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sleep, any tips?

Discussion in 'Self Improvement' started by TreeGuy, Dec 22, 2017.

  1. TreeGuy

    TreeGuy Fapstronaut

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    as the title, anything would help, diet, exercise, meditation, a routine you have, or rules to not watch tv past a certain time etc.

    ive not slept well in years and years, things i think that may not help, sleeping position- i sleep on my sidewith 1 arm under my pillow i think this gives me a bad shoulder and i have to keep moving about in the night, any advice? also i get a dry mouth in the night, so wake up to drink water, then need to keep waking up for a pee, any tips there?
     
    Single Palm Change likes this.
  2. Sleep before 10, don’t drink coffee after 2pm ( maybe better if you don’t drink coffee at all is what I noticed ),don’t use any bright screens 2-3 hours before bed, swish some water around your mouth and get one good gulp so you don’t pee so much?
     
  3. TreeGuy

    TreeGuy Fapstronaut

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    thanks.
    i rarely drink caffeine its not good for me :)
    been a long time since i slept before 10... i hate laying in bed awake so normally stay up staring at a computer screen until im sleepy... not sure how ill break that habit. only thing i can think is set an early alarm, keep myself awake during the days and then ill be so tired by 10pm ill have to sleep. maybe.
    goo idea with the water, ill try it. not sure if i am actually thirsty or if its just a dry mouth, or just become a habit. i bet most nights i drink at least 500ml water.
     
  4. It'sBlue

    It'sBlue Fapstronaut

    With the end of the summer and the start of the classes I have to be in bed by 10:30PM or so because I have to be up at 6AM.:(
    The first week I slept close to 4-5 hours everyday so I wasn't getting the sleep I really needed. I just had to make some changes, and I started to fall asleep sooner and sleep for 7 hours, sometimes more. One of them I believe is eating healthier, junk food and lots of sugars can make your mood and your body feel heavier and worse, so I've been eating better from a couple months. Other aspect is that after dinner I don't stay on the computer anymore and I just chill and do a routine that doesn't require a lot of thinking or much brain activity, also you can turn your lights softer or even turn them off to let your brain know that is dark and you have to sleep, as we biologically are designed for that kind of behavior. This last one might be difficult to achieve, I know, I don't do it either but I've seen many recommendations about it. Last thing I believe could help is meditation, I've just started today with it but I did it some time ago before going to sleep and it really helped me to calm my thoughts down and feel kind of relaxed and sleepy. Hope that helps you mate!;)
     
  5. TreeGuy

    TreeGuy Fapstronaut

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    thanks.
    i currently have no commitments, so no routine, so get up whenever i want...
    i dont eat any sugar or processed food, and agree that helps.
    computer after dinner sounds tough, but sensible. i just have to find something to replace that time with.
    i have been trying meditation, but ive always been rubbish at it, brain is far too active, but yeah im going to stick to it as ive heard it will help.

    Thanks :)
     
    It'sBlue likes this.
  6. Yeah it’s the computer screen that is probably keeping you up, turn off all technology for a few hours before trying to sleep
     
  7. Hey you can use the "Calm" app! I love using the rain sound option. There's also choices for bedtime stories too if you're in to those. You can also try drinking hot herbal tea by this company named Celestine or something close to that. Buy their teas that say sleepytime on it. Lastly, try reading a book! It'll make you bored then the yawns will come in. Hope these help!
     
  8. Runtilmylegsdropoff

    Runtilmylegsdropoff Fapstronaut

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    Magnesium supplements, make sure its citrate or chelated and not oxide.
     
    Dunrobin likes this.
  9. TreeGuy

    TreeGuy Fapstronaut

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    certainly possible, im try and work out a new routine so i dont use it late.

    thanks ill look up the app. i do sometimes have 'calming' herbal teas.

    i will google, but how does magnesium affect sleep?


    thanks for all the replies.
     
    Deleted Account likes this.
  10. Work out during the day. A good workout does wonders for sleep

    Get a good mattress. Can’t be overstated.

    ACT makes toothpaste and mouthwash specifically for dry mouth. Get some and use before bed time.
     
  11. TreeGuy

    TreeGuy Fapstronaut

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    thanks for the tips.
    i had never considered that for dry mouth, thanks!
     
  12. The phone screen keeps me up I know that much
     
  13. Dunrobin

    Dunrobin Fapstronaut

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    Or ZMA. Works really well for me. Hth
     
  14. Like @Runtilmylegsdropoff said, magnesium works, but you have to take it on an empty stomach, and it works because it’s suppose to relax you or something,
     
  15. TruChange

    TruChange Fapstronaut

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    Your mouth is probably dry because your mouth drops open. Then you breathe through your mouth and that causes the dryness.

