Air quality

Veganite

Veganite

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Vancouver, BC
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Holy moly, the air is so thick here in Vancouver that I can hardly sleep at night. It's not visibly apparent in my house, but my lungs would say otherwise. I normally sleep like a log, so this has to be the cause of the disruption in my sleep, as it's been consistent since the haze blanketed the city. The sad part is they're saying this could be the norm for us every summer now.

It's bizarre when you look outside and see this horrible haze hanging over the city. It totally looks like it's overcast today, but sadly it's not.

https://weather.gc.ca/warnings/report_e.html?bc42#1645383311841101826201808130502wo2080cwvr

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1465725
 
Oh, interesting. I have been having trouble sleeping. But I regularly have trouble sleeping so I didn't' think much of it.

I also have been having bad dreams. Not nightmares. But last night I woke up at 4am, very upset that I had a final coming up in a class I had never been to. It took me like 20 seconds to remember that I have been out of school for years.

The night before I couldn't find my car in the parking lot (this actually has happened to me a few times).
 
Thanks. this doesn't happen regularly. and I wouldn't call them nightmares. That final exam one has happened a bunch. The parking lot one was new.

I do have some kind of undiagnosed sleep disorder. And I've had it for like 20 years. and have discussed it with lots of doctors. I always fall asleep quickly. but don't always stay asleep. I plotted it for a while. it seems to be most closely correlated with bedtime. If I go to bed after midnight it almost never happens. and every hour before midnight makes it more likely to occur. exercise and sunshine help. Caffeine, drugs and alcohol all make it more likely that i wake up in the middle of the night.

If i go to bed at midnight chances are I will sleep to 630. Six and a half hours of sleep seems to be all I need. Plus daylight and outside noise in the AM make sleeping past 630 problematic. But if I go to bed at 10 pm, chances are I'll wake up at 2 AM.

Melatonin seems to help a lot. but not as much as just going to bed later.
 
I would recommend you start meditating for 10-15 mins a day. I just started this, myself. It may or may not improve your sleep, but my best guess is it will help.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/12-benefits-of-meditation

I don't know if you exercise, but that's been proven to have a positive effect on getting a good night's sleep. I'd also suggest no computer or TV for about an hour before going to bed. Evidently, the light plays a role and can affect your sleep. So maybe your last hour before sleep, read a bit, and do some meditation, perhaps.

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Right. I've read all those things.
Like I said I don't have trouble falling asleep. Its staying asleep. I have not tried meditation. but I've tried everything else. My sister just got into meditation and swears by it. She even gave me a lesson.

I have kept a sleep log for years.
Exercise and sunshine seem to have a lot of good effects. drugs and alcohol and caffeine have negative effects. But the strongest correlation is bedtime. My theory is that is has something to do with melatonin production or absorption. Taking melatonin also helps but not 100%. My current theory is that it helps a lot but can't overcome other stuff on its own.

I'm not sure about sound and light yet. My experiments with earplugs and eye masks have results all over the place. White noise generators seem to have no effect. Sleeping with my sister's dog seems to have strong negative effects. He snores. He also wants to use most of the bed, even though he is just a little dog.

Oh, and going to the beach works good. which I'm pretty sure has to do with increasing melatonin production.
 
Have you ever tried Valerian tea?

I might add that I sometimes have a similar problem, but not consistently. I'll sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and cannot for the life of me get back to sleep. I usually don't fight it, so I will read for an hour or two...or three sometimes. With this extreme poor air quality, I seem to be having this problem more frequently.
 
I don't think i have tried Valerian tea. I have some "Sleepy time" or something like that.
But yeah, it's not falling asleep. Its staying asleep. If I wake up at 5, i might just put on the earplugs and sleep mask and see if I can fall back to sleep and sleep to 7 or 8. When I was still working that wasn't usually an option so I would just get up.

Its when I wake up even earlier than that - that's the problem. - one trick I use is an audiobook of something I have read before. that way there is no effort on my part to pay attention. but the narration is enough of a distraction so it keeps me from getting anxious or nervous about not sleeping. Also at 3 AM my mind can go to some pretty dark places. I read somewhere that reading or watching TV can be a bad idea. Light and disrupted sleep patterns and cycles. But I think it differs for individuals.

