I let AI build a tool to help me figure out what was waking me up at night
martin.sh162 points by showmypost 11 hours ago
162 points by showmypost 11 hours ago
Hey, OP, consider sleeping with ear plugs. They're scientifically proven to reduce night time awakenings due to audio disturbances. [1]
[1] https://academic.oup.com/sleep/advance-article/doi/10.1093/s...
The tinnitus is deafeningly loud with earplugs for me. Better to have a white noise generator or a fan running.
I've been using those for a few years. I also cover my eyes with a sleeping mask in the summer. In this part of the world (Berlin) it gets light around 4am in the summer. About 3-4 hours before I want to wake up. I'm sensitive to light, I sleep longer in the winter.
Same for Seattle! And I got one for the exact same reasons. Once you got used to them, a sleeping mask and earplugs is pure bliss.
Or as an alternative I use blackout curtains.
Once I also had automatic blackout blinds, they would slowly roll up before my my alarm rings. All controlled by home assistant, which can read the phono alarm time. Waking up slowly by light is nice :)
Depending on your setup it might not be enough. I have those in the bedroom, but I can't install them on the rest of the flat (they're not the most beautiful). Leaving the bedroom door open for proper air quality leads inevitably to light coming in from other rooms. Yes it's that bright in Berlin at 4am in summer. Therefore I second the mask. There are a lot of option that are super comfortable and cheap on Amazon.
Don't listen to him– he is a cat burglar, and you being deaf at night helps him steal your cats.
Is there such a flourishing black market for subtracted cats that would prompt burglars to steal these pets?
Yeah they just finished their series A funding yesterday. Sorry to hear you missed out
I don't think it will work out. Dwarf fortress got it right. Cats own you, not vice versa.
Which is the infinite money glitch.
You're worth X.
You have 1 cat who owns you, total value X.
Get 10 black market cats for free, now 11 cats own you for a total net worth of 11X.
That's even before considering the compound effect of each cat owning a human worth 11X, which means you can divest from 1 cat for 11X, and still be worth 110*X.
The system basically works like xAI shares. Don't look too close into it.
AFAIK there is some inflammation potential if earplugs are used all night everyday.
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/advice-wearing-ea...
Trash night (early morning) is once a week in my area. You can use the ear plugs strategically.
That's bad, because I suffer from pulse-synchronous tinnitus and they help. Can't find a cause though, on some days it's gone completely.
yeah my wife has some custom made silicon ones. She frequently gets external otitis from wearing them too many nights in a row.
ime finding the right earplugs is the key. there are lots of options a of diameter, density and material to try out. getting the right one made a big difference for me
Foam: cheap, scratchy, ineffective. This one will give you abrasions sometimes.
Silicon: expensive, effective, fussy.
Wax: cheap, effective, disposable. (Needs warming up, slight drawback.)
I guess it depends on the person because I've been wearing them every night for years with no side effects. I use those laser lite ones and use a new pair every night (they're very cheap).
The only downside is you get used to the quiet and it means when I don't sleep with them I get a worse night sleep than I used to. (But I still get a better night sleep with them than when I didn't use them.)
I have fallen into the (questionable) habit of sleeping with Airpods. I used to wake up with my mind racing and not be able to fall back asleep. The Airpods helped distract and sedate my midnight thoughts such that I would fall back asleep much quicker than without. I've progressively shifted towards falling asleep listening to the droll of engaging non-fiction, but keep them in my ears in noise canceling mode with no media for the remainder of my night.
Again, not medical advice, just anectdotal experience..
Edit: this is entirely due to the 'Stop playing when falling asleep' function of iOS 26, which I loathe. But this feature barely make it worthwhile.
I have custom molded ones. They help a lot, however high pitched sudden noises still get through and wake me up. I never managed to sleep without earplugs since moving to this city. Not considering moving due to the quality of life (apart from the noise)
Are custom molded ones better?
I’ve been using swimmers plugs for a few years now and they’ve been fine. Do you use an eye mask too?
