Technological aids for insomnia

Health & Diet Health & Diet: Chat / Discussions
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Ever since I got my smart phone last year, I’ve been finding more and more apps and technology dealing with sleep or the lack of sleep, insomnia.

There are apps that have sleep stories, which are just like audiobooks, but purposefully soothing to give better dreams. There are sleep meditation apps.

There are apps to measure how many times you wake during the night to gauge how well you’re sleeping.

There are gadgets that you put on your eyes to keep the light out. Much more fancy than eye covers.

There are white noise machines and apps.

There are weighted blankets. This one is not as high tech.

The list goes on.

Have you tried an app or device to help with sleep? Did it work?

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On the rare occasion where I could not sleep, I tried YouTube sleep sounds - it kept me awake!

Love the sound of the ocean though. I always have a great sleep if I’m at the coast.

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Was it something like this? (Haha, I found my shoulders relaxing as I listened to this while I was copying it to this post.)

Is it a case of having to be there?

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Yes, it was something like that.

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Yes, it’s the sound, atmosphere and that salty air. A combination for the senses

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It probably doesn’t hurt that most people are on holiday when they go away to the beach. :smiley:

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I don’t have a smart phone, so no, I don’t use those apps. :upside_down_face:

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Apps on a phone helping you to sleep! :rofl:

So a device that emits blue light & blue light is proven to “significantly effect” both the ability to get to sleep & the quality of that sleep. Now has apps that try to help you get to sleep!! That is rather like Kim Jong-un employing someone to promote civil liberties in North Korea.

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Not exactly the same. The app can turn off the screen if it’s just doing audio or measuring something.

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Not using a phone for several hours before you go to bed makes a big difference to both getting to sleep & sleep quality & the fact this app “can” turn the screen off, does not mean it does it all the time that the phone is on, or that that the lesser time of blue screen radiation, does not affect sleep.

Edited to add. Think of it as like the difference between heroine & methadone. Methadone may be slightly better for you. But it’s best not to use either.

Lifestyle choices like coffee & tea which have caffeine in them has a big impact on sleep.

And learning to relax has an impact beyond just being able to sleep.

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I’ll steal this from another thread.

Now I’m curious since you seem so passionate about this topic.

Do you follow this advice? Not getting any blue screen would mean no computers, no television, no reading devices, no phones, no fluorescent lights, etc. hours before bed. Considering it’s getting pretty late there . . .

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Yes, I agree with that Gee.

TBH, I’ve always thought (and said to my daughter when she couldn’t sleep), that playing around on t’internet or on her phone, just wires the brain up.

If I stay online too long or too late, I get wired up - even just nattering on the forum. Which is one of the reasons I don’t hang around too long on the forum.
I much prefer to get the book out to wind down before sleep beckons. :slightly_smiling_face:

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I always spend some time away from TV & screens before I settle. I like to read before bed & I, in general, have few problems sleeping. And when I do, I simply practice self hypnosis & relax myself.

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It is a very good practice.

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I like to listen to the sounds of the countryside on Youtube or Alexa, but that’s as a general background relaxation, its not for falling asleep to. I find any sounds a bit distracting at night time…even the dog snoring annoys me! :rofl:

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I have found that the best technological aid for insomnia is half a bottle of vodka or half a dozen stubbies of beer, works every time.