Ask HN: Do you struggle to sleep after coding all day?
76 comments
Anybody have those code dreams?
Those are worse than no sleep. You sleep all night feeling like you're struggling with this mammoth problem or even worse having a breakthrough in the problem, then wake up feeling tired and can't remember whether your revelations were real or figments of your imagination.
Anyway, I used to have those a lot in school, when I was working towards more solid deadlines and literally fell asleep coding. They've happened once or twice since I've been out and working and I've learned that it's better to put the problem down and walk away than to spend my free time or sleep time trying to solve it. That's only going to lead to an unproductive day the next day, when I actually have my tools in front of me.
Occasionally, I'll be watching TV after work and the solution just pops into my head. A relaxed mind is a creative mind. Even then I won't pursue it, just make a note to investigate tomorrow.
Those are worse than no sleep. You sleep all night feeling like you're struggling with this mammoth problem or even worse having a breakthrough in the problem, then wake up feeling tired and can't remember whether your revelations were real or figments of your imagination.
Anyway, I used to have those a lot in school, when I was working towards more solid deadlines and literally fell asleep coding. They've happened once or twice since I've been out and working and I've learned that it's better to put the problem down and walk away than to spend my free time or sleep time trying to solve it. That's only going to lead to an unproductive day the next day, when I actually have my tools in front of me.
Occasionally, I'll be watching TV after work and the solution just pops into my head. A relaxed mind is a creative mind. Even then I won't pursue it, just make a note to investigate tomorrow.
Yes. I have a hard-stop on coding at 9PM. Of traceable causes for insomnia, #1 is "somehow managed to disable F.lux" and #2 is "for some reason was still coding at 10PM".
Having practiced 20 minutes of meditation per day since the age of 16 (I started to learn how to lower heart rate and calm myself since I was heavily into sports), I thankfully have no issues going to sleep. That said, things I learnt along the way.
1) your bed is for sleeping and sleeping only. Not all of us are lucky enough to have a separate room for work and sleeping but at the very least, don't even think of taking work to bed. Be it laptop, or phone, your bed is sacred. It is for relaxation only. Which is generally why using a phone before sleeping isn't a great idea. Our phones and our activity on it have become part of our daily routines. The whole idea of going to bed is to separate from the rest of the day.
2) exercise. Your body can only go so far. Exercising well ensures that come night, your mind will be telling you to just go the f* to sleep.
3) time block yourself. Do not operate with flexible time slots. Set a routine, and set the times. I've found that 1 hour focus time (turn off the internet if you have to) will see yourself getting more done than if you were to kind of free flow for 3 hours just because you have 3 hours available to yourself. Our brains our crap at sticking to something unless given very specific parameters to operate within, so set those boundaries. Ideally, your time slot should end 30 minutes before bed latest. It doesn't matter if you haven't finished the problem at that time, write a comment which has the set of steps you want to try out, and switch off. No buts. This practice will not only help your brain get trained to switch off, it'll also train yourself to focus better (I guarantee the latter)
4) if you find yourself mulling over what to do tomorrow, follow what others have said. Write your stuff down, and turn over. No googling. Nothing. Got something to google? Write that down too. Your brain will eventually recognise that it doesn't need to take on the overhead of tracking tasks. Or be like me. Forget about what you have to do and wait for someone to remind you :D :D (the latter is NOT for real. Don't try that at home or anywhere else :D )
1) your bed is for sleeping and sleeping only. Not all of us are lucky enough to have a separate room for work and sleeping but at the very least, don't even think of taking work to bed. Be it laptop, or phone, your bed is sacred. It is for relaxation only. Which is generally why using a phone before sleeping isn't a great idea. Our phones and our activity on it have become part of our daily routines. The whole idea of going to bed is to separate from the rest of the day.
2) exercise. Your body can only go so far. Exercising well ensures that come night, your mind will be telling you to just go the f* to sleep.
