Advice for better sleep

Before we start giving advice, and believe me I will hand you a treasure trove of the most sagely sleep advice, let this video ease anyone with insomnia

 

So get 8 if 7 seems like it may not be enough. Problem solved.

Ya you sure don't always need more than 8, although sometimes your body may ask for up to 9 but don't sleep more than 9 regularly. Most people only need 6 to 8 hours, probably more towards 8 hours.

What is the issue if you can sleep fine? Just reduce your sleep to 8 hours?

Do you wake up during the night or not feel rested after 9 hours of sleep?

 

My two cents worth...

1. Be less worried about what time you go to sleep and more focussed on regular wake up time.
2. Get into the sun as close to wake up time as possible - helps bodies natural time clock
3. Develop a 'going to sleep' routine... Starting about 45 mins before desired sleep time... Think of regular ques for your mind to realise you are saying it's almost sleep time.
4. Experiment with nutrition and its impact on your sleep.
5. Experiment with meditation.. Anxiety is sometimes a sleep destroyer

 

The following is from www.mindbodygreen.com,

'I'm not the world's best sleeper — I can't sleep on planes or in cars, and I'm so jealous of people who can fall asleep anywhere. If I'm really stressed, I toss and turn.

I know I'm not alone, because one of the top issues people ask me to help them with is sleep. There are also the people who assure me that five hours a night is enough, but who show all the signs that it's not, from dark circles under the eyes to poor digestion and overeating during the day.

Sleep in our culture is underrated. Sleep is when the body clears toxins from its system, including out of the brain. It's when your cells build proteins to repair damage, and when growth hormone is released in children. It's when the digestive system is most relaxed and it's when we dream, during a phase of sleep called REM. Scientists still don't know why we dream, but the structures in the brain that regulate it are so sophisticated it must have a deeply adaptive purpose.

And yet 60 million Americans suffer from some kind of sleep disorder and as many as 1 in 6 of those use prescription sleep medications, many of which are addictive and have side effects.

If you're not sure if you sleep well, it's as easy as answering one question: Do you feel rested when you wake up? If the answer is no, here are five ways to get your sleep back on track.

1. Avoid blue light before bed.

The screens of tablets, smartphones and some computers emit a blue wavelength light that affects your Suprachiastmatic Nucleus (SCN), a pinhead sized structure that contains 20,000 neurons and controls your sleep cycle, and decreases melatonin production, which can cause sleep disruptions. If you absolutely must look at your phone before bed, get the F.lux app. It's an app you install on your smartphone or laptop that filters the light emanating from your device so that in the morning it is blue/black predominant and in the evening it is red predominant.

2. If you wake up, get up.

In his book At Day's Close: Night in Times Past, A. Roger Ekirch explains that historically humans slept in two shifts: one for a few hours when the sun went down, and another from the early hours of the morning until dawn. In between, they woke up, often for a couple of hours, to tend the fire, have sex or pray. This was considered completely normal. It was only after electricity widely extended daylight well past sunset that patterns changed.

So if you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night, unable to fall back asleep, get up and get out of bed, stretch, meditate, make love, or do something else that doesn't require turning on the lights.

3. Quit caffeine.

I have many patients who don't sleep well, but who claim there's no way coffee is the culprit. But research shows that just 100mg per day, the amount in one medium cup of drip coffee, can disrupt sleep, even if taken early in the day. And if you're one of the millions of people who have a genetic variant of an enzyme called CYP1A2, you many metabolize caffeine more slowly than others, which not only puts you at greater risk of interrupted sleep, it also puts you at greater risk of having a heart attack if you're a caffeine drinker.

Also keep in mind that sodas are the number one reason for American's increased caffeine intake since the 1970s, and that a piece of dark chocolate can have up to 30mg of caffeine!

4. Look for sleep apnea where you least expect it.

I recently had a patient in her early 50s whose slim body frame and active lifestyle fooled me into thinking there was no way sleep apnea was the cause of her insomnia. But then she went to her dentist, who noticed her narrow airway, and suggested she get a sleep study to make sure she wasn't suffering from apnea.

It turned out she typically stopped breathing up to 10 times per night, which not only was causing her to wake up, it was giving her anxiety about falling asleep, which made her insomnia even worse.

5. Face your anxiety head on.

In 2011, more than 74 million prescriptions were written for two medications, Xana.x and Valium, a fact that says that Americans have a serious problem with anxiety.

To me this is no surprise. Often when I work with people on sleep, we start by taking care of the basics, like sleeping in a cool room, cutting caffeine, and avoiding screens and the blue light they radiate, but this process is often like peeling back an onion, revealing the deeper anxiety driving sleep disruption at the core.

