5-HTP is a precursor to serotonin, which is a precursor to melatonin. I imagine that this would have a much slower and less predictable effect, less suitable for helping to go to sleep in a particular time range.
I share the concerns about possible overuse of melatonin, though I've found out helpful at times. I try to adjust light exposure (morning and night) as a higher priority than melatonin.
I may also go back to using low dose melatonin, though, as it's been helpful in the past and may be needed in modern technological society.
My favourite is Ten Percent Happier – it's very accessible and it has a lot of meditations and teachings by Joseph Goldstein, who also appears in the lectures in Waking Up. I've also found some value from Sam Harris's meditations, especially the early ones he released long before the app. They don't have the free option AFAIK, but they do have significant discounts at times through the year.
What's the story with Eat Just selling cultured chicken bites in Singapore – are they being sold at a loss, and/or does the product only contain a small amount of the chicken product?
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/more-cultured-chicken-products-approved-for-sale-in-singapore
I've read elsewhere that the initial version wasn't quite 100% vegan, but they later eliminated the need for fetal blood.
Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos gets a full 8 hours.
Another data point: IIRC, Will MacAskill says he gets 9 hours or he doesn't function at his best. (I think I heard that in his Tim Ferriss interview.)
Some things that have helped me to sleep, in case they help you:
Thank you for the thorough post.
"Mini-summit"? Less elegant, but maybe more fitting.
Thanks for the analysis.
A point of disagreement: "if cultured meat is at least as expensive as farmed animal meat, it is doubtful that a substantial fraction of consumers would substitute, given the current unwillingness to replace animal products with similar vegan substitutes."
Not at all comparable. I have yet to find plant-based meat substitutes that I want to eat. They either taste disappointing compared to meat, leave me with pains in the gut, fail to meet my nutritional expectations, or a combination of the three. I actually prefer tofu or beans.
If cultured meat were available, even at twice the price of regular meat and in restricted varieties (e.g. only beef mince), I would buy it.
As Denkenberger says in their comment:
if meat substitutes actually tasted better or were more healthful, this could be a scenario with strong spontaneous adoption.
Thanks – helpful feedback (and from Owen also). In hindsight I would probably have kept the word "cultish" while being much more explicit about not completely endorsing the feeling.
I read "active" to mean actually involved in things, whether socially, online, finding, or campaigning.
The word "activist" has a stronger connotation in spite of the same root.
That's an important distinction, and acting against that (trying to act as the EA community's representative) doesn't automatically mean banning from the movement.
It's worth noting that being outside in sunshine gives much more intense light exposure than any mainstream SAD treatment. (My personal experience is that it can give a large boost in alertness, and probably helps my sleep significantly. But I'm in Sydney – I can't speak for northern Europe or Canada.)