Living The Lifestyle, Tuesday, 8/3/21

88olds

We meet here to explore, share, celebrate and (sometimes) agonize over how we do (or don't) incorporate weight loss guidelines into our daily lives. "It's a lifestyle, not a diet" is easily and often said, but sometimes not so simply put into practice.

This is a thread for everyone. If you're new to GoaD, or to weight loss, your questions and comments are always welcome. If you're maintaining, or a long-term loser, your thoughts on the topic may be just what someone else needs to hear. If you're reading this, join in the discussion!

Each weekday, a new topic is offered up for discussion.
Monday - Al_Howard
Tuesday – 88olds (George)
Wednesday -
Thursday -
Friday -

Today's Topic: Sleep

How are you sleeping? Is it an issue? If it’s not an issue, what do you think you’re doing right? If it is an issue, what are you doing about it?

88olds

It’s definitely an issue for me. It’s probably my #1 health issue.

I’ve read the articles and have a sleep hygiene regime in place. As a result I rarely have trouble getting to sleep. Head off to bed at 11. Usually sleeping 11:15-11:30.

My issue is usually what happens between 3:30-4:30. And I’ve faced a lot of days on 4-5 hrs of sleep.

But after years of struggle I think I’ve had a lightbulb moment. The issue is not sleeping through the night. The issue is going back to sleep.

And going back to sleep has a lot to do with confidence. The chain of negative thinking went like this- oh carp, I’m awake. What time is it? Ack, 3:30. Now tomorrow is shot.

That’s a difficult place to recover from. But lately I’ve had substantial success getting back to sleep. I’ve got 2 routines. Sometimes I get up and sit in a chair in the living room. Wait an hour and go back to bed.

Sometimes I turn on the tv. That’s supposedly a bad move. But I turn on the same movie. Nothing exciting, no surprises. Wait an hour and go back.

I’m aided I this by the fact that I don’t have to get up to go to work. But it ends up like 4 hrs sleep and a 2 hr nap.

I

Al_Howard

88olds wrote: »

It’s definitely an issue for me. It’s probably my #1 health issue.

I’ve read the articles and have a sleep hygiene regime in place. As a result I rarely have trouble getting to sleep. Head off to bed at 11. Usually sleeping 11:15-11:30.

My issue is usually what happens between 3:30-4:30. And I’ve faced a lot of days on 4-5 hrs of sleep.

But after years of struggle I think I’ve had a lightbulb moment. The issue is not sleeping through the night. The issue is going back to sleep.

And going back to sleep has a lot to do with confidence. The chain of negative thinking went like this- oh carp, I’m awake. What time is it? Ack, 3:30. Now tomorrow is shot.

That’s a difficult place to recover from. But lately I’ve had substantial success getting back to sleep. I’ve got 2 routines. Sometimes I get up and sit in a chair in the living room. Wait an hour and go back to bed.

Sometimes I turn on the tv. That’s supposedly a bad move. But I turn on the same movie. Nothing exciting, no surprises. Wait an hour and go back.

I’m aided I this by the fact that I don’t have to get up to go to work. But it ends up like 4 hrs sleep and a 2 hr nap.

I

I rarely have "one of those" nights, but when I do, I have a couple of aces up my sleeve. I take 3mg of meletonin every evening, and I have a bottle of Menetonin 3AM, which is a chewable (followed by a glass lof liquid. I usually opt for my once a month glass of skim milk.) Then I settle down in front of my computer, which is in "night mode" from 10:30-6. I usually read (online) my Catholic "Office of Readings", which I very rarely do, so have to concentrate, which makes me tired.
If I don't het to sleep within 11/2 to 2 hours, I'll start "cruising. Go to both GOAD sites (MFP and FB) and do Roll Call. I try to stay away from the news, and concentrate on "fluff", so I might be able to go back to bed when TOL gets up, and nap for a couple of hours.

crewahl

I generally sleep well. I'm normally in bed by 9:30 and up by 7 AM. I have a sleep tracker in my Apple Watch (along with the design plans for an Internal combustion engine that gets 300 mpg and the nuclear launch codes, I know.) I get between 7.5 and 9 hours with about 2 hours of deep sleep and six hours of restful sleep. My heart rate dips to an average of between 53-56 bpm. Of course, I’m up once or twice (or thrice) per night, but that’s in there.

I have an odd little thing I do to go back to sleep. I silently sing to myself - preferably something with lyrics that are a bit hard to remember - and I try to sing it in my mind the way the original artist did. Poncho and Lefty is a good one, but so is the Battle Hymn of the Republic. I have to concentrate enough on the lyrics and style that everything else is blocked out and I can sleep.

I may also keep my eyes closed, and try to make what my eyes still see completely black. Tough to explain, but it works as well.

cakeman21k

For the past several years I have been having what I thought were prostate issues with the need to use the bathroom 5 - 8 times a night. Then about 4 months ago I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, and got a CPAP machine. suddenly my 5 - 8 times awake each night became 1 - 2 times. It is such a relief and I feel way more refreshed each morning.

steve0mania

Ha ha, sleep, that elusive creature!

I have a lot of trouble getting a good night's sleep. First off, I'm usually too wound up to fall right asleep, and often need to watch TV or read a book until I feel myself getting sleepy. As such, I always fall asleep later than I want to (I try to shut everything off by 11 pm).

I nearly always wake up a few times at night. I am usually able to fall back asleep quickly, but it's a broken sleep. I know I often see 3 am, 3:30 am, and 4 am on the clock.

Finally, I get up much earlier than I wish I could. The alarm usually goes off at 4:30 am, as that's the only way I can get everything done in the morning that I want to before work (go for a run, eat breakfast and have coffee, get to the synagogue, and then off to work!).

I am constantly fatigued.

The one important "plus side" is that I almost always get to take a nap on Shabbat (often not as long as I'd like, but a nap nonetheless).

Flintwinch

I sleep well now that I am retired and can set my own sleep hours. I'm a natural night owl and sleep best between 2 am and about 9 am. Also, I have no medical issues that interfere with sleep.

misterhub

I fall asleep very easily, like 98% of the time. I will sleep hard for 4-5 hours. Then, I'll wake up and have to go to the bathroom. After that, it is a total crapshoot whether I go back to sleep. Sometimes, I fall right back to sleep. Other times, I doze fitfully. Many times, though, I am fully awake for the rest of the night.