from the I-don't-think-that-word-means-what-she-thinks-it-means dept.
Submitted via IRC for Bytram
I tried to hack my insomnia with technology. Here's what worked.
I stopped sleeping when I was 18.
I'd just arrived at college, having moved from a tiny village to a big city for the first time in my life. London was loud and busy. I was staying in a dorm with a load of people I didn't know. There was a hospital nearby with sirens going off at all hours. I was stressed.
I developed insomnia. I tossed and turned, night after night. The more I chased sleep, the more it seemed to elude me. At its worst, I felt I'd had virtually no sleep for almost two weeks. In the end I had to take sleeping medication for almost a month to knock me back into the semblance of a proper routine. Fast-forward to today, and although I generally sleep well, insomnia still sometimes comes back to haunt me.
I'm far from alone: about a quarter of Americans experience acute insomnia every year, a statistic that's replicated elsewhere around the world. In the US alone, that's 82 million people who struggle with sleep.
Given those figures, it's no wonder there are so many tech startups hoping to cash in by "fixing" sleep for sufferers. After a period of particularly bad sleeplessness, I decided to give some of them a go. Maybe one of the sleep tech products on the market could prove a better option than just popping pills.
Even if you don't have insomnia, there's still a decent chance you aren't getting enough sleep. The amount we need varies from person to person, but a 2016 review study concluded that most adults need more than seven hours sleep a night. Anything less than that is associated with an increased risk of obesity, dementia, diabetes and heart disease, among other issues. The number of Americans who get six hours of sleep or less each night is rising, however.
"When you disrupt your sleep over the long term, it starts to erode your health in many, many ways," says Michael Twery, director of the US National Center on Sleep Disorders Research.
Read on to see what the author tried, what worked and what didn't.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by fustakrakich on Wednesday October 16 2019, @05:13AM (8 children)
No thanks. I'm scared of click bait... Can you give us a hint? Because that summary offered nothing but constant teasing.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Wednesday October 16 2019, @05:47AM (3 children)
It's just a guy trying to get some sleep and overthinking it. Not worth reading, a glass of milk before going to bed would probably work better.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Wednesday October 16 2019, @05:53AM (1 child)
And a toke or two...
Yeah, I figured by the summary there's nothing there.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Wednesday October 16 2019, @07:30AM
Ah yes, nothing like a good vape before hitting the sack.
:)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 16 2019, @04:18PM
If you'd read the article you'd know it wasn't a guy.
(Score: 5, Informative) by coolgopher on Wednesday October 16 2019, @06:19AM (3 children)
Summary: Gadgets made it worse. App-based CBT worked for them.
(Score: 2) by Mer on Wednesday October 16 2019, @07:32AM (2 children)
So he was tired of popping pills and replaced that with a substance that may or may not come in pill form.
Shut up!, he explained.
(Score: 3, Touché) by hendrikboom on Wednesday October 16 2019, @12:59PM (1 child)
CBT? Cognitive Behavioral Therapy? Doesn't sound like a pill to me.
(Score: 4, Funny) by number11 on Wednesday October 16 2019, @04:49PM
At least that's more SFW than what I read the acronym as.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Wednesday October 16 2019, @05:44AM (5 children)
Lifehack, hack my insomina... Gee, there's a term for these things: trick, cure.
Hack is something else and it's very specific: originally it means disassemble (or penetrate into), study and repurpose. Did you disassemble and repurpose your insomina?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 16 2019, @05:56AM
Buy tech gadgets? Slashvertise like crazy. Proffffffit!!!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 16 2019, @08:41AM (3 children)
um. no.
although i guess making sausages could be considered "repurposing" of entrails. but I think "hacking" referred to just the part when you extract from animal/prepare entrails, before making the sausages.
by the way. cambridge dictionary gives some modern meanings as well:
hack, verb: to get into someone else's computer system without permission in order to find out information or do something illegal.
hack, noun: a politician, especially one who is not important
(Score: 2) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Wednesday October 16 2019, @09:33AM (2 children)
A hack in the traditional technical term (as opposed to the historical sense of cutting stuff up) indeed includes penetrating a system - computer or otherwise - but definitely not for nefarious purposes. Most real hackers in the original definition of the word perform the feat for the beauty of achieving it, or for the challenge. The "pirate" or "do something illegal" bit was tacked on afterwards, much to the dismay of real hackers.
