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Comment by bloopernova | Hacker News Reader

Admiral Raymond Spruance of the World War 2 US Navy was known as very calm in a crisis; he was very serious about getting enough sleep so that he was well-rested during any battles. When other officers would stay awake for 36 to 48 hours at a stretch, he would read a novel and get sleep because he knew he had enormous responsibilities that needed him at his best.

He also walked 8+ miles a day, even when at sea he would make sure he walked around the ship, usually with some other officers to discuss any pertinent issues of the day. Walking is great for turning over problems in your mind, or even just daydreaming to give your subconscious mind "space to work".

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I'm amazed by people who can simply just..decide to sleep with some crisis hanging over their head.

I really wish it was a skill I had, because I'm well aware of how badly I perform when I haven't had enough sleep.

I inevitably end up with the worst of both worlds - trying to sleep at an early hour, can't sleep due to the gears in my brain ticking over, getting frustrated at the fact I can't sleep, which makes it even harder to fall asleep.

I end up just as tired as I would have been if I had simply stayed up for 4 more hours, but at least then I could have actually done something in that time besides stew over the fact that I can't sleep.

I'm exactly the same. If anyone has a remedy for this, I'd love to hear!

For me it was to spend time during the day to just think. This could be going for a 20 minute walk, or just lying in bed for 10 minutes or so with no phone or whatever. Let yourself be bored.

This way when it came to bedtime my thoughts aren't racing because I've already allowed my brain time to process them.

I think for many people when they go to bed it is the first time in the day they're not distracting themselves, and have time to just think. So all the thoughts from the whole day, or days, come rushing in at once and you feel like your "mind is racing". If you do this earlier in the day you might find it a lot easier to get to sleep.

Thank you for the suggestion!

> just lying in bed for 10 minutes […] Let yourself be bored.

This has been very effective for me.

On nights where I take a few minutes before conking out to just rest (not sleep, but _rest_) and let my subconscious bubble up whatever's going on, I'm always amazed at how valuable it is, and what I learn. It's almost like a bridge to the next day …

Meditation builds skills that can be useful here.

When you notice your attention going to something you don’t want it to, acknowledge the thoughts and actively redirect your attention to something you want to think about.

Thank you for the suggestion!

>>I'm amazed by people who can simply just..decide to sleep with some crisis hanging over their head.

Not if crisis becomes routine. Then its just another working day.

There is a also a non-personal crisis situation to this. Many times, even during wars, there is little to lose personally. Business has similar situations, where the worst case scenario has little effects on one's own personal life.

Its a totally different situation when some one you love is in the hospital, or has died.

With Admiral Spruance, his walking was part of his strategy for sleep. He would always make time to walk so that he was tired enough to sleep at the end of each day.

I am also a habitual walker, though I don't typically get eight miles in. I often listen to books and podcasts while walking and at times wonder if I'm doing myself a disservice by not just letting my mind wander. One the one hand, it is about the only time I allow myself a solid hour to listen to something, but on the other maybe it's time better spent giving 'space to work' as you say.

Try listening to “white noise” or sound-scapes - something that provides an endless blanket of sound without providing input that the brain has to actively process.

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