This post really makes me want to stop burning the candle. Since having kids, I’ve probably been averaging 6.5 hours a night, mostly just to claw out a few extra hours to myself a night. Feels...
This post really makes me want to stop burning the candle. Since having kids, I’ve probably been averaging 6.5 hours a night, mostly just to claw out a few extra hours to myself a night. Feels mostly fine day-to-day, but I have definitely noticed my ability to focus isn’t what it was. Seems like I should try getting 8 hours for a few months and see if I notice an improvement.
The desire for time to yourself / recreation time actually starts to become an almost physical need like sleep when you're sufficiently starved of it. It's definitely something I've gone through...
The desire for time to yourself / recreation time actually starts to become an almost physical need like sleep when you're sufficiently starved of it. It's definitely something I've gone through and seen from others with when having kids. You sit there absolutely exhausted but you can't bring yourself to go to sleep and start the grind again the next day.
We send our kids into their bedrooms at around 8 even if that's too early for the oldest to sleep - we just need to start quiet time early enough to have some rest. That doesn't work so well with babies but that period does eventually end.
Kids totally killed my ability to sleep well though - 8 years of being woken up in the night has made me such a light sleeper. We've had almost a year of our youngest sleeping through now (mostly) but it's not recovered yet. Of course it might be unrelated, who knows.
That's the thing about kids, though. It's about them more than it's about you. You love them so much that you sacrifice more, so that they can have it better.
That's the thing about kids, though. It's about them more than it's about you. You love them so much that you sacrifice more, so that they can have it better.
Some good advice in here. I'll add to this, regarding the importance of light, is the helpfulness of viewing sunlight within about 30 minutes - 1 hour of waking up. This helps regulate circadian...
Some good advice in here. I'll add to this, regarding the importance of light, is the helpfulness of viewing sunlight within about 30 minutes - 1 hour of waking up. This helps regulate circadian rhythm, among other things
Early sunlight viewing also one of the first things recommended to me by my neurologist / sleep specialist. Anecdotally, this has made a tremendous difference in my life; whenever I need to change my sleep schedule, I am able to "set it" using the sun/light for the most part (a combination of early morning sunlight viewing, and being incredibly mindful about any light exposure past a certain time in the evening). This used to be a huge struggle in my life, and my sleep was all over the place, before I began doing this.
On the flip side, since I started being so "strict" about light exposure in the evenings, I really notice the difference in makes if I suddenly get a burst of artificial light before sleeping (for e.g. if i open my laptop or my phone). I just don't do this anymore because I can physical feel how it wakes me up, and ruins my sleep.
Again, that's anecdotal, so take it with a grain of salt. However, I hope the paper above is at least useful.
EDIT: Some free software that can help a little bit, with controlling light exposure on your devices (changes the color temperature and light intensity based on the sleep schedule you input). The best route is not using the devices at all in the evening, but if you must, at least it's better than nothing. This is only for Windows and android, I believe, sorry.
I used to use both of the the apps you mentioned, but I think all modern operating systems now have a built-in "night light" mode (usually under display settings). I know Windows 10 and Android...
I used to use both of the the apps you mentioned, but I think all modern operating systems now have a built-in "night light" mode (usually under display settings). I know Windows 10 and Android have had it for several years. The built-in versions probably offer better performance than third-party solutions, though they're not as customizable.
A few more tips related to light:
A light therapy lamp can help in regulating your circadian rhythm if you have to get up early or for the dark winter months (helpful for seasonal affective disorder).
A well-fitting sleep mask can help if you can't get your bedroom perfectly dark or you work off hours. This one has been working well for me.
Interesting, I was unaware of this. I will have to play around with those settings! On the issue of light therapy lamps - do exercise caution. I used one of these at one point, and stupidly made...
I used to use both of the the apps you mentioned, but I think all modern operating systems now have a built-in "night light" mode (usually under display settings). I know Windows 10 and Android have had it for several years. The built-in versions probably offer better performance than third-party solutions, though they're not as customizable.
Interesting, I was unaware of this. I will have to play around with those settings!
On the issue of light therapy lamps - do exercise caution. I used one of these at one point, and stupidly made the mistake of looking directly at the light, and for too long. It was misleading how bright it was (it didn't hurt my eyes to look at it, so I thought it was fine), and it felt so good to be look at the light initially, as I was so deprived of light at the time, and so tired. Anyway, very shortly after, huge migraine, eyes hurt, came on really quickly. I'm not saying I did any damage, just.... it was just a stupid move... I know this probably doesn't need to be said as hopefully others wouldn't be as careless as I was, but just make sure not to look directly at the light.
