So this thread helps but also something like this article about sleep hacking is very helpful: https://medium.com/better-humans/what-i-learned-from-six-mon...
I recently experimented with bed linen made by bamboo, but did not experience any big effect. Bamboo is supposed to regulate the temperature at night, but didn't seem able to on warm summer nights.
I personally don't agree. For pretty much all the people I know who won't sleep enough (that is, most of the people I known), it falls into the more general problem of health hygiene denial:
- knowing that one should sleep more, but for <any reason> one doesn't,
- having anxiety problems (eg. waking up early and not falling back asleep due to "mind rush").
The negative effects of eating junk and smoking are extremely well known, and still, there's a large amount of people who do it.
Sleep deprivation on the other hand has obvious negative effects, buy they're not documented/perceived, in common culture, as being catastrophic (eg. you risk to die); it has also the perception of being a time waste, which conflicts with the busy requirements of a modern life.
Call me pessimistic, but I can hardly see a way to realistically (I stress "reastically") improve the situation on large scale (like smoke campaigns decrease smokers).
For example, I sometimes smoke "socially", sometimes up to half a pack during a night out. I never perceived it as "catastrophic", just as you say people don't perceive not sleeping enough as catastrophic. I would bet a lot of people don't feel like dying after smoking a cigarette or ten. The point is that maybe those campaigns do work, even when the issue isn't perceived as "critical" by the people. It could be launched as an education campaign, for the long haul.
Another thing which helped me a lot with sleep quality is exercise. And this is something for which there already are campaigns, at least in France, and from what I see it becomes more and more common to see people advocating for it. However, I don't see those campaigns talk about the effect of exercise on sleep.
When I started lifting some weights (nothing much, just a bunch of dumbbell exercises in my apartment) and going for short, light runs (around 30 minutes around my neighborhood) I noticed my sleep quality had improved enormously. A few weeks in, I actually started to sleep less than before. Went from around 7-8 hours and having a hard time waking up to around 6 hours and waking up refreshed and without an alarm.
So what I found out was that exercise actually turned out to be "free" from a time standpoint. But the overall levels of energy during the day went through the roof. Of course, the first two to three weeks were hard, especially waking up in the morning, but it was worth it.
I know nothing about the viability but like others you just find what works for you. I do know when I don't have enough sleep, it is really easy - I am irritable
I do have a sleep apnea issue so that might have something to do with it but I think I'm currently sleeping in a way that it's not bothering me as much, in a recliner (at some point I need to get the machine but I can't get the titration right now because pandemic).
There's just something about 6am (the light? my dogs wanting to go outside?) that gets me every time.
Didn't used to be the case when I was younger. I could sleep 10+ hours easy. Now I'm lucky to get more than 7 usually, and usually only about 6 hours.
The problem is that we keep our brains active late at night and that's the reason why it is hard to get to sleep.
For me alcohol is the one that messes with my sleep. The lack of deep sleep makes me feel tired the next day(s).
Edit: an article about recent studies: https://time.com/5752454/blue-light-sleep/
I find it much easier to fall asleep when the light is redder. Even for example when reading a book, if there's a lot of bright light in the room I will have a much harder time falling asleep.
I've noticed that if I wake up for some reason at night and turn the lights on, if the light is bluer it will tend to wake me up completely, whereas a red light will allow me to stay "sleepy" and fall back asleep quicker.
You are correct, however, that's a confounding problem. The (relatively) weak effectiveness of software solutions is due to blocking only a small percentage of blue light from a (relatively) strong light source (assumes short distance to screen, low ambient light at night).
Blue light (and even some green light frequencies) is a hardwired stimulus feeding into your circadian rhythm. Blocking all blue and green frequencies, e.g. with simple welding glasses, is effective in supporting the creation of melatonin.
But again, having enough melatonin in your system is a necessary but not sufficient condition to be able to sleep.
I still read a lot on computer in the evening, but I get sleepy much earlier.
Flux was great but for the most part modern OS' have caught up and it's no longer needed.
— https://twitter.com/JustGetFlux/status/1288979404677292032
Right up until other people do all the R&D for them so they can pick out the parts they like for a big announcement on stage. It's a smart strategy. They get to look like geniuses while others do the hard work and take all the risk.
I think it doesn't really eliminate the possibility, though, with different numbers.
I use flux, but I also cut all blue light after 10pm. I use 1850k lights (aka candlelight) throughout the house after 10pm. My phone is also yellow shifted and I watch tv yellow shifted too (by only watching from a computer with flux at night).
All those things together made a huge difference in sleep quality.
"Yes. Mainly when I practice good sleeping habits, though."
/s :)
I think it's probably much more of an issue for people already susceptible to inspect insomnia or other sleep issues.
F.lux, Windows 10 night light and Android's bedtime mode are great distractions at best and to me they serve more as a bedtime reminder. I feel that most sleep assistants and other life-hacking tools are mostly placebo that give you the feeling you're in control, which is a state the human brain likes. Sadly, it also means that once you know the placebo effect, those tools become useless. :-)
All this makes my body ready for sleep and at 10 pm I feel relieved to close my eyes and dozing off. I have accepted that I seem to need more sleep than others. Usually after 8 to 9 hours of sleep I wake up on my own.
I did and I went back.
It does very little you use night mode everywhere.
It might help with white backgrounds but I remove or avoid those even during daylight. I do use the 'Eye saver' mode on my smartphone, but only to visually let me know that it's after midnight.
Yes or good old fashioned curtains or window blinds.
But there's this too - and increasingly more stories like it:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/12/191216173654.h...
I'm currently using Iris Pro in max brightness, in which the display doesn't need to flicker, the software still can dim the screen itself.
I don’t sleep 8 every night: sometimes it’s longer, usually it’s more like 6, but either way I don’t use an alarm to wake up.
The key for me was to prioritize my sleep health by minimizing screen time before bed, going to bed consistently at the same time, and always leaving enough time to get 8 full hours if my body ends up wanting it.
I don’t _always_ need 8 hours, but it makes a huge difference when I do. And empirically, my well being—physical and mental—improves substantially if I am going out of my way to tend my sleep health.