[durpleDrank]

I have some unconventional sleep tips for those interested.

DURPLEDRANK'S GUIDE TO BETTER SLEEP:

    Line your sleeping room with books. They are an inexpensive way to soundproof your room. If you have noisy neighbors upstairs, you'll "hear" them, but more importantly, you won't "feel" it.

    Use comfortable earplugs and a baggy winter hat as a sleep mask. Sleep masks can be uncomfortable, so this is a great alternative.

    Play a BROWNIAN NOISE loop on speakers in your room. You can easily generate this in Audacity with a few mouse clicks.

    Take antacids before bed. Many sleep problems are linked to acid reflux. Drinking carbonated water or water with baking soda can make you feel tired instantly. For any scientists out there, please credit me for this discovery. If you have acid reflux, your brain won't let you sleep.

    Stay warm. Being warm often makes you sleepy, although the reason isn't clear.

    Use red lights in your sleep room to avoid blue light. Replace your reading lamp with a red light to help your brain switch into sleep mode.

    Limit screen time. Dim the brightness and enable blue light blocking mode on your devices. Older devices may be less disruptive to sleep than modern ones.

    Keep a notepad for quick Google searches. Whenever you have a random thought, jot it down on a to-do list to avoid grabbing your device. This helps you stay off screens.

    Consider taking 1g of melatonin, but note that it may not be very effective if you have acid reflux.

    Elevate your sleeping position to combat acid reflux. Even if you don't feel it, you might have some built-up reflux if you burp or fart after drinking carbonated water.

    Invest in blackout curtains.

    Cover every blinking light or power LED in your room with electrical tape to create a pitch-black environment.

TL;DR: In my journey to fix my sleep, the most critical factors are 1) managing acid reflux, 2) soundproofing and reducing light in the room, and 3) using red light.

[musha68k]

The book insulation tip is great and could be a good segue into replacing reading habits for actual books vs e-reader / other displays.

Even with "nightshift red colours" I could stay up reading for hours vs even with something very interesting to me in actual book form + warm secondary light source = getting sleepy and quickly so.

I'm guessing melatonin does get depressed significantly as soon as you start looking directly into a light source.

[hackernewds]

if you have an e-reader swap to the Kindle paper versions and dark mode

[roldie]

I assume you mean 1mg of melatonin?

Also, I've learned that less melatonin is actually more effective, so 0.1 MG or 0.3mg is likely a better dosage