When I can’t sleep, I turn around and sleep “upside down” - moving my pillows to where my feet were beforehand, and my feet to where my head was beforehand - and I stick with that for a week or so. It gives me a week or so without insomnia and then wears off, so I have to turn myself back around for the next 7-12 day period.
Admittedly this could just be a me thing, but let’s put our faith in this method and let the power of placebo effect take hold. Boom, minor bouts of sleeplessness are cured.
What are your own examples of this?
Don’t be a cunt.
Simple advice that works. More people should try it.
When you feel a sneeze coming and you don’t want to sneeze, press the tip of your tongue firmly against the roof of mouth. Works nearly every time!
Alternatively, push your finger against the space between your upper lip and your nose, like using your finger as a mustache. Push hard. A hunter taught me that so I wouldn’t sneeze and give away our position.
So if you ever get a random headache that is just a pinching pain in a random spot then try breathing there. I don’t mean breathe deep or breathe into that spot but actually concentrate super hard into that spot and imagine this is where your lungs are. Concentrate when you breathe and think about how the air goes exactly into that spot directly from your mouth cause this is where your lungs are now, and how you breathe out from there. Keep concentrating and breathing there.
I don’t know why it doesn’t work if I just take deep breaths but this is legit the only way I can stop the pulsating stabs until they are gone. Concentrate hard tho because once you stop the pain returns unless the attack is over.
Seeing a horizon can fix short-term balance issues, or temporarily relieve long-term issues like labyrinthitis/vertigo, because it feeds the secondary ocular-vestibulo brain bit and gets you back settled and leveled. Unless you’re drunk or damaged, it’s a neat trick.
I’ve heard this before - I thought it was just looking into the distance. You’ve reminded me to try it though. I went from perfect vision to rather short sighted throughout my life so far 🫣
If your clothes have an odor, you can spray a cheap vodka over them to neutralize the smell.
Don’t they smell of vodka then?
On a similar vein, quit using fabric softeners and dryer sheets.
Fabric softeners use a mild acid to burn off loosening fibers which speeds up the wear of your clothes.
Dryer sheets work by transferring wax from the sheet to your clothing. This smooths those fibers down and waxes them in place. Wax is incredibly good at holding odors, that’s why we use it for candles and why dryer sheets leave a lasting smell. Unfortunately, it’s not picky so any smell can get trapped in that wax and linger for ages.
As it turns out, most modern textiles are made out of finely processed material, you’re going to be hard pressed to find any clothes that actually need that kind of treatment. It’s wholly pointless on synthetic fabrics.
The worst offenders will begin to pill after a while, you simply shave the pills off with a razor or a depiller tool, which is fully affordable with the money you save on not buying dryer sheets.
To DJ Khalid this, here’s another one.
You can purchase wool dryer balls and use a lower setting in your dryer to keep you clothing fibers to reduce the amount of wear.
Wool dryer balls are great. If you go way down the rabbit hole you start making your own soap. I put together a 5 gallon bucket of powders back in April, it cost less than a month worth of Tide, it takes care of anything short of ink stains all on it’s own, you can use it as all purpose cleaner, and I’m not even halfway through the bucket.
Switch to linux
Went to try three distros (Mint, Zorin, Ubuntu) all three either failed on boot (even just in the “try” state) or really really did not like my graphics card (Battlemage).
Could I go through and start troubleshooting, tweaking settings, making sure everything is configured correctly? Yes…. But after wasting a few hours just trying to get something to boot, “it just works” with Windows looks better all the time. I’m too old to want to jailbreak and tinker with shit.
All of these distros use an old ass kernel that might not support your hardware. Distros like Fedora and Arch (don’t use arch btw) use newer kernels and are more likely to support newer hardware.
How is Battlemage. I’ve been thinking about getting a replacement for my Alchemist card. It’s mostly transcoding but it’s always nice to have backup hardware in these days.
I have a B580 and frankly it’s perfect for what I want. I run my games at 1440p and generally can get 60-90fps (depends if it supports XeSS 2). E33 was a decent benchmark and it passed just fine. I normally play slightly older games so it suits my needs.
As for transcoding, it can seriously knock it out. H.264 QSV with an RF of 22 on a 1080p stream averages 315fps. H.265 is a bit slower but still faster than realtime. It really is a transcoding powerhouse there.