    You can buy a chin strap to make sure you're jaw stays shut while you sleep.

    Invest in a good eye mask and some ear plugs too.
     
  16. Ongoingsupport

    Ongoingsupport Fapstronaut

    The thing to understand about device screens is it's not limited to that - it has to do with the blue light. Nowadays there are a lot of LCD and LED bulbs out there, they all have a lot of blue light.

    If you can find it, maybe get traditional incandescent bulbs for the bedroom - I know I still see them at the dollar store in the US and also sometimes at Staples and/or Office Depot.

    Another tool is blue blocking glasses or goggles. I got a cheap pair of amber blue blocking safety goggles that fits over glasses on Amazon - one time investment.

    The reason is the blue will suppress melatonin production. And aside from that the total AMOUNT of light matters. If I have just the widescreen monitor on in the room without the light overhead, I can get sleepy - but not with the room lighting on - and that's WITH those blue blocking goggles.

    As the opposite of taking care of melatonin, get sunlight on your eyes in the morning to reset things. The retina connects to the SCM in the brain which is the master clock of the body. That along with changing the time you eat dinner should help, and I think they recently discovered clock genes in muscles too so exercise helps.
     
    Single Palm Change likes this.
  17. Imma get those glasses! You know the name of the product I can search by on amazon?
     
  18. What helped me was starting CBT or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. I had insomnia to the point that every night it took hours to fall asleep, and my sleep pattern would gradually get worse until I was going to sleep at 5-6AM and waking up in the afternoon.

    I recently started reading a book about CBT that you can use yourself without needing to pay for therapy. It's called "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy". One of the things you do in CBT is identify cognitive distortions, or erroneous patterns in thinking. Your thoughts lead to your feelings, so if you have thoughts that you won't be able to sleep, then your body won't feel tired enough to sleep, and your mind won't shut off and you'll lay in bed tossing and turning.

    So by identifying errors in your thinking, you can change those thoughts, and allow the natural process of falling asleep to occur. After I started applying this, I've slept great every night since then, for over a month now. There were only 2 nights during this period where I had any difficulty sleeping, and there were good reasons for that trouble (one time I had a psychiatrist's appointment the next day for example, so had severe anxiety). In the past month I've had more nights with no trouble falling asleep than I've had in the entire 3 years before this month. For the longest time I had severe insomnia, but right now I don't consider myself to have insomnia anymore. All thanks to CBT. :)

    The main cognitive distortion you need to identify is called "emotional reasoning". Emotional reasoning is where you feel something, and so assume it to be true. For example, you feel like you're unable to get to sleep, so you think that you won't fall asleep. The reason this is a cognitive distortion, is that your feelings of being unable to sleep aren't the cause of your thoughts about being unable to sleep - it's actually the opposite. Your ruminating thoughts, anxiety, and worries about being unable to sleep, are precisely what are causing you to feel unable to fall asleep.

    So next time you find yourself laying in bed and find yourself feeling unable to sleep, notice it. Note that you're using emotional reasoning, and realise that: feeling like you're unable to sleep actually has no effect on your ability to sleep, and you're only feeling like that in the first place because of your thoughts. Accept that it's completely okay to feel like you're unable to sleep, and it won't affect the process at all.

    This sounds a little silly, but when you try it, you'll find that as you stop thinking that those physical sensations in your body are going to keep you awake, you're actually able to lay there and persist until you fall asleep. Related to this, you having laid there in bed for 2-3 hours already and not having fallen asleep, doesn't make it any less likely that you're going to fall asleep now. That's once again a cognitive distortion. Realise it, and realise that no matter how unlikely to sleep you feel, or how long you've been laying there, you're still just as likely to fall asleep any moment.

    After you get the hang of this, you'll find that you start to stay there until you fall asleep. You should also find that the time it takes to fall asleep drops down massively, and you usually fall asleep pretty quickly. Don't worry if you don't though, you will fall asleep, no matter how unlikely it feels.

    Insomnia is almost always primarily psychological. There was a study that showed that people who identify themselves as having insomnia/sleep trouble, get low quality sleep even when they sleep long enough - whereas those who don't identify themselves as having sleep issues, actually feel well rested even when they DON'T get good quality sleep. So if you identify and deal with those cognitive distortions, you'll be able to sleep, and feel well rested.
     
    Single Palm Change likes this.
  19. Ongoingsupport

    Ongoingsupport Fapstronaut

    Fortunately it seems the cheapest is also the most effective is Uvex safety goggles, I believe Consumer Reports did a writeup.
     
    Deleted Account likes this.

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