Another thing about light therapy lamps: I discovered that a lot of the ones you find online (on places like amazon) are incredibly gimmicky and honestly ripping people off. They'll say non-descript things like "super bright!". Once you look into the specs however, you'll discover it's actually dimmer than just a standard lightbulb, or just any old LED desk lamp (yet they are charging insane amounts for it under the guise of calling it something niche.) I'm sure there's many stellar and very helpful light therapy lamps out there, just wanted to share my experience as encouragement to do research to find one of the good ones (rather than just buying the first one listed), in case someone reading this is looking for one. (Unfortunately I never completed my purchase of one, so I don't have any personally to recommend.) The two values I'd assume you'd want to look at are the lux and color temperature. Honestly, I do not understand the difference between lumens and lux, so I am of no help in explaining what it is.
Good note about light therapy lamps. I think I remember reading in the instructions for mine that you shouldn't look right at it and instead use it as ambient/background light. Regarding the...
Good note about light therapy lamps. I think I remember reading in the instructions for mine that you shouldn't look right at it and instead use it as ambient/background light.
Regarding the difference between lumens and lux, a search online gave me this:
Lumens is a measure of the total quantity of visible light emitted by a light source.[1][2] Lux measures the intensity of light within a given area and takes into account the area over which the luminous flux (measured in lumens) is spread, so 1 lux is equal to 1 lumen per square meter.[1][3] For example, a light source emitting 1,000 lumens concentrated into an area of one square meter would produce an illuminance of 1,000 lux.[1]
Hey thanks. I have no clue why, but I was searching earlier, and none of the definitions I found made much sense to me. This explanation is perfectly understandable - thank you so much!
Hey thanks. I have no clue why, but I was searching earlier, and none of the definitions I found made much sense to me. This explanation is perfectly understandable - thank you so much!
I use both of those apps, and can confirm Flux is also available on Mac. I think I might prefer the interface on the Mac version? I just remember there's some small differences in the interface...
I use both of those apps, and can confirm Flux is also available on Mac. I think I might prefer the interface on the Mac version? I just remember there's some small differences in the interface between Mac and Windows, though I can't give specifics since I don't need to open it much after initial setup.
Also, while a lot of devices now have built-in blue light filters, I still prefer Twilight on my Android because it lets you dim the brightness more than default settings since it works as a screen overlay. I am guilty of using my phone in bed to watch calming videos and browse stories to help my brain "shut up" long enough to go to sleep, so I have it pretty dim. My "night mode" setting on it is pretty much impossible to see during daylight, I've taken screenshots with it on and was shocked looking back later at how truly dark it is.
Can you link twilight in the play store for me please? I searched and didn't find it. Maybe there is a more exact name? I'm an android user and would like to try.
Can you link twilight in the play store for me please? I searched and didn't find it. Maybe there is a more exact name? I'm an android user and would like to try.
My bad - the link I had in the original comment appears to have had regional URL params. I updated it. Looks like CannibalisticApple gave you the best link. If you still can't find it, I wonder if...
My bad - the link I had in the original comment appears to have had regional URL params. I updated it. Looks like CannibalisticApple gave you the best link.
If you still can't find it, I wonder if it isn't compatible with your phone? I've experienced this with the google play store before - sometimes I search for an app and it doesn't appear anywhere. My only guess has been my phone is not compatible with it (old crappy phone!)
If you can't find Twilight, I wonder if someone on tildes is aware of a similar free app that you might be able to try?
Flux is now pointless, as windows 10 offers a scheduled nightlight without using additional resources or having to install something Is flux better overall? Maybe, but I’m hard pressed to...
Flux is now pointless, as windows 10 offers a scheduled nightlight without using additional resources or having to install something
Is flux better overall? Maybe, but I’m hard pressed to recommend it over the included nightlight to friends and family
To be honest I was unaware of that . That said, I just tested out the Windows 10 "nightlight" at full strength, and it's no where near as strong as what I get with flux. Just my own observation....
To be honest I was unaware of that . That said, I just tested out the Windows 10 "nightlight" at full strength, and it's no where near as strong as what I get with flux. Just my own observation. I'd be curious for someone else to try it out and see if they think the same.
Every now and then I will use the built-in nightlight at full strength, but I really don’t think I’ve ever felt like I need more than that Do you often use flux with max strength? I wonder how...
Every now and then I will use the built-in nightlight at full strength, but I really don’t think I’ve ever felt like I need more than that
Do you often use flux with max strength? I wonder how often a typical user would need/want more intensity than what is natively offered in windows
Yes, I use flux at max strength daily, for about 50% of the day. Honestly I started being more and more aware about the amount of light I am getting at various times of the day, and it's made a...
Yes, I use flux at max strength daily, for about 50% of the day. Honestly I started being more and more aware about the amount of light I am getting at various times of the day, and it's made a big difference on my sleep. In general I try to avoid the laptop a couple hours before I sleep, but on the occasions I use it, having it on lux max does make a massive difference, and if I decrease the strength I notice it strongly.
