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Comment by misiti3780 | Hacker News Reader

I suggest you read "why we sleep" by Matthew Walker. According to him (phd in neuroscience from stanford) you are just short changing yourself -- you're opening yourself up to all sorts of heath conditions later on. Not telling you how to live your life, just saying this book fundamentally changed the way I think about sleep and it is worth your time (IMHO)

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This book is truly terrifying. I've been a "work through it" kind of person all my life, and have sacrificed sleep from a very young age for both personal and professional priorities. I've been labeled by close friends and loved ones as "forgetful" or "absent-minded." Now I'm faced with the reality that maybe I'm actually causing myself real damage, and these aren't facets of my personality, but symptoms of something worse. Thankfully, I'm only 32 and have time to correct course.

One thing I've really changed my thinking on in the past few years is my attitude towards work situations demanding late nights. I wouldn't smoke a cigarette for work, so why was I making excuses for late nights?

I've got an Ouraring, and track my sleep constantly -- but still have trouble getting a consistent 8.5 hours. But I'm getting better.

What habits did you change?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16671944

^ See above for relaxation techniques. It's just a ripoff from yoga.

• Read book before bed, not computer/phone.

• Walk

• Keep room COMPLETELY dark and quiet

• Don't eat heavy a few hours before bed

• Walk, bike, or workout

Probably shouldn't eat heavily at all; unfortunately for many of us "a few hours before bed" simply isn't possible, but of course some good habits are better than none.

I understand why any alcohol before sleep is bad, so I am drinking less nightcaps. I have a better idea of how to handle inter-continental travel, trying to use less screens before sleep, etc. It is a work in progress for me also.

Getting an Apple Watch really hit home how bad alcohol is for sleep. Anything more than a drink four hours before sleep absolutely destroys my deep sleep. I go from ~3.5 hours of deep sleep to 1 or less. My resting heart rate is also 10 or 15 bpm higher while I sleep than when I don’t drink

Is the watch really accurate to measure deep sleep?

Are there any other watches/devices which measure deep sleep?

Not sure how accurate it is but the fact that it's so reproducibly different does make me trust it a little bit. Also jives with how tired I am the days after I drink. The resting heart rate seems to be quite accurate, I've compared it to manually checking my pulse. During exercise it tends to be slightly less accurate because of the sweat and movement.

There is a Xiaomi product that supposedly can do this: https://www.mi.com/en/miband/

IMO it's not the 8 hours that's required, it's deep sleep, that's what really rests you. I got 7.5hrs the other night, with 1hr of Deep Sleep and I actually felt like I was on the verge of death, whereas other nights on 6hrs with 3hrs deep, and I feel great. I think sleep is a quality over quantity type deal. Obviously this all personal observation, I just pay attention and write shit down, I don't have a PhD lol.

The most recent work I read didn't show a need for 8.5 hours, but it was solely measuring cognitive performance.

Is there really research that shows people need more than 8 on average, or is that a conclusion you've come to about your individual situation?

It varies by person.

I think it also varies for a person. My rule of thumb is, I don't want to make a habit of having my alarm clock be what wakes me up. For me, that means that sometimes I'm up and moving less than 7 hours after my head hits the pillow, and sometimes I'm still sawing logs 9 hours later.

Stress seems to be a factor. Which, ironically enough, means that the more I sleep, the less I need to sleep.

In the middle of this book right now, it's eye opening. I've never really prioritized sleep until now, and the difference in how I feel is very noticeable. I may have less waking time, but I'd say the difference in the integral of hours-enjoyment is a big net win.

That book on sleep is a real eye opener ehh? :)

The author actually makes a joke in the prologue that he’d be delighted if any reader snoozed off while reading the book.

:-D

Yeah, if anything, that book just ingrained in my brain the importantce of not screwing up sleep. So much so that I know have slight fear if I don`t sleep well or need to shorten the sleep for 1-2 days for some reason.

That fear actually really messes with me sometimes. The anxiety of knowing I won’t get enough sleep actually keeps me awake sometimes, then I get more anxious and less likely to sleep, etc...

Reading it at the moment. It's an eye-opener.

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