Fellow Hexbearians,

I was thinking about how embarrassing it is to ask questions about things that seem obvious, so why not make a thread here? We can pool our understanding and clear up any misconceptions we picked up living in a world not built for neurodiverse people.

Ask questions about things you don't understand that might seem obvious. If there are things you do understand in someone else's question, please do so and help clear it up.

I ask that we ask and answer questions sincerely. This is a discussion about confusion and trying to understand. I think it would feel safer if we don't think we're being mocked or trolled.

I'll put a comment in the thread to get things rolling.

  • Comp4 [comrade/them]
    ·
    10 months ago

    Im really fucking bad at going to bed at a reasonable time. Like there are days where I pull an allnighter go to work without sleep and then after work just crash sleep / work. etc. Trying to fix it but im bad at it.

    Now to be fair years ago im pretty sure my schizophrenia impacted my sleep but I got that kind of under control these days. (The schizophrenia I mean my sleep is still a fuck)

    • Maoo [none/use name]
      ·
      10 months ago

      There are many things that can screw up a sleep schedule. Here are some things that might help:

      • No screens an hour before you want to sleep.
      • Do very little in bed aside from sleeping. Avoid phones, reading, watching TV, etc. This helps build up a psychological association between bed and sleep.
      • If you have the option, enforce your sleep schedule at other opportunities. Wake up at the same time regardless. Avoid naps. Only if you have this option though.
      • Do some exercise a bit before bed. Maybe some light yoga. If this makes you sleepy right away, do it just before bed. If this energizes you at first, do it an hour or two before bed.
      • Limit lights at night in general (use blackout blinds).
      • Light in the morning. There are cheap SAD lamps that can mimic the sun and turn on automatically in the morning.
      • Occasionally, as needed, have a melatonin an hour or two before bed. It will make you sleepy. If you have it too often, your body will adjust to needing it in order to fall asleep. Once every two weeks might be a good goal.
      • Allow yourself two weeks to adjust to your attempted schedule. Your body will mess with you for a while even if you're doing everything well and even if it eventually works.
    • Magician [he/him, they/them]
      ·
      10 months ago

      I'm so bad at a sleep schedule, but I think it's a trauma/anxiety thing for me. I've done the all-nighter when I realized I wouldn't get to sleep on time.

      I don't know how to improve a sleep routine and the guides I've seen were hard to stick to

    • Wheaties [she/her]
      ·
      10 months ago

      it's no silver bullet, but there are programmes that will colour shift your screens to red at a set time. The idea is to mimic sunsets, as bright blue lights have been shown to keep people awake longer. Pretty sure it's built into most Linux distros these days, and Windows has it hidden somewhere in its settings. I'm not quite as sure about phones, might be worth poking around internal settings or googling "your phone model + blue light filter"

    • Wheaties [she/her]
      ·
      10 months ago

      i find chamomile tea helps, usually after sunset and/or an hour or so before I actually want to wrap up and go to bed

      when i run out of chamomile, i just drink a mug of hot water.

    • GinAndJuche
      ·
      10 months ago

      magnesium supplements induces verymild drowsiness and it helps with your magnesium levels.

      It won’t put you out, but it helps a tiny bit without creating new problems (like melatonin, I’m dependent on it currently and it sucks.)