Big Blue Huddle

I found today tricky. Took me six.

My scores recently have not been the glitziest, but I do have a 64 day streak that is still alive.

Quote from: Sem on March 31, 2022, 08:11:30 AM
I've tried Melatonin a few times, and literally every single time I've woken up with a fairly bad headache. For whatever reason we don't play well together. Instead when I have trouble sleeping I take this https://www.costco.com/kirkland-signature-sleep-aid%2C-192-tablets.product.100214358.html

Interesting on the headaches, and sorry to hear that. Obviously that is no fun. I have never tried it and don't have any imminent plans to, but I just thought it was interesting since it is a non-chemical solution.

Knock on wood but these days I have been sleeping pretty well for the most part. Well enough at least that it isn't any sort of real problem. I have a feeling many people who struggle with it could improve their situation by addressing some of the non-medication considerations laid out in the OP and throughout this thread.

Of course, if those don't work, and a person is still suffering from insomnia, then certainly medication is an option.

I have gone through a few different periods in my life where I was not sleeping well enough, and it definitely impacted me at the time. I was getting sick more easily and just wasn't enjoying life as much. It is well worth taking whatever measures one can to avoid a poor sleep existence.

Has anyone ever taken melatonin? I know people who have. It's seen to be an alternative to chemical sleep medication as it is seen to be  non habit forming, there is no hangover, and its effects don't diminish. I have never tried but I suspect its effects are not as strong as certain heavier duty medications, but I know people who swear by it.

Very sorry to hear this about Mr. Willis. He is not that old.

I would concur with the statement that he was not necessarily the most talented actor, however he was either the lead role or at least a key role in a number of superb movies. Die Hard, The Sixth Sense, and of course Pulp Fiction all come to mind. Really solid career. Sorry to hear about his health. I am glad he is surrounded by loving family.

Quote from: MightyGiants on March 30, 2022, 01:26:13 PM
For most of my adult life, I was used to getting by on just 6 days of proper sleep (and until about a decade or so prior, often less than that).    Since I finally retired from the squad, it's been a real treat to have 7 days of sleep.  What a difference it makes.   Wednesday night was the night I would have to get by from anywhere for an hour or two to if I was lucky on rare occasions 6 hours.   I have to say I noticed that often when I got sick it was on Thursday or Friday.  I can tell you it was harder to stay calm on Thursdays and sometimes Fridays.   

This whole 7 nights a week of sleep is a real treat.  Suddenly it's about just getting a good night's sleep rather than forever chasing and trying to make up for lost sleep.

Getting by on an hour or two must have been really tough, especially in a physically active job.

For me, the worst is always back to back nights of significantly insufficient sleep (less than 4-5 hours). If I have one bad night but am otherwise well rested, I can get through that next day without it being too much of a problem (albeit it's not great). But two nights like that in a row and I'm a mess. Thankfully that almost never happens with me these days.

Quote from: Ed Vette on March 30, 2022, 12:19:16 PM
Do you have a Fitbit? Tells you how many hours sleep and the quality. You can even compare it to a benchmark. I have a versa 2. It monitors heart rate and has a relax session breathing mode.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don't, but I have been meaning to look into it. This looks like an excellent tool to have.

Great stuff. Thank you all very much for the thoughtful responses. A couple of follow-up comments:

1. Jimmy, I thoroughly agree about expanding the stomach instead of the chest when inhaling. Actually, I never really knew this was how you were supposed to breathe in until a trainer told me a few years ago. He essentially said my breathing was all wrong, and once I trained myself to expand my belly instead of my chest I was performing better in the gym. Same with at night. "Belly breaths" are the term you here, and my experience tells me that this is indeed the right way to do it. Maybe everyone knows this already and I was just clueless (wouldn't be the first time), but it is a good point.

2. JBG, I had never heard of the military method. Sounds good. All of these are ways of just clearing your mind and getting yourself as deeply relaxed as possible. Different people have different approaches. I do like the deep, controlled breathing though - I find that really works for me.

3. Lenn, I am not much of a napper either. Many swear by it, but it has never been something I actively try to do. Once in a while (like maybe 2-3 times a year), I will doze off in the afternoon on the couch or in bed, but that tends to only happen if I had a very poor night's sleep the night before, a very late night, or I'm under the weather. Naps for me have never felt natural. I find that sleeping during the day disorients me a little bit, plus I'm always concerned that if I nap during the day I'll have a harder time getting to sleep that night.