The worst thing that can happen to me is sort of a spiral or cycle. I wake up so early that I am so sleepy in the evenings I am forced to bed early. Then I wake up even earlier. and it just gets worse and worse. In those instances, I resort to drugs. A couple of sudafeds will keep me asleep and break the cycle.
 
Oh I am sorry to hear that. I lived in Los Angeles for nearly a decade but it was after the worst of the smog had cleared (apparently LA air is ironically much cleaner than it was prior to the 1990s due to emissions regulations). Still, I noticed an appreciable difference in air quality when I moved to Northern California. I take it for granted now but when I moved here it was kind of incredible.

We had a fire uncomfortably close to the campground I worked at during the vacation months and we started to get smoky air, and it's definitely a different smell that comes from a high heat fire than from a camp fire or wood burning stove, it's a lot less cozy and a little more disturbing. Our air quality during the fire was about comparable to LA air on hot humid days, mildly unhealthy but not dangerous to anyone except people with emphysema and severe asthma.

Have you considered moving?
 
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Forest Nymph said:
Have you considered moving?
Click to expand...

I had not considered moving until now. This was not nearly as bad last year, but if this is the future here in Vancouver, I would move from this. I absolutely love Vancouver, otherwise. It would be a tough move.

I just got home. The air outside right now is just horrible. I can feel it in the back of my throat. What's worse is I can now smell it inside my house. Evidently, the particles are so small, there's nothing you can do to keep it out. I really feel badly for anyone with a serious lung and/or breathing conditions, such as emphysema and asthma.

There's supposed to be a break coming by Friday. It would appear we've maxed out the index. Here's what the current air quality looks like.
upload_2018-8-22_20-24-46.png

When you read stuff like this, you really should consider moving, if you value your health. My sister lives in Seattle. We were talking about this earlier today on the phone. Their air quality is just as bad there. Her and her husband want to move to Arizona.


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Veganite said:
I had not considered moving until now. This was not nearly as bad last year, but if this is the future here in Vancouver, I would move from this. I absolutely love Vancouver, otherwise. It would be a tough move.

I just got home. The air outside right now is just horrible. I can feel it in the back of my throat. What's worse is I can now smell it inside my house. Evidently, the particles are so small, there's nothing you can do to keep it out. I really feel badly for anyone with a serious lung and/or breathing conditions, such as emphysema and asthma.

There's supposed to be a break coming by Friday. It would appear we've maxed out the index. Here's what the current air quality looks like.
View attachment 699

When you read stuff like this, you really should consider moving, if you value your health. My sister lives in Seattle. We were talking about this earlier today on the phone. Their air quality is just as bad there. Her and her husband want to move to Arizona.


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Click to expand...

Ugh I'm sorry to hear that. I hope the air clears soon.
 
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Ah, thank you. It's already improved a lot.

It's been like an episode from the Twilight Zone here though. Outdoor patios empty in August. Everyone sitting indoors for their coffee breaks and lunches. It was truly eerie. However, the good news is it's drastically improved since this morning. It's down to a moderate risk at the moment, at 6 on the index. Tomorrow should be better still, hopefully. I just hope it lasts.

Honestly, I have to think, it could be a heck of a lot worse. At least I haven't had to evacuate my home, or worse yet, lose my house to fire. I always try to think that way. Even stuck in traffic, I will see the poor dude at the bus stop waiting for a bus in the rain, and consider myself lucky. Things can always be worse, right? Nonetheless, things like clean air we take for granted.

I like Fall; it's a wonderful season, but I can't say I've ever looked forward to it in my life. It means summer is over. Why would anyone in their right mind want that? It also means the rain is coming. Still, I want it to rain. I want the fires to go out, and all those poor animals to be safe.

We've lost nearly 400,000 hectares in B.C. this year so far. I think last year was worse, but this year's wildfire season is far from over, unfortunately.


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Its bad here too. its the fires. Not so bad in the AMs so i have been trying to get my exercise done then.
In the AM we had 10 miles visibility. In the PM it dropped to 5.
 
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