Sensible is the new boring

[f4f3]

Home last night at seven, fed myself by eight, and played Gran Tourismo till 10, then went to bed, read for an hour, and went to sleep. So I got about 7 and a half hours of sleep, and getting up at 6.15 wasn't as hard as it was yesterday.

I wasn't really bored. Buying a PS3 was my own ironic take on my single status - I knew that I was going to be spending much more time sitting around playing with myself. Gran Tourismo is one of the games I was playing 15 or so years ago, and the new-ish version is still recognisable to me. I don't tend to play it systematically (the ostensible goal is to get lots of money and the flashest cars and win all of the races). Instead I buy cars I like the look of, piddle about in the easy races and hum along to the soundtrack.

I've decided that an hour or so of reading before sleep also has to make its way back into my routine, since I sleep better after a good read. The jury is out on whether I can read on the iPad before sleep, or if that counts as more screen time (which doesn't help me sleep).

My brain seems to be taking advantage of the extra sleep time to do some filing. I had a long and detailed dream about my ex-wife on Sunday night, and another about a more recent ex last night. Neither of them was particularly distressing, it was just strange to be on holiday with Susan after almost 10 years.

I managed to get the train to work this morning, and walked the last stretch to the office listening to the New Orleans influenced tracks from Steve Earle's last album. So I arrived at my desk with a cheery grin, and a determination to laissez les bon temps roulez - because that's the way I roll.

Comments

[meredyth-13.livejournal.com]

Sleep is wonderful!

I'm sure you're already doing it, but I find using a night filter on my ebook reader when I read before sleeping makes a huge difference to getting off afterwards. No idea how much of the 'research' going around right now about blue light v's red light and sleep patterns is real (and I'm crap at research) but it does seem to help me.

I do know sleep therapists say you shouldn't do anything in bed other than sleep (apparently sleep therapists don't have sex) but I feel like something's not done if I haven't read for at least a few minutes before turning the lights out.

:D

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

When you say "a night filter" is this an actual physical thing, or a setting on the reader?

People have sex in BEDS? Hmm, I suppose that might work, but it seems a bit weird.

[meredyth-13.livejournal.com]

I use my android phone and tablet, and there are settings in my ereader app and browser for night mode, but there are also actual display filter apps you can download that enforce a tint overlay over your screen settings and also can add in additional controls over the brightness. A red filter is the most recommended for night reading or other screen based activities as it's supposed to not trigger the 'awake' response that blue / white light ranges cause. Some of them are sophisticated enough to phase in based on the time of day, so you don't even have to remember to activate them.

In my ereader I have a dark red tinged screen with pale cream writing as my nightmode setting, which I find really comfortable and very relaxing for a read in bed. My browser's nightmode is just a reverse white on black, which is not nearly as nice on its own but it still better than the normal screen.

(I use coolreader, dolphin browser, on jellybean 4.3 if that's any help?)

Some people have sex in all sorts of places, or so I hear. >.>

[meredyth-13.livejournal.com]

ps. I re-read and realised you're using an iPad so the tech info probably isn't much use at all, but I'd be very surprised if similar display apps weren't available on the apple store. :)

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

Aha!

http://www.gottabemobile.com/2013/02/09/how-to-turn-on-night-reading-mode-for-any-iphone-or-ipad-app/