I have an overnight schedule, so my middle of the day is already evening locally. I originally had my flux settings for a slightly earlier wakeup time, which i never bothered to reset, so yeah it...
I have an overnight schedule, so my middle of the day is already evening locally. I originally had my flux settings for a slightly earlier wakeup time, which i never bothered to reset, so yeah it comes on in the middle of my day. To be honest, I don't mind it, in fact I really find it helps. There are times when it's annoying, for example if I need to see the colors of something clearly, so I disable it for an hour, then it comes back on, and I just allow it to stay on.
I was super skeptical of it at first (someone recommended it to me), but It's made a huge difference with my wakefulness. For that reason, I'm ok with it coming on earlier, as I guess I'd rather have the lights reduced more than I need than not enough. But I understand if that would be bizarre to others.
Yeah it's crazy how the eyes adjust. That said, I'm not trying to insinuate that my situation is the same as everyones, or that everyone should do (or needs to do) this. I know some people that...
Yeah it's crazy how the eyes adjust. That said, I'm not trying to insinuate that my situation is the same as everyones, or that everyone should do (or needs to do) this. I know some people that can sleep no matter what is going on, no matter what they do. It just seems more difficult to obtain for some of us. I am a super light sleeper, I'll wake up from the sound of footsteps or a whisper; I think that makes it particularly difficult for me somehow, and I have to put a lot of effort into this stuff.
I have an easier time waking up with the sun in the summer. Come fall, spring, winter? The sun rises well past an hour of when I do. I have to drag myself out of bed those seasons. Any suggestions?
I have an easier time waking up with the sun in the summer. Come fall, spring, winter? The sun rises well past an hour of when I do. I have to drag myself out of bed those seasons. Any suggestions?
Ugh, waking up before the sun rises! I feel your pain. I keep an odd sleep schedule, and there have been times when it's like this. My assumption (take it with a grain of salt as I'm not a medical...
Ugh, waking up before the sun rises! I feel your pain. I keep an odd sleep schedule, and there have been times when it's like this. My assumption (take it with a grain of salt as I'm not a medical professional), is to just get that sun as soon as you can. There's lots of times (since I started doing this diligently), where I can't get outside for an hour after waking, on a consistent basis. It's still so much more helpful than not doing it at all. To be honest when I'm in that situation, I don't rely on artificial lights after waking (I still keep the lights off or dimmed, until I get out to see the sun.) Only once I come back in from the morning walk do I turn all my lights on. I have no clue if that's useful or harmful (I'm assuming it's not a great idea), I only do that out of habit, but it works for me.
Another thing to mention - when I first started doing this, I would just step outside and get 5 or so minutes of sunlight, and figured that was sufficient. I didn't understand why it didn't do much. It's only once I started getting about 15-30 minutes (I just started going on an early morning walk), that I finally noticed the difference.
By the way, I'd say this is not an immediate thing; for myself personally, it took about 1-2 weeks of doing this every day (a combination of early morning sunlight viewing + mindful of lights in the evening + going to bed at the same time each day), before my body got in a rhythm. Once it did though, it was remarkable how consistent things got. For example, a slightly annoying thing that happens: if I have to stay up a few hours later than I normally do, I'll still wake up at exactly the same time I normally would (give or take 15 minutes), even if I'm still tired and haven't slept enough. I actually brought this up to my neurologist and he said that's not actually a bad thing, and is an indication that my body is in rhythm with a sleep cycle. Furthermore, I start getting tired at the exact same time every evening (Again maybe give or take 30 minutes), every day. Finally, even if I go several days in a row of staying up past when I normally do, somehow my body seems to go back to the normal time I've "set" on its own. It's been like this going on close to a year now.
Wishing you luck with this, if you give it a shot! I struggled with insomina almost my entire life before I started taking this stuff seriously. I thought it was just how I was built, and assumed I'd never have a consistent sleep routine. Of everything, light (both getting consistent outdoor light early in the morning, and being aware of light exposure - both artificial and natural - in the evening) has made the most difference. Well, also reducing noise disturbance, but that's just because I'm an incredibly light sleeper; I think that probably varies a lot from person to person, but I imagine the body's reactions to light is fairly consistent.
I'm not certain I understand. Is there limited sunlight there? As far as I am aware, even in cloudy/overcast areas, you are still doing a significant help to yourself by going outside. There is...
I'm not certain I understand. Is there limited sunlight there? As far as I am aware, even in cloudy/overcast areas, you are still doing a significant help to yourself by going outside. There is still sunlight, even if it is cloudy - else everything would be absolutely dark :)
I skimmed the heading in the article. Good advice, but FAR from new. I remember reading the same tips over 15 years ago in a pop book for improving sleep. I also saw the same advice online that...
