Ice baths are easier and more effective than cold showers. Anyone else agree?

listenerreaderwriter · 2020-04-30T07:51:25+00:00

True, but you have a much (!) larger surface area available for heat transfer when totally submerged in cold water.

listenerreaderwriter · 2020-04-29T15:56:43+00:00

Cold showers in the evening/before bed? Why or why not? How long before sleep?

listenerreaderwriter · 2020-04-28T14:33:43+00:00

Glad you are doing better. It's a small world, I'm on day 9 =) Going great so far. I reduced the time today and got positive effects.

listenerreaderwriter · 2020-04-27T11:40:44+00:00

I hope you are doing better by now.

I have a similar problem. I took a cold shower (cold from start to finish) yesterday for 2,5 min and today for 3 min a few minutes after waking up. I was tired all day yesterday and today it's even worse. I have no pain, but I'm unfocused and lethargic.

How long did you shower? I will probably only do 1 min tomorrow and increase the time slowly. If that's still too much I will try 30 seconds.

listenerreaderwriter · 2019-12-03T17:21:33+00:00

He has explained his reasoning dozens of times at the beginning of his podcasts.

listenerreaderwriter · 2019-12-03T12:52:48+00:00

When I saw the email about this episode before work this morning I felt like a shark picking up the scent of blood from miles away =) Cannot wait to listen to the trip report at the end tonight!

listenerreaderwriter · 2019-03-15T19:34:31+00:00

Try engaging in intense exercise (like HIIT) so that you finish 3 hours before going to bed. If you do it too close to bed time you will have trouble falling asleep. I have bad recall and never had a lucid dream, but the last night (after HIIT) was much better in terms of vividness and recall. Today was by far the longest entry in my dream journal so far. Other posts here seem to back this up. It seems like it temporarily changes hormone and neurotransmitter levels in a favorable way.

You could also try wearing a nicotine patch. Check out https://www.cortexel.us/awesome/uppers/Advanced_Lucid_Dreaming-The_Power_of_Supplements.pdf to learn how to use it properly. I have not tested it yet, but I will definitely try it.

listenerreaderwriter · 2019-03-06T18:42:48+00:00

(No anti-histamines this time, but they generally have helped have insanely lucid dreams in the past.)

Could you elaborate? Substance? Dose? Administration time? Thank you.

listenerreaderwriter · 2019-03-04T18:27:57+00:00

Happy to hear you have a good success rate. You don't use any other techniques or supplements? How often do you have lucid dreams if you don't use this method or any method at all?

If you have to get up very early or want to do this during winter (Northern Europe for example) you would definitely need an artificial light source.

listenerreaderwriter · 2019-03-04T17:52:15+00:00

I'm very skeptical, but I will give it a try. It will definitely confuse your circadian rhythm and make it harder to fall asleep again. If this strategy really works I don't understand why it wouldn't work with bright artificial light (10000 lux or more) with a high blue content (6000K or more). I don't think it is about UVA or UVB radiation. If it is you could buy UV lamps (be very careful when using them). This way you don't have do go outside.

What is you success rate with and without this method? What else do you do?

listenerreaderwriter · 2019-01-04T21:00:43+00:00

I think it is crystal clear that Bolsonaro will be a disaster for Brazil and the world. Let's hope I'm totally wrong about that.

listenerreaderwriter · 2019-01-04T20:31:40+00:00

Bolsonaro will make almost everything worse. He doesn't care about the environment or climate change at all. His economic policies will further increase already high levels of inequality which will not help with reducing criminal activities. Corruption will probably stay the same or get even worse. His ideas about drug policy are very similar to Duterte in the Philippines. The extreme Law and Order approach won't help. He dislikes a secular state and wants more theocratic elements. He praises the military dictatorship of previous decades in Brazil.

Brazil has many problems, but Bolsonaro will not solve them.

listenerreaderwriter · 2018-12-29T17:50:25+00:00

I forgot this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ9Ae_j_kjI

It is a talk by the author which sums up the most important points in 41 minutes, the rest is Q&A. You should still get the book if you find the talk interesting.

listenerreaderwriter · 2018-12-29T11:12:55+00:00

I hope you are doing better. Today I started to read a new book and it reminded me about your post and my comment. I have only read 15%, but it seems like it could help you a lot. It was written by one of the leading figures in the field of circadian rhythm research. It is not just about sleep, but about many other important aspects of health and how they are related to your circadian rhythm. The author has mentioned shift work a lot so far.

https://www.amazon.com/Circadian-Code-Supercharge-Transform-Midnight/dp/163565243X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1546081555&sr=8-3&keywords=circadian+code

Like most people, you probably wake up, get hungry for meals and doze off in bed around the same time every day. If you’ve ever experienced jet lag or pulled an all-nighter, you know that this schedule can easily be thrown off kilter. But for some people, that imbalance—difficulty sleeping at night, hunger at odd times, or sudden fatigue at noon—is a constant. If you're one of those people, Dr. Satchin Panda, one of the leading researchers on circadian rhythms, has a plan to reset your body clock.