3) time block yourself. Do not operate with flexible time slots. Set a routine, and set the times. I've found that 1 hour focus time (turn off the internet if you have to) will see yourself getting more done than if you were to kind of free flow for 3 hours just because you have 3 hours available to yourself. Our brains our crap at sticking to something unless given very specific parameters to operate within, so set those boundaries. Ideally, your time slot should end 30 minutes before bed latest. It doesn't matter if you haven't finished the problem at that time, write a comment which has the set of steps you want to try out, and switch off. No buts. This practice will not only help your brain get trained to switch off, it'll also train yourself to focus better (I guarantee the latter)
4) if you find yourself mulling over what to do tomorrow, follow what others have said. Write your stuff down, and turn over. No googling. Nothing. Got something to google? Write that down too. Your brain will eventually recognise that it doesn't need to take on the overhead of tracking tasks. Or be like me. Forget about what you have to do and wait for someone to remind you :D :D (the latter is NOT for real. Don't try that at home or anywhere else :D )
For some reason thinking about what I've done helps calm me down at the end of the day. Some of the best sleep was when I was learning javascript and laid down while thinking about what I learned and how I wound up making it work.
I have a huge problem with this. What I normally do is read a book or listen to music before I'm trying to sleep because I find that watching tv or looking at another screen only makes the problem worse.
I usually go for a walk after work, it helps get my mind out of the computer.
Sounds normal - your mind is still working on the problem.
I've been taking a melatonin supplement lately - it's helped. Cut back on your coffee intake if you drink coffee and try to work out for 10-20 minutes, even if it's just going for a walk or a light bike ride.
I've been taking a melatonin supplement lately - it's helped. Cut back on your coffee intake if you drink coffee and try to work out for 10-20 minutes, even if it's just going for a walk or a light bike ride.
I have a somewhat reverse problem. Some days I struggle to through the day coding, even on routine or easier coding tasks. When this happens find myself daydreaming or finding other things to do that are not work related. The real problem comes though at about 10-11pm and I get a huge burst of energy and focus to start working. I am left with a choice to stay up later and get work done, or go to bed and wake up earlier to catch up on work I missed. If I do decide to go to bed I will lay there for an hour or so just thinking about work and what I need to get done.
With that said, last year I was talking to my doctor about it at my annual physical. He suggested I exercise more often. So for about the last 6-7 months I have made a conscious effort that whenever I feel like I am starting to struggle I will go out for at least a 30 minute walk. I usually end up taking about 4-5 a day. There is definitely a direct correlation between the amount I walk and my productivity. And I am starting to sleep a whole lot better at night. Another thing that has helped me is I stopped drinking soda and now only drink water (or coffee).
With that said, last year I was talking to my doctor about it at my annual physical. He suggested I exercise more often. So for about the last 6-7 months I have made a conscious effort that whenever I feel like I am starting to struggle I will go out for at least a 30 minute walk. I usually end up taking about 4-5 a day. There is definitely a direct correlation between the amount I walk and my productivity. And I am starting to sleep a whole lot better at night. Another thing that has helped me is I stopped drinking soda and now only drink water (or coffee).
Yes! Not just coding, but I have been struggling to turn my mind off from work to sleep. I think about the new feature I'm coding, about new ideas on how to reach out to more users, etc... I really felt it started to become a serious problem in the last months, so I then cut my evening coffee (only have it in the morning now) and started to swim/gym around 6pm.. But the main thing is not to use your laptop as the last thing you do before sleeping... Even if you're working late, get rid of it and do something else for 40 minutes before trying to sleep.
Read something non-coding-related, on paper, before you go to bed, typically for 1 - 1.5 hours. Almost always works.
Exercise, limiting blue light (really any light as darkness increases melatonin production) and mindfulness meditation are all excellent tools.
I have this problem as well and can agree with other commenters that physical exercise seems to help. In addition to not getting enough sleep, I often dream about programming and my mind is reeling all night trying to solve some issue.
Yes, I have that same issue. Generally I avoid stimulants before bedtime and sometimes will read the news or some interesting papers before bed. I've also use meditation to quiet all the random thoughts in my head to make sleep easier.
When i can't sleep I usually watch or read something in bed on my tablet until i can't keep my eyes open anymore
Every time when I am going through this, I will choose something to do something which needs no thinking. For example, watch some comics. This will redirect my attention to something has nothing to do with the hard thing.
Apparently currently I am doing this.
Apparently currently I am doing this.
Sleeping takes practice like any other skill. If your bedtime is erratic, if your sleep pattern is erratic, if your environment is erratic, your brain isn't sure when it's time to go to bed.
Pick a time for a week and go to bed then regardless of anything else. Try to limit light exposure for the hour before sleeping (no phones in bed) and see if that helps. The more consistent you can be, the more consistent your sleep will be.
