The missing ingredient-SLEEP

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  • caffeinated_frog
    caffeinated_frog Posts: 86 Member
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    Sadly, after being in school for the past few years I have trained myself to 4-5 hours a night. Once a week I don't have commitments in the morning which allows me to sleep for 7-8. I can lay down for longer, but I rarely sleep. This sleep pattern runs in the family, my mother had the same sleep schedule until she retired. Occasionally I nap, but it probably is only once a month for a couple of hours.
  • GasnotGas
    GasnotGas Posts: 54 Member
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    Very good topic.

    I have suffered from sleep problems all my life, the doctors way of coping with this was always take these pills, that's ok for a while then the pills stop working and your prescribed stronger pills, and so on, until your a moody zombie who nobody wants to be around. I gave up on that route when I was in my teens.

    The good stuff has already been mentioned here but a few tricks that help me nod off are.

    No TV in the bedroom.

    Cut your caffeine intake. No coffee tea after 6pm (I can get away with 7)

    No drugs, they will always fail in the end when your body gets used to them.

    A good book, read until you feel sleepy.

    When you have difficulty dropping off, in your head retrace a route or a journey, to a friend or relatives house road by road.

    or

    Count backwards by 3 or 4 and pick a random figure, eg 750. 750 -3 747, 744, 741 and so on... better than counting sheep which has never worked for me.
  • CMansager
    CMansager Posts: 10
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    1. Sleep needed. I need to have 7 hours of sleep. I know people that need 3, and people that need 10 hours. I gauge my "need" on feeling completely rested after 7 hours, and that is the amount of time that my body naturally wakes itself up (with no alarms)

    2. Insomnia: Was a chronic sufferer. These help:
    1)Do not ingest caffeine within 12 hours of going to sleep. So, if you know you need to be in bed at 10 p.m., you should have drunk your last cup of coffee/ tea/ cola, had chocolate by 10 a.m., or before, for example.
    2) Visualized meditations take practice but are phenomenally effective at helping cure insomnia naturally, without medications, etc. (easy to teach)
    3) Do not exercise within three hours of going to sleep (seems to work for me)
    4) Er, um.. sex, when appropriate, of course--. (Which is the one time that Rule #3 can be broken.) Of course, this doesn't cure insomnia "during" EEeeK! (I hope!) but - afterwards, more sound rest.
    5) No TV in the bedroom.
    6) Use the bed for two things, and two things only: Sleeping, and sex. Find other places to do other things. The brain will register where you are, and signal that one of two things will happen. Sleep is one of those two..
    7) Play a short audio book that bores you to tears, while you are already in bed, and maybe it will bore you to sleep? (has worked)

    Good luck!
  • tndejong
    tndejong Posts: 463
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    i have a weird thing ive always done. ill sleep 5-6 hours most nights and always wake up really early. i will do this for several days then all of the sudden on a rainy day or 7-10 days later ill have a day where ill just go to bed early and sleep like 8-10 hours. my sleep really depends on if im sick or the weather. if its a nice day, im up and go go go. i do tend to rely on a lot of coffee or caffeine in general. but i never take sleep meds. i dont like the feeling i get from them.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,473 Member
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    i try for 6 to 7,, i am just not a sleeper, my mind always races and i want to get up and go, i can never relax fully.. it drives me nuts,, if there are any other p[eople like this, add me,,,,,,,i guess i sleep when i die....
  • terriblyn
    terriblyn Posts: 107 Member
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    Mmm! Delicious sleep!!
    I really love 7.5 hours too!!

    Last night I pushed it and stayed up too late and woke up early for a trans-Atlantic Skype date.
    Though it was worth only getting 5 3/4 hours, I really feel it today...Not so much sleepy as nervy and
    difficulty with concentration.
    Also, if I don't sleep enough I feel VORACIOUSLY hungry...
    Anyone else like that?