As for the repurposing, it's not just for entrails: you can hack a diesel turbo to turn it into a jet engine, or a webcam into an infrared camera, or a Wii remote into a bluetooth dildo, or a cereal box whistle into a telephone system signaling device... whatever. As long as the hacker opens up the thing and makes it do things it was not designed to do with a degree of technical expertise or cleverness, it's a hack.
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Wednesday October 16 2019, @09:45AM
The Sun [thesun.co.uk] disagrees with your definition
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 16 2019, @11:11AM
I know what "hacking together" means for readers of this website. I just thought the cambridge text was funny.
and the use of the word "politician" was a surprise to me (I usually think of "person who is a hack" as half a conartist, probably with pseudo-science and fake medical aspects).
(Score: 1, Troll) by Arik on Wednesday October 16 2019, @06:05AM
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by EJ on Wednesday October 16 2019, @07:48AM (12 children)
So, this dummy tried a whole bunch of snake oil bullshit, and it didn't help him. Look at my shocked face.
He said he lived in a place with lots of noise, but didn't do anything to reduce the noise.
He didn't try anything like blackout curtains or other such solutions to light pollution.
He mentioned using Google in the middle of the night. Looking at a screen is the worst thing to do to help you fall asleep.
In summary, the idiot in the story did a bunch of idiotic things, then wrote an advertisement for CBT, which is ironically about the only thing that can really help idiots stop being idiots.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 16 2019, @08:21AM
Ha! So informative yet with a nice edge of "get the fuck off my lawn"
(Score: 4, Insightful) by zocalo on Wednesday October 16 2019, @12:30PM (7 children)
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 2) by GeminiDomino on Wednesday October 16 2019, @06:58PM (5 children)
Does the fact that *she's* a she excuse the fact that she was taken for rides by a steady train of hucksters and conmen? If not, then what was the point of emphasizing it?
"We've been attacked by the intelligent, educated segment of our culture"
(Score: 2, Insightful) by zocalo on Wednesday October 16 2019, @08:04PM (4 children)
Besides, the rationale for buying all that crap is right there in the summary; she was interested in tech solutions to her problem and just "decided to give some of them a go", skipping over the "seeking professional advice" step in the process (which, as a US student living in London, would have as free as her NHS-provided CBT solution). Maybe that was all done with the intention of evaluating them and writing the article, exposing what worked and what didn't - TFA does point out the lack of evidence for some of the claims, so she appears to have done at least some research. However, given that she apparently spent quite a lot of money ($599 on one product alone!) if it's not that, then it's not so much a case of "Young, Dumb, and Broke" as "Young, and with far more money than sense".
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 2) by EJ on Thursday October 17 2019, @03:07AM (2 children)
I just read the text of the article again very closely to make sure I didn't miss anything. I hadn't missed anything. There is nothing in the article to imply that the author is female aside from "her" name, which I always ignore as completely pointless and irrelevant information. If you want the world to know what gender you identify with, then make that clear in the meat of your article. I mostly ignore pictures too, since those are very often pointless stock photos that have nothing to do with reality.
I still fail to see what "her" gender has to do with anything? This is not Stack Exchange.
(Score: 2) by Magic Oddball on Thursday October 17 2019, @03:29AM (1 child)
While there's plenty of (gay) men who get married, the vast majority of people with a husband are still women, and she does mention having one.
(Score: 2) by EJ on Thursday October 17 2019, @05:57AM
Gay men, straight men, straight women, and lesbians are all equal in the eyes of the universe for their idiocy.
The idiot bat does not discriminate.
