My parents visited Israel when I was a kid. My grandparents’ apartment had Israeli air-raid-quality shutters which ACTUALLY blocked out all the light; they were wooden slats that rolled down and stacked themselves solidly over the outside of the window. You pulled on the cord and the light went out completely—that simple. I expect it helped on noise reduction too, though I wasn’t checking then. Ever since, I’ve taken the lack of this simple, extremely useful feature on any other windows I’ve ever seen, as proof that the housing industry is dysfunctional.
In Italy, roller shutters that block all of the light (like this) are pretty much ubiquitous. (This is one of the few things where I think Italy is less retarded than the rest of the developed world. Now I’ve bought a sleeping mask and I’m going to use it the next time I go abroad.)
Some shade too I assume? I find I at least need to ensure that my eyelids aren’t subject to direct sunlight for sleep to be realistic. This occurs sometimes in my room when the sun is at exactly the right point and the curtains aren’t carefully aligned. If I am trying to go to sleep at that time I need to either lie on my side such that my head is facing away or cover my eyes with a pillow (or be very tired, or it could be overcast).
Listening to heavy metal in a brightly lit room will almost inevitably put me to sleep within 30 minutes. One of my friends only produces melatonin when exposed to sunlight or full-spectrum bulbs. Not everyone’s body responds to “night = sleep, light = awake”.
Listening to heavy metal in a brightly lit room will almost inevitably put me to sleep within 30 minutes. One of my friends only produces melatonin when exposed to sunlight or full-spectrum bulbs. Not everyone’s body responds to “night = sleep, light = awake”.
Wow. Really? Those are.… exceptional observations. Should I take them at face value or be confused?
I can’t say for sure whether things like full spectrum bulbs actually help us sleep, or if that’s just psychosomatic, but there definitely exist people who naturally sleep during the day and wake up at night. Left to my own devices, I go to bed at dawn rather reliably, sleep ~8 hours, and wake up feeling incredibly rested. Any other sleep cycle tends to leave me feeling restless and tired, but I’ve learned to force myself to conform to “normal” society.
Yes, it’s what they are for—but they are typically inferior alternatives for the specific goal of preventing light entry.
My parents visited Israel when I was a kid. My grandparents’ apartment had Israeli air-raid-quality shutters which ACTUALLY blocked out all the light; they were wooden slats that rolled down and stacked themselves solidly over the outside of the window. You pulled on the cord and the light went out completely—that simple. I expect it helped on noise reduction too, though I wasn’t checking then. Ever since, I’ve taken the lack of this simple, extremely useful feature on any other windows I’ve ever seen, as proof that the housing industry is dysfunctional.
In Italy, roller shutters that block all of the light (like this) are pretty much ubiquitous. (This is one of the few things where I think Italy is less retarded than the rest of the developed world. Now I’ve bought a sleeping mask and I’m going to use it the next time I go abroad.)
If you can choose, French shutters work miles better than roller shutters at blocking light.
I’ve seen steel shutters like that in Pisa. Some of them still had bullet marks.
But not all of us need pitch darkness to sleep. My eyelids are the only shutters I need.
Some shade too I assume? I find I at least need to ensure that my eyelids aren’t subject to direct sunlight for sleep to be realistic. This occurs sometimes in my room when the sun is at exactly the right point and the curtains aren’t carefully aligned. If I am trying to go to sleep at that time I need to either lie on my side such that my head is facing away or cover my eyes with a pillow (or be very tired, or it could be overcast).
Listening to heavy metal in a brightly lit room will almost inevitably put me to sleep within 30 minutes. One of my friends only produces melatonin when exposed to sunlight or full-spectrum bulbs. Not everyone’s body responds to “night = sleep, light = awake”.
Wow. Really? Those are.… exceptional observations. Should I take them at face value or be confused?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_sleep_phase_disorder
I can’t say for sure whether things like full spectrum bulbs actually help us sleep, or if that’s just psychosomatic, but there definitely exist people who naturally sleep during the day and wake up at night. Left to my own devices, I go to bed at dawn rather reliably, sleep ~8 hours, and wake up feeling incredibly rested. Any other sleep cycle tends to leave me feeling restless and tired, but I’ve learned to force myself to conform to “normal” society.
I hate windows facing south in bedrooms.
As a morning person, I prefer to rise with the sun in summer, and well before it in winter.