Let's talk about sleep

[undercoverbrother]

I have trouble with sleeping. I tend to be a binge sleeper. I will have nights I go to bed at 8:30/9:00 pm and sleep till 6:30. That happens about every 10 days. The other nights, I have significant difficulty sleeping, sometimes, only getting 4-5 hrs a night, or 2-3 hrs in a row.

Does anyone else have sleep issues? What are they and what have you found helps resolve your sleep issues.

[habernac]

Since we had our son 7 years ago, I haven't really had a good nights sleep. Damn Dad radar is on all night, I hear every creak, squeak, rustle in the house.

[PsYcNeT]

Earplugs.

I'm a terribly light sleeper, and getting custom earplugs helps immensely.

Make an appointment with an audio clinic near you, get a custom mould made, and get some scrip earplugs. Will only run you ~$120 after all is said and done, and if you have a company healthplan, it can typically be applied to that.

[troutman]

"They" say to follow the same ritual every night. Go to bed at the same time, read or listen to music. Repeat every night.

I read an article yesterday that exercise in the evening can help you to sleep.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...92302W20130304

A couple of beers should work too, or a MIN Wild hockey game. Orgasms.

[JerzeeGirl]

I don't know that I'm a binge sleeper so much as I'm a complete & utter night owl.

I get a shot of energy each night around 9pm and am good to go till 2 or so if I don't make myself go to bed to try & get at least 4-5hrs of sleep (5am wakeup calls to walk the dog and go to work really hurt).

The sad thing is I love to sleep - I just need my waking/working life to run from 11am instead of 5am!

That being said, I'm with the OP - always looking for tips that might make bedtime more attractive than staying awake.

[The Yen Man]

I know the best sleep is to be able to sleep without interruptions throughout the night. But I always wake up a couple times a night. Am I weird in that I love that feeling of waking up at 4am and realizing I still get to sleep for another 3.5 hours before I have to wake up? Sometimes, if I don't wake up at 4am and I sleep until my alarm goes off, I feel kind of cheated.

[DuffMan]

Originally Posted by JerzeeGirl

I don't know that I'm a binge sleeper so much as I'm a complete & utter night owl.

I get a shot of energy each night around 9pm and am good to go till 2 or so if I don't make myself go to bed to try & get at least 4-5hrs of sleep (5am wakeup calls to walk the dog and go to work really hurt).

The sad thing is I love to sleep - I just need my waking/working life to run from 11am instead of 5am!

That being said, I'm with the OP - always looking for tips that might make bedtime easier or at least more desirable.

um

[DuffMan]

I'm finding lately that I will be almost asleep, like dreaming stage, and then I'll wake up for some weird reason and then can't get back to sleep for a 2 or 3 hours again, gmg's.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by troutman

"They" say to follow the same ritual every night. Go to bed at the same time, read or listen to music. Repeat every night.

I read an article yesterday that exercise in the evening can help you to sleep.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...92302W20130304

A couple of beers should work too, or a MIN Wild hockey game. Orgasms.

I have tried exercise in the evening but it leave me to revved up. Nights I play shinny are particularly bad, sleep not coming till 2:30/3:00.

I do like your ritual idea, often I am doing work up till bed.

[malcolmk14]

I have no trouble falling asleep, but I have a hard time staying asleep. I wake up for some reason at like 5:30 or 6 and just lay there. Finally fall back asleep around 7 and then I can sleep again till 9 or 10. Weird.

[Discoste]

Anybody have any feedback on those wake-up light alarms?

[COGENT]

I've always had a terrible time falling asleep. Went to the doctor and he told me to get melatonin which has changed everything. It's a naturally occurring compound found in animals, plants, and microbes (says wikipedia) and is sold over the counter. I find it just does enough to cause me to fall asleep but nothing like a sleeping pill where you become a zombie.