    Tonight, it's a hot bath and early bed time for me!!
  • Silvara_11
    Silvara_11 Posts: 133 Member
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    Great topic! Also a lot of good suggestions on how to get sleep. Mine is Yoga - which ever kind you do it really calms me down and helps reduce stress which is usually why I can't sleep.

    Also noticed that while I can live on 6 hrs of sleep each night I don't lose weight on it. To lose weight and heal I need 7 - 8 hrs.

    And recently since I've been keeping to daily yoga at 6:30am schedule coffee after 4pm really messes me up.
  • Snipsa
    Snipsa Posts: 172 Member
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    I'm lucky- have never suffered from insomnia. I need 5 hours of sleep - otherwise I'm a complete grouch, do well with 6 hours, and am happy when I get 7 but can't really sleep more than that - my internal clock wakes me after 7 hours, every single time! I'd say I average 6 hours a day most weeks...
  • Gusman14
    Gusman14 Posts: 94
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    I have a built in alarm clock in my body that wakes me up after 5 hours and 15 minutes of sleep. That is usually enough time but since I have started working out, my body feels it needs 7 to 7.5 hours of sleep so I give it what it needs.

    I am lucky. I do not battle insomnia and I fall asleep within 5 minutes of my head hitting the pillow. I wear a CPAP for sleep apnea but I am hoping that I will be ridding myself of that device once I hit my final goal weight. Your body is an amazing machine that knows what it needs. Listen to it and give it what it says.

    No advice for insomnia as the only two times I have had it was after surgeries. I feel sorry for those who deal with that on a constant basis. It really messed with my mind when I did have it. Lucky for me it was only for 3-4 weeks at a time.
  • rell2k13
    rell2k13 Posts: 8 Member
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    I need 7.5 hours (7 leaves me feeling unrested and 8 leaves me groggy) and I usually get 7.5. I used to have horrid insomnia, all through college, but then I discovered the sleep machine (it's just noises like a fan blowing, water running, etc). Eventually my machine broke and I just switched to a stereo (small speakers plugged into iPhone, nothing fancy) in my bedroom playing different iTunes sleep albums. Right now I am snoozin' out to "Goodnight Classics: Classical Music for Sleeping and Dreaming," and I have honestly not actually heard anything past the first song. It puts me to sleep in about 30 seconds. Complete bliss.

    I also recommend a little notebook by the bed or a note app on your phone. A lot of why I used to have trouble sleeping was because I would think "ahh tomorrow I have to remember to finish editing such and such" or "don't forget to pay X bill by Wednesday" and I would continue to worry that I would forget that thing and stay up remembering it and 100 other things. Now I just make a quick note in my phone and look at them the next day. Zzzzzzz.

    Droneofvelvet also brought up a lot of great points. I very rarely nap (30 minutes max--maybe twice a year lol). I don't drink caffeine past about 6pm.

    Make your bedroom your little sleep palace. No work in there. I recommend not having a tv in there. Invest in soft sheets and comfy pillows. Get some kind of bedtime ritual together (take a vitamin, put on lotion, start sleep music, so on and so forth). We really respond well to rituals.

    I like the brown noise from http://simplynoise.com/. I started using fans to create white noise, but would eventually burn them out. Now I have the brown noise track looped on my ipod that I play on my surround sound system in my bedroom.

    I need about 7 hours to feel good, but tend to only get about 6.
  • red0801
    red0801 Posts: 283 Member
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    Thank you all for the great input! I really appreciate the suggestions. there are several I'll give a try today.
  • bookworm_847
    bookworm_847 Posts: 1,903 Member
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    If I can get about 7 hours, I'm usually okay. That rarely happens though...