Pick a time for a week and go to bed then regardless of anything else. Try to limit light exposure for the hour before sleeping (no phones in bed) and see if that helps. The more consistent you can be, the more consistent your sleep will be.
I hate the "no phones in bed" rule, and literally everything I do is PC-based or phone-based, so I stare at one screen or another right until I sleep. The f.lux and Twilight (Android) apps have been very helpful at making me feel more naturally tired when I should be.
Additionally, the Sleep as Android app makes for a great way to track and log sleeping patterns, and has a nice adaptive alarm.
Additionally, the Sleep as Android app makes for a great way to track and log sleeping patterns, and has a nice adaptive alarm.
"I hate the "no phones in bed" rule, and literally everything I do is PC-based or phone-based, so I stare at one screen or another right until I sleep."
If you have trouble sleeping then it is a very good rule.
If you have trouble sleeping then it is a very good rule.
That's interesting because I tend to use devices in bed too but find my sleep time varies. I'll give the f.lux and Twilight apps a go!
I have found that f.lux is not enough. Better than nothing, but not nearly as good as avoiding screens.
I often struggled to sleep, I would sometimes lie in bed from 2AM to 6AM, only to fall asleep after sunrise, get a couple hours and then limp into work around 10.
Now I just take Melatonin in the evening ( http://www.gwern.net/Melatonin ) and sleep somewhat normally.
EDIT: I also use the flux app, and I reduced my coffee consumption significantly, now down to zero, but melatonin had the quickest and most observable effect.
Now I just take Melatonin in the evening ( http://www.gwern.net/Melatonin ) and sleep somewhat normally.
EDIT: I also use the flux app, and I reduced my coffee consumption significantly, now down to zero, but melatonin had the quickest and most observable effect.
I had the same problem. Using f.lux[0] and writing down all the problems (programming related or not) that occupy my thoughts on a notepad which lives next to my bed, just before going to sleep totally eliminated the issue.
[0]: https://justgetflux.com/
[0]: https://justgetflux.com/
I recommend Redshift instead, which is a free software alternative: https://github.com/jonls/redshift
Make sure that you install it on all your devices. I used to read late night on my iPad, and it helped me a lot.
I force myself to quit working at 12AM nightly. That'll give me an hour to watch TV before I hit the sack. It's worked well for me.
When I find my mind won't settle down, I'll do 1 of 2 things. If I'm concerned about a list of actions I need to do the next day, I'll write down the list on paper. This allows me to relax and know I won't forget anything. Otherwise, I'll write in my journal about what ever my thoughts are. This allows me to slow my brain down the my writing speed. It lets me process my thoughts. Its helped immensely.
Thinking about what I want to do the next day is a terrible idea for me.
Writing it on paper helps though. Generally it's a bad idea to let tomorrow's actions cycle through your brain endlessly. Writing it on paper has this effect of transferring the mental responsibility to another medium. Instant relaxation. As always, your mileage may vary.
I've done similar things with Org-mode. I particularly like Org-mode because I can view all of the tasks I've written in my agenda and know I won't lose anything.
As well as the list approach, actually say loud to yourself "I will solve thhe unfinished problems tomorrow, tonight I will relax". Give yourself permission to relax!
I read fiction, often something I've already read. This seems like enough to move my mind into another groove.
Last night for me was particularly tough. Coded essentially all day, struggled with a bug for hours, and was still on a caffeine high past midnight. The game plan for me should just be to wake up even earlier and wear myself out through more exercise.
Caffeine destroys my sleep. It didn't use to, but since I dialed down my caffeine intake, I'm more sensitive to it. If I forget and have a coffee after dinner, I'm done for and won't fall asleep before 2AM-3AM.
At least I know the pattern. A problem without solution is already solved: I just pick up a good book and wait it out, knowing I'll be sleepy the next day.
At least I know the pattern. A problem without solution is already solved: I just pick up a good book and wait it out, knowing I'll be sleepy the next day.
Happened to me last night
Worked 6am to 2pm at my day job. Came home, ate dinner (late lunch) took a 2 hour nap. Went to Starbucks and worked for 3 hours on my side business and had 2 grande coffees - got home around 9pm and couldn't fell asleep until midnight - one of those sleeps where your not really sure if you actually feel asleep.
