1. Welcome to NoFap! We have disabled new forum accounts from being registered for the time being. In the meantime, you can join our weekly accountability groups.
    Dismiss Notice

The Sleep Advice Thread

Discussion in 'Self Improvement' started by Single Palm Change, Jan 11, 2018.

  1. Single Palm Change

    Single Palm Change Fapstronaut

    576
    1,174
    123
    What's up guys. I decided to improve my sleeping.
    I researched a lot today and decided to compile all the different advices in a thread to help myself and everyone else:
    If you got some killer advice not on the list, please share it.
    Here we go!

    PLANNING
    • Plan a schedule and stick to it.
    • Have a evening schedule, a morning schedule, and a emergency schedule for insomnia.
    • Make a sleep log. This will help you be consistent
      • Note when you got to bed, when you fell asleep, when you woke up, quality of sleep.
    • Be consistent, be persevering. Don't stay up late because it's weekend, stuff like that.
    • Sleep at night. Get up early.
      • Some people go to sleep at 10-11 pm and wake up 6 or 7
      • Some people find they have a crazy amount of energy at 4:30 AM and go to sleep at 9 PM.
    • Aim for 8 hours. With time you will know what duration's best for you.
    SLEEPING PREPARATION
    • Get all the screens out of your bedroom.
    • Keep your bedroom as dark as possible, block out the light from streetlamps, etc.
    • Don't bring your phone or Ipad/devices to bed
    • If you use your phone as an alarm clock, don't have it next to your bed
    • Don't view any screens 1-2 hours before you have to sleep
    • Install an app like f.lux to keep your screens red (blue light keeps you awake)
    • Buy some blue-filter glasses for wearing in the evening
    • Gradually turn off the lights in the evening (to get your melatonin production going)
    • Maybe get a better matress?
    • Don't sleep in a overheated bedroom. Turn off the heater. It's healthier to sleep in a cool room.
    • Oxygen. Get some plants in your bedroom.
    EVENING ROUTINE
    • Have a winding-down evening routine that makes you relax and get ready for bed (reading in a physical book, meditating, listening to music/audio book, find out what works best for you)
    • Wear comfortable clothes in the evening
    • Regulate your body temperature before you hit the sheets - in the summer take a cold shower, in the winter take a hot footbath and chill out.
    • Some people found writing a diary in the evening "summed up their day" and got them psychologically ready for bed
    • Get to bed 1 hour before you have to fall asleep (helps some people)
    • Don't overeat for dinner, and don't eat dinner too late - go to bed with an empty-ish stomach
    • Don't drink water immediately before bed
    • When you're in bed, look forward to and be excited about getting up early tomorrow. (It helps not ruminating)
    • Have your stuff neat and ready for the next morning. Nobody wants to get up early and do the dishes...
    • If you are religious, pray before bed. (I'm trying to keep things neutral and secular in this post, but "If it works, do it".)
    MORNING ROUTINE
    • Get a morning routine going. Plan it out.
    • First thing in the morning, expose your eyes to strong light - preferably sunshine. Or get a light therapy lamp. (This helps normalise melatonin and boost your rhytm)
    • Have your morning routine written down and visible from your bed.
    • Morning exercise to get the blood flowing (prevent you from going back to sleep)
    • Have something nice to wake up to. Treat yourself for getting up so nice and early.

    GETTING UP / ALARM TIPS
    • If you use your phone as an alarm clock, have it somewhere where you need to get out of bed to reach it.
    • Get a Light-alarm clock. When you wake up with light stimulation you are not as groggy.
    • There are apps where you have to solve a math question, or scan a barcode before the insanely loud noise will stop. Good choice if you don't have a partner (he/she will kill you).

    DURING THE DAYTIME
    • EXERCISE, exercise, exercise. Get your body tired so it gets sleepy naturally.
      • Someone have benefits of doing cardio 2 hours before bed.
      • Some people say don't get your pulse up before bed.
      • Find out what works for you!
    • Meditation
    • Breathing exercises
    • Avoid caffeine (If you can't live without it, try to stop at least before 2 p.m. or so)
    • Get all your shit done during the day so you don't have to stress about it at night!

    PSYCHOLOGICAL TIPS:
    • We're serious about our sleeping commitment, so take yourself seriously and thank yourself for taking better care of your sleep. This is important! Remember you are doing this because you love yourself.
    • Look forward to and be excited about getting up early tomorrow.
    • Have something nice and exciting to look forward to in the morning.
      • This is really important! If everything is a chore and it's another bleak shitty day, you won't get out of bed in time.
      • So treat yourself with something nice every morning until your routine is second nature
    • At least 1 person said Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is good for correcting sleep disorders, so I'll include it here. Research this if you feel like it will help you.
    INSOMNIA TIPS
    • Always accept your situation. Worrying and rumination is not going to help you sleep better or faster.
    • Anger and irritation will excite you and release adrenaline. This is like the anti-sleep hormone. Don't do it! (Meditation, exercise, journalling can help)
    • If you're pissed off at neighbours or noises in your environment, get earplugs ASAP.
    • Don't worry if you can't sleep. At least you are lying down and resting. So focus on being nice and relaxed, breathe in relaxation.
    • Get up and write a list of the things you have to do, then you will feel better (note: this is emergency-only-stuff. Generally writing lists of stuff so you can put it off is a very bad habit)
    • Light, short duration exercise helps some people fall asleep
    • Some people get up and read a little until they get sleepy again.


