Ask HN: How do you go to sleep quickly?

Re:Ask HN: How do you go to sleep quickly? by sp4rki on Tuesday January 15, 2013 @08:34AM (#5059977)

I change my schedule by partying hard a Saturday night and staying awake (not sleeping since getting back from partying) most of Sunday until about 8:30pm at which point I take a hot bath, put on an eye mask and drop dead in bed. I'm usually awake at around 4:30 or 5am Monday. After that I just condition myself to be sleepy when I go into my room. If I have something to do at home after work, I do so out of the room. I basically condition myself to be sleepy the moment I enter my dark room at night by just going to sleep really early. After that I'm AOK to sleep around 9 and wake up at 3 or 4am and get shit done in the hours before going to work. Then when I get home I have time to watch a movie and check emails before collapsing in bed.

I am 28 so I might add that you might want to adjust such a process according to your age and responsibilities. Hell you might not like to party like I do. If that's the case, substitute the partying for reading a good book, working on your startup, testing to see how waterboarding and CIA sleep depravation works, or just having a crapload of coffee.

Also, I know you specifically mentioned no drugs, BUT it might be easier to take a Benadryl at 6pm and use that to wake up early the next day. You will feel a bit drudgey the next day but that's fixed with the first cuppa-o-joe of the day.

Hope I helped :)

PS: I know my methods aren't the healthiest, but they do work for me and I keep in shape with good nutrition and exercise, so that's that.

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Re:Ask HN: How do you go to sleep quickly? by tnorthcutt on Tuesday January 15, 2013 @09:23AM (#5060188)

Interesting method. I've got a two year old, so lack of sleep, even for one night, is simply not an option. I wouldn't make it through the next day :)

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Re:Ask HN: How do you go to sleep quickly? by sp4rki on Tuesday January 15, 2013 @09:54AM (#5060350)

On another note regarding pharmaceuticals for making it through a day like that, Modafinil works wonders without the jitters that come with caffeine overloads.

That being said, if you've got a two year old I'd think that your sleep schedule will mostly be customized with some daily exercise, avoiding bright screens at night, and supplementing with some melatonin. If you do, I'd advise to try lower doses of melatonin, as lots of times lower doses work better.

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