Coffee, especially strong coffee, can destroy you late at night.
Worked 6am to 2pm at my day job. Came home, ate dinner (late lunch) took a 2 hour nap. Went to Starbucks and worked for 3 hours on my side business and had 2 grande coffees - got home around 9pm and couldn't fell asleep until midnight - one of those sleeps where your not really sure if you actually feel asleep.
Coffee, especially strong coffee, can destroy you late at night.
Probably a silly question but just to rule it out - are you drinking coffee (or anything caffeinated) throughout the day while you are coding?
1. Write down if there are more steps to do.
2. Watch a BBC documentary about the cosmos or something narrated by David Attenborough. Without advertisements.
I've tried melatonin, cutting out alcohol, f.lux, not looking at a screen for an hour before bed, but the one thing that has had the most influence on my sleep (for the better) is cutting out caffeine after 4pm. (relevant study: http://www.aasmnet.org/jcsm/ViewAbstract.aspx?pid=29198)
All of the above + regular exercise.
this. if you race your mind whole day in highest gear, tired body helps a lot to drag it into abyss of good old hard sleep. plus gazillion other positive effects, if all is done right
Works for me too, combined with a consistent bedtime.
melatonin supplements only go so far.
f.lux is indeed awesome.
4pm seems a bit late for me but he has a good point.
Also exercise helps a lot ! unfortunately, it also requires the most effort.
Cut out caffeine a minimum 6 hours before one sleeps. Fun factoid: caffeine's half life is around 6 hours, and by then one is pretty much over all of its effects.
I find physical exercise is just as important to mental exercise. Even if I am spent, mentally, there's still a craving to spend physical energy or else I'll be restless. So I run after work and have found it much easier to sleep.
I find that if I'm having trouble sleeping because my mind is jumping all over the place, intentionally taking time aside before sleeping to clear my head helps a lot. I just sit on the floor, examine my current thoughts, thing about them a little and write down important ones for a few minutes, then decide to stop. At this point I just practice clearing my mind for a few minutes. Thought popped back into your head? That's fine, realize it happened, and try again. Meditation, mindfulness, whatever you call it - works well for me!
A fellow coder friend of mine leaves smartphone and all electronic devices outside the bedroom door before sleep. Also, spend 1 hour before bed doing something like reading or chores like cutting up onions might help as well. Just imagine onions are more important than those bugs at that moment helps.
If I'm having sleep problems and feeling ambitious then I'll go to the gym. If I'm having sleep problems and I'm lazy then I'll take half an Advil PM.
Running or swimming for >30 minutes in the evening helps, if you can relax your mind doing so. For example, go running in a forest or a park, not in the streets where you need to watch traffic. Try to concentrate on your running or swimming technique.
Are you working, or staring at a bright screen, right up to bedtime? That seems to make sleep harder for me.
A few things I've found that help me: - Exercise. I work out 8-12 hours/week. Being physically tired makes sleep easier. - Eat dinner >2 hours before bed and avoid late snacks. - No alcohol (I do have an occasional drink, but it always impacts my sleep) - No TV in bedroom. I either read for 30-60 minutes or talk to my wife until we doze off.
A few things I've found that help me: - Exercise. I work out 8-12 hours/week. Being physically tired makes sleep easier. - Eat dinner >2 hours before bed and avoid late snacks. - No alcohol (I do have an occasional drink, but it always impacts my sleep) - No TV in bedroom. I either read for 30-60 minutes or talk to my wife until we doze off.
Same here, unless I'm extremely tired then sleep comes minutes after staring at a bright screen.
When do you exercise though? I find exercise before bed makes it easier for me to sleep but others I've spoken to seem to get too pumped up!
When do you exercise though? I find exercise before bed makes it easier for me to sleep but others I've spoken to seem to get too pumped up!
Usually right after work, so 5:30-7:30.
I eat right after that.
And head up to bed around 9:45, read for an hour, and the alarm is set for 6am.
I actually find that using my phone while in bed increases my tiredness. I'm not sure if it's related to when I was really young and I would read books before sleeping or not, but it's interesting since a majority of people say the opposite effect is more common.
Maybe try reading before sleeping- or something that can take your mind off the day's activities (that's probably what winds up happening with me).
