5 ms·
I'd like to propose a different yet slightly related stream of thought. One month last year, I decided to restrict my usage of lights (house lights, digital sc
by laddng 10y ago
I'd like to propose a different yet slightly related stream of thought.
One month last year, I decided to restrict my usage of lights (house lights, digital screens, ect.). What I would do when I came home from work around 6pm was do one last clense of my emails and then shut everything off. I would turn off all the lights in my house and light candles instead.
It was amazing how my sleep patterns changed. By just having candle light in the house from 6pm to 7am, I was able to easily and calmly fall asleep by 9pm after spending a few hours cooking dinner and reading books. My sleep changed to a point where I would slightly wake up at 4am and then gently fall back asleep for another couple of hours.
My productivity levels during the day were better thanks to the deep sleep I got.
Just thought I would share that experience here for those who don't have the luxury of shutting off the internet for a month, but can do a retreat every night to bring yourself back to a natural, calm state of mind.
- tqkxzugoaupvwqr 10y agoI wonder how much of this is due to the candlelight and how much due to not actively consuming content from a lit screen. I had a similar experience without candlelight. I use warm LED lights in the evening. When I don't use a laptop/phone/tablet I fall asleep much earlier. I guess just using such a device keeps the brain active, and the light it emits is enough to delay melatonin production, causing terrible sleep cycles.
- pmyjavec 10y agoI've experimented with lamps and candles for better sleep. It seems devices and television give me sleeping problems more than anything else, even using flux etc. One really positive change I made in the past is to put my phone in another room for overnight charging. Having devices next to the bed isn't the best idea for sleep or relationships :)
- graeme 10y agoHow do you do this: bulbs with changeable temperature? And what colour?
- tqkxzugoaupvwqr 10y agoWith “warm LEDs” I mean their color temperature, not their physical temperature. See the Wikipedia article on color temperature[1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature
- graeme 10y agoYes, I know. I was wondering if you had those GE bulbs that can adjust their colour temperature based on time of day, or whether you had separate lights with warmer colours for night.
- strainer 10y agoDue to an eyesight problem I run everything on dark background including theme, editors and web. I'm not sure if this makes me sleepy, but it is possible to try it. The best firefox addon for dark browsing is > https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/dark-background-light-text/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/dark-backgrou...
- Nuzzerino 10y agoI've been doing the dark backgrounds for years, due to being farsighted. I recently switched to a high-contrast theme, and it is way easier on the eyes. I think not all dark themes are equal when it comes to amount of work the eye muscles have to do.
- strainer 10y agoI see, kinda ;) I musn't grumble about my condition, just thought it relevant that its quite possible to try working in a dark background to see if it affects sleep cycle.
- keithpeter 10y agoI suspect the curfew on screen activity may be the deciding point, at least it is more me. I just stop using devices after about 8 or 9pm many evenings and read/talk or listen to music. Bedroom is for sleeping (etc) and not for reading/updating whatever so I go to bed at around 11pm to midnight.
- wapz 10y agoCan I ask if you're a developer and if you do side projects? I get home at 9pm everyday (leave at 7:30am) and the only time I have time to do side projects is from 10:30pm - 11:30pm (and of course I have trouble sleeping). I can't figure a better way to do this. I've tried on the train commuting to work but during the 2 hour commute I got maybe 30 minutes of work in due to being squished, lack of a mouse, and a 10" screen to work with. I also tried waking up at 5am but that just didn't cut it for me because I would be too exhausted in the morning.
- tonyedgecombe 10y agoTo be honest I think your priority should be to fix your commute.
- 3chelon 10y agoSome commutes just can't be fixed. It's easy if you're single and rootless, but once you have kids, schools, other people's jobs and lives to consider, it becomes exponentially harder. I commute just under 2 hours each way to London. All the work is in London. I used to live in London when I was younger. I would rather jump off a bridge than live in London now. The way to compensate is by working partly remotely. That way you get to enjoy the place you live at least part of the time.
- tonyedgecombe 10y ago"Some commutes just can't be fixed." We all make choices, mostly they can be undone.
- nabla9 10y agoUsing f.lux or other similar software gives some of those advantages too. https://justgetflux.com/ https://justgetflux.com/
- sean_patel 10y agoDUPE: Previous discussion [Fri the 13th] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13392292 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13392292
- mooreds 10y ago"No impact man" is a great book that covers some of this territory as well.
- laddng 10y agoThank you for the recommendation - I will add it to my reading list since I've been curious to learn from other's experiences trying the same thing.
- mooreds 10y agoHe covers a bit more than just living in sync with the seasons and daylight; in general he is striving to live in the modern world with "no impact".
- dorfsmay 10y agoDo you still do this? Have you looked at low wattage lamps? There are serious risks of starting apartment/house fires with candles, please do not underestimate them.
- okreallywtf 10y agoThis. I would recommend anyone interested take a look at a kerosene lamp [1] (not sure if "lamp oil" that you can get is still just kerosene) but they've always had a similar effect on me. The color is nice but they are plenty bright to read by. I grew up with them and find them very calming but they are a little more stable and the flame is not totally open. You might be able to get away with less of them than candles as well making it safer. I would recommend nodding off and leaving it going all night but it won't melt and tip over by itself, it would likely just keep burning until it ran out of fuel or the wick burned out. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Lamplight-110-Chamber-Oil-Lamp/dp/B002YHPVWO https://www.amazon.com/Lamplight-110-Chamber-Oil-Lamp/dp/B00...
- mixmastamyk 10y agoCheap candles give off fumes, how are these in that department?
- okreallywtf 10y agoI've never noticed them have fumes but I think it probably has to do with the fuel too. I think the clear fuels are maybe ideal, check out http://homeguides.sfgate.com/safely-use-oil-lamp-house-84155.html http://homeguides.sfgate.com/safely-use-oil-lamp-house-84155... and google around.
