Weighted blankets might ease insomnia and anxiety
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Recently my neighbor got a really bright outdoor light on the side of their house and even with black out blinds it wasn't close to enough blockage because light kept leaking through the sides and even pierced the blinds.
The first night I noticed that, I was like "jesus, why is it so bright outside" and I tried to sleep unsuccessfully. I was up until about 3am when I normally goto bed at 11pm'ish. I tried everything to block it on the spot like trying to pile up a sheet near my face but it had no effect since the light just illuminated the room. It was so light that I could see details across the room, like individual fan blades on a 12" fan. I typically can only fall asleep on 1 side but switching sides made no difference either.
So the next afternoon I decided to try an experiment. I took a black garbage bag and completely covered the window. I actually laughed out loud to myself at how dark it was when it was bright outside.
That night was remarkable. I didn't think a room could be so dark. It was the most peaceful sleep ever, except now my TV's little red dot is a distraction where as even pre-outside light it wasn't noticeable.
So if you have trouble sleeping, you may want to try to make your room as dark as possible as a test. Even in hostile lighting conditions a black garbage bag (one of the big ones you would use for leafs) can solve the problem. I hung mine with 2 nails, so when I wake up I just unhook 1 side to get natural light. The only problem is it looks completely stupid from the inside.
It’s also worth getting a nice eye mask (one that’s comfortable on your face) for when you’re on the road. Hotels, Airbnbs, etc. are full of super bright LEDs now, and many of them (e.g. smoke detectors) can’t be easily covered or turned off.
I currently use the cheap contoured cupped kinds (I think Bucky, currently), which are adequate. I find the cups vastly preferable to having something pressed against my eyes, and I dislike masks that feel heavy. A cheap mask will keep out most light (but not all of it). For the most part, they work. Sleeping with a mask is better than sleeping without one.
The problem with the cheap brands is that they always inevitably fall apart 3-5 months after being purchased, especially if you wash them. They're almost all glued, not stitched. They use materials like velcro everywhere.
A while back I tried to do some research to see if there was a premium market for nice, really durable, stitched brands. I couldn't find anything that stood out, it was a big surprise. I've considered trying to find someone on Etsy to try and custom make something.
Right now I'm paying $10-16 every 4 months for a disposal mask. I'd happily pay a ton more for a lightweight, cupped mask that actually blocked 100% of the light and that would last me a few years.
I went through about a dozen different masks over the course of 6 months and these were the most comfortable. I like the removable inserts -- sometimes I want the pressure on my eyelids, sometimes I don't. They completely block out the light. And they trap moisture so your eyes stay moist overnight.
It may be a bit of an extreme solution, to go around a hotel room, covering every tiny LED with electrical tape, but if you are very sensitive to light while you sleep, it can make a world of difference in the quality of your rest.
It is better than electrical tape for this purpose IMO.
I'm so sensitive to light at night that I actually thought about it.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GSO1D9O/
Also, noise is usually a problem for me. I keep a fan running at night to provide a good background hum of white noise to help drown out any external sounds.
However, I don't get that slow increase of light in the morning that wakes me up gently. I wake up a little groggier.
The natural progression of the sunrise is very helpful to have your eyes auto-adjust by the time you open them since it goes through your eyelids with your eyes closed.
I'm not sure how to solve this problem in a way that's reasonable. Building a robot to unhook the trash bag based on the sunrise time is out of scope of what I want to do. Maybe some type of solar powered automatic curtain rod exists, I haven't looked but it's worth exploring. I wonder how others solve this. I feel like the solutions I'm thinking of are way harder to implement than it needs to be for such a common problem.
There's a specific type of alarm clock that does that. Philips Wake-up Light (e.g. https://www.usa.philips.com/c-p/HF3520_60/-) is the best known brand but there are others.
In all seriousness, coming from a Mediterranean country to the UK, the summers can be quite annoying with the light starting a little after 4am and if you don't have a good set of blinds it can get very disruptive.
Your solution (ugly as it maybe ;) ) it's actually quite good as it does not require a lot of effort or DIY that a landlord could object to.
Yeah you could also replace the 2 nails with thumbtacks or even tape for less wall damage.
[0]https://www.amazon.com/Best-Home-Fashion-Insulated-Blackout/...
https://www.amazon.com/Total-Blackout-Window-Film-Prevention...
During that first night my thought process went something like this:
- How the fuck can someone be so rude to put a light so bright on?
- I'm going to get the loudest portable stereo I can find that can be remotely turned on / off, load it up with one of my favorite deathcore playlists and put it onto their roof tomorrow night
- I'm going to leave passive aggressive notes on their door with shawshank redemption quotes (the light resembled a prison light)
My mind just raced with scenarios that involved retaliating. Those were the highlight thoughts after spending hours ruminating on it.