Maybe try reading before sleeping- or something that can take your mind off the day's activities (that's probably what winds up happening with me).
Is anyone else going to admit sex in public?
Err ... to proactively eliminate parsing errors:
Is anyone other than me going to suggest sex as a strategy on this public internet forum?
Unless your workplace is much more interesting than mine it is a change of pace from day to day work, I guess it counts as light exercise, its fun and stress reducing unless you're doin it wrong.
Err ... to proactively eliminate parsing errors:
Is anyone other than me going to suggest sex as a strategy on this public internet forum?
Unless your workplace is much more interesting than mine it is a change of pace from day to day work, I guess it counts as light exercise, its fun and stress reducing unless you're doin it wrong.
Nowadays I've taken to creating a to-do list before setting out to code and I always make sure to add a couple of tasks that are somewhat simple and I'm sure I can usually complete before bedtime. That way, even when I haven't run through the entire list, I feel like I've gotten something done and the day has not been completely useless. It usually takes some of the edge off any worries I have.
This is a great suggestion and hits the point about "small wins". What do you mean however when you say simple?
I've never slept more than 3 nights in a row in the past 6 years as a developer.
I actually find that the only thing that reliably puts me to sleep when my mind is buzzing is sex or the solo alternative.
Good topic, I like to listen to my favorite Folk accordion music from folks on YouTube before going to sleep.
Definitely need some time between coding and sleeping, an hour or two minimum for me.
When my mind jumps around I try to do focus on a single boring task, like trying to enumerate all 50 states or think of a fruit and vegetable for every letter of the alphabet.
When my mind jumps around I try to do focus on a single boring task, like trying to enumerate all 50 states or think of a fruit and vegetable for every letter of the alphabet.
I have this problem, too.
The "Alphabet Game" is something my wife taught me and it works pretty well. The trick is to pick something that is the right level of difficulty: not too hard and not too easy.
The "Alphabet Game" is something my wife taught me and it works pretty well. The trick is to pick something that is the right level of difficulty: not too hard and not too easy.
I'd recommend experimenting with some different meditation techniques. If you practice meditation, you'll sometimes find yourself actively try to NOT fall asleep!
Look up the "body scan" method (it involves resting your attention on & relaxing each individual group of muscles in your body). Puts me to sleep without fail.
Look up the "body scan" method (it involves resting your attention on & relaxing each individual group of muscles in your body). Puts me to sleep without fail.
I've had this problem. Had trouble falling asleep, and when I did sleep I would dream about coding.
I don't have this problem anymore. I credit two things with eliminating the problem...
1) Exercise. Preferably in the morning. I do 20 minutes of weight training in the morning, 4 days a week. I follow the StrongLifts 5x5 method. I walk two miles at lunch.
2) Valerian root. I just take it every day 30 minutes before going to sleep. When my head hits the pillow I'm asleep in 60 seconds and I sleep like a rock.
There's no silver bullet for a last minute, "Damn, this whole sleep thing isn't working", so plan ahead. Your body has an internal clock that reacts incredibly strongly to food and exercise. It's quite simple really. You don't need a lot of exercise, just some basic movement throughout the day like walking or pushups/squats if you're feeling ambitious. Make that happen before dinner. And make sure that you don't eat too late, certainly avoid late snacking if you can. Plus, hydrate a lot. Drink water every hour or couple hours if you can. This should all be really easy, and the benefits compound over time. Other tips also work like avoiding caffeine/alcohol, but what I mentioned should be a general baseline. Habits that you should always do, especially because some of the other tips are hard to perform consistently.
For me the main thing is not how to sleep after a day of coding but how to stop the day of coding from becoming a night of coding. It's really tempting to slide into the night when I'm in my zone.
Otherwise f.lux is a must though it does not work on chromebook or ipad. Nevertheless when I'm really bothered with coding the only thing that will help is melatonin. I take it a few hours before going to bed and it ensures I can sleep reasonably but it makes me too tired to be social late nights and early mornings. The uvex glasses did not have a huge effect on me.
Otherwise f.lux is a must though it does not work on chromebook or ipad. Nevertheless when I'm really bothered with coding the only thing that will help is melatonin. I take it a few hours before going to bed and it ensures I can sleep reasonably but it makes me too tired to be social late nights and early mornings. The uvex glasses did not have a huge effect on me.