I skimmed the heading in the article. Good advice, but FAR from new. I remember reading the same tips over 15 years ago in a pop book for improving sleep. I also saw the same advice online that long ago to. Just search on "sleep hygiene".
Even if it's not new, I appreciate it being shared here. I talk to so many people with sleep issues who seem either unaware of this stuff, or seem to brush it off as "oh that's good advice but it...
Even if it's not new, I appreciate it being shared here. I talk to so many people with sleep issues who seem either unaware of this stuff, or seem to brush it off as "oh that's good advice but it can't be that important." Especially when it comes to light exposure! Artificial light (whether from overhead lights or devices) is such a ubiquitous part of modern life, that I think many people can't seem to fathom life without it.
Something else to add.. my anecdotal experience with these sleep hygiene recommendations, is that you really need to do all/most of this stuff (or at least make some effort at it), rather than just pick one thing. Again (and I'm guilty of this myself), I've often seen people have sleep issues, they pick one of these things in isolation, and are surprised they are still having sleep problems, and so they end up disregarding the advice. "I didn't use my phone before bed for a week, and I still sleep terribly, so this is BS!" (but they are still inundated by overhead lighting until 5 minutes before sleep, they don't keep a consistent sleep schedule, they keep a terrible diet, they're stressed, etc.) Of course some people sleep great no matter what they do or don't do - I envy them :)
The article says that Mattress quality is not important. But I disagree. Unless I read that wrong? A soft bed is terrible for your back. Everytime I end up in one, I get uncomfortable and have a...
The article says that Mattress quality is not important. But I disagree. Unless I read that wrong?
A soft bed is terrible for your back. Everytime I end up in one, I get uncomfortable and have a hard time sleeping.
I would also assume that being physically uncomfortable will make it difficult to sleep, unless you're just so sleep deprived that it doesn't matter :) (but hopefully that isn't happening)....
I would also assume that being physically uncomfortable will make it difficult to sleep, unless you're just so sleep deprived that it doesn't matter :) (but hopefully that isn't happening). Perhaps that should be listed on there as a general thing - to take notice of your physical comfort (which would mean different things for different people). I have been struggling with some painful muscle condition recently, and the pain has definitely made it difficult to fall asleep. That said, even with the pain, my sleep rhythm has been consistent enough to get me tired to the point that I end up falling asleep, so that's been helpful.
Fellow person with an overnight schedule here. The biggest key for me is regulating light. I get that sunlight about 30 minutes within waking (25 minutes walk in the sun - don't forget sun screen...
Fellow person with an overnight schedule here. The biggest key for me is regulating light. I get that sunlight about 30 minutes within waking (25 minutes walk in the sun - don't forget sun screen :) ). After my morning walk (once I'm inside), I make sure I'm in good indoor lighting. In the evening, once the sun has set (which is only a few hours after I've woken up), I continue to keep the bright lights on in my home. About 4 hours before I go to sleep, I start dimming my lights dramatically. 2 hours before sleeping, I try not to use any devices, and if I do, they are as dim as possible (see f.lux or twilight. Another user here also informed me that for Windows 10, there is a built in nightlight setting). Theater grade blackout curtains on all my windows ensures that once the sun has risen, I am completely unaware of it. I wake up in the middle of the day, but it is 100% pitch black dark in my room. The curtains make a huge difference.
By the way - if you go for blackout curtains, know they aren't all made the same. many cheaper ones claim "100% blackout", but it's total BS, and you can still see tons of sunlight coming through. personally, the ones I finally found that worked are a brand called Sun Zero, specifically their "theater grade 100% blackout" curtains (even they sell some that just say 100% blackout, but tons of light still trickles through.) I'm sure there's other brands which are just as effective (not claiming they are the best), this is simply the one I am aware of, so the only one I can recommend.
For the blackout curtains, I know the pain haha. I put up foil on my windows and then blackout curtains on top of that. I still get a little light bleed but its manageable for me.
For the blackout curtains, I know the pain haha. I put up foil on my windows and then blackout curtains on top of that. I still get a little light bleed but its manageable for me.
Yes, tinfoil for the win! I'm not sure if this idea is helpful to you, but I ended up making custom cutouts for all my windows; essentially I just cut heavy duty cardboard to the shape of the...
Yes, tinfoil for the win! I'm not sure if this idea is helpful to you, but I ended up making custom cutouts for all my windows; essentially I just cut heavy duty cardboard to the shape of the window, and then paste tinfoil on top of the cardboard. Then I shove that in the window. This way I can take the inserts in and out of the window easily. Until I made the cutouts, I just had foil literally taped in my windows, it was a huge PITA because I couldn't really take it out, and if I did it was destroyed and I had to do it over again.