4. Those of you who follow baseball will be familiar with the name Justin Verlander. He is a very successful Major League pitcher who is a surefire bet to be in the Hall of Fame. He is 39 years old now, and although he had an elbow injury that sidelined him last year, he has pitched at a very high level in recent years. In an interview, he said the biggest driver of his success and his longevity has been his devotion to sleep. He claims to sleep 10 hours a night and thinks that is a big reason why he does better than other pitchers his age. His story made an impression on me and made me realize that prioritizing more sleep than perhaps most people do is probably a worthwhile investment of one's time. Here is an article if you're interested:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/09/sports/baseball/justin-verlander-all-star-sleep.html

I have always felt like sleeping is an under-discussed and perhaps under-prioritized topic relative to the proportion of our lives we devote to it.

I am curious about people's tendencies, philosophies, an techniques of sleeping as it pertains to general health, and perhaps even more importantly if anyone had any tips or recommendations towards getting better quality sleep.

I am someone who aims to get seven-plus hours of sleep a night but often lands on something closer to six. Even on weekends, when I have no pressing need to get up at any particular set time, I find that I usually wake up after 6 or maybe 6.5 hours. That's assuming I had a solid night's sleep the night before. If I am overtired from the previous night, I often will sleep seven or even sometimes eight hours. For me to sleep more than seven hours, that will usually involve waking up and then deliberately trying (and succeeding) to fall back asleep and managing to get another hour or two at that point. But 6/6.5 hours seems like the sweet spot for me. I would prefer that it be seven or seven-plus, but my body does not seem to need seven if it is well-rested from the night before.

I don't presently take any medication for sleeping. I have had things prescribed in the past, but typically the only time I take anything is if I am taking a long flight. I have tried to use non-chemical means to augment my quality of sleep, although I am certainly not adamantly opposed to medication if my techniques ever fail in the future.

Here are a few things I have prioritized that have helped me (1) fall asleep, and (2) get better overall sleep:


(1) I am a big believer in the 4-7-8 breathing technique. For those who are unfamiliar with it, it is pretty simple. Once you are in a comfortable sleeping position, you breathe in through your nose for four seconds. Then you hold your breath for seven seconds. And then you slowly breathe out through your mouth for eight seconds. You repeat this over and over, and I have found that I am typically asleep after anywhere from four to 10 repetitions. Sometimes it takes longer, but that is usually the zone. There are plenty of youtubes and articles about this technique online. The idea behind it is the deep breathing has an automatically physiological calming effect, and when I do it, I feel my heart rate instantly declining noticeably. Also, because you have to keep close count of the seconds in your mind, your mind is forced to move away from any thoughts or stressors that may have been there before. So you have both a physical and mental response to this technique. I do it almost every night, and I find that it really helps.

(2) Another thing that I care about greatly is having a cool bedroom. I guess everyone is different on this front, but I think a cooler-than-room temperature bedroom leads me to sleep better throughout the night and also to have an easier time falling asleep. I like to have the room at about 68-70 instead of something like 72-74.

(3) A third thing that I prioritize is my level of fullness before bed. A good rule of thumb is to not eat anything for at least two hours prior to going to sleep. Ideally longer than that. But from what I have gathered, if you go to bed with a full stomach, since your body is working to process the food, that is going to adversely impact the quality of your sleep. I try to go to bed with a fully digested stomach as often as possible and, if anything, slightly on the hungry side.

(4) An obvious one is exercise. There is no question that I sleep better on days where I have exercised versus days where I didn't.

(5) Another obvious one is alcohol. Drinking right before bed or even within an hour or two is not a good idea if you're trying to get a good night's sleep. Depending on our social lives or other factors, many of us still do it at least occasionally, but as a base practice I feel it is better to go to bed alcohol free.

(6) I have always been more of a back sleeper, but over the past year or so I have tried to sleep more on my side. You tend to snore much less often on your side, and for those who suffer from not just routine snoring but also sleep apnea, side-sleeping is always recommended if you want to avoid the CPAP machine. Although I will say that people I know who have this condition and went for the CPAP machine all say they wish they had done it sooner.

