was never fixed.

I have a rhythm now I follow that works better. But, really, I never found a
"solution". I just got into a less stressful life. (Finally having a
girlfriend, high(er) paying job, etc. was the "trick" \- aka solve what causes
my stressors)

------
RedBeetDeadpool
I had so much trouble with insomnia a few years back - I remember not being
able to get sleep for at least 3-5 days straight on multiple different
occasions. I thought I was going to die at least two of those times it
happened.

These days my ability to fall asleep feels like a superpower (because - 1. I
know just how absurdly many people out there are functioning on less than
optimal sleep on a daily basis, and 2. I know I'm not the only one who has had
trouble with falling asleep).

These are the bits of advice I have:

1\. I've woken or havent been able to fall asleep because I was hungry. Always
try to have eaten at least one satiating meal a day. Also make sure you're not
dehydrated or have to pee.

2\. Don't ever worry or intentionally think that you have to fall asleep. The
stress, the cortisol, and the excitement(when you start falling asleep) will
keep you awake. Going one night without sleep is not the end of the world. At
worst you were really really relaxed in a nice cozy bed for 8 hours, so take
comfort in that time.

3\. This one is the most important: think about your brain like its some sort
of muscle. If it's engaged its sort of 'flexing', and its very hard to fall
asleep if its flexing. If I just 'unflex' my mind the way I would let go of my
grip, the next thing I usually notice is that its morning and my alarm clock
is waking me up.

Other than these things, everything else I've seen had little affect on my
abilities to sleep when I had insomnia - working out until exhaustion out
didn't work, neither did weed, neither did alcohol, and neither did induced
food coma, reading a book, watching tv, counting sheep. And when I learned
again how to fall asleep, I haven't had a problem with blue light, I haven't
had a problem with caffeine, I didn't even have a problem with a lot of noise.
These things help or hurt your ability to sleep but it doesn't ultimately
determine whether or not you do.

------
osrec
Unlike many members of my family who can fall asleep regardless of the
circumstances, I need to feel sleepy/tired to sleep. I'm fairly fit, so
getting to that state with a job that involves me sitting at a desk can be a
challenge.

When I do sleep, I sleep pretty well, but getting to that state can be tough.
I simply have to do some physical work each day to tire my body - otherwise,
sleeping is near impossible. The gym is often not enough (and if I go in the
evening, it actually wakes me up). I find I need to do something moderately
strenuous and mundane, like carrying a few groceries for a mile or two, or
maybe sweeping + mopping a few floors round the house or perhaps some DIY.

Also, if I'm unable to sleep, rather than trying to sleep, I find it's better
to get up and do some work, even if means being in front of a screen. That
knocks me out eventually!

------
EEor
How has no one mentioned medical marijuana?

~~~
throwaway1777
It’s well established that cannabis interferes with rem sleep, so it’s an
option, but not a good one.

~~~
sharadov
That's only with the high THC strains, you need a low THC and high CBD strain.

~~~
chaostheory
This is the only thing that works for me and I’m not drowsy when I wake up

------
sfgweilr4f
You can't sleep when there are enemies nearby. Didn't you play Skyrim,
Minecraft, Fallout...

Or more seriously you have messed up bloodwork. Get your blood checked.
Vitamin D is necessary during day. Seeing the morning light and end of day sun
set can actually help.

Or you didn't exercise enough. Various military organisations have sorted out
sleep: they can get you tired enough to sleep vertical. Often while still
marching.

------
mikelyons
I find that I have always have trouble sleeping, but then when I took up a
practice of strong-determination-sitting (meditation+) I would fall asleep
during the meditation! and I would also notice that my mind-activity was
several noticeable clicks lower after a 20 minute sit.

It has to be tried to be believed (IMO)

------
oarabbus_
>ctrl+F "exercise"

>0 results

None of the stuff they talk about in the article helped me kick my
insomnia/DSPS.

Only exercise helped.

~~~
jm__87
Exercise doesn't really work for everyone. I found when I used to have trouble
sleeping, heavy lifting made my sleep 10x worse (and still messes with my
sleep now when I try it every now and then). Light to moderate exercise tended
to improve my sleep, but the improvement was fairly minor. CBT-I and getting
some bright light in the morning, on the other hand, were complete game
changers for me. I've gone from sleeping maybe 5 - 6.5 hours of poor sleep a
night (waking up multiple times, early waking), to normally 7 - 8 hours of
good quality sleep and the improvement has been consistent for the past few
years now.

