The best thing you can do for sleep is to stop worrying about it so much. Ditch the weighted blankets, the sleep trackers, the obsessively strict sleep hygiene routine, the meditation, the mindfulness, the blue light glasses etc.
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"...