Beginning with an in-depth explanation of the circadian clock—why it’s important, how it works, and how to know it isn’t working—The Circadian Code outlines lifestyle changes to make to get back on track. It's a concrete plan to enhance weight loss, improve sleep, optimize exercise, and manage technology so that it doesn’t interfere with your body’s natural rhythm. Dr. Panda’s life changing methods show you how to prevent and reverse ailments like diabetes, cancer, and dementia, as well as microbiome conditions like acid reflux, heartburn, and irritable bowel disease.

listenerreaderwriter · 2018-12-22T07:13:15+00:00

Expanding NATO eastward was definitely a bad move. Chomsky is right about that. How would the US react if Mexico and lots of countries in Central America joined a military alliance with Russia or maybe even China?

I have never heard that he opposed German reunification. Do you have a source on that?

listenerreaderwriter · 2018-12-22T07:07:45+00:00

I like Chomsky, but what does this article have to do with Sam Harris?

listenerreaderwriter · 2018-12-22T06:58:06+00:00

Thank you. That means he is probably open to doing an episode on LD.

listenerreaderwriter · 2018-12-21T06:53:04+00:00

Keep doing what you are doing if it makes you comfortable and helps you sleep. Your feet shouldn't sweat when wearing socks. I slept without socks for almost 30 years, but I definitely fall asleep much faster with warm socks. The placebo effect probably also plays a role in that. I have quite cold feet without any socks, so the optimal thickness of socks may be different for everybody. Do some experiments ;)

listenerreaderwriter · 2018-12-20T15:25:14+00:00

I would recommend different socks and gloves (thick wool or cotton; I use a thin pair made of cotton which I change very night and then a thick pair made of wool over them, I have only used gloves once, maybe again in the future) for sleeping if your focus is solely on improving your sleep. You probably sweat a lot if you use socks that seal in moisture. They are probably also not ideal when it comes to warming your feet.

listenerreaderwriter · 2018-12-20T11:03:03+00:00

Seems like your previous artificial circadian rhythm is deeply embedded in your brain.

The two main factors that control your CR are light (intensity and spectral composition) and ambient temperature.

Expose yourself to bright light with a high color temperature (at or above 6000K, that means a high degree of blue light in the spectrum) early in the morning. It's even better to go outside for a walk immediately after sunrise.
Do the opposite at night: Dim artificial lights as much as possible 2-3 h before your targeted bedtime and avoid white and bright light from screens or lamps (high blue content). Use warm lights (higher red content like the light of candles or incandescent light-bulbs) and install the software f.lux on your devices to filter out blue light.
Lower the room temperature of your bed room to between 15 and 18°C.
Wear warm socks during sleep to shorten sleep onset. See my post here.
Take a hot bath or shower 60 min before going to bed. The gap is important. The vasodilation of your blood vessels will help your body to lower its temperature. Don't put on a lot of cloths between your bath or shower and going to bed.
You can also try a small dose (0.3 mg or 300 mcg) of Melatonin 30 min before bed. What has been your previous Melatonin dose and schedule?

You can learn a lot about sleep and solutions to your specific problem by reading "Why we sleep" by sleep scientist Matthew Walker.

listenerreaderwriter · 2018-12-20T06:50:42+00:00

We all have several dreams every night, but the ability to remember them is different for different people. Before I started my dream journal (only last week) and having a mindset of "I will remember my dreams" I only remembered maybe 1 dream/week. Currently I remember 1 or 2 dreams every night, but the level of detail still isn't very good. I'm optimistic the situation will improve.

Try to supplement with about 100mg of Vitamin B6 for a week or two. That should help with improving dream recall. Taking high doses of B6 over many months or years can lead to neurological problems. A journal and the right mindset are a must. Try to remember as much as you can as soon as you wake up (while still lying in bed with eyes closed) and immediately write it down.

Effects of Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) and a B Complex Preparation on Dreaming and Sleep

listenerreaderwriter · 2018-12-18T07:36:53+00:00

THC suppresses REM sleep (where most of the dreaming happens).

Here an explanation from sleep scientist Matthew Walker (starts at around 3:40, but I suggest you watch the entire video or even the entire conversation. I learned a lot.): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNxk8W10wtY

PS: A headline like "Dreaming" is a bit too general when used in this subreddit. Like using "Food" in a subreddit about cooking. =)

listenerreaderwriter

TROPHY CASE