Honestly I use the cutouts mostly to help with keeping heat down in the summertime, but it helps so much with my sleep that it's a great bonus. Be cautious though, I've read that for double pane windows, if you are keeping foil (or any super reflective surface) on the window, if it gets too hot, the outer pane can actually shatter as there's so much heat on the glass. (I have never had this happen though, but I have read of this, and have also read reports of it in product reviews of reflective window clings that are meant for keeping heat down in summer.)
Not sure if this idea will be helpful, but have you assessed if you have environmental noise waking you up? I was so diligent about sleep hygiene, yet every night I was waking around 2 am without...
Not sure if this idea will be helpful, but have you assessed if you have environmental noise waking you up? I was so diligent about sleep hygiene, yet every night I was waking around 2 am without exception (and could not go back to sleep, so I'd just get 4 hrs sleep daily). I was so sleep deprived. I had no clue why this was going on. Met with doctors. Took scores of sleeping medication. Everyone kept telling me it must be psychological (despite my pleas that it was not). Turned out, the cause was a truck with no muffler that was going by my house every night at 2 am. It took a couple minutes for me to rouse from sleep, so by the time I was awake, it was gone, and I didn't know why I had woken. I only discovered it because one night I stayed up through the night on a hunch, and low and behold, there it was, right on schedule, so loud that it was rumbling the floors. After this, I had to do yet more research on masking noise... 3 white noise machines, 1 air purifier, 1 sleep mask, and endless special ear plugs later, and also switching which place I slept - finally I am at a point where I sleep decently.
I guess I just mean to say, don't give up hope... sometimes there's just one random little thing going on you might not even be aware of. Sadly, sleep can have such an impact on quality of life, so it was worth it for me to pursue this.
One other thing going on with me was that I get hypoglycemia in the night. This does wake me up if my blood sugar gets low enough, and results in very fitful sleep. It happens to me often enough that I often don't have the physical symptoms of hypoglycemia, so I'm not quite sure what's going on until I take a blood sugar reading. This is rare and I doubt is going on with anyone here, just the point is, little things can be going on (that you are unaware of), and once you identify these "problems" and resolve them, the overall problem can be resolved. Perhaps your case is different, and is not an issue of individual problems, I'm just saying - keep up hope! (I spent almost my entire life with insomina issues. I thought it's just how I was. In reality, it was a set of resolvable problems.)
This post really makes me want to stop burning the candle. Since having kids, I’ve probably been averaging 6.5 hours a night, mostly just to claw out a few extra hours to myself a night. Feels mostly fine day-to-day, but I have definitely noticed my ability to focus isn’t what it was. Seems like I should try getting 8 hours for a few months and see if I notice an improvement.
The desire for time to yourself / recreation time actually starts to become an almost physical need like sleep when you're sufficiently starved of it. It's definitely something I've gone through and seen from others with when having kids. You sit there absolutely exhausted but you can't bring yourself to go to sleep and start the grind again the next day.
We send our kids into their bedrooms at around 8 even if that's too early for the oldest to sleep - we just need to start quiet time early enough to have some rest. That doesn't work so well with babies but that period does eventually end.
Kids totally killed my ability to sleep well though - 8 years of being woken up in the night has made me such a light sleeper. We've had almost a year of our youngest sleeping through now (mostly) but it's not recovered yet. Of course it might be unrelated, who knows.
I hear this sentiment so much that it has become the primary reason I chose not to have kids
That's the thing about kids, though. It's about them more than it's about you. You love them so much that you sacrifice more, so that they can have it better.
Some good advice in here. I'll add to this, regarding the importance of light, is the helpfulness of viewing sunlight within about 30 minutes - 1 hour of waking up. This helps regulate circadian rhythm, among other things
Early sunlight viewing also one of the first things recommended to me by my neurologist / sleep specialist. Anecdotally, this has made a tremendous difference in my life; whenever I need to change my sleep schedule, I am able to "set it" using the sun/light for the most part (a combination of early morning sunlight viewing, and being incredibly mindful about any light exposure past a certain time in the evening). This used to be a huge struggle in my life, and my sleep was all over the place, before I began doing this.
On the flip side, since I started being so "strict" about light exposure in the evenings, I really notice the difference in makes if I suddenly get a burst of artificial light before sleeping (for e.g. if i open my laptop or my phone). I just don't do this anymore because I can physical feel how it wakes me up, and ruins my sleep.
Again, that's anecdotal, so take it with a grain of salt. However, I hope the paper above is at least useful.
EDIT: Some free software that can help a little bit, with controlling light exposure on your devices (changes the color temperature and light intensity based on the sleep schedule you input). The best route is not using the devices at all in the evening, but if you must, at least it's better than nothing. This is only for Windows and android, I believe, sorry.
I used to use both of the the apps you mentioned, but I think all modern operating systems now have a built-in "night light" mode (usually under display settings). I know Windows 10 and Android have had it for several years. The built-in versions probably offer better performance than third-party solutions, though they're not as customizable.