Use a Kanban board, offload every single todo from your brain unto that board. When you are done with your active tasks you can sleep in peace. If you still find difficult, maybe you shouldn't go to bed directly after coding. Start earlier and do other relaxing activity prior to going to sleep. The usually blah blah blah, exercise, shower, stay away from electronics, don't drink alcohol or coffee, etc
This may seem crazy, but I have really found that the language makes a difference.
Specifically, at least for me, any language that uses character-delimited control structures (ie, curly brackets to begin and end a function as with javascript or PHP) is far more haunting and sleep-stealing.
I have far less of a problem with python or ruby.
I don't know if it's some kind of spacial comfort issue or what, but I've had many nights where I lay away seeing curly brackets on the back of my eyelids, and it's awful.
Other things that have helped me:
* f.lux, as someone mentioned - this has more helped with eye strength, but sleep too
* martial arts (high impact exercise is a great way to change your mindset and get into a new one)
* sex, as someone else broke the ice on (sometimes at the end of a long day of coding I've got a lot of sexual energy)
* acro yoga (nice if you're pair programming because the poses are for two people)
* going for a drive (getting some earth under you is nice)
* taking some time to quietly look at the stars
Specifically, at least for me, any language that uses character-delimited control structures (ie, curly brackets to begin and end a function as with javascript or PHP) is far more haunting and sleep-stealing.
I have far less of a problem with python or ruby.
I don't know if it's some kind of spacial comfort issue or what, but I've had many nights where I lay away seeing curly brackets on the back of my eyelids, and it's awful.
Other things that have helped me:
* f.lux, as someone mentioned - this has more helped with eye strength, but sleep too
* martial arts (high impact exercise is a great way to change your mindset and get into a new one)
* sex, as someone else broke the ice on (sometimes at the end of a long day of coding I've got a lot of sexual energy)
* acro yoga (nice if you're pair programming because the poses are for two people)
* going for a drive (getting some earth under you is nice)
* taking some time to quietly look at the stars
[deleted]
Stress hormones take time to leave your body, and they keep you awake. When you are frustrated that you can't sleep, that creates stress, which makes it harder to sleep. When you think about your stress of the day it creates stress too.
One big thing is to keep away from caffeine. Caffeine works essentially by slowing the rate that stress hormones dissipate.
You can't really do too much to speed up that process, so the best thing is to stop building more stress. If you have difficulty sleeping, stop trying after 15 minutes and take a break. Do something not very exciting or engaging. Then try again. Similarly do something that stops you thinking about your hard day, for me that's really easy to shut off and takes practice, but for you just try to find something that works, meditation, reading a book, writing, drawing, walking. Just avoid things that are going to build adrenaline like strenuous exercise or competitive video games.
The goal of the previous is to reduce the factors that keep you wakeful. The other side of the coin is that you can increase the state that makes you seek sleep.
Seek satisfactions. Take stock of your body, are you hungry? are you sore? are you dehydrated? do you need to go to the bathroom? Correct these things. They're easy, but you'll make yourself that much more comfortable, and at the same time you'll lower stress.
Take stock of your mind. What is your mind craving? Do you want stimulation? Do you want entertainment? Do you want to socialize? Do you want to relax? When you can, do these things.
This is going to make you feel satisfied.
Sleep crudely works in that there are some hormones that keep you awake, and some hormones that make you want to sleep. Wakeful factors are generally stress-related hormones, which are one of the things that we have most control over increasing, (it's easy to work ourselves up) but hard to decrease (they have a half life in our bodies and can't really be forcibly purged). Then there are restful factors that are generally satisfaction related, seratonin which is crudely a 'things are good' kind of chemical turns into melatonin which is crudely a sleeping factor. Others build up during the day.
Sleep happens when your pressure to sleep overcomes the stress that keeps you awake. I think that keeping that in mind lets you stay healthy.
I think there's a few things we can do in a pinch to help directly too though, but relying on these mean that there's something wrong that you're failing to correct. For instance, a bit of alcohol can be a great way to break the cycle of stress worrying about the day. This can allow your stress levels to drop and even after it's out of your system, you're out of that cycle of worrying. That might get you some better sleep and then you might have a less stressful day the next day.
Similarly, you could take something like melatonin, but again that's artificially taking the place of a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. Again, if it's an occasional thing it might be helpful, but if it's covering for the fact that you're always working overly long in an unsatisfying environment and not getting time to yourself, it might be worth it to identify it and work to correct that issue.