They are pretty comfortable, though they take getting used to because the seal is perfect and you'll slightly pressurize your ear canal which is a strange feeling. They'll also fit slightly inside your ear, so lying sideways is fine.
The downside is they're very expensive, relative to other earplugs and mine no longer seal as well as they used to so I'd need to get a new pair. They're still better than nothing. I started using earbuds around the same time, from using cans, and I wonder if I've very slightly widened my ear's opening.
I also use an eye mask if I'm somewhere that doesn't have good curtains or blinds. Really works very well, but I recommend one that wraps around and doesn't have an elastic band to dig into your ears (Matador makes a good one).
Yes. Wearing regular earplugs will change the shape of your ear, and many people can't tolerate it every night.
How can anyone sleep with these things? My ears get extremely sweaty and sore after half an hour.
I take ear plugs with me when travelling but I really hate wearing them. I've tried all kinds. Silicone is best. There is a knack to making them a bit more comfortable, but they're still not great. I sleep on my side which probably doesn't help. If I wear them for more than a couple of nights my ears get really sore.
What they're good for is sleeping due to desperation while travelling. I couldn't imagine having to wear them every day at home. That sounds like hell.
Yeah, this seems like a way overengineered solution.
I moved to the US 15 years ago and it was too noisey for me to sleep well (fire trucks, cars, etc), but ear plugs solved the problem and are portable to other places you might need to sleep.
I recommend these: Mack's Pillow Soft Silicone Earplugs. Can be found on Amazon. Block out A LOT of noise.
They’re little putty molds that you shape to fit your ear.
I also rip them in half before molding so I get 2 ear plugs from 1 putty.
Quies foamies. After wearing military issue 3M foamies around jet engines for years, I bought some of these Quies and were very surprised to discover that they could be made so comfortable, and also long lasting.
Wax-style earplugs like you describe are the only kind that a friend of mine uses. The foam ones never fit them.
No no, we first need to adopt a technology that consumes more water and energy than a small town to solve a problem we've already solved!
Jokes aside: overengineering issue like this to LEARN a new coding language, hardware setup, platform etc. used to be a great opportunity for skills growth. Now honestly it's hard to justify, if you're using AI to do it. With the added insult that the sycophantic AI will also make you feel like a genius for overthinking a stupid idea.
take your anti-technology sentiment back to reddit please. very annoying to hear same thing repeated 100 times on every post.
I would think earwax build up would increase with that
Definitely does.
I used to wear them every night and they definitely improved my sleep. But then I also had instances where my ear was blocked with wax for several days.
YMMV
I can confirm. I also use in-ear headphones daily which I think exacerbates it further. It can be fixed by an occasional ear wash though.
My suspicion from regular use of ear plugs is that the wax sticks to the plug every night. I use a new set every night. Pretty wasteful, but man, I need my sleep.
I use Loop silicone earplugs, they’re reusable and washable. Used to use the disposables but got tired of the waste.
I used to have lots of earwax buildup that kept me from using earplugs.
Then I fixed my health.
What did you do to fix your earwax buildup?
Leave the environments that stimulated it.
Stop eating the foods that stimulate it.
I now have visible production on a tissue or cotton swab once a week or fewer.
There’s no real evidence linking specific foods with ear wax production.
Also, for anyone getting reading this, cotton swabs in your ears is a bad idea and usually makes the problem worse (pushes wax in and compacts it).
> There’s no real evidence linking specific foods with ear wax production.
That’s not what’s being discussed.
They asked what I did.
This is anecdata.
and anecdotally:
I no longer make enough wax to see in a month.
You’re free to share your anecdata.
But you also shouldn’t be surprised if someone challenges the implications or merits of your anecdata, for the benefit of others that might take it as good advice.
Yes, it’s no longer good advice to
checks notes
consider switching up environment
or diet/things you’re ingesting,
if you’re generating excess goo known for waste-carrying,
and protection from environmental debris...
Are you serious?
Feel free to struggle until a peer-reviewed study gives you permission not to,
but don’t be surprised if others continue making basic observations and improvements for themselves.