A few more tips related to light:
Interesting, I was unaware of this. I will have to play around with those settings!
On the issue of light therapy lamps - do exercise caution. I used one of these at one point, and stupidly made the mistake of looking directly at the light, and for too long. It was misleading how bright it was (it didn't hurt my eyes to look at it, so I thought it was fine), and it felt so good to be look at the light initially, as I was so deprived of light at the time, and so tired. Anyway, very shortly after, huge migraine, eyes hurt, came on really quickly. I'm not saying I did any damage, just.... it was just a stupid move... I know this probably doesn't need to be said as hopefully others wouldn't be as careless as I was, but just make sure not to look directly at the light.
Another thing about light therapy lamps: I discovered that a lot of the ones you find online (on places like amazon) are incredibly gimmicky and honestly ripping people off. They'll say non-descript things like "super bright!". Once you look into the specs however, you'll discover it's actually dimmer than just a standard lightbulb, or just any old LED desk lamp (yet they are charging insane amounts for it under the guise of calling it something niche.) I'm sure there's many stellar and very helpful light therapy lamps out there, just wanted to share my experience as encouragement to do research to find one of the good ones (rather than just buying the first one listed), in case someone reading this is looking for one. (Unfortunately I never completed my purchase of one, so I don't have any personally to recommend.) The two values I'd assume you'd want to look at are the lux and color temperature. Honestly, I do not understand the difference between lumens and lux, so I am of no help in explaining what it is.
Good note about light therapy lamps. I think I remember reading in the instructions for mine that you shouldn't look right at it and instead use it as ambient/background light.
Regarding the difference between lumens and lux, a search online gave me this:
It sounds like lux is the more useful figure.
Hey thanks. I have no clue why, but I was searching earlier, and none of the definitions I found made much sense to me. This explanation is perfectly understandable - thank you so much!
I use both of those apps, and can confirm Flux is also available on Mac. I think I might prefer the interface on the Mac version? I just remember there's some small differences in the interface between Mac and Windows, though I can't give specifics since I don't need to open it much after initial setup.
Also, while a lot of devices now have built-in blue light filters, I still prefer Twilight on my Android because it lets you dim the brightness more than default settings since it works as a screen overlay. I am guilty of using my phone in bed to watch calming videos and browse stories to help my brain "shut up" long enough to go to sleep, so I have it pretty dim. My "night mode" setting on it is pretty much impossible to see during daylight, I've taken screenshots with it on and was shocked looking back later at how truly dark it is.
Can you link twilight in the play store for me please? I searched and didn't find it. Maybe there is a more exact name? I'm an android user and would like to try.
Here you go! Not sure why it wouldn't show up, maybe it's region-locked?
My bad - the link I had in the original comment appears to have had regional URL params. I updated it. Looks like CannibalisticApple gave you the best link.
If you still can't find it, I wonder if it isn't compatible with your phone? I've experienced this with the google play store before - sometimes I search for an app and it doesn't appear anywhere. My only guess has been my phone is not compatible with it (old crappy phone!)
If you can't find Twilight, I wonder if someone on tildes is aware of a similar free app that you might be able to try?
Flux is now pointless, as windows 10 offers a scheduled nightlight without using additional resources or having to install something
Is flux better overall? Maybe, but I’m hard pressed to recommend it over the included nightlight to friends and family
To be honest I was unaware of that . That said, I just tested out the Windows 10 "nightlight" at full strength, and it's no where near as strong as what I get with flux. Just my own observation. I'd be curious for someone else to try it out and see if they think the same.
Every now and then I will use the built-in nightlight at full strength, but I really don’t think I’ve ever felt like I need more than that
Do you often use flux with max strength? I wonder how often a typical user would need/want more intensity than what is natively offered in windows
Yes, I use flux at max strength daily, for about 50% of the day. Honestly I started being more and more aware about the amount of light I am getting at various times of the day, and it's made a big difference on my sleep. In general I try to avoid the laptop a couple hours before I sleep, but on the occasions I use it, having it on lux max does make a massive difference, and if I decrease the strength I notice it strongly.
Oh wow, so you use it even in the middle of the day??
I have an overnight schedule, so my middle of the day is already evening locally. I originally had my flux settings for a slightly earlier wakeup time, which i never bothered to reset, so yeah it comes on in the middle of my day. To be honest, I don't mind it, in fact I really find it helps. There are times when it's annoying, for example if I need to see the colors of something clearly, so I disable it for an hour, then it comes back on, and I just allow it to stay on.
I was super skeptical of it at first (someone recommended it to me), but It's made a huge difference with my wakefulness. For that reason, I'm ok with it coming on earlier, as I guess I'd rather have the lights reduced more than I need than not enough. But I understand if that would be bizarre to others.