One weird trick! Terminal still scares me as well as installing from GitHub, but I have win11 required at work and mint at home and the speed and ease of use are like night and day
Switched to codeberg as well. Microsoft owns github
Switched to codeberg as well
I’m using gitlab-on-prem for now, until their slow code decay and creeping featurism destroys it completely. It’s only barely usable now because of the really dumb CI/runner changes, for example, but forgejo uses a yaml CI setup so that’s never happening.
git.gay for the win!!
Drink more water. Eat more fiber.
Man, I still eat like shit, but when I switched to drinking only water (instead of mainly soda/juice), I was easily able to lose the excess weight that had been building up.
No other changes. Just drink water. Only water. Water is good.
I keep a pitcher of cold, filtered water in the mini-fridge by my desk. That shit is delicious. And I don’t even miss anything. If you’re struggling with the switch to water, get yourself some good water.
To those consuming this, 100% try it. The first 3 or 4 days suck because your body expects calories with it’s drink and the buzz of sugar and caffeine. You can escape this by having a small chocolate with your water when you feel the craving.
Second point, mineral content, processing, temperature, and plumbing play a big role in your enjoyment. Personally I can’t drink cold water, it has to be room temperature and tap water here is too mineral heavy. Instead I refill 5 gallon water jugs and use a water crock.
Yeah if you like poop and pee
“if”
Go on…
yes. you need water more than calories and while the rule of threes is basically about calories with the three weeks if you don’t have fiber with those calories you will have a medical emergency on your hands. Granted though you can have to much water and fiber so its kinda a balance. I mean granted with water its more about to much water and not enough electrolytes.
Dude, what on Earth are you blabbering on about?
Hyponatremia . We called it hyponatriosis or ‘water-drunk’ in the army. We had a girl in our platoon over-hydrate and go floppy on a march, and my swear-to-god buck-oh-five bunkmate had to play crutch for the rest of it while we all redistroed all their collective gear. (calm your breathing: they marched in back with the medicos under obs the entire time, and we didn’t fail the little exercise we were on, and it was her choice to continue at every stage, and she was lauded for it afterward. This is a heroism story.)
water and fiber and the need for both in a diet but also that they can be overdosed.
If you can’t find a comfortable temperature when you’re sleeping under blankets, just stick one foot, and maybe part of your lower leg, out from under of the blankets. It acts like a radiator, and will release much of your excess heat.
A kid showed this to me at a childhood slumber party, and it’s been a useful tip ever since.
stick one foot[…] out
The Snorkel is god-tier advice.
I’m not taking advice from an obvious night monster.
The real trick is to put the foot out, then pull it over the blanket so the foot’s surrounded by blanket.
From the view of creatures under the bed, all they see is the blanket.
Seriously, did night monsters write this post?!
But then the monsters might eat my foot!
Really though: I have a visceral aversion to having my feet exposed like that. If I’m lying down or even sitting on the couch, my feet must be covered. I could have no other blankets, except on my feet.
Yeah, you have a different issue.
These placebos are one hell of a drug.
How much should I smoke before it kicks in?
That’s been proved. It’s bizarre.
Cold rinse after a hot shower makes you healthier.
Oh really? It does line up with my experience.
Found a little article or two on it
Going from a hot to cold shower — even for a couple of minutes — might protect you from circulating viruses. The shock of cold water can stimulate the blood cells that fight off infection (leukocytes). One study in the Netherlands found that people who switched to cold showers for 30, 60, or 90 seconds for 90 days called out sick from work 29% less than people who didn’t switch to cold showers.
The shock of cold water can stimulate
Mhm. I have to tone it down in summer, else i get too hot and sweat while drying off.
And it’s also good for blood vessel flexibility / blood pressure => less chance to get a stroke.
To try and control impulse shopping, I immediately grab an item I think I want.
I will continue shopping for things I actually want/need, until I look at or feel for the thing I originally grabbed. I will lose sense of interest of grabbing it and put it back.
It takes practice and time. Especially works if you know, are low on money anyways. The idea of this is, to get you thinking about what it is about that thing that made you want it and whether it would have any use or make you happy having it.
