Sleepless in Silicon Valley

Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by fizwhiz on Thursday May 16, 2019 @03:25PM (#19932166)

Tbh the oura ring has been a game changer for a data nerd like me. I can easily see how some exercise in the day actually impacts my HRV[1] and then the quality of my sleep. Had a heavy night of drinking? Watch what the oura ring reports not just on the same night but even the next night :) Basically if you're thinking of starting your own "protocol" for sleep and would like to A/B test what works and what seems like superfluous ceremony, the oura ring is a cost-effective way to measure the effectiveness of said protocol.

I think the protocol described in the article isn't anything terribly new. Most folks on HN know that blue light actually messes with sleep so if you're planning on using a screen until right before you goto bed it's a great idea to use the blue-light canceling computer glasses. Mindfulness meditation is generally a great practice to calm oneself and be reflective. I don't personally sleep at 8:45pm (rather, 11:45pm) but I do have my meal a few hours before I goto bed. I also don't drink much water closer to bedtime so I'm not rudely awakened in the middle of the night to urinate. I live in a place where the black-out blinds aren't a necessity. I've never messed with deep sound waves.

Of course, some folks will exclaim "Well I don't need a device to give me a report card on how well it thinks I slept!" ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[1] https://ouraring.com/heart-rate-variability-basics/

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by novok on Thursday May 16, 2019 @04:20PM (#19932733)

Why use this over an apple watch or fitbit?

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by jniedrauer on Thursday May 16, 2019 @04:27PM (#19932820)

Or a use Garmin watch, and get even more metrics. It's like strapping the elastic stack to your body.

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by rconti on Thursday May 16, 2019 @06:48PM (#19934235)

Yeah, I used to have a Hello Sense. I've been using Apple Watches for years, but I never wanted to install a 3rd party app for sleep tracking, nor have to charge during the day instead of at night.

Now I just wear a Garmin Forerunner 945. It seems like it must be more accurate than this Oura thing, though i know almost nothing about it.

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by 0xffff2 on Thursday May 16, 2019 @04:26PM (#19932803)

Does the Apple Watch do sleep tracking out of the box now? I was one of the 5 people who bought a Microsoft Band, and I really enjoyed the sleep tracking features. I still haven't pulled the trigger on an Apple Watch since switching to and iPhone because it (used to?) lack sleep tracking as a feature.

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by bredren on Thursday May 16, 2019 @04:42PM (#19932994)

No. It still is intended to charge overnight. Apple store sells other sleep tracking products at this time.

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by ihuman on Thursday May 16, 2019 @04:49PM (#19933043)

It charges fast enough that you can wear it almost 24/7 if you plan ahead and charge for a bit in the morning and at night

https://david-smith.org/blog/2015/09/21/how-to-wear-your-app...

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by ma2rten on Thursday May 16, 2019 @05:17PM (#19933344)

There are sleep tracking apps that integrate with the health app, but I tried two of them (sleep++ and pillow) and I found them to be very inaccurate.

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by killerdhmo on Thursday May 16, 2019 @05:39PM (#19933606)

It does, I like AutoSleep and SleepWatch to track my sleep, and as a fellow poster added, you can get by with just a few minutes of charging in the morning and night

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by enra on Thursday May 16, 2019 @05:37PM (#19933579)

I have both. Dislike wearing Apple Watch in the bed since it turns on randomly and it's bulky. The Oura doesn't feel much larger than a wedding band and it's lighter.

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by deegles on Thursday May 16, 2019 @05:38PM (#19933595)

Turn on theater mode and the display only activates when you press the crown. The battery also lasts longer!

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by link_108 on Friday May 17, 2019 @04:16AM (#19937409)

For myself, it comes down to form factor. I don't like wearing watches, but I am OK with wearing rings.

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by DenisM on Thursday May 16, 2019 @04:50PM (#19933059)

Did you really need a $300 device to tell you that a night of drinking will undermine your sleep?

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by llamataboot on Thursday May 16, 2019 @05:30PM (#19933492)

I didn't need one to know that, but I was surprised by how little drinking would change my resting heart rate (even two beers at dinner might keep my heart rate elevated for half of the night) and by how much/how long heavy drinking can affect RHR/HRV - a heavy night might affect RHR for 2-3 days...

