(no subject)

[rootofnewt]

earlier, i was nodding off whenever i tried to look at the laptop. xiane and briskpepper suggested i was being hypnotized by the refresh rate. it was similar to when i was in the hospital and using the laptop made me nod off constantly. the thing is, back then, i'd nod off whenever i tried to read or do crosswords, too. if i was chatting to someone, i was fine.

so something about the part of my brain that processes reading (or my eyes conceive paper as having a refresh rate after so many years of computer use) is making me narcoleptic while i'm on these meds. ;)

i don't know if any of them are similar to what i took in the hospital. i don't *think* so. when i'm more coherent, i'll look up the pathways by which they're metabolized and see if there's a clue there.

i took a nearly three hour nap. very nice. tom came and went. i was groggy during both events.

Comments

[hellsop.livejournal.com]

refresh rate? Laptops don't really have those, and haven't since active scan screens came out pretty standard post the powerbook 5300. The backlight flickers at 400hz, but that's audible, not visible (unless your eyeballs are ten times the speed of everyone else's), and the pixels switching is all direct drive now, so there's no scanning anymore.

I'm not denying that it's doing *something* to you, but I'm at a loss as to what's triggering it.

[krasota.livejournal.com]

i questioned the refresh, since i didn't think that was an issue. i can easily detect fluorescent and CRT flickers, even in properly functioning devices.

i do have hypersensitive nerves and a bit of hyperacusis (part of fibro)... i can feel vibrations in the screen that other people can't and i can hear them, too. and it's possible the backlight is flickering at a speed that my brain registers, butonly when certain parts are affected by lack of sleep or drugs.

it was a huge issue when i was in the hospital for the pericardial window. dunno if it was drugs, the wireless telemetry, or what.

i still think it's probably something related to reading/writing parts of brain function, not necessarily the computer, because it happened when i tried to do crosswords or read a book, too. pick up a book, become narcoleptic. ;)

[hellsop.livejournal.com]

Fluorescent's got a 60Hz flicker; that's not hard to pick up peripherally. Many CRTs are also doing a 60Hz sweep also, as they default to that, and it takes someone setting them to something better. Good ones with good video cards can ramp up to 90Hz or so, which is easier on even my eyes.

The "reading = sleep" thing is very credible, though, even though technological explanations are much simpler to convince people of. I remember reading someplace (and you'll have to forgive me not digging up a citation for it) that many people end up finding themselves very drowsy after reading for a bit. The source talked about it as a habit that people that tend to read mostly prior to falling asleep get into, and since (I think I remember) you're someone that frequently reads when tired but in too much pain to sleep, that makes a lot of sense. I get very drowsy similarly, when I take my glasses off or am without contact lenses. My brain says "world out of focus, must be sleeping time!" and starts shutting down.

[seeliespright.livejournal.com]

I know about the nodding off while reading thing because i've had it a great deal lately. I think its something to do with reading type when the rest of your body is no so happy. If you have tension in other areas, and then start reading, your eyes sorta say, "no more tension" and droop. (Plus, pain often makes me want to sleep... when it's not so bad that it keeps me up)

Plus, all the meds i'm on. I think that would be the biggest thing for you possibly... Drugs mess with all that stuff... higher brain functions and whotnat...

Oh, and after reading the dissertation about flicker rate of the computer, I'm getting drowsy. I think all that type and my flickering LCD display is making me tired ;oP