That said, everyone's different, and everyone's bodies and brains handle things differently. For some people they might just not properly respond to a normal amount of sleep pressure and have insomnia. For them taking supplements might not indicate anything wrong with their environment, it might just be a quirk of their own personal condition.
But I think we should always look at ourselves first. Not because I'm against supplements, but because it's good to know if our bodies are telling us something. I don't have trouble sleeping, if I go through the process of trying to determine what I'm missing. Whether I'm craving some creative stimulation, or some mindless entertainment or whatever. But generally when I commit to bed I'm asleep within 15 minutes. However, sometimes I realize that there are some things that I need to do to be satisfied that are going to keep me up late. If I had a hard day, I know I'm going to need more time to recover from it, and trying to force myself to go to bed early is just going to make things worse.
One big thing is to keep away from caffeine. Caffeine works essentially by slowing the rate that stress hormones dissipate.
You can't really do too much to speed up that process, so the best thing is to stop building more stress. If you have difficulty sleeping, stop trying after 15 minutes and take a break. Do something not very exciting or engaging. Then try again. Similarly do something that stops you thinking about your hard day, for me that's really easy to shut off and takes practice, but for you just try to find something that works, meditation, reading a book, writing, drawing, walking. Just avoid things that are going to build adrenaline like strenuous exercise or competitive video games.
The goal of the previous is to reduce the factors that keep you wakeful. The other side of the coin is that you can increase the state that makes you seek sleep.
Seek satisfactions. Take stock of your body, are you hungry? are you sore? are you dehydrated? do you need to go to the bathroom? Correct these things. They're easy, but you'll make yourself that much more comfortable, and at the same time you'll lower stress.
Take stock of your mind. What is your mind craving? Do you want stimulation? Do you want entertainment? Do you want to socialize? Do you want to relax? When you can, do these things.
This is going to make you feel satisfied.
Sleep crudely works in that there are some hormones that keep you awake, and some hormones that make you want to sleep. Wakeful factors are generally stress-related hormones, which are one of the things that we have most control over increasing, (it's easy to work ourselves up) but hard to decrease (they have a half life in our bodies and can't really be forcibly purged). Then there are restful factors that are generally satisfaction related, seratonin which is crudely a 'things are good' kind of chemical turns into melatonin which is crudely a sleeping factor. Others build up during the day.
Sleep happens when your pressure to sleep overcomes the stress that keeps you awake. I think that keeping that in mind lets you stay healthy.
I think there's a few things we can do in a pinch to help directly too though, but relying on these mean that there's something wrong that you're failing to correct. For instance, a bit of alcohol can be a great way to break the cycle of stress worrying about the day. This can allow your stress levels to drop and even after it's out of your system, you're out of that cycle of worrying. That might get you some better sleep and then you might have a less stressful day the next day.
Similarly, you could take something like melatonin, but again that's artificially taking the place of a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. Again, if it's an occasional thing it might be helpful, but if it's covering for the fact that you're always working overly long in an unsatisfying environment and not getting time to yourself, it might be worth it to identify it and work to correct that issue.
That said, everyone's different, and everyone's bodies and brains handle things differently. For some people they might just not properly respond to a normal amount of sleep pressure and have insomnia. For them taking supplements might not indicate anything wrong with their environment, it might just be a quirk of their own personal condition.
But I think we should always look at ourselves first. Not because I'm against supplements, but because it's good to know if our bodies are telling us something. I don't have trouble sleeping, if I go through the process of trying to determine what I'm missing. Whether I'm craving some creative stimulation, or some mindless entertainment or whatever. But generally when I commit to bed I'm asleep within 15 minutes. However, sometimes I realize that there are some things that I need to do to be satisfied that are going to keep me up late. If I had a hard day, I know I'm going to need more time to recover from it, and trying to force myself to go to bed early is just going to make things worse.
I find reading a book (a physical one, not ebook) before going to bed is calming me down and getting me to sleep better.
exercise. It'll give you a clear mind for programming, and a good nights sleep every night.
I do 10 min exercise routine (mostly stretching and couple minutes of meditation) before sleep - works pretty well.
Anybody else suffer from the same? How are you switching off before you go to sleep?