Canine early-warning system

Dogs and humans have been together for some 30 000 years or thereabouts. We are so intertwined that our evolutionary progression is linked. Apparently, when hunter-gatherers domesticated dogs back in the day, they obviously served as an excellent early-warning system. Dogs are more alert and will detect any incoming danger well before us humans. This is a killer feature and no wonder that we have become good friends over the years. Here’s a cool fact about dogs. Your sleep quality improves if you have a snoring dog nearby.

DiaryRikard ÖqvistSeptember 19, 2024dogs, sleep, rest, labradorComment

Sleep

Today I felt about 10-20 IQ points smarter. I suspect there is a strong correlation to me getting a full ten hours of sleep with my boys. They had been on a vacation over at the grandparents, and on Friday I went to pick them up and stayed over the weekend. It is quite rare to get that amount of sleep as a parent and dog owner, so I made sure not to miss the occasion. Now, a funny thought has stuck on repeat: I probably did not get smarter by sleeping. I have simply got a glimpse of my normal self in contrast to the regular sleep deprived guy.

DiaryRikard ÖqvistDecember 11, 2023sleep, winterComment

Fifteen minutes a day keeps the divorce away – pt II.

A month ago I wrote a piece about our newfound morning routine; A coffee between 06:20 and 06:30 with my wife. By now, we should be around two months into the habit. It’s not like I would consider our marriage problematic – not even close – but the general improvements in life quality I have seen in this very short time is mind-boggling. I read many years ago that some Buddhist monk or something said that the last thing you do before you go to bed determines the quality of your sleep. And the first thing you do after waking up determines the quality of your day. This quote has stuck with me and pops up in my mind from time to time. The morning coffee must be a perfect example of the latter part of the quote.

Habits, Parenting, PhilosophyRikard ÖqvistJune 12, 2023family, routine, mornings, sleep, relationship, marriage, loveComment

Dreams never lie

On the night between the 1st and 2nd of June, I dreamt that I could play the drums exceptionally well. It felt as if a very important lock snapped into place. I have kept a daily dream journal since around 2017, so by now I have a pretty good idea of what happens when I sleep. With this dream journal, I have seen strong correlations between dream and reality in that important milestones are often presented in a dream. It is as if my subconscious mind has figured something important out. The feeling is like learning to ride a bike. Certain things you learn are life-altering. Once you have figured out how to ride a bike, you cannot un-learn it. I am soon in my fourth year of daily drum practice. And after this dream, I have played better than ever before, with a big margin. Coincidence?

Habits, PhilosophyRikard ÖqvistJune 5, 2023dreams, sleep, health, music, journalComment

Silence

The shoemaker's children go barefoot. In my case, that was exceptionally true up until today. I’m an acoustician, which means I have devoted my life to improving the world by improving sound quality. That’s why I have been so embarrassed by my own personal living environment. We had in our kitchen one of those old kitchen cupboard FTX ventilation units including a kitchen fan with the suction power of an asthmatic sucking air through a straw. But that’s not even close to the real problem: The noise. The old unit produced an earth-shattering 42 dBA and 62 (!) dBC in our kitchen. Throughout my whole career, I have never come across anything worse in any dwelling. It was up until today the literal definition of how to NOT practice what you preach.

AcousticsRikard ÖqvistSeptember 26, 2022acoustics, ventilation, sound quality, noise, health, sleep, annoyanceComment

I prefer the stick

To make real progress you need both the carrot and the stick. I have got plenty of carrots, and last week I finally got a proper batch of stick. It’s amazing how much productivity boost that can be achieved by a feeling of impending doom. My to-do list had been growing steadily for quite some time, perhaps for a couple of months. I was adding things faster than I was ticking them off. Problems like these are appropriate to consider the saying “How did you go broke? Little by little then everything at once.” So, when you get that feeling that you are inching slowly in the wrong direction, be careful. Be very careful. Because then suddenly everything might twist and turn at once and you don’t want that.

Diary, HabitsRikard ÖqvistMarch 14, 2022health, productivity, sleep, focusComment