    SLEEPING AIDS
    • Sleep mask
    • Earplugs
    • "White noise" soundtrack
    • Slow, easy, deep, noiseless breathing.
    • Experiment with sleeping naked/shirt on/pyjamas. (There was a period where I slept much better fully clothed - weird, huh?)

    SUPPLEMENTS / HERBS / MEDICATION
    note: I'm not a doctor. Consult your doc before trying out chemicals and drugs.
    Aim for the high-quality expensive supplements, those that have been tested and regulated. You don't want heavy metal poisoning from a cheap unregulated source.

    • Melatonin is the sleep hormone. It is also used as a contraceptive in some Europan country. Use with care. 0.3 - 3 mg.
      • I would not recommend long time use of melatonin. It is good for jetlag and correcting your circadian rhytm.
    • L-tryptophane / 5-htp. This is the building block for serotonin, which naturally metabolises into melatonine.
    • Magnesium. Some people said magnesium supplements helped them sleep better. (EDIT: Ok, I picked this up yesterday and took 600mg before bed. I have had the best sleep in a long time and woke up feeling good and refreshed. Recommended!)
    • Chamomile tea (This is great for me. I drink three cups of this stuff during the afternoon/evening to get nice and calm)
    • Mint tea. (Haven't tried this.)
    • Valerian root. (This doesn't really work for me, but try it out.)
    • Passionflower tea. (This tea makes me really warm and fuzzy in my body, but sleepy? I dunno.)
    • "Old-school" Anti-histamines will make you sleepy.
      • There is a bunch of side-effects, though. But not as bad as benzo's. Your doc will know which ones to get. Only to be used as a very temporary sleep aid
    • I won't endorse any more drugs. That stuff is no good anyway, learn to fall asleep naturally should be our main concern.

    Finally, I want to share these thoughts:
    Changing our sleeping pattern is going to take time. It will not happen overnight (see what I did there?). So stick with it and don't get disillusioned if you do all these things and still can't sleep. Time and recovery is the key. Just like with NoFap.

    When you stay up late just one night, it can mess up your sleep for a whole week, if not more. When you know this, you get more discipline naturally.

    Thanks for reading, it took me quite a while to compile this info, so please comment and share.
    Happy sleeping!
     
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2018
  2. Chumanew

    Chumanew Fapstronaut

    6
    11
    3
    Really educative. Thank you.
     
  3. TreeGuy

    TreeGuy Fapstronaut

    124
    50
    28
    Really nice collection of info, thanks.
    Ive read it but will be coming back for more tips.

    One thing i cant quite get my head around is how to start sleeping earlier. if i lie in bed not able to sleep its horrible and i end up sleeping later. should i be getting up early and doing without sleep for a few days so i am naturally tired at the time i should be getting to sleep? but if i do that im worried about below:
    any tips on what to do if i feel sleepy in the day? sometimes i get a bad headache and very drowsy in the afternoons, so i end up napping for an hour or 2 which completely throws of any chance of a good night sleep that night.
     
    I_can_and_I_will likes this.
  4. Single Palm Change

    Single Palm Change Fapstronaut

    576
    1,174
    123
    Sleeping earlier:
    From what I've gathered, it takes a little time to adjust, maybe a few weeks. Make sure you are relaxed and comfortable and your body is tired (exercise or long walks), and of course cut out the caffeine and stimulants. Just keep on persevering and going to bed at the chosen time every day and you will start to fall asleep earlier. Also, no naps (stay off the couch)

    Naps:
    Some people said that they could function on less sleep pr night if they took powernaps during the day. A powernap is anywhere from 1 minute to 20 minutes, but not longer than that. So maybe try and set an alarm for 20 minutes when you feel drowzy instead of dozing for hours.
    You could also try to get out and go for a walk or exercise when you feel drowzy. Maybe it's just a circulation thing.
    Maybe it's a sugar crash/comedown thing, so try and experiment with what you eat.

    On a site note: NoFap, especially the first few weeks and the flatline, will make you have periods of acute tiredness and feeling drowzy... It's important to get enough rest and respect the body.
     
    I_can_and_I_will likes this.
  5. TreeGuy

    TreeGuy Fapstronaut

    124
    50
    28
    time to adjust makes sense, im expecting that, but sometimes it feels like 1 step forward 2 steps back...

    yeah its hard to explain, i dont know why it happens but if i have a day with alot of stress or anxiety i get so sleepy i can hardly keep my eyes open, ill have to have a google see if i can find what causes it. it happened yesterday for the first time in a while, fell asleep 6-8pm ish, then couldnt get to sleep until about 2am.
    Its not sugar crash type thing, but can be worse after i eat, it was after i ate yesterday. i hadnt eaten in 8-10 hours, ate a small steak, sweet potatoes and some veg, within 15 mins i was passed out.

    not sure i ever really got a flatline or drowsiness from nofap, but yeah i wouldnt be surprised.



    thanks
     
  6. Single Palm Change

    Single Palm Change Fapstronaut

    576
    1,174
    123
    Aha!
    I know exactly what you mean. I have had the same symptoms. And also, trouble concentrating, right?