    As far as tips and tricks, I make the room as dark as possible and have some white noise (usually a fan), that seems to help. Other than that I just pray for fortune to smile upon me and send the Sandman my way. It takes a long time for me to fall asleep usually and then I'll wake up every 1-2 hours and have to try to get back to sleep again. This has been going on for years; so other than the stuff I mentioned, I've pretty much given up trying to get an actual full night of sleep.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
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    I have NEVER slept well and have a lot of energy. I'm talking usually no more than 6 hours of sleep a night, and more like 4 or 5 hours is more the norm. However, I have worked very hard to make the time I have sleeping quality time, which makes a marked difference in my well-being. I have also worked hard to TRY and extend the hours an I have managed some nights of up to 8 hours, which I do like,

    But agreed overall. Adequate sleep is huge not only for the physical boyd to mend and work, but VERY important to mentaly recharge and feel motivated, happy, and positive.
  • KirstenTheFamilyCoach
    KirstenTheFamilyCoach Posts: 327 Member
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    Really great topic and some insightful/helpful replies. I wonder if anyone else has no trouble falling asleep but quality sleep eludes them? I'm not a regular insomniac (although at times I will wake in the middle of the night and have difficulty going back to sleep - these are sporadic). Fall of 2012 I got myself a FitBit and the sleep tracker clearly indicates that I am quite a mover at night, averaging five and a half hours of sleep each night because I’m active in my sleep almost 9 times a night. I’d like to find some tips on getting better quality sleep.
  • atla_moves
    atla_moves Posts: 54
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    This is something I've been working on lately as I'm sick of not getting enough sleep. Here's what has helped:

    1) no caffeine after 1 hour post-waking
    2) bed at the same time every night, wake at the same time every morning
    3) give up on 8 hours. I now spend 7 hours in bed. trying to get in bed early enough to get 8 hours just makes me cranky
    4) no screens (computer, e-reader, phone, etc) for 1 hour before bedtime
    5) making the room as dark as possible
    6) white noise
    7) kicking the dog out of the bed. :( This one was the hardest for me.
    8) 6 mg melatonin 2-3 hours before bedtime. I originally took it 30 minutes before bedtime and the effect was minimal. 2-3 hours really helped.
  • DawnEH612
    DawnEH612 Posts: 574 Member
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    I used to suffer from insomnia but sort of "cured" myself of that... Now i just realize i have a circadian rhythm issue... If left to my normal body cues i prefer going to bed around 3-4 am and waking up around 11 am-noon... I am fortunate to have a flexible job and start hours MOST of the time, but there are some times i have to be up and working with the masses like most of next week. Tis is already creating anxiety within me as I know how much of a struggle it is for me to do. I have been this way since i was a kid and i recall my siblings trying to get me up to watch saturday morning cartoons with them and i preferred to sleep in over watching cartoons!
    Anyway, one of the things that helped me to fall asleep faster is NO blue lights and hour or so before bedtime. Blue light waves simulate day light and throw off your system. That means get a blue light blocker screen for your computer if you intend to use it within an hour of going to bed. I also changed my bedroom light bulb to an orange one... Which does not emit any blue light.
    I keep a journal by my bedside to "leave" all my problems in from the day. I also keep blank notepad to jot down the things i "have to do" the next day or so. I found counting helpful but keep it simple by repeating either the same number, like, "one, one, one..." OR use a sequence of only 2-3 numbers such as, "1,2,1,2,1,2... Or 1,2,3,1,2,3,.. Even better is placing your hand on your belly and and focusing on your proper breathing. A you breath in belly and rib cage expand, as you exhale belly and rib cage deflate. Focus on slow, deep, full breaths... Breath in and count pause for a second then breath out while counting in your head.. Should be about 5-6 seconds each give or take. Some great sound machine apps and i use them and prefer sounds like a fan, white noise or ocean waves as opposed to birds and crickets.. I also like to have some chamomile tea and honey about1/2 hour before bed.. Its a signal to my body to get ready for sleep. Keep room cool, not cold or too hot.
    Good luck..... ????????????????????????
  • Doodlewhopper
    Doodlewhopper Posts: 1,018 Member
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    The best sleep is found on my boat...water lapping the hull, the halyards lightly tinging against the mast, the boat faintly rocking...this is what sleep is all about!

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