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by hawaiian on Thursday May 16, 2019 @09:52PM (#19935445)

I don't think the product is targeted at people questioning the health effects of their heavy drinking, but rather at people questioning the effects of endurance training, long commutes, or other habits that may be inadvertently causing them long-term harm.

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by electricslpnsld on Thursday May 16, 2019 @08:23PM (#19934877)

Measurements are a great motivator! When I was starting an exercise regime being able to track my progress with a WiFi scale was a huge help. Losing one or two pounds didn’t make a huge visual difference, but damned if I wanted to keep driving that line down.

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by Hamuko on Thursday May 16, 2019 @03:52PM (#19932411)

I have trouble justifying spending 314 euros on a sleep-tracking ring.

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by mirceal on Thursday May 16, 2019 @04:21PM (#19932750)

it depends. do you have 314 in disposable income? is health really important for you?

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by wuunderbar on Thursday May 16, 2019 @05:21PM (#19933395)

My problem is when this company fizzles out in 2 years and stops servicing or supporting their product.

If Apple make made something like this, I may bite.

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by killerdhmo on Thursday May 16, 2019 @05:38PM (#19933593)

They do, it's called the Apple Watch. I find if I charge it in the morning and night while I'm brushing my teeth, the battery lasts all day. And there's a few apps that do good sleep reporting. I like AutoSleep and SleepWatch

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by komali2 on Thursday May 16, 2019 @06:39PM (#19934168)

But you have to have an iPhone to use it.

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by Hamuko on Thursday May 16, 2019 @04:30PM (#19932855)

Yeah, I probably have the cash. But it's just for tracking sleep. I know that I sleep like shit. I go to bed at 0030 and wake up at 0700. Don't really know what difference the ring would make here.

No idea what the ring would tell me what I don't really know and how in the world I would turn the data into something usable.

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by mirceal on Thursday May 16, 2019 @11:52PM (#19936102)

so there are several levels to "improving your sleep". I agree that if you sleep like shit and only get 4 hours per night you don't need the ring. you need to get more sleep.

but for some people that actually sleep well and want to tweak the quality of their sleep it can be valuable. let me give a few example of such tweaks: altering the time you go to bed, altering the surface you sleep on, reducing the amount of blue light you get, playing with the temperature in the room, not using screens X hours before going to bed, not eating X hours before going to bed. I could go on. The point I'm trying to make is that if you already get enough sleep (or you think you get enough sleep) the ring might help you. yes - the price is ridiculous. but it's not about the price, it's about improving a [very] important aspect of your life.

If you want to be scared shitless into paying attention to your sleep I recommend: "Why We Sleep" by Matthew Walker. Everything from cognitive abilities, fertility, risk of cancer and other diseases can be influenced by poor quality sleep. Sleep, along with eating properly and exercise is a pillar for a good quality life. I believe it's worth making it a priority.

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by fizwhiz on Friday May 17, 2019 @02:15PM (#19942129)

Said it better than I could.

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by rexpop on Thursday May 16, 2019 @06:21PM (#19934012)

What's the next thing you'll try to improve your sleep?

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by village-idiot on Thursday May 16, 2019 @08:34PM (#19934948)

It seems that getting more than 4 hours of it would be a good start.

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by atomical on Thursday May 16, 2019 @05:22PM (#19933401)

If it's important to him he might ask his doctor or head to Cochrane Collab?

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by kerng on Thursday May 16, 2019 @04:59PM (#19933152)

The stats imply that it's very inaccurate in tracking sleep phases - you probably know better yourself the day after.

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by HansLandaa on Thursday May 16, 2019 @04:52PM (#19933077)

Cool! I have a Whoop. I purchased it before they started the subscription model. https://www.whoop.com/the-locker/team-thrive-average-hrv-on-...

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Re:Sleepless in Silicon Valley by rconti on Thursday May 16, 2019 @06:48PM (#19934240)

The Whoop might be great, but I just can't get behind any product that used those obnoxious ads (I saw it on Instagram) that hype the product without telling you what it is. Clickbait advertising doesn't work on me, I guess. I might be interested, if they explained it.

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