[Hemi-Cuda]

no problems falling asleep or staying asleep, my issue is that i wish i didn't need so much of it. on the weekends i can sleep 9-10 hours easy, and if i get any less than 8 during the week i feel absolutely dogass tired during the day. conversely my brother seems to only need 5 or 6 hours to feel completely rested. i hate him

[bc-chris]

i think i'm lucky - i usually have no problems falling asleep. i also don't need a lot of sleep... usually only 5-6 hours max/night (maybe the reason why i don't have a problem falling asleep is becuz i'm usually bagged by the time i go to bed).

i agree ucb that exercise at night is a bad idea. i have a real hard time falling asleep after hockey (and we have mid-week league games that don't start until 11pm - ugghh!!)

i do find that if i exercise hard in the morning i've got lots of energy all day and sleep like a baby at night.

i find that my mind tends to race/wander when i lay in bed, so i like to have either some mellow music or a mindless show on tv so i can doze off

[vektor]

-stretch before bed
-drink water before bed
-earplugs
-tabletop air purifier for white noise while I'm sleeping
-read something that has nothing to do with my career/personal life so my mind frees itself from the cycles of analyzing and processing info about the world outside my bedroom

I can't sleep without those, used to be like the OP but I really needed to get things in order now I sleep 8 hours every night and wake up about 3 minutes before my alarm every day. Sleep is a routine, you have to time your bodies rhythms to the sun, working out really hard during the day and being exhausted at night then filling your stomach with nutrients helps a lot too. Procrastinating a lot too makes it hard to sleep so not wasting time helps as well.

[sa226]

There are some Iphone and Android apps out there that work on the "sleep cycle" principle.

Basically, your sleep goes in cycles from deep to light. The length of everybody's cycle is on average between 60-90 mins. The idea is that even if you were asleep for 10 hours if you awake in the middle of the deep part of your sleep cycle you will be groggy and tired, on the flip side of that if you only slept for 3-4 hours as long as you wake during the light part of your cycle, you will feel pretty good.

These apps get mixed reviews because the alarm is supposed to wake you during your light cycle and people are generally stupid so there are reviews stating that they were late for work or woke up way too early.

It could be something to try out on days off or something.

[flamesfever]

Sleep requirement between individuals can vary quite a bit. My sister only sleeps 2 hrs a night. Has done for past 7 years, and doesn't seem to bother her at all. I'm different...I need my 8 hrs sleep a night.

a few tips:

- reduce coffee intake. If I have more than 1 - 2 cups of coffee in the morning I'm hooped for sleep that night.

- I've found that alcohol can seriously affect my sleep

- reduce amount of food at meals.

- a cup of hot milk at bedtime may help

- get rid of the clock.

- buy an expensive mattress e.g. Simmons +/- $1500.

- buy an expensive down pillow +/- $350.

- buy a good quality down comforter +/- $1000.

- my wife also uses melatonin, and sleeps well.

- develop a routine time for sleeping.

- do things to calm your mind e.g. meditation, reading, etc.

[rd_aaron]

Some good points by flamesfever. A more comfortable bed or pillow could definitely help. A routine is a great idea as well.

I remember a classmate doing a presentation in university (I think we could choose our own topics) about sleep. One of the things he said was keep your bedroom as a bedroom only. Don't put a desk in your bedroom and do your work in there as your mind thinks it's a workspace, so when you go to sleep, it can be more difficult.

Another thing you can do that's supposed to help is gradually dim the lights as it gets closer to the time you want to go to bed.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

I have trouble with sleeping. I tend to be a binge sleeper. I will have nights I go to bed at 8:30/9:00 pm and sleep till 6:30. That happens about every 10 days. The other nights, I have significant difficulty sleeping, sometimes, only getting 4-5 hrs a night, or 2-3 hrs in a row.

Does anyone else have sleep issues? What are they and what have you found helps resolve your sleep issues.

Any chance you have sleep apnea? If so, get into a sleep clinic to see if you need a CPAP.

[Kybosh]

I find exercising for an hour or two around 5pm, then eating dinner helps me sleep like a baby. Also, I try to turn off the TV and computer about an hour before going to bed. Get rid of the TV in your bedroom if you have one.