Ask HN: How to measure and improve sleep quality?

7 points by mariusandreiana 11 years ago | 7 comments

Having recently read about deaths of Ryan Davis and Dave Goldberg, I wonder how we can monitor sleep quality, detect potential disorders and improve them. Most apps I've found seem crap, either requiring access to device phone number, or with poor reviews. From your experience, what worked best at measuring your sleep quality and identifying causes for lack of good sleep? (anything, not necessarily an app)

I have a hard time falling asleep (even though I stay in total darkness, away from computer with 1hr before trying to sleep), and waking up early with back pain. Physical therapy didn't help. Although sleepy, I can't fall asleep during the day (in total darkness).

andersthue 11 years ago |

I could not fall asleep for many years, 10 years ago I started doing Taoist Tai Chi (http://www.taoist.org) and after some years I noticed that my sleep had gotten better especially falling asleep seemed easier (it also cured my 25 years of back pain :)

I still struggled when my business had problems with either employees or projects, most of those sleepless nights are gone after we started using the timeblock method in the company (http://timeblock.com), the trancperancy and honesty is what makes me sleep soundly now!

(Spoiler, I am the inventor of the timeblock method)

aidanf 11 years ago |

I used to struggle to sleep but eventually after experimenting a lot I got into a routine of consistent sleep. Here's a few things that I think helped me:

* Try to exercise every day. The days now when I struggle to get to sleep are days when I've skipped exercise. Also exercise early in the day. Exercise in the evening keeps me awake.

* Try to keep a routine of going to bed every day at roughly the same time and getting up at the same time every morning.

* Take magnesium (~750g) just before I go to bed.

* Avoid caffeine after 2pm. Coffee in the afternoon affects my sleep quality. T

atmosx 11 years ago | |

I can't stress exercise enough here. Exercise is paramount, especially for people who's daily jobs that require lots of hours sitting on a chair. You simply are not tired enough.

Food, try to eat light by night. Say you go to bed at 11 p.m., you should eat your last meal (light meal...) at 8 p.m.

Don't sleep during the day, you should get a good sleep 7 to 8 hours during the night.

Avoid TV-screens, movies and any kind of digital devices after 10 p.m... Grab a book, read for an 1h before going to sleep.

Try to refresh the air in the room, like open the window for 15 minutes before going to bed. The coverlet should be optimal to keep you warm, but not too warm or too cold. The body temperature is important to get a good sleep.

Also the pillow and the mattress should be good. You don't want the mattress to be to hard or too soft. Should be hard enough to keep your body straight but not hurt you.

Digital screens lead to melatonin inhibition, which in turn causes all kinds of troubles.. The most visible being insomnia. You could take some melatonin pills, since you're an adult, as a natural sleep enhancement 1h before going to bed.

Everything counts, but the most important thing to get a good night sleep is to get physically tired. Most people avoid that and end up with sleeping pills, which affects negatively their cognitive functions...

If you have any questions, feel free to ask here.

mariusandreiana 11 years ago | | |

Great tips, thank you & everyone!

MichaelCrawford 11 years ago |

use a notebook, not an app. Stay away from computing devices for a significant amount of time before you attempt to sleep.

Keep a sleep log - when you wake up, write down the time you fell asleep (as best you can estimate) and when you woke up.

If your problem persists, consult a sleep doctor. There are roughly fifty different sleep disorders, some of which can be quite serious.

I once had obstructive sleep apnea but I had surgery for it. Apnea surgery does not always work but it did in my case.

OSA can shorten your life.

seekingcharlie 11 years ago |

I have Fitbit's HR version & it tracks my sleep.

On days that I'm feeling mentally foggy, I can generally attribute it to oversleeping. I think my optimum is about 7.5hrs. If I sleep for 9-9.5, it takes me a lot longer to "wake up" throughout the day. Try & work out what your optimum is as it's different for everyone.

Also, I've tried to stop drinking caffeinated drinks after 3pm & that's helped. I'm trying to not be looking at any screens an hour before bed, but that one is proving to be a little more difficult to actually do :)

mariusandreiana 11 years ago |

Tip for linux users: http://jonls.dk/redshift/

Redshift adjusts the color temperature of your screen according to your surroundings. This may help your eyes hurt less if you are working in front of the screen at night.