------
akeck
Everyone is different, but for me strength training wakes me up, while cardio
helps me sleep. What surprises me sometimes is how much cardio I need for good
sleep. In one particularly high pressure week, I had to row (erg) 7-10km per a
day to sleep well.

~~~
steve_adams_86
I'm similar. Without intense exercise, my brain is at high revs all day and I
can't keep it under control to fall asleep. I need to knock myself out with
exhaustion.

I used to run 50km per week or so and still feel like I could use more.
Restless legs, active mind, fidgeting, etc. These days I'm running much less,
but I'm lost without it.

------
amelius
Not really on topic, but I'm trying to find some way to get EMG (muscle)
readings preferably without using glue (which I suspect can become messy) or
disposable electrodes (which can become costly). What is the best way to do
this?

------
nestorherre
Great tips overall, thank you all. I might add getting familiar with CBT-I
(Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia). I was struggling for months with
sleep and this was a life saviour.

------
jokowueu
I recommend people look into oleamide for insomnia

------
macando
Just googled to see if 'sleeptech' is a thing. And yes, it is. This is where
we spend 1/3 of our lives after all.

------
sharadov
What about marijuana? An indica strain should put you on your back in no time.

~~~
csommers
just because it lays you out...doesn't mean it provides proper (read: good)
sleep.

~~~
tartoran
It has the opposite effect on me whatever the strain. It gets me energized and
personally I would totally avoid id before sleep. However, seems to do wonders
for some.

------
aivosha
vitamin D deficiency.
[https://youtu.be/74F22bjBmqE](https://youtu.be/74F22bjBmqE)

~~~
aug_aug
also magnesium supplements - I had some nervous system/restless leg issues and
finally diagnosed as deficient in it, cured insomnia that was ongoing for
months - just wanted to throw this out there

~~~
Ftuuky
Thanks for the heads up. I do have restless legs and insomnia, let's try that
magnesium. Is there a recommended dosage?

~~~
psalminen
I take 800mg Magnesium Glycinate to sleep. Works really well and I wake up
with no fog.

------
mapcars
Life is not a computer you can hack. I bet we barely understand 1% of how our
system works and trying to hack it means one is not even aware of their
ignorance.

~~~
taneq
We have all sorts of hacks. You just need to be careful and may get unintended
side effects.

(Steroid creams to fix skin conditions, caffeine for energy, alcohol for
relaxation and fun, anti-inflammatories, antihistamines, the list goes on.)

~~~
mapcars
>may get unintended side effects.

Oh, if one sees the enormity of complexity body & mind has - one can be sure
he can not foresee all side effects. I like that you gave examples like
caffeine which messes up your nervous system or alcohol which destroys your
conscious attention and lever, among other things :)

~~~
monsieurbanana
And I like how you passed up the other examples. Are you also advocating
against medical drugs or vaccines? They fit the "hack your body" description
to a tee.

~~~
mapcars
I used the ones which have clear undesirable side effects, others might have
it as well just that we don't know about them.

>Are you also advocating against medical drugs or vaccines?

I am only advocating about being conscious of how much we don't know. If
medical drug or vaccine saves lives - I have no problem with it, still most
likely we don't know all the side effects.

------
arbitel
Or you know, you could go to the gym and start exercising? Try to stay awake
after a heavy day of lifting.

~~~
albi_lander
In my experience, it depends on which sport you do and when you do it during
the day. I used to play squash during the evening around 8pm and on these days
I would fall asleep very late, like around 2am. This was mostly due, I think,
to my heart rate still being quite high (I could feel it), and slowing down
very slowly until it reached a reasonable level at which I could get asleep.
This is something that other friends playing squash in the evening reported as
well.

------
forgotmypw
Insomnia is a fake idea invented to promote the industrial work cycle.

If you go to sleep when you're so tired, as opposed to when the societal clock
says you should, you won't have any trouble sleeping.

~~~
klyrs
> If you go to sleep when you're so tired, as opposed to when the societal
> clock says you should, you won't have any trouble sleeping.

Great PMA, but you're absolutely wrong.

I did that last night, got tired and went to bed around 10pm. And then I woke
up at 1am. Now that it's approaching 6, I'm getting tired. But this happens to
me occasionally and I know from past experience that my two options are:

1) Go back to bed at around 7, wake up at 8 or 9, and feel awful all day

2) Power through, and feel awful all day.

Maybe I'll be tired enough tonight that I'll catch up on this morning's loss.
But given past experience, I'll probably get 2-4 hours of sleep a night for
the next week. When I say "wake up" I mean that I'm alert and can't get sleepy
-- I can stay in bed and be bored for hours, and sleep won't come no matter
how tired I feel.

~~~
iikoolpp
> I did that last night, got tired and went to bed around 10pm. And then I
> woke up at 1am. Now that it's approaching 6, I'm getting tired. But this
> happens to me occasionally and I know from past experience that my two
> options are:

This is how your sleep schedule is naturally designed to work. Sleep for a
bit, wake up, sleep again.

~~~
klyrs
Nope. I typically wake up for a few minutes at a time and get a full night's
sleep. Every few months, I have a bout of insomnia that reduces me to a couple
of hours of sleep for a while. Believe it or not, I know what my normal is
better than you.