If anxiety is causing you to toss and turn or have difficulty falling asleep, try developing a meditation practice before you turn to sleep aids. A scientific review of 47 studies looking at more than 3,500 people has shown that meditation can reduce anxiety, depression and pain, and while there are natural nonaddictive sleep aids like magnesium, getting to anxiety at the core is much better than a pill — even a natural one.

If you're not sleeping well, now is the time to do something about it. The science of sleep shows that addressing sleep issues can not only prevent a host of illnesses before they become a problem, it can your quality of life significantly today.'

 

The best, purest sleep you can get is in complete pitch black darkness. This is picked up on in the pineal gland which produces melatonin which makes you fall into a deep sleep and helps regulate your circadian rhythm. If you want to ease into a completely dark environment before bed you can check out f.lux as mentioned above. a free program that adjusts your computer display`s colour temperature.

 

Well my friend good thing you asked, follow the advice everybody offered here and your body should adjust nicely in the coming weeks to your new sleep schedule!

 

I hear this and is very peaceful

 

or you can make your own sounds sleeping
soundsleeping



Com!

 

by @Phyzik:

Many of us used to PMO before bed time. Our brain was used to get a dopamine high before bed, and now that it's gone, we may have a hard time falling asleep. Urges can also be pretty intense before bed.

I'm actually in a support group for people who want to succeed their life and I've learnt an amazing trick for getting asleep easily. It also makes you sleep deeper and more relaxed, so you wake up less often to urges/boners. It works for me. I wake up less often than I used to in the beginning.

First of all, go to bed ONLY if you feel tired.

1) Strenghten all your muscles during 30 seconds (don't make it hurt, but all your body must be in total tension). If you have a boner, it will most likely be gone by then.

2) After the 30 seconds, release everything. The feeling is priceless!

3) Take 8 deep breath. 5 second inhale by nose, hold it for 5 seconds, 5 seconds exhale by nose also. By then, you will feel relaxed

4) You will now use your brain to relax every part of your body until you fall asleep. Start by your head, then your forehead, nose, jaw, chin, neck, arms, hands, chest, etc.
For every part of your body, tell yourself in your head :

''my (forehead) is relaxed, deeply relaxed, more and more relaxed, completly relaxed''.
''my (jaw) is relaxed, deeply relaxed, more and more relaxed, completly relaxed''.
''my (neck) is relaxed, deeply relaxed, more and more relaxed, completly relaxed''.

Say it slowly with a calming voice in your head. When I started this technique, I needed to repeat it 5 times for each part of my body. Right now, I'm good with 2. When you get experienced enough, you can replace the word ''relaxed'' by other sensation you want to feel. Examples : my forehead is cold, my forehead feels numb, my forehead is heavy, my forehead is light, etc. Yes, just by using your brain, you can make your whole body feel totally cold.

Most of the time, I can't even get past my chin... You will feel so relaxed and will literally just fall asleep in no time if you are concentrated enough. It also grants better recovery since you will let go of the tensions in your body before resting. Relaxation is also recommended when you work out.

For those who practice autosuggestion (see in my signature), this is an awesome technique for relaxing your body and your mind before a session. I suggest you start your autosuggestion as soon as you feel relaxed and as you feel that you're about to fall asleep. Be aware, because many times I fell asleep too easily and skipped the autosuggestion session by accident. :/

This saved me from MANY relapses as it also makes you learn how you can control your body. Replace the PMO habit you had before bed by this technique.

 

Thats right Pitch Perfect! The body changes its metabolism, and other stuffs. You know, as a teenager, you are in plenty development, and hormones are at full capacity. Ten years later, its a little different. In other hand, maybe the effect of tolerance that happens in drugs consumption could also happens in the act of m. You want more and receive less.

 

I understand where you're coming from. I haven't slept properly in years and it has affected my health and per-overall wellness. Yet, I cannot seem to stop. I'm gonna try to read books from now on or have some tea before bed. I guess that the lack of will is my main issue.

 

I once went with my parents and siblings to the mountains of Giresun (1500-2000meters altitude) Where there is absolutely no electricity whatsoever. My grandparents own a house there which is empty 330-340 days a year due to the impossible lifestyle and they only come there during summers for a few weeks.

we slept there for two days. At night it was so dark that whenever I opened my eyes it was darker than we I closed them. You feel very disorientated cuz u have no idea where what is. Quite frightening but i must say ive had the best sleep ever. Maybe its due to the no use of electronics. Or maybe it was the fresh air. Or the pitch darkness of the night. Or all of em. But it sure was nice once you got used to it. I highly doubt our ancestors had to deal with any of these sleep problems we now face today.

 

when is the best time to exercise before sleep?

 

There is a good YouTube channel called Free Hypnosis Sessions. The guy does many helpful 30 mins hypnosis session cover many different things. The insomnia one is sure to help.

 

A physician told me anytime but at least 3 hours before sleep

 

thanks @hukona