How to sleep better?

tristar365

I've always struggled to get a good night's sleep.

Also, I've inherited the incredibly annoying trait, that whenever something isn't a 100% right in my life or I'm stressed, it also influences my sleep. Meaning, I lay away till 3 am and then get like 4 or 5 hours of sleep. I'm also a very light sleeper, which doesn't help either.

Has anyone tried yoga or meditation for this? Or any other tips?

Thanks!!

Machka9

If I get a decent amount of exercise during the day, I'm usually tired enough to sleep.

If I feel like I need a bit of extra help, I've been drinking a cup or two of chamomile tea ... I have to use a flavoured variety, ordinary chamomile has a flavour I don't like.

Later in the evening, I'll often turn something quiet and peaceful on TV or turn the TV off and listen to quiet music while drinking my chamomile tea.

You could also look into Valerian or Melatonin ...talk to your Dr or pharmacist about those.

And when I can, I save some calories for honey on toast about an hour before bed ... that seems to be soothing too.

girlinahat

I’ve been doing a lot of reading/thinking about sleep of late. Here’s a few things I’ve found out that are outside the usual tricks/tips etc.

1. Sleep WILL happen. Everyone sleeps. It is actually impossible NOT to sleep, at some point.

2. Getting not enough sleep may mean you feel rubbish and less able to concentrate during the day, but don’t worry, you WILL sleep.

3. Staying awake at night worrying about not sleeping is unnecessary. Sleep WILL happen. If you are not sleeping it may just be that your brain doesn’t see the need right then.

4. All the above don’t help the fact that feeling rubbish and unable to concentrate from fitful sleep isn’t a great feeling.

5. If you are struggling to sleep at night and it is getting to not that many hours until your alarm goes off, rest assured that you WILL fall asleep, so stop worrying (I know, not that easy – I have been through every kind of sleep issue)

6. The bedroom is for sleeping (and…..). not watching TV or checking MFP. Keep it dark, really dark.

7. Top tip I learnt recently – keep your wake time consistent. Set aside a two week period where you can try the following:
Let’s say you get up at 7am. Set your alarm for 7am. Stay awake until 1.30am. DO NOT be tempted to try and sleep before then. Do this for a week. After a while your brain starts to think – hmm, I’m not allowed to sleep until 1.30am and dammit I’m TIRED so I’d better fall asleep straight away. And does. Gradually you can allow yourself to go to bed earlier and earlier and retrain your brain to go to sleep swiftly.


As a caveat to all this – I fall asleep very deeply at around 10/11pm most nights. After half an hour I wake. I then wake at 2am and 4am, falling asleep deeply again after 4. This is not an unusual thing, as most humans find they have a couple of sleep periods a night.

88olds

You tried guided meditation? There are a lot of them on YouTube aimed directly at sleep. I’ve found a couple that have helped a lot. Keep looking until you find one that works for you. Don’t give up just because the first 1or 2 don’t work for you. Everybody’s different.

Also, try to wind yourself down starting about an hour before bedtime. Turn off the electronics. Find some relaxing music to play before going to bed. Again, there are loads available. The whole world is trying to relax. Maybe try a white noise machine.

Just noticed I’m telling you to turn off the electronics and look at YouTube. Do your research in advance. I downloaded my stuff to an MP3 player. If you go online for sleep support, no sneaking onto Facebook.

sofchak

If I am reading your post correctly, it’s not every night you have an extreme issue with sleep - just nights when you have anxiety. Two things that have helped me in that scenario:
1. Journaling - write down all the things that are making you anxious and what you plan to do about it. Make your action list and exhaust all your thoughts on the topic when you write it all down. Then, satisfied you captured your concerns and potential steps to solve, FORGET ABOUT IT until the morning. Every time you find yourself going back to the point of anxiety, remind yourself that you already exhausted the problem and you aren’t giving it a second more of your time until the morning. Move away from the topic as quickly as possible - train yourself to stop thinking about it after your journaling is complete. Takes time to train your brain, but it works!
2. Melatonin on high stress nights. I take about 5-10mg around 3-4 times a month, dependent on how active my brain is when it’s time to sleep.

Good luck!

tristar365

Thanks for all the tips guys! I'll definitely try to incorporate some of them!