- okreallywtf 10y agoI've never noticed them have fumes but I think it probably has to do with the fuel too. I think the clear fuels are maybe ideal, check out http://homeguides.sfgate.com/safely-use-oil-lamp-house-84155.html http://homeguides.sfgate.com/safely-use-oil-lamp-house-84155... and google around.
- 10y ago
- devoply 10y agoA proviso about this: Don't burn down your house with candles. Some people do this.
- digler999 10y agomany local fire departments have had to escalate high-priority bug reports due to the uncommanded actions of lit candles.
- TheTrueTDF 10y agoI thought your experience was beautiful until you justified it by "It made me so much more productive !". What is productivity worth compared to calm and resting nights of sleep ? Is it not deeper, more important than any productivity hack ?
- lixquid 10y agoFor some people, deep sleep itself doesn't "feel" fulfilling, and justify it as simply dead time in 24 hours. A lot of people quickly reverse that sentiment once they try having a consistent schedule of high quality sleep.
- wpietri 10y agoExcellent. I've been trying a related experiment for the last couple of years. I put a bunch of Philips HUE bulbs in and wrote some software to control them: https://github.com/wpietri/sunrise https://github.com/wpietri/sunrise For anybody who uses use Flux, this is basically like that but for my home. Since I'm prone to SAD-like symptoms, I keep it set on summer time: the lights come on dim and red at 6 in the morning, gradually brighten to a high color temperature white during the day, and fade during the evening, going completely out at 10. I thought the main benefit would be waking gently in the morning, and that's fine. But really, the best part is the dimming light in the evening. I gradually get tired and go to bed easily; I sleep a solid 7-8 hours every night. Like you, I'm generally well-rested and productive. My mood is also more even, and I've had little or no seasonal melancholy. I've also kicked caffeine and don't miss it. I recommend it highly.
- rorykoehler 10y agoGreat to see this.. I contemplated doing a similar project last year but never got around to it. Looking forward to trying Sunrise out.
- najra 10y agoAwesome, been looking for something like this for a while! Guess I'm going to need some hue lights :)
- edejong 10y agoUsing openhab 2, some scripts and a couple of zwave lightbulbs with adjustable color temperature, I've created something very similar. The lights turn on automatic using presence detection and change temperature using a simulated sunset. I'm working on a ray-tracer, simulating a true sunset, which would allow different lights to produce various parts of the spectrum. The problem lies with the bulbs, which do not allow enough fidelity over RGBW (either color or warm light, not both).
- wpietri 10y agoOoh, that sounds cool. Could you tell me about how you did presence detection?
- jankotek 10y agoCandles produce smoke, it is like sleeping next to a cigar.
- markyc 10y agoand eat up oxygen
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- vcool07 10y agoAssuming you are single ? Doubt if you can pull off such hacks with a family. For most married folks, second shift (a.k.a housework) starts after 6 PM !
- davidvaughan 10y agoJust so. The reality for most people is that other people are the primary consumers of attention. So the problem is rather old.
- jacobush 10y agoDid you read by candle light?
- lend000 10y agoThis is awesome. The effect of light on our biology is truly incredible -- I have a bad habit of not being able to get to bed before 12am, even if I want to (I know many here will scoff at that), but when I go camping and I'm without unnatural light, I'm exhausted by 9pm and wake up at sunrise. My sleep cycle adjusts the first day. When I use a campfire, I usually stay up significantly later, which is interesting. Just because the light is "natural" does not necessarily mean it's natural to have the light at a certain hour.
- vog 10y agoWon't reading a book in candle light hurt your eyes, at least in the long run? How many candles do you use at once to get a healthy illumination for reading?
- oskarth 10y agoThis is a great idea. How did you read with candles? I found it difficult the few times I've tried, but maybe that's because I mostly read in bed. Do you read sitting at a table with the candle right next to you? Do you have multiple candles?
- mikekchar 10y agoI went for a few months without lights at night as part of an experiment. I found that 3 candles with a reflector made from aluminium foil was enough light to read by. But it's dangerous. Another thing I tried was to buy some solar powered garden lights and charge them during the day. This provided about an hour of reading light in the evening. Probably you could build something very much more effective (and it would be quite fun to boot).
- johndoe4589 10y agoYes it's become very clear to me recently that to fall asleep more consistently I have to quit fiddling on the PC AND have to stop reading the iPad a good hour before sleep. (edit: basically, have to get into a "disengage" mode just relax and watch the telly or the Chromecast :) ..) Oddly enough then, a TV screen just 2m away is fine, but reading on the iPad close to my face isn't and will keep me awake. So I think the recipe for better sleep schedule is a combination of wllingly disengaging from the mental activity involved even in light browsing, as well as the light exposure. The first is much more significant. Think of it as some "zen" / meditation / "be present" time before bed. A good hour for me. I usually don't even care what's on the telly / chromecast, I watch Twitch and even when the hosts are noisy I can fall asleep. It' a good time to point out that the f.lux solutions and the one included in iOS is just for comfort and does absolutely SQUAT to help you get to sleep. TLDR So disengaging from the dopamine feeding activity that sadly most apps are designed for nowadays, that is the key. A good hour before expected bedtime for me. And I can really feel it in my body as well, stress settling down. Tip: put a heavy blanket on your lap to help you unwind, the pressure and warmth stresses you down. The KEY here that seems to be missed is that the light exposure late at night is related to the mental activity, often dopamine inducing activity of surfing or playing games. Think about it, why else would you expose yourself to a glaring light late in the evening? WHat purpose? The only reason we do so is to scroll the Twitter feed, read the news, click yet another link to another webpage, and on and on.