(Score: 2) by Magic Oddball on Thursday October 17 2019, @03:49AM
I got the impression that the author had already graduated prior to writing the article, so I checked her bio on the site:
She definitely sounds like she's no longer just a student living in London; my guess is that that she probably either has contacts as a tech journalist who loaned her the equipment, or the purchases were fully tax-deductible as part of her job writing for a tech site.
(Score: 2) by toddestan on Thursday October 17 2019, @04:07AM
I remember being annoyed at the amount of light that came into my dorm window right next to my bed too, mostly because the campus was overly well lit for safety blah blah blah etc. Being a poor college kid, I was all for being cheap, and obviously I couldn't modify the room in way that couldn't be completely undone. So somehow I came across a bunch of flat cardboard boxes in the trash, probably from some furniture or some such that someone brought with them and discarded the packaging. I measured the window size, then grabbed a box and cut a piece slightly more than 2" wider and taller than the window. I then scored the cardboard on one side and folded it so there was a 1" lip all around. I then shoved it into the window, using only friction to hold it in place in the frame. It completely blocked all the light coming into the window, stayed there all year without any issue (which I honestly wasn't expecting, especially since this window was one that opened and closed) and of course popped right out when it was time to move out.
(Score: 3, Informative) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday October 16 2019, @05:31PM (2 children)
Identifying remedies that do not work is also useful science.
(Score: 2) by coolgopher on Thursday October 17 2019, @12:39AM
"I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work." - Thomas Edison
(Score: 2) by EJ on Thursday October 17 2019, @06:00AM
Well, she made no mention of attempting to cover herself in honey and chocolate sauce, which I'm sure would have had equal chance of working as compared to the methods she did try.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 16 2019, @11:43AM (2 children)
Everyone is different, of course. But if I do moderately high effort weightlifting, I tend to feel awesome for an hour or two afterwards. Then I feel normal for a few more hours. Then all I want to do is sleep for about three days. It takes barely a half hour of lifting, too.
It might be bad genetics, I've never gotten particularly strong no matter how much protein I ate and whether I lifted one day a week for half an hour or six days a week for more than an hour. But if I'm having insomnia problems I hit the weights hard the next day. That night I'll get into bed and say to my wife "Goodn... " and be dead to the world until my alarm goes off.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 16 2019, @07:41PM (1 child)
yeah. most people aren't doing the basic things their bodies need. and most are doing thing it doesn't need. then want to label it insomnia in a pitiful excuse for their crapulence.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 18 2019, @02:14PM
That's a wealthy person complaint. When I was working two jobs I was too tired to exercise. When I was working one job and taking care of my kids I was too tired to exercise too. My kids are older, now I exercise.
I live in a relatively wealthy area and most of the other adults look like athletes. They have maids, landscaping services, and grocery deliveries. Those of us that don't have that level of disposable income aren't so lucky.
My point is, the modern world stops most people from doing the basic things their body needs. It's not laziness or stupidity, it's economics.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Chocolate on Wednesday October 16 2019, @11:47AM
We have great articles about this kind of thing [soylentnews.org]!
Bit-choco-coin anyone?
(Score: 4, Interesting) by jmichaelhudsondotnet on Wednesday October 16 2019, @12:40PM (3 children)
Things that contribute the greatly to dementia and heart disease risk, and depression, despair, domestic conflic, parents yelling at their children, etc:
-sleep interruptions
-not getting enough sleep
Things that this system demands of most people, excepting those who inherit money they did not work for:
-interrupt your sleep every morning
-how much sleep you get is secondary to owners arbitary schedule
I wonder what it would be like if we thought up a way of doing things that were healthy for humans, for a change....a new age of reason and enlightment, a great awakening of ideas and tolerance, a true rennaisance!
Eh, nah.
I did however not write this timeless, tragically relevant bit, enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXdEFKaWUJU [youtube.com]
thesesystemsarefailing.net
(Score: 2) by istartedi on Wednesday October 16 2019, @07:42PM (1 child)
There's no video there. Just an insurance ad. Is this the new rickroll or something?