I totally get you with the lights thing. Eventually your eyes will adjust
Yeah it's crazy how the eyes adjust. That said, I'm not trying to insinuate that my situation is the same as everyones, or that everyone should do (or needs to do) this. I know some people that can sleep no matter what is going on, no matter what they do. It just seems more difficult to obtain for some of us. I am a super light sleeper, I'll wake up from the sound of footsteps or a whisper; I think that makes it particularly difficult for me somehow, and I have to put a lot of effort into this stuff.
I have an easier time waking up with the sun in the summer. Come fall, spring, winter? The sun rises well past an hour of when I do. I have to drag myself out of bed those seasons. Any suggestions?
Ugh, waking up before the sun rises! I feel your pain. I keep an odd sleep schedule, and there have been times when it's like this. My assumption (take it with a grain of salt as I'm not a medical professional), is to just get that sun as soon as you can. There's lots of times (since I started doing this diligently), where I can't get outside for an hour after waking, on a consistent basis. It's still so much more helpful than not doing it at all. To be honest when I'm in that situation, I don't rely on artificial lights after waking (I still keep the lights off or dimmed, until I get out to see the sun.) Only once I come back in from the morning walk do I turn all my lights on. I have no clue if that's useful or harmful (I'm assuming it's not a great idea), I only do that out of habit, but it works for me.
Another thing to mention - when I first started doing this, I would just step outside and get 5 or so minutes of sunlight, and figured that was sufficient. I didn't understand why it didn't do much. It's only once I started getting about 15-30 minutes (I just started going on an early morning walk), that I finally noticed the difference.
By the way, I'd say this is not an immediate thing; for myself personally, it took about 1-2 weeks of doing this every day (a combination of early morning sunlight viewing + mindful of lights in the evening + going to bed at the same time each day), before my body got in a rhythm. Once it did though, it was remarkable how consistent things got. For example, a slightly annoying thing that happens: if I have to stay up a few hours later than I normally do, I'll still wake up at exactly the same time I normally would (give or take 15 minutes), even if I'm still tired and haven't slept enough. I actually brought this up to my neurologist and he said that's not actually a bad thing, and is an indication that my body is in rhythm with a sleep cycle. Furthermore, I start getting tired at the exact same time every evening (Again maybe give or take 30 minutes), every day. Finally, even if I go several days in a row of staying up past when I normally do, somehow my body seems to go back to the normal time I've "set" on its own. It's been like this going on close to a year now.
Wishing you luck with this, if you give it a shot! I struggled with insomina almost my entire life before I started taking this stuff seriously. I thought it was just how I was built, and assumed I'd never have a consistent sleep routine. Of everything, light (both getting consistent outdoor light early in the morning, and being aware of light exposure - both artificial and natural - in the evening) has made the most difference. Well, also reducing noise disturbance, but that's just because I'm an incredibly light sleeper; I think that probably varies a lot from person to person, but I imagine the body's reactions to light is fairly consistent.
Counter argument... Washington State
I'm not certain I understand. Is there limited sunlight there? As far as I am aware, even in cloudy/overcast areas, you are still doing a significant help to yourself by going outside. There is still sunlight, even if it is cloudy - else everything would be absolutely dark :)
EDIT: Interestingly, in that podcast, Dr. Huberman does talk about instances of overcast days Section: Morning Sunlight: Circadian Rhythm, Artificial Lights, Cloudy Days
I skimmed the heading in the article. Good advice, but FAR from new. I remember reading the same tips over 15 years ago in a pop book for improving sleep. I also saw the same advice online that long ago to. Just search on "sleep hygiene".
Even if it's not new, I appreciate it being shared here. I talk to so many people with sleep issues who seem either unaware of this stuff, or seem to brush it off as "oh that's good advice but it can't be that important." Especially when it comes to light exposure! Artificial light (whether from overhead lights or devices) is such a ubiquitous part of modern life, that I think many people can't seem to fathom life without it.
Something else to add.. my anecdotal experience with these sleep hygiene recommendations, is that you really need to do all/most of this stuff (or at least make some effort at it), rather than just pick one thing. Again (and I'm guilty of this myself), I've often seen people have sleep issues, they pick one of these things in isolation, and are surprised they are still having sleep problems, and so they end up disregarding the advice. "I didn't use my phone before bed for a week, and I still sleep terribly, so this is BS!" (but they are still inundated by overhead lighting until 5 minutes before sleep, they don't keep a consistent sleep schedule, they keep a terrible diet, they're stressed, etc.) Of course some people sleep great no matter what they do or don't do - I envy them :)
The article says that Mattress quality is not important. But I disagree. Unless I read that wrong?
A soft bed is terrible for your back. Everytime I end up in one, I get uncomfortable and have a hard time sleeping.
