Winding down before bed
Discussion
Calza said:
People never read the OP do they 
I take ZMA, I have f.lux (and twilight), my diet is very good and I exercise hard 4 times a week.
Radio absolutely seems to be the winner here though for the wind down phase.
I use audible and the sleep time function. It turns off after 30 minutes or so. I take ZMA, I have f.lux (and twilight), my diet is very good and I exercise hard 4 times a week.
Radio absolutely seems to be the winner here though for the wind down phase.
One question about radio / earplugs ... how do I combine using them both? They seem exclusive! (and I am quite dependent on earplugs now).
Craikeybaby said:
Try some doing some yoga for 15 minutes before you get into bed.
Yeah I have considered this, I think it would be beneficial in general. I've tried generic static stretching before bed but I don't find it overly relaxing. Stay up until you're tired then go to bed.
For me that's usually between 11 and 11:30PM.
I guess I'm lucky, but I usually sleep like a log - I watch TV, use PCs and tablets, sometimes I'll even have a coffee just before bed if I feel like it.
I seem to sleep a pretty solid 7.75 - 8.5 hours every night and rarely wake up during the night, usually going straight back to sleep if I do!
I'm sure someone will be along to tell me I've got some potentially fatal disease because I sleep so soundly!
No help, I know, but it does make me grateful I sleep so well - My wife, by contrast, tells me she often doesn't sleep all night! (Not sure why she snores whilst she's awake though...
)
M.
For me that's usually between 11 and 11:30PM.
I guess I'm lucky, but I usually sleep like a log - I watch TV, use PCs and tablets, sometimes I'll even have a coffee just before bed if I feel like it.
I seem to sleep a pretty solid 7.75 - 8.5 hours every night and rarely wake up during the night, usually going straight back to sleep if I do!
I'm sure someone will be along to tell me I've got some potentially fatal disease because I sleep so soundly!
No help, I know, but it does make me grateful I sleep so well - My wife, by contrast, tells me she often doesn't sleep all night! (Not sure why she snores whilst she's awake though...
)M.
Edited by marcosgt on Monday 24th July 15:18
I discovered eye masks on long work flights, then started using one in summer at home, and then all the time.
I prefer not to use any pharmaceuticals as they can only really every be a temporary measure unless you want to become dependent on them for any sleep whatsoever, I know have to but I dont so I avoid and only use something if I have had a couple of bad nights sleep and really need to ensure a good one.
Valium, does the trick, just relaxes you enough and clears your head, but