I was wondering if you've tried endogenous melatonin? I've beaten this drum on HN before, melatonin has been a life saver for me. Massive reductions in time to sleep and the first time in my life I've had a 24-hour rythm.
Unfortunately melatonin gives me skull-crushing headaches! :-(
I am so glad that melatonin works for you!
Interestingly, there is a calculation that is used with lighting called melantopic ratio. This is the best writeup on circadian lighting, by far [1]. Here is the best website [2]. Here is the best overview [3]. This has the best pictures for sunrise/mid-day/evening/night lighting (flip through the pages) [4].
The Dreem 2 [5] headband is probably a better option in terms of comfort, rather than the OpenBCI EEG, for most people. It unfortunately does not meet the requirements for it to be a "home sleep lab", though. Know that the company is required to follow the GDPR, which is useful, and good to keep in mind for the end-user.
Anyways, I initially found out about chronotypes from reading a Financial Times article, with my subscription (see the gifted article link I provided below) [6]. Apparently it is a huge deal in Switzerland and Germany, which I found out by doing more research into it online, and it is studied there extensively. I also gifted a Financial Times article by a sleep expert mentioning chronotypes and how to get a good night's rest [7], if you want to read that.
[1] Circadian lighting for designers and manufacturers: https://www.lrc.rpi.edu/healthyliving/img/background/additio...
[2] Lighting Research Center: https://www.lrc.rpi.edu/
[3] Creating the circadian lighting toolbox — Bringing the language into practice (MAGAZINE): https://www.ledsmagazine.com/lighting-health-wellbeing/artic...
[4] The Design Implications of Circadian Lighting: https://leducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Design-Imp...
[5] Dreem 2 Headband: https://dreem.com/
[6] How to hack your circadian rhythm: https://on.ft.com/3lSLZSW
[7] Sleep expert Matthew Walker on the secret to a good night’s rest: https://on.ft.com/2Whr8O5
So, in the middle of the night, my limbs jerk and it affects my sleep quality. So, I also have a surface EMG (electromyography) sensor connected to my leg when I sleep. I use a Bitalino [1] to record it. I share this info with my neurologist.
All of the sensors I use (I use other ones during the day to detect stress and affect using AI--I recreated the peer-reviewed journal articles in code) interface using LabStreamingLayer (LSL), which makes coding easy. Even the OpenBCI board uses LSL. It basically is a streamlined way of dealing with data from these devices.
A lot of the code in general that is posted on GitHub interfaces with LSL, so you search on like DuckDuckGo.com for like:
* "LSL" AND "EEG" site:github.com
* "LabStreamingLayer" AND "EEG" site:github.com
Anyways, you can find all sorts of interesting programs, including neurofeedback. But, you have to be good with coding and also Linux to use it. They even have code that interfaces with LSL that does LORETA scoring for neurofeedback, which is very therapeutic and useful. But, you want the 16 channel OpenBCI device to do this.
[1] https://plux.info/kits/38-bitalino-revolution-plugged-ble-81...
The ultimate resource for dealing with fatigue is the book called "Energityvene" ("Energy Thieves") [1] which is only printed in Norwegian. It covers pretty much every single fathomable situation in terms of people dealing with fatigue, such as disabled people and high-performing professionals. It covers all types of fatigue, whether it be physical or mental. Most importantly, it gives actionable solutions for all of the above categories for people in various situations.
Unfortunately, this is the only source that covers it from A to Z. The book helped me tremendously and was life changing. I found it by searching across the web, using key words, and found a bunch of useful Norwegian PDFs, such as these [2][3]. Since it was mostly all related to a book in Norwegian, I found a bookstore that sold an eBook version of "Energityvene". I converted the book to a .docx file using Calibre [4], and then I uploaded it to IBM Watson Language Translator [5], and had the .docx translated to English. I then read it and it changed my life.
Also, chronobiology [6] is a big deal and makes a huge difference, if you understand it and study it. Knowing your chronotype (circadian rhythm pattern) and calibrating your life around it makes a huge difference. Here are a bunch of useful PDFs about chronobiology [7]. Interestingly, I use light therapy (different sorts of therapeutic lighting) calibrated around the time of day, for my chronotype, to manage my energy levels consistently, so my circadian rhythm stays the same. So, I use a wake-up light (to wake up in the morning), a special light at my desk (mid-day), a sundown lamp (during dusk/evening), and night-time lighting (no bright lights). I monitor the light levels I am exposed to throughout the day (lux levels) so it is a precise and prescriptive amount of light. With respect to finding your chronotype, you may need an actigraph watch to determine your chronotype. The Geneactiv actigraph watch does this, and also measures your lighting levels [8]. It costs around $200.
You also need to practice resting, just as hard as you work. Figuring out how to do that is hard if you have a strong type A personality, but you can do it. Be creative.
Sleep is critical, and is unfortunately extremely underrated. I also record my sleep every night with an OpenBCI EEG recorder [9], using 16 channels. It is effectively a home sleep lab [10]. When I wake up in the morning I run scripts (mostly from GitHub) to see how well I slept, and also to see the sleep staging patterns. This also helps me see if I am going to get out of my circadian rhythm.
[1] Energityvene: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34138256-energityvene
[2] DuckDuckGo Search-filetype:pdf "Energityvene": https://duckduckgo.com/?q=+filetype%3Apdf+%22Energityvene%22...
[3] DuckDuckGo Search-filetype:pdf "Energityvene" site:kognitiv.no: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=filetype%3Apdf+%22Energityvene%22+...
[4] Calibre (Software): https://calibre-ebook.com/
[5] IBM Watson Language Translation, Translating Documents Information: https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/language-translator?topic=languag...
[6] Chronobiology Information: http://www.chronobiology.ch/
[7] Peer-Reviewed Chronobiology Journal Articles: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=site%3Achronobiology.ch+filetype%3...
[8] GeneActiv Actigraph: https://www.activinsights.com/technology/geneactiv/
[9] OpenBCI Information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenBCI
[10] Home Sleep Lab Information: https://www.spisop.org/openbci/