Mattress quality is probably not important for sleep quality which I think the author should've specified. A bad mattress can ruin your back.
I would also assume that being physically uncomfortable will make it difficult to sleep, unless you're just so sleep deprived that it doesn't matter :) (but hopefully that isn't happening). Perhaps that should be listed on there as a general thing - to take notice of your physical comfort (which would mean different things for different people). I have been struggling with some painful muscle condition recently, and the pain has definitely made it difficult to fall asleep. That said, even with the pain, my sleep rhythm has been consistent enough to get me tired to the point that I end up falling asleep, so that's been helpful.
As a night shift worker this makes me depressed haha, its very difficult to follow most of this advice.
Fellow person with an overnight schedule here. The biggest key for me is regulating light. I get that sunlight about 30 minutes within waking (25 minutes walk in the sun - don't forget sun screen :) ). After my morning walk (once I'm inside), I make sure I'm in good indoor lighting. In the evening, once the sun has set (which is only a few hours after I've woken up), I continue to keep the bright lights on in my home. About 4 hours before I go to sleep, I start dimming my lights dramatically. 2 hours before sleeping, I try not to use any devices, and if I do, they are as dim as possible (see f.lux or twilight. Another user here also informed me that for Windows 10, there is a built in nightlight setting). Theater grade blackout curtains on all my windows ensures that once the sun has risen, I am completely unaware of it. I wake up in the middle of the day, but it is 100% pitch black dark in my room. The curtains make a huge difference.
By the way - if you go for blackout curtains, know they aren't all made the same. many cheaper ones claim "100% blackout", but it's total BS, and you can still see tons of sunlight coming through. personally, the ones I finally found that worked are a brand called Sun Zero, specifically their "theater grade 100% blackout" curtains (even they sell some that just say 100% blackout, but tons of light still trickles through.) I'm sure there's other brands which are just as effective (not claiming they are the best), this is simply the one I am aware of, so the only one I can recommend.
For the blackout curtains, I know the pain haha. I put up foil on my windows and then blackout curtains on top of that. I still get a little light bleed but its manageable for me.
Yes, tinfoil for the win! I'm not sure if this idea is helpful to you, but I ended up making custom cutouts for all my windows; essentially I just cut heavy duty cardboard to the shape of the window, and then paste tinfoil on top of the cardboard. Then I shove that in the window. This way I can take the inserts in and out of the window easily. Until I made the cutouts, I just had foil literally taped in my windows, it was a huge PITA because I couldn't really take it out, and if I did it was destroyed and I had to do it over again.
Honestly I use the cutouts mostly to help with keeping heat down in the summertime, but it helps so much with my sleep that it's a great bonus. Be cautious though, I've read that for double pane windows, if you are keeping foil (or any super reflective surface) on the window, if it gets too hot, the outer pane can actually shatter as there's so much heat on the glass. (I have never had this happen though, but I have read of this, and have also read reports of it in product reviews of reflective window clings that are meant for keeping heat down in summer.)
Ha jokes on them I already do all of this stuff and still get shitty sleep
Not sure if this idea will be helpful, but have you assessed if you have environmental noise waking you up? I was so diligent about sleep hygiene, yet every night I was waking around 2 am without exception (and could not go back to sleep, so I'd just get 4 hrs sleep daily). I was so sleep deprived. I had no clue why this was going on. Met with doctors. Took scores of sleeping medication. Everyone kept telling me it must be psychological (despite my pleas that it was not). Turned out, the cause was a truck with no muffler that was going by my house every night at 2 am. It took a couple minutes for me to rouse from sleep, so by the time I was awake, it was gone, and I didn't know why I had woken. I only discovered it because one night I stayed up through the night on a hunch, and low and behold, there it was, right on schedule, so loud that it was rumbling the floors. After this, I had to do yet more research on masking noise... 3 white noise machines, 1 air purifier, 1 sleep mask, and endless special ear plugs later, and also switching which place I slept - finally I am at a point where I sleep decently.
I guess I just mean to say, don't give up hope... sometimes there's just one random little thing going on you might not even be aware of. Sadly, sleep can have such an impact on quality of life, so it was worth it for me to pursue this.
One other thing going on with me was that I get hypoglycemia in the night. This does wake me up if my blood sugar gets low enough, and results in very fitful sleep. It happens to me often enough that I often don't have the physical symptoms of hypoglycemia, so I'm not quite sure what's going on until I take a blood sugar reading. This is rare and I doubt is going on with anyone here, just the point is, little things can be going on (that you are unaware of), and once you identify these "problems" and resolve them, the overall problem can be resolved. Perhaps your case is different, and is not an issue of individual problems, I'm just saying - keep up hope! (I spent almost my entire life with insomina issues. I thought it's just how I was. In reality, it was a set of resolvable problems.)