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Comment by captainredbeard | Hacker News Reader

For the sleep, try wearing blue light blocking glasses all day until you are able to sleep reliably. It sounds ridiculous but I read a study in the Journal of Bipolar Disorder a few years back (can't find a link right now) about this. I've given a pair to a friend suffering from a multi-day manic phase (with zero sleep) and it stopped it dead in the tracks, within six hours in this case.

It makes you look a bit dorky but it's better than not sleeping (or mania).

The product used in the study (and the one that I've seen work) is:

Uvex Skyper Blue Light Blocking Computer Glasses with SCT-Orange Lens (S1933X)

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I'm confused. My problem is not getting enough sunlight, and I was under the impression that blue light was what I needed. Why would blocking it help?

Strain on the eyes and blue light, iirc, suppresses a hormone related to sleep. Been wearing a pair for the past two years after a coworker recommended them after I mentioned my eyes always feel super strained by the end of the day and have trouble sleeping. They really do make a huge difference.

Before, my eyes were super heavy and aching by the end of the day, and now they feel as though only an hour of screen time has passed. Thing is if I take them off while working/looking at any screen without a blue light filter, they start aching within 10 minutes :/

Thanks, you prompted me to buy some glasses and try this.

They’re life changing!

Why just not take melatonin which is cheap af?

Melatonin is just a very small part of all the variables involved in sleep. If you are excited or stressed you'll have high levels of adrenaline, cortisone, or cortisol. Diet will affect levels of ghrelin, leptin and insulin. Low testosterone levels, or antidiuretic hormones, can be found in many people. All these things will affect your sleep just as much, if not more, then melatonin does.

The glasses are $8 most places ... which is also cheap. FWIW, my friend was also taking melatonin but it was not effective against her hypomania-driven insomnia.

And magnesium, right?

Doesn't always work.

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