If it doesn’t after the time you’ve been having it around, be it holding it or in the cart, then it wasn’t meant to be. It was simply an impulse.
For a stronger version, don’t buy it this time, just take a picture. If you really want it, then you should be motivated to come again to get it.
Ya, and if you shop online put purchases in your shopping cart and let them sit for a few days.
As big as my Steam backlog is, it would be 100x bigger if not for the Wishlist. I try to limit myself to 100 games in the Wishlist and trim it every once in a while when a game has been sitting in it for more than a couple years. It’s the same psychology here. Put it in a cart and let it sit there for a while. If you don’t really want it put it back.
Why would you ever have a backlog in the first place? Why would you buy a game and then not play it?
Put the games you want to play in the future on your wishlist. When you’re ready to play a new game, pick one from your wishlist, buy it, play it.
The games aren’t going away, they’re not going to run out of digital copies. Why would you ever buy it before you’re ready to play it? It doesn’t matter whether it’s sitting in your wishlist or your hard drive, so let them sit in your wishlist, where it’s a lot cheaper for them to sit.
(Okay, sure, games go on sale on steam occasionally, and you might want to pick one up while it’s on sale. Even then, though … games tend to get cheaper over time as they get older. Just waiting and buying it later might ultimately be cheaper than the ‘on sale’ price.)
This is a black and white view on backlogs. Yes you can just not buy a game when you’re not ready to play it. That’s not usually how it always plays out. Yes I do buy games while they’re on sale and have been out for 5+ years. I buy games with the intention to play them. That doesn’t mean right away as soon as I buy it.
Most games I buy I fire up at least once. For the rare handful of games that I bought and never tried it’s not a big deal because I only paid a few bucks for these games. If it doesn’t click right away but I want to keep trying it goes on the back burner. If it doesn’t click at all, I refund it. If it’s a game I started and liked but fell off of for something else it goes in the backlog. Sometimes I just want a game in my collection. I know I won’t play it right now but if I have the means to buy it, I’m gonna get it so it’s in my collection and I don’t have to worry about it later. That’s a more rare situation and most games like that will sit in my Wishlist for years, but it does happen.
Sometimes games do go away. Command & Conquer wasn’t on Steam for years and then all of a sudden the whole collection showed up. Same as Dino Crisis in the last couple days. I used to have physical copies of the games but they got lost to time, be it giving them away to friends who wanted to play them, or losing them in moves, or selling them. Some of my backlog is older generation games that have been freed from their console shackles. They just announced MGS4 for PS5 and PC. I last played that game almost 15 years ago on PS3. I would love to play it again in the future. Even if I wait for a sale, I know I want it in my collection.
Games don’t always get cheaper as they get older either. Most Japanese games stay above $35 these days when not on sale. Even classics that are multiple generations old at this point. If I think a game is worth it at full price, I will pay full price.
Lastly my Wishlist isn’t just a catch all for games I want to play in the future. If that was the case there would be thousands of games on it. It’s a little bit more curated than that. It’s mainly for smaller games I do wait for because they’re in early access. Most big AAA games on my Wishlist are waiting for sales. The majority isn’t released or I’m waiting for reviews to see the quality on. Yes there are games I’m interested in but are not 100% sure I would play. That’s why I cull the list every few months or so.
I kinda do this, except I don’t pick it up. I’m just sick and tired of having useless junk lying around, so when I see something I want I consider if I’m actually going to use it or if it will just be relegated to a drawer somewhere. If I haven’t been missing it (ie. it’s an impulse purchase) I will almost always just leave it be and move on. I don’t need all this junk.
If it is something I decide I need, then I consider if it should be this thing, or if I should try to find a good quality version instead, since what I usually find is in the supermarket where it’s almost universally cheap junk. That also grants me more time to decide that no, I don’t need this thing after all.
or if I should try to find a good quality version instead, since what I usually find is in the supermarket where it’s almost universally cheap junk
Or take the opportunity to check the second-hand market for it! Craigslist/FB marketplace, thrift shops, ebay (used, private seller), garage sales, etc. Tends to be a lot cheaper, great for the environment (because less resources needed for new production and less stuff in landfills), and keeps your money away from evil corporations.
I do the same thing, sort of. I think about where I will put the item and if I don’t have a good place for it, then I won’t buy it.
