Sleep deprived?

Jakenb

Any ideas for better sleep? Workout✔ pills/drugs❌ caffeine❌ give me a couple suggestions please, I'm open for them.

Need2Exerc1se

I think it depends on why you have trouble sleeping. If it's stress related I'd suggest meditative breathing before bed. It really helps to quiet the mind.

Braddlzz

I have had a sleeping problem for close to 10 years, broken sleep, wake up on average 8 times per night

I was prescribed meds but they did *kitten* all

I find if I go to the gym right before bed and destroy myself then I just pass out from exhaustion

rsclause

I was having insomnia problems when I started MFP. A lot of it is stress related. I changed so many things it is hard to tell what worked but I don't have trouble any more. I started running early in the morning and usually get up at 4:30 AM. I try to go 4 to 10 miles on most days. This has also shifted my bedtime and often retire at 9:30 or 10:00. It is usually a matter of seconds before I am out.

lemurcat12

Yes, depends on the specific problem. What's going on?

Sometimes working out to close to bedtime (or even in the evening) can be an issue for me, and it's better to do it earlier.

H_Ock12

Lavender essential oil mixed with water and sprayed on your comforter/pillows, melotonin, or a Himalayan Salt Lamp on your bedside table.

CSARdiver

You need to build a routine around sleep.

You built a workout routine, an eating routine - do the same for sleep. Barring any medical issues this is likely a matter of you clearing your mind and preparing yourself for rest.

I have a cutoff time every night where I unplug from everything and meditate on how the day went and what I'm going to do tomorrow to hit my goals.

zdyb23456

Remove electronics including the tv from bedroom, keep your phone downstairs, turn the temp down to 65 (ideal sleeping temp). Use black out curtains.

Keep your bedroom a sanctuary, sounds weird, but avoid doing stressful things like paying bills or working.

Taking a hot shower before bed is helping as the drop in body temp after getting out signals to the brain drowsiness.

Don't go to bed hungry. That always makes it hard for me to sleep.

Lounmoun

Meditation
Keep a consistant schedule
White noise machine
Warm bath or shower before bed
Chamomile tea, Sleepytime tea, Tension Tamer tea
Talk to your doctor... maybe do a sleep study
Some people take melatonin or magnesium

trigden1991

Light cardio before bed works for me. 60-90 mins of walking, home for a shower and I'm ready to crash out.

Jules_farmgirl

I had a lot of stress in my life for the past 7 months. I had to really find WHERE that stress was truly coming from to fix it. I started on melatonin at night to help me sleep, but as I was able to truly FIX the issues I was able to slowly stop taking the aid at night to sleep.

AnnPT77

What kind of sleep problem?

Can't get to sleep or get back to sleep after waking because mind keeps spinning? Meditation or Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), probably short term.

Able to go to sleep easily, but wake repeatedly? Sleep study to rule out sleep apnea. After that, hypnotherapy (by a real psychotherapist, not a nightclub act) helped my sleep interruption insomnia more than any of the other many, many things I tried.

Seem to sleep but not rested? Sleep study.

Something else?

Good advice from various others above, too, about sleep hygiene & such.

2essie

Youtube has lots of sleep hypnosis videos. I use them sometimes. They range from 8 hours per night to help you stay asleep to 1 or 2 hours just to get you off to sleep. I find them very relaxing

Jakenb

Thanks everyone for the advice really appreciate it!!

CipherZero

Sleep hygiene is the starting point - dark, quiet, right temp, no screens 30-60 minutes before bed (and f.lux if you have to on every system you use), and so on.

robininfl

Jakenb wrote: »

Any ideas for better sleep? Workout✔ pills/drugs❌ caffeine❌ give me a couple suggestions please, I'm open for them.

I love sleep, but can have trouble falling asleep - it's funny, my guy falls into bed and can sleep right away if he wants, but in the mornings takes an hour waking up slowly, cup of coffee in bed and all the lights off - I have trouble settling down but in the morning can sleep while he gets up and does all his wake up routine, if it's the weekend and I have time.

Anyway.

Yin Yoga knocks me right out. This is my suggestion. Stretch before bed, but in particular do the Yin yoga. Look it up. In short, you do the poses easy, don't push, use pillows to support yourself, and hold each one for 2 minutes at least.

Also:

Consistent schedule
When you wake up, Get Up. In the morning I mean, even if it's 4:30. Just get up and start the day. Go to bed at the time that supports your natural wakeup time.

Spliner1969

I've had insomnia since high school. Since I have allergies I tend to take Benadryl at bedtime anyway so that tends to help quite a bit, and its cheap. It doesn't matter much if I work out hard that day and am really tired at bed time, I may be able to fall asleep without the Benadryl but I won't stay asleep more than a couple hours. I gave up with prescription sleep meds long ago, most of them make me want to sleep for 14 hours and I need to work for a living which means I need to be on time every day. So I just deal with it. But since I started to get up at 4-5am every morning, working out for an hour and a half, then getting ready for work, it's helped a LOT. I now get tired by 8pm, and can easily fall asleep by 10pm without Benadryl, but I still take it for my allergies, and I tend to get much better sleep. So if you're against taking anything, then I'd say intensify your workouts and see if it makes you more tired at the end of the day.

J72FIT

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

I think it depends on why you have trouble sleeping. If it's stress related I'd suggest meditative breathing before bed. It really helps to quiet the mind.

Absolutely! First determine the cause then figure the remedy. My sleep issues stem from having a 6 year old child... lol!

girlgroves

J72FIT wrote: »

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

I think it depends on why you have trouble sleeping. If it's stress related I'd suggest meditative breathing before bed. It really helps to quiet the mind.

Absolutely! First determine the cause then figure the remedy. My sleep issues stem from having a 6 year old child... lol!

Yep - that would do it! I've heard brandy helps? For you or the 6 year-old!!

Lisa_Ookoo

Chamomile tea and white noise help me sleep.

CoachBrafford

Ok... I've tried 5 times. It keeps eating my work. So sorry man. I tried. If i can get a document up to my screen name it will be there. Hope you got the help you needed if not let me know.

CoachBrafford

Disregard