(7) It is always recommended to not be in your bed at all other than for sleeping or for intimate activity. Lying around in bed all morning, or getting into bed 2-3 hours before your intended bedtime, while tempting, is considered not ideal for promoting the best sleep health. I know that insomnia sufferers are usually advised to actually get out of bed and go into a different room and sit up doing quite activity like reading until the sleepiness comes over them again, rather than just lying in bed wide awake. I am pretty good about all of the above, but I could be better.

(8) The one thing I don't do enough of that I really should try to make more of an effort on, because I know it is important, is completely getting rid of all screen use (phone, TV, and laptop) at least an hour before bed. This is one of the basic tenets of proper "sleep hygiene." I don't usually do this myself, but I know I should.

(9) I think sleeping is something worth investing in, not just with respect to the above practices, but also financially. Several years ago my wife and I needed a new mattress, and we decided to "pay up" for the new one. We ended up spending several thousand dollars. I don't remember the exact number, but it was at least triple what we had paid the last time. We did plenty of research and spent hours in the showroom before making up our minds. I have to say, I feel like this was one of the best investments we ever made. Having a quality mattress and good quality pillows and bedding is a massive, massive difference maker. A cheap, sagging, or uncomfortable mattress with old, flimsy pillows really has an adverse impact on your quality of life relative to what a really high quality sleeping setup brings to the table. There are a lot of things in life one can belt-tighten on to save money, but in my opinion getting a restful night's sleep every night should not be one of them. It never will for me again.


Those were the main things I was able to think of off the top of my head. I would love to hear anyone else's thoughts and/or advice on this important health-related subject.

Quote from: jimmyz on March 29, 2022, 05:24:10 PM
BTW....I do condemn what Smith did.  Chris Rock did not deserve that.  And anyone suggesting Rock deserved it (apparently Twitter is ablaze with comments about how Smith did the right thing) might want to consider how it might be if Smith's open hand caught Rock's jaw in a certain way as to make Rock drop to the floor in a heap on national TV; maybe even fall head first.    Smith is very lucky no charges were pressed.

I had a similar thought myself. The reaction by security and the public in general might have been a lot stronger if the blow (which appeared to have considerable force) knocked Rock to the ground and the show had to pause or cut to commercial. Or if he had caught Rock in the nose and caused a substantial nosebleed. Etc. I agree that Smith is very lucky. Rock was a total professional and handled it literally as well as any human being could have under the circumstances. If he had handled it in a more normal human way, I think they might have decided to toss Will Smith out of the building.

Quote from: jimmyz on March 29, 2022, 04:42:25 PM

I'm just making the observation that people's personal lives are complex and that this outburst does not appear to have started and ended with Rock's bald joke.  You can pass judgement of Smith as a person if you want but I think we can condemn what we saw without necessarily having to add in the condemnation of the man.

The draft geek mode comment was directed at the full on film breakdown I'm seeing in this thread.  It is comical and directed at the thread overall and not you directly but you can take it personally if inclined; just dont slap me.

Fair enough, all good, I respect your view.

Quote from: jimmyz on March 29, 2022, 02:33:26 PM
You think so?  If only real life was like the printed word.  Cut and dry.  Suuuuure they both wanted it.  The rest of what you wrote is just based on what you declared as given.

Have you ever met people in an open marriage before?  I have.  My sample size is only two couples (though I would guess this is far more than most people have encountered in their lives) and in both cases I got the sense that one of them wanted it more than the other and that the latter merely agreed to it more than wanted it themselves.

You can say "clearly" this and that but you just never know.

And if you dont know how one incident can lead up to a completely unrelated incident....then that renders anyone on this message board who has ever apologized for bad forum behavior with the explanation that "things have been stressful in my life lately" as an excuse maker.   I don't think that's fair?  Do you?  Besides, what need is there for a logical connection when we're talking about irrational behavior?  One can have a string of unconnected bad incidents that trigger some strange misdirected retaliation. 

On a side note, reading through this thread, I can tell you guys are in full on draft geek mode as the analysis of this incident is rife with deep dive pin point hawk eyed looks into tells and body language.  Some of you guys were born with calculators in your diapers.