Rapid eye movement and looking at things, mentally noting them, acknowledge sounds and smells can help regulate moments of anxiety.
Psychologists use EMDR therapy based on activating each hemisphere of the brain in alternating fashion
Yeah this one was weird to hear about, but if i think about it it’s something I do myself, so i guess it really does work.
If you have black coffee either because you’re out of creamer or doing a non-diary thing, sprinkling a tiny bit of salt into the coffee will take the bitterness out of it without tasting salty.
Or try coconut oil. The thick stuff in a jar, nothing added. I had my doubts but it’s surprisingly good, really helps to have a jar when your stuck with really bad coffee.
If you get that feeling where you need to sneeze but it’s not quite enough for a full sneeze, say the word grapefruit. 60% of the time it works every time
There’s a spot on the bridge of your nose you can rub and it stimulates the sneeze out of you
Also right under your nose, push your finger against your mustache space
Edit: Oh wait, that prevents the sneeze. I read the comment wrong
For me it’s just looking at something bright.
Wait, are you saying you can look at a bright light to suppress a sneeze? I used to work with a guy who said bright light sometimes made him sneeze.
Looking at significantly bright lights cause the muscles of your face and sinuses to contract which can force a sneeze. It won’t cancel the sneeze, it just makes it happen on your own terms.
The uses of “ACHOO syndrome”!
Aka the photic sneeze reflex.
Apparently not everyone has this reflex.
If you say pamplemousse instead, the sneeze will sound fancier.
I don’t care how fancy it is, I don’t like pample flavoured mousse.
And if you don’t want to sneeze, put a finger under your nose like a fake mustache
That’s not how you grapefruit your man
For insomnia. Get up and start doing your morning routine sans coffee or food. It can work like a kick to the head, happily sending you right to sleep.
The “8 hours of continuous sleep” cycle is a modern invention. Even sleeping alone is a modern invention.
Prehistoric people used to sleep in groups. There would be different cycles of sleeo. The young would be up late and sleep until late, while the old would tuck in early and get up early. You can probably imagine that that would be nothing like a silent, dark, soletary bedroom that people have today.
Even before the industrial age and arteficial lighting, sleep cycles would be very different. People used to have “first sleep” and “second sleep”. First sleep was often only a couple hours after sunset. In between sleeps was time for chores or prayer or even sex. This has even been documenten in old works like The Canterbury Tales were they mention things like “after my first sleep…” like it’s the most normal thing to say.
I hear about these things. But I have doubt based on personal experience. When I’ve done long hikes (did both the Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails), I would nearly universally knock out pretty much as soon as the sun set. This, after a lifetime of being a night owl who very easily would stay up until 2am every night.
And this was true of basically everyone else I met in every age group as well. 17 year olds to 70 year olds all abserved hikers midnight, hitting their sleeping bags hard not long after sunset. Even with a campfire going and socializing to be had, staying up 2 hours past sunset was a hefty proposition.
Also, with the 2 sleeps thing - on the trail, I typically slept straight through the night. I might wake up once or twice to pee, but then I would lay back down and be right back to sleep.
My guess is that
- All humans naturally sleep around sunset and wake at sunrise, with negotiable dispositions to sleep earlier or later based on age.
- Variations in sleep schedule in ancestral environments would account for disposition, but would likely be driven by cultural norms, not instinct.
- Having two sleeps was probably an artifact of having easily available illumination (candles and lamps) which occurred at this time.
This stopped being common as watches and clocks became more affordable, and therefore our employers demanded we show up to the minute at scheduled time.
Our employers, who weren’t getting any middle-of-sleep-sex, demanded we all take one single 8 hour sleep instead
In between sleeps was time for chores or prayer or even sex
Honestly sounds like the most rock & roll thing ever. Pre-scheduled medieval sexing time - gotta say our midnight prayers first, though.
Sounds like a nightmare. What if someone has sleep apnea or sleepfarts or youre just too hot and sticky and full of night sweats?
What if someone has sleep apnea or sleepfarts or youre just too hot and sticky and full of night sweats
Psst. That’s okay. Smelly sex is still great sex.
sleepfarts??? this word isn’t in the bible 😂
Okay this is a good tip! I do find that getting out of bed earlier than i need to always has me going back to a satisfying sleep later on
