You are getting terrible sleep advice

ameistad.medium.com

9 points·ameistad··5 comments

This is a nothing article, with zero substance, no data to back up assertions, and no real use.

For example:

>So, if you behave like sleep, or not sleeping isn’t a big deal by not trying to control sleep, your brain will eventually take the cue and stop stressing about sleep as well.

The brain is not an entity outside yourself. It's literally you. You can't trick it. You can train yourself, though. . . .

By using 'sleep hygiene' advice on how to sleep better, such as avoiding strenuous tasks before bed, eliminating screen time before bed, no caffeine/nicotine/other stimulants, and setting a bedtime and waking time every day as much as you can and sticking to it.

Edit: and the person who posted this/only other comment seems to be the author of the blog post. So that's not great.

It seems like fairly standard CBT-I recommendations, which AFAIK is the gold standard for effective interventions for disordered sleep.

I've enjoyed CBT-I content from @erichsendaniel, especially since he (a fellowship-trained sleep physician) has been happy to share relevant medical literature that supports his practice.

> 1. Don’t do things you do to make yourself sleep or stay asleep. It’s ok if you enjoy them.

What does this even mean? The second sentence doesn't follow the first, which I still can't parse after reading it aloud a half-dozen times.

It's worded poorly but doesn't seem that opaque if you're familiar with CBT-I.

There are things people do to hopefully make themselves fall asleep. Don't do those.

In that set, if you intrinsically enjoy something (without doing it for the purpose of falling asleep), that's okay.

I suffer with chronic sleep issues. This is yet another reason to blanket block all medium articles.

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