Comment by mettamage | Hacker News Reader

Comment by mettamage | Hacker News Reader

Some that come to mind.

__Health__

Melatonin. There is no other way for me to go to bed and this knocks me right out (I use 0.2 - 0.4 milligrams).

Sleep mask (no more waking up because a stray light hits my eye)

I'd say sleep earplugs but I have a sound in my ear, but otherwise earplugs

Mosquito repellent scent (for sleep as well).

Silicon earplugs when going out, I never thought I'd get ear/hearing damage because I didn't go out a lot. I was wrong. They protected my ears after I noticed I got some ear damage.

A dumbbell (used at times between breaks to move a bit)

__Other__

Fuet (another HN'er once posted this as such at some thread years ago I can't remember, and I agree). It's a sausage and IMO too good as a snack.

LG 4K monitor for about $350

Moving labels. Got a bunch of moving labels for a few bucks, and slap them whenever I need to label something. Apparently, I tend to label my external HD's mostly and a few boxes that have specific items in them (e.g. only USB cables or power cables, etc.).

Not a purchase but a lifehack and since I see many responses are about cables I guess it's relevant ;-) Instead of spinning your cables in a circle, spin them in a figure 8 (two circles). Somehow it's harder for them to get weirdly tangled when you store them like that. See: https://youtu.be/buVUvnM_AzU?t=104 (I don't use the other life hacks :P)

For some people, me included, melatonin can cause an uptick in very real feeling and (depending on mental state) very weird dreams. Do be mindful of that. On the other hand if you're practiced at lucid dreaming this can be a real trip.

>very weird dreams.

Verified. By me.

If you are sleep deprived, anything that helps you sleep better can result in an uptick in very vivid, strange dreams. It is a common side effect of quitting caffeine and any number of other things.

Anything that suddenly and dramatically improves your sleep quality can potentially have this effect.

I've found that the "weird dream" side effect is very dose responsive. Most melatonin supplements I see include doses much higher than are required, in the 3-5 mg range. Very small doses (as the OP mentioned, in the 200-400 microgram range) should be plenty as a sleep aid and (for me anyway) avoid the enhanced dreams.

I will sometimes take 5 mg when I wake up in the middle of the night in an attempt to induce lucid dreaming, although since I've fallen off of my dream journal my LD abilities are diminished (even with the melatonin).

If you have trouble sleeping have you tried a weighted blanket?

My girlfriend brought one recently and it’s weirdly relaxing having something so heavy resting over your body. I’ve found it helps me with just lying still and I think the weight subconsciously makes my body feel heavier and more tired than I actually am.

What about the warmth? I've thought about getting one of these, but what worries me is that it will be too hot.

My problem is that I can barely fall asleep if it's too hot, but I also need to have some weight on me, so can't sleep with the blanket cover only, either. Summers are a nightmare..

> Instead of spinning your cables in a circle, spin them in a figure 8

Also known as "butterfly coiling" rope, cable or hose. The alternating turns mean that every twist has a counter-twist, so you don't end up with the tension that causes cables/ropes to tangle up.

Melatonin is not recommended for sleep. A better combo to take would be 200mg L-theanine and 500mg Magnesium Threonate. Melatonin can disrupt your natural melatonin production and those supplements are also notoriously inaccurate in terms of dosage some containing anywhere from 0.2x to 2x the amount listed. Melatonin is probably acting more as a placebo for you now.

Melatonin also works in low dose. You don't need the popular 3mg pills. After nearly 20 years as a night owl and struggling to retrain myself to sleep at night, I finally managed when I followed the advice from this article https://slatestarcodex.com/2018/07/10/melatonin-much-more-th.... Every night I'd take between 0.1mg and 0.3mg. It worked flawlessly for 3 weeks. I didn't experience any sort of adaptation. After 3 weeks I tried to stop. Although I could sleep well without it by then, I noticed that my night sleep was still too sensitive and prone to interruption, at the slightest disruption. I ended up taking it for 6 months. It never failed. I eventually managed a proper sleep without it and completely became a night sleeper.

I'm sure it doesn't work for everyone but we blind tested it for my wife. Nights with no melatonin, but an identical pill, meant no sleep.

For those, like myself, where Melatonin doesn't work well. Try 'Calm' brand magnesium drink it relaxes me and keeps me asleep, without the need for ear plugs. I've tried the magnesium pills and they don't seam to work, the drink mixture does.

I have written down a recommendation from somewhere to take Zinc, Magnesium and Vitamin B6, 30 minutes before bedtime.

> sleep earplugs

Not the best practice to insert stuff inside the ear. Instead, there exist pretty flat and efficient earmuffs, e.g. from 3M, comfortable for bedtime.

Couldn't find comfortable ones for bedtime (The Netherlands doesn't have a lot of earmuffs offerings I feel), but I bought some 3M earmuffs anyway because I didn't really know about them.

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