But then after a few nights with the bag I didn't care anymore about the light. I ultimately came to the conclusion that I was missing out for years by not blacking out my room and I would continue to black it out even if the light didn't exist.
It's interesting to see the effects of something as trivial as a light being on at night to disrupt your sleep patterns and thoughts. Unintentional lack of sleep is no joke even in short doses.
Living in dense city apartments, large German city, our thoughtful upstairs neighbors decided to play very loud hardcore techno at 2am (!) during weekdays - every single day. They were students but the area is not cheap at all. Without external support, German students would have a very hard time paying rent in that area. This area is primarily for well-off yuppies with large incomes. For those students, I strongly suspected mommy and daddy pay for the rent (and the drugs, see below).
Aside from breaking mentally down and degenerating into thoughts of vengeance over this insane level of assholeness, we recovered and tried to be productive according to following steps:
1) Go upstairs, ask them to turn it down -> no response at the door, tried and retried 6 times in total over several days in between the following resolution attempts
2) Intermittently, random screaming and banging against our walls in frustration
3) After doors were never opened and a conversation was not possible, we emailed facility management/landlord -> quiet nights for a handful of days
3) After loud music started up again one day (because why not?) we finally called the police. A step which is somehow both radical and useless at once. Police, annoyed by our noise complaint, banged against the neighbors doors. It took > 5min of banging and police yelling until neighbors opened the door. You could hear the excuse: "Sorry, fell asleep with the music on."
That's like falling asleep in a laser-light electronic music club. Bullshit excuse for "we are drugged up as shit and don't care about our neighbors who have to go to work at 7am because <insert garbage justification>"
Well, it became quiet for 3 weeks. Thought they learned their lesson. Then it started over again and at that point we had exhausted all rational options.
Repeated complaints against landlord lead to nothing. So there was no leverage left. In the end we moved. Thankfully that wasn't our only motivation to move but if you're a bit unlucky, noisy neighbors can mess your life up. Finding apartments here is really hard and I don't want to imagine if we had built our dream apartment in our dream area and were screwed over by these people for no reason at all.
From their POV, they probably think they’re doing the neighborhood a favor. Better lighting tends to reduce crime
Also there is some evidence https://urbanlabs.uchicago.edu/projects/crime-lights-study
Those are not properly "shutters", they are (as you say) "tapparelle" (which translates back to "rolling shutters" or "roller shutters"), they are relatively "modern" and they have been used for yers mainly as a low cost solution to the traditional windows "sets".
They were only widely adopted in Italy after WWII in new buildings.
They were actually available in Italy - and of course in wood only - since the '20's but not widely used, actually intially they were considered "trendy" and used by "name" architects/designers in luxury or public buildings (example):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_del_Fascio_(Como)
, whilst later they became synonym with "poor/economic buildings".
They are not "typically italian", as they are common also in other EU countries and were most probably actually invented in France:
https://www.griesser.fr/en/products/rolling-shutters/
A famous example of their (early) use is Casa Milà in Barcelona (Spain) by Gaudì:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_Mil%C3%A0
Interestingly our UK friends seemingly call them "continental" (another example):
https://www.ukrollershutters.com/product-category/continenta...
Traditionally in Italy (but it depends on the area/region) we have "persiane" (on the exterior), that can give some shade from the sun while allowing the air to pass, like these (example):
http://www.bglegno.it/linee-serramenti/persiane-legno/
Then the actual window (with glass panes) and finally the actual shutters, which are called "scuri" (or "scuretti"), like these (example):
http://www.bglegno.it/linee-serramenti/scuretti-in-legno/
They are internal and completely darken the room if closed.
It seems to come in via the top of the blind, there is a gap between the top of the window and where the blind is attached and then this leaks out into the room via the side of the curtains.
It's fine at night as it's dark anyway, but on days when it gets light early in the morning it's a pain. I like the room to be so dark I can't see my hand in front of my face. I have no gadgets or anything with lights on in the bedroom.
I'm not quite prepared to tape black bags to the window though :D
https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/bucky-reg-40-...
I've always had those and they fully black out any room too.
Be careful with the outer shell of these, though – no use getting a wool duvet with a polyester outer shell (or polyester duvet cover!)
I would take 30+ minutes to get to sleep tuning 15-20 times as I dozed off.
Since adding the blanket (9kg / 20lb), I find I'm asleep in less than 5 minutes. With 2-3 turns at most.
I didn't initially get it for sleep - just tried it and now it stays mostly on my bed.