The only thing I said "clearly" about was my statement that Smith is a volatile person prone to violent outbursts. I would say that is pretty clear, so I'll stand by that one.

True that we "just never know" about people, but bear in mind I am of the pretty simple view that Smith flipped out when he saw his wife's reaction to a joke about her bald head. I am not the one trying to tie it into all of these tangential marital details neither of us know much about. It is perplexing that after going on all these tangents you would accuse others of being in "draft geek mode" trying to read into this in an overly complex way. I think my take on it has been pretty straightforward.

Quote from: jimmyz on March 29, 2022, 12:40:01 PM
Of course it was real.  It was also a sickening display of high school virtue signaling herd mentality how much consoling Smith received from his cohort.

I like Chris Rock and I dont think he deserves one bit of blame or a smack across the face.

As for Smith, I feel sorry for him.  I had not known what was going on in their so-called 'open marriage'.  This seems to have nothing to do with Rock or Alopecia and everything to do with Smith and his wife.  His disjointed acceptance speech wreaks of a humiliated, broken, cucked and frustrated man.

If they have an open marriage, then presumably that is something they mutually agreed to, and both of them were seeing other people. So given that, I am not sure why Will Smith would feel any more jilted, cuckolded, or humiliated than his wife would. Or why either of them would if they both agreed to it. I am not sure I see any connection between the open marriage and what happened at the Oscars myself, although admittedly I am not privy to the intimate details of their personal life.

Smith is clearly a hot-tempered, volatile person with violent instincts who thinks it's ok to smack someone. It's not the first time he has been caught on camera slapping someone. He also showed no remorse or regret the rest of the night after the incident and only put the apology out there once his PR team and agent got to him and persuaded him to. I disagree that this is publicity that he wants. He looks really bad right now, plus he didn't need any additional publicity as he was awarded best actor by the Academy. That is more publicity than almost any actor gets. Nobody wants to look like the biggest douche bag in America, which is what he looks like right now.

Quote from: LennG on March 29, 2022, 11:03:49 AM
Concerning a 'streak'.

Is their 'streak' only that you play every day?

On my home computer, I haven't missed a word in months. I was away last week and used my wife's laptop and had a short streak there. On Sunday, I continued on my home computer and got the word on the last try and really never looked at my 'streak'. I didn't play yesterday but today I got the word in 4 and looked at my 'streak' and it was at 1. Why is that?
Is it, if you don't play every day, it reverts back to 1?

I'm not sure, because I have not missed a day (I bring my laptop when I travel), but from what you're saying it sounds like if you miss a day your streak ends, even if you didn't fail to get the word in six on a given puzzle.

Quote from: MightyGiants on March 29, 2022, 09:06:50 AM
There are tricks that can be used.  If you have multiple valid guesses you could create one word with as many of the guess letters as possible rather than making all the guesses

Excellent idea. Great approach if you have four to a word (like yesterday) and a few guesses left but there are something like five letters left that work.

Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on March 29, 2022, 08:28:33 AM
I believe it was real. I think Rock was completely caught off guard and that's why he didn't even begin to protect himself thinking Smith was going to do something that was adlib and funny. I give Rock an awful lot of credit for going on as if it was no big deal.

It's weird because in the land of La La, humor amongst actors is roasting one another - happens all the time, even in country music award shows. Roasting is just part of the whole scene. Rock was simply doing what all actors do when being funny in world of Hollywood stars. Apparently, Rock had no idea that Jada had a disease so it was definitely awkward. I'm sure that if she was offended, her husband might want to look like a hero and stand up for his wife, but all that would have taken is for him to holler "okay Chris...that's enough, keep my wife out of it". Which is how many husbands stand up for their wives (as they should) if they believe she's been insulted. Instead, he went old school - mano a mano, use physical violence and intimidation making a huge awkward scene. And poor Chris didn't even know he was insulting Jada.

The whole thing was just a very ugly moment and I don't think it helped Smith's career one iota and he might have lost a lot of fans.

Good take, and I agree across the board.

I would also add that I can't imagine this episode helps Will Smith as far as other actors and directors wanting to work with him on new projects moving forward. If he's this thin-skinned and volatile, why work with him? It's not like he's the only good actor in the world.

And this is not the first time he has shown this side of his personality either.