    For me it is a stress + stomach/digestion problem.
    Stress makes the digestion stressed out, which requires a lot more blood+water+neurotransmitters (serotonin, which metabolizes into melatonin at night).
    This can make you very drowzy and sleepy. My theory is that is can induce a temporary anemia-like (blood loss) condition, as well as deplete the neurotransmitters which will have an impact on mood, stress regulation and sleep.

    So go to your doc, get a check up on blood cell count, get a CRP-count as well (general infection marker). Get a stomach/digestion test. See if this is it!

    There is a great exercise for releasing stomach stress: Sit up straight. Breathe in calmly through your nose. When you breathe out, make a humming sound: "HmMMMMMMMMMMMMM" so that you can feel your throat and chest vibrating. Do this for 10 minutes and try not to hyperventilate.
    This stimulates the vagus-nerve which is the primary mediator between brain and guts. This will make your stomach and digestion chill the fuck out. Try it out and see for yourself.
     
  7. Single Palm Change

    Single Palm Change Fapstronaut

    576
    1,174
    123
    @TreeGuy Sorry, I went a little nuts in my last post and maybe over-analyzed you. But if you got any stomach/digestion problems, often have diarrhea/constipation, stuff like that, then this could a thing for you to research.
     
  8. Single Palm Change

    Single Palm Change Fapstronaut

    576
    1,174
    123
    I just want to say, for me at least, Magnesium really worked wonders with my sleep. I took 600 mg last night, and even though I didn't get more than 5 hours in, I still feel that it is the best sleep I've had in a long while. Recommended.
     
  9. TreeGuy

    TreeGuy Fapstronaut

    124
    50
    28
    dont be sorry! good info thanks, im not sure it all 100% applies to me, i havent quite worked it out, but its maybe along the right lines, i'll have a good read and reply later.
    does 'belly breathing' also stimulate that same nerve you mention? i think it does from memory.
     
    Single Palm Change likes this.
  10. TreeGuy

    TreeGuy Fapstronaut

    124
    50
    28
    Also 1 thing i think could be really important that you didnt mention in first post i think is sleeping posture/position.
    few weeks ago i slept on my back not my side and i slept much better, not been able to try it again yet but i will. i also want to try floor sleeping.
     
  11. Single Palm Change

    Single Palm Change Fapstronaut

    576
    1,174
    123
    Yes it does, go for it. But maybe you need to do it a little longer than 10 minutes. It also helps to do it everyday and build a habit, then you will get more "into it"
     
  12. Single Palm Change

    Single Palm Change Fapstronaut

    576
    1,174
    123
    I turn around when I sleep, I'm spinning like a torpedo.
    Sleeping on a hard matress can be good for a sore back. But don't sleep on the cold floor in the winter time.
     
  13. TreeGuy

    TreeGuy Fapstronaut

    124
    50
    28
    yeah makes sense. actually one of the reasons im hoping to get a good sleep routine, so i feel good in the mornings and can have a good morning routine of things like a bit of breathing and/or meditation.

    yeah i have a bad back, ive read alot that says floor sleeping can be really good for the body and possible get better sleep. ill report back, i also turn around alot in the night.
     
  14. Single Palm Change

    Single Palm Change Fapstronaut

    576
    1,174
    123
    Yes let me know if it helps you and I will add it to the list
     
  15. julianstone

    julianstone Fapstronaut

    As a sufferer of chronic insomnia, I have to read this post again very carefully. Many thanks :)
     
    Single Palm Change likes this.
  16. Great post!

    Focusing on fixing my sleeping amount but it is not that easy. Great post!

    Going to implement some of these points. Downloaded app with ''red light'' and I also started a sleep log to track when I go to bed and how many hours I get of proper sleep.
     
    Single Palm Change likes this.
  17. Single Palm Change

    Single Palm Change Fapstronaut

    576
    1,174
    123
    I also suffer from that and I have been suffering for many years. So after turning down a friend two days ago because of oversleeping and depression, I got so sick of myself. I had enough and researched all day yesterday. Today I woke up and get out of bed at the time I had planned. First time in months! Great feeling. I can't wait to wake up at the right time tomorrow and feel great again.

    Yeah take the ones you like and work them into your routine one by one. I just started a sleep log too. After having a food/shit log for a couple of months I have learned the value of logs. Happy sleeping!
     
  18. Just do not log yourself to death or else it will become log OCD.:confused:
     
  19. Single Palm Change

    Single Palm Change Fapstronaut

    576
    1,174
    123
    I don't have time to die, because who would be there to log it?:cool:

    I keep my logs very simple. It should take less than a minute to fill out the day.
     
  20. I'll have to try this I never thought of it thx...
     

Share This Page