I bought the Chilla 20lbs weighted blanket back in March and I don't use it anymore. I found it really unconfortable and I would get incredibly hot under them in the middle of the night.
The one I bought seemed to have great reviews, and I paid ~$160 for it, but it didn't seem worth it. It now collects dust in my closet.
With that being said, it is an interesting idea and might be worth investigating.
Basically it boils down to how we were before we are born in our mother's wombs. Same with car noise and rocking, and why it is easier to sleep in a car without realizing.
What’s interesting about this find is that it may be related to the posture/positon of the body while sleeping and the heavy blanket probably relaxes the skeletal musculature and in turn the nervous system. I’m saying this as i noticed when i use the winter blanket, my body feels more aligned and pain free in the morning. One of the plusses of winter imo. Also noticed that when I sleep in a colder room I sleep/rest beter.
For those looking to try one: go for whichever has the smallest pockets for the beads. It does make a difference in how smooth the weight feels.
https://www.amazon.com/Degrees-Comfort-Weighted-Nano-Ceramic...
If I were buying another one, I'd get the 48x72 15-pounder.
Unrelated to weighted blankets, but related to better quality sleep, I have also found that these pillows help reduce the number of apnea events I have per night as well:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CMFSY97/ref=emc_b_5_t
You put the thicker end under your neck. It helps keep your airway open, and is quite comfortable. I will say that you might want to buy locally, though- if you check the reviews, it seems like there are a lot of counterfeits on Amazon. The real ones don't smell, and have a firm level of support.
I initially never got one due to the expense and thought they were overpriced and overhyped.
I still think they are overpriced. I would get one now knowing how well it has worked for me.
But that being said, if person A has no measurable symptoms, and person B does, then A's experience with a weighted blanket may not translate to B even if A experiences positive, measurable "improvement."
So I agree that A's subjective endorsement is no good for B, but then again even if A had sustained objective improvement it still might be no good for B.
At the end of the day, if B has real, measurable symptoms of poor sleep, the very best thing is a controlled test of people with the same symptoms of poor sleep.
IMHO, of course. If my medical diplomas were laid end-to-end, they'd stretch from Albuquerque to Albuquerque.
It can certainly be relevant, especially on a long-enough timeline. Suppose the root cause of feeling better is because of opiate usage. Long term, you're going to have a bad time.
Care to explain? I don't understand how using a tubular pillow would reduce knee strain... Do you keep a pillow under your legs while in bed?
I've had insomnia for a long time and I'm still tackling the causes. I'm definitely going to try one of these weighted blankets, and maybe a sleep mask. I made the leap a few months ago to buy a Casper mattress and that's helped a lot. It's not as dramatic a difference as I'd hoped but replacing a ?? year old mattress with anything is better.
I use the Xtreme Comforts Shredded Memory Foam Pillow recommended; when I replace it I'll probably buy the upgrade pick mentioned in the article just to see if it's much nicer.
I've spent years trying different pillows (usually super-expensive ones) and the memory foam is by far the best for me (I am also a side sleeper).
Other random insomnia advice: try to focus on relaxing each and every muscle in your body so that you are totally slack. Mindfulness apps/podcasts can help you do this. It helps me a lot. Low-dose melatonin (1mg) is good when you're training yourself to sleep but I wouldn't take it long-term (very vivid dreams are a side effect).
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll definitely check out this pillow.
https://www.amazon.com/Blu-Sleep-Products-Memory-Pillow/dp/B...
If you haven’t tried it yet you stand a great chance of significant improvement, both from medication and therapy. The key to getting good help is a) convincing the doctor you need help and b) convincing yourself you need help.
The doctor part is simple - you need to demonstrate tangible effect on quality of life. Does your condition make you late or no-show for work? Avoid social situation? Something tangible, not just “I’m so anxious all the time”. It also helps to keep a sleep journal, it can used as evidence of QOL impact if you sleep 4 hours per night.
Convincing the patient who is not already convinced is near-impossible using standard rhetoric. The only thing I know to work is peer pressure - unearth three friends who already went through the therapy and the frightened mind of the sufferer might follow the herd. Which is why it’s important to talk about it.
EDIT: Unrelated but, wow, there's even a book about weighted blankets: https://www.amazon.com/Weighted-Blanket-Guide-Everything-Con...
We got a bearaby. Ridiculously expensive ($300) but it seems to be enjoyable for her. I look forward to that one coming down in price. I justified it as a really expensive throw if it didn't work out.
Personally, I can't sleep with it. I move a lot and the weight of it has lead me to feeling a lot of pain in my joints when I wake up. (pressure on my shoulders from sleeping on my side with it, knees and feet hurting from being compressed down when laying on my back)
You need to not.