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 2) by jmichaelhudsondotnet on Thursday October 17 2019, @02:10PM
Sorry, I just linked from a search engine becaue I am boycotting youtube except in the most dire cases.
Steve Martins Medieval Barber bit is what I am trying to link.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodoric_of_York,_Medieval_Barber [wikipedia.org]
You might be able to find it somewhere given away for free, but truth be told the people running nbc are the types to not let a single bit of 50 year old entertainment out of their grasp without the highest dollar bid.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 16 2019, @07:47PM
yeah, i was all but hired by a company that was to pay well and i had been out of work for a long time and needed the job. the work was night work, so i started changing my schedule to get on nights. A day or two before i was supposed to start, the project manager called me during the morning and woke me up to tell me the owner of the business had come in from out of state to meet me (i was to be running jobs for them as a foreman). I explained that i was currently sleeping b/c i was trying to get ready for work in a couple days but that i was happy the owner wanted to meet me and that we could do it in the afternoon if that was OK. They were shocked and appalled and he said that if i didn't get up and go meet them i would probably be forfeiting my job. i told them to shove it up their asses and went back to sleep.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 16 2019, @02:15PM (1 child)
My problem is I sleep well unless there is something important/stressful the next day and just need to make it through that night.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 16 2019, @06:22PM
Weed works, but you have to wait for the initial 'high' kick to wear off. The kick usually lasts 20-60 minutes then sleep is easier.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by srobert on Wednesday October 16 2019, @02:54PM
The best cure for insomnia is to try to stay awake.
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Wednesday October 16 2019, @03:11PM (2 children)
As much as I think I'd like to watch a Ken Burns documentary, I always fall asleep. Extract the audio from the video and break it up into 5 minute chunks: A lifetime of fast acting sleep aid.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Rupert Pupnick on Wednesday October 16 2019, @04:15PM (1 child)
I see your Ken Burns, and raise you one Bob Ross.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 16 2019, @06:19PM
I watch Mechanical Universe (CalTech physics course) while slumbering off into sleep.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 16 2019, @07:49PM
If you have trouble with stress in general or turning off your brain at night, try l-theanine.
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Wednesday October 16 2019, @08:44PM (1 child)
It's rarely specified whenever this advice is given whether those "hours sleep" include any time spent after getting into bed before actually falling asleep, any time waking up and getting back to sleep during the night and time spent waking up before getting out of bed in the morning (more than likely they exclude it). I suspect for many people, that time could add up to an hour or more. If you factor in a day job and a long commute, fitting in more than seven hours of actual bona fide sleep each night is likely highly impractical for many people.
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 17 2019, @02:06AM
It's time speed asleep. Not time spent pretending to be asleep or redefining what sleep means so you'll feel better about neglecting yourself.
When you get good, restful sleep and sleep when your body wants you to sleep then you don't spend a ton of time trying to fall asleep and trying to wake up. You lay down, fall asleep within 10 minutes, then wake up and step right out of bed without hesitation and without any grogginess. It's eyes closed then eyes awake feeling better than when you closed your eyes. If that's not how sleep works for you then there's something you can improve. (we're ignoring those who leveled up their lucid dreaming skills). It's okay if your body wakes you up to piss, but you should be falling directly back to sleep after doing so. If you're doing this every night then you're drinking too much before bed, eating too many foods which increase output, or have poor muscle control (all of those are fixable things).
Getting enough sleep is only impractical because people choose to make it a low priority in their lives.
When was the last time you trained yourself to fall asleep or trained yourself to wake up? You can improve your sleep just like every other skill. Very few people bother to try. Why waste time at the gym struggling to improve your health when eating a little less and engaging in some sleep training for the same amount of time would greatly improve yourself for the rest of your life, compared to the gym benefits you'll lose if you don't constantly train. Stop churning and grinding on low productivity activities. Most people are constantly framing rats instead of diving into the nearby dungeon.