Why we’re having problems getting enough.
We’re not really adapted to the industrial age. Our bodies still expect to go to sleep when it gets dark, perhaps wake during the night for a couple hours, then sleep more until dawn.
Every motel room we’ve stayed in on this trip has extraneous electronic lights. Twice, the VIZIO television has “VIZIO” lit in yellow beneath the screen, even when turned off. Only way to darken it is to unplug it.
I can sleep with lights, but lack of oxygen is killing me. It’s gotten as bad as 68% when I sleep and I gasp while awake. When it’s 98% they say that’s good, but isn’t anything less than 100% starving some cells?
In the Vizios I’ve seen, there’s a buried menu option deep in the configuration to turn off the logo backlight. YMMV.
The only issue with the “deep in the menus” is that most hotel TVs have purpose-built firmware installed that locks out menus and other features, even for non-smart-TVs, and off-brand universal remotes that have menu-type buttons removed. This is to a) deter theft (who wants to steal a TV that can’t have a channel scan performed?) and b) ensure a controlled user experience for all guests. Most hotels will have settings that automatically tune to their in-house information channel upon power-up, set the volume to a low level (to prevent blasting out one’s eardrums based on a previous guest’s settings), etc.
Hotels also tend to buy in bulk for the lowest price available, so you end up with TVs that take forever to change channels, have horrendous up-scaling, etc. I would imagine that Vizio and others provide a discount to hotels for allowing them to leave their logo lit 24/7 to draw attention to the brand of the TV. See also: agreements with hotels to use certain brands of mattresses, dealerships who put license plate frames and vinyl decals on the cars they sell, etc.
About 400 mg of magnesium has done wonders for me. It seems to work better with vitamin D in the morning. Magnesium should be taken in smaller doses at the beginning.
Every single time I travel now I take with me an eye mask and ear plugs.
You never know when the street, the A/C, or your room neighbors, are noisy. Then yes there are the strange lights you can’t turn off. I remember once unplugging a TV just to turn the damned light out.
I still remember fondly when indicator LEDs on machines were used to indicate that they were turned on instead of to illuminate rooms. There should be a lumen limit on these things.
When, I used to work deep nights and had to sleep during the day the light made it hard to sleep. I got a cheap little sleep mask but it still let light in the side which was more annoying than helpful. So, I got the Tempurpedic memory foam sleep mask and that thing completely seals off the light and is cozy and comfortable because of the squishy foam.
Sleep is something I have paid much attention to for a very long time.
People might find interesting two blog postings of mine. The first is a link to the February 2014 Mensa Bulletin. The article Zombie Nation is a good introduction to what sleep deprivation is doing to the United States. Yes, I did get permission from Mensa leadership to distribute this issue. The second is a link to my piece titled An Interesting Side Comment by Michael Griffin is also a comment about sleep and workaholism in general.
Enough for now.
Before I leave on any trip, I take a cheap ball point pen and wrap it several times with black gaffer’s tape. We use it in our lab to hold down accelerometer and thermocouple wires. It will not go gummy like duct tape, rips off easily, totally opaque and will not leave any goop behind. When I get to the hotel room I turn off all the lights and look for the LED’s. Usually a green one in the smoke alarm is the most annoying but sometimes there is also a TV, microwave, or clock which can be covered with a small piece of my tape. (make sure you don’t cover too much of the smoke detector, duh) Just go to Amazon and search for “black gaffers tape” It will be the best $15 roll of tape you ever buy, and you will never go back to duct tape again.