Seems it could come to rest on someone's throat, or the weight on the chest could become the straw that broke the camel's back.
They really do help me get better sleep. My kids don't get as much direct benefit, but they love having them anyway.
[1] https://www.chilitechnology.com [2] http://blog.samaltman.com/productivity
I can't imagine sleeping on something so cold. Just tonight I had to put on T-shirt in the middle of the night because it felt a bit cold, even though the air temperature was around 26 degrees Celsius (I have a digital thermometer next to my bed). I don't use a blanket at these temperatures though, just a thin bed sheet.
Do you use chillpad to be able to use the heavy blanket even though it's not cold inside the room?
I believe that's a rather unusually cold sleeping temperature for California, however.
This is the one I got: https://www.calmingmoments.com.au/shop/weighted-blankets/wei...
I have one of those, and it's cooler than my previous blanket - a bit too cool for winter nights imho.
recipe for the best weighted blanket for the best sleep - takes one regular blanket and a cat: cover yourself with the blanket, let the cat to lie on top. Enjoy. For even better result - pet the cat.
Its also a view backed up by professionals: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jun/17/why-sle...
And there are books written on this too: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1456492543/
This is what you sound like.
Also, you have likely mixed up the cause and the effect - you started sleeping better for whatever reason and as a result lost interest in sleep gadgets.
It's because there are legitimately people who have problems falling asleep that are not tied to obsessing about sleep gadgets. How can you be so unbelievably callous and dismissive of people's problems?
I've spent months barely getting 4-5 hours of sleep because I can't shut off my brain and how oppressive life is/can be. I don't see what any of that has to do with tracking sleep or buying a weighed blanket or whatever else. Mainly because I didn't try any of it - but if I do buy a weighted blanket and it helps me fall asleep ... what exactly do you have against that blanket helping me?
I think we should encourage people to experiment and find what works for them. The key is not "everyone do this" or "nobody do this" but "try things, pay attention to which ones work, and do those".
Yes you are right, my point was more to respond to the increasing culture of "sleep obsession" these days which I think is more often than not resulting in even worse sleep due to the anxiety it causes.
If you want to buy a weighted blanket, go buy a weighted blanket. But these products don't exist in isolation - they are part of a broader trend which is what I'm criticising.
> The best thing you can do for sleep is to stop worrying about it so much
If you're aware that the internet is rife with communications issues, why would you put that out there without any elaboration at all? Reddit is the place for throw-away comments, HN isn't.
Frankly, I don't worry about sleep when I can't sleep. I worry about everything. And if you say "well, stop worrying", I'm going to jump out a window.
It’s not an easy thing to do by any means, but it is the end goal, and a lot of people are unfamiliar with how to just let go.
For me, I have back pain that can get severe enough that I can't sleep. And if that wasn't enough, whatever regulates dopamine and norepinephrine levels in my brain doesn't work properly. When I'm depressed, my brain can't sleep until it hits absolute exhaustion. Not won't, can't.
I need all of these strategies, in addition to medication, get any deep sleep with enough regularity to stay healthy and sane.
What I've found has given me consistently great sleep (and this is as a fairly normal dude with no insomnia or sleep-preventing issues) is exercising most days (generally later in the evening), giving myself time to wake up "naturally" using one of those alarm apps that detects your sleep cycle, and limiting my alcohol intake. When I'm feeling like I want a really great nights sleep I'll take the supplement ZMA which gives me very vivid dreams and deep sleep.
The relationship between alcohol and poor sleep quality is clear to me. On nights when I drink a lot, I sleep horribly. When I drink a drink or two, my sleep quality isn't negatively affected that much, but it's rare that I have a great nights sleep after drinking even a little.
Imagine that you got a poor night of sleep last night, and that this is a fairly common occurrence. You then slogged through a workday where you felt terrible and accomplished almost nothing. It is now 10:30 pm, and you're about to go to bed. You are well aware that the same could happen again. To worry is absolutely natural. If you find yourself worrying, then how do you ease it?
In large part, insomnia treatment is designed to slow down your worrying. Certainly that's a major focus of meditation and mindfulness. Psychotherapy is also a frequently recommended treatment.
The sleep hygiene routine is also designed to reduce worry. You've resolved to stick to the same routine every day, regardless of how well or poorly you sleep. This means that you don't have any decisions to make, eliminating one source of worry.
I very much agree with your end goal, but I'm not sure why you're dismissive of the strategies adopted by people who want to reach that goal.
I wish I hadn't read "Why we sleep"...
... added the following rules to uBlock Origin:
||subscribe.washingtonpost.com/ www.washingtonpost.com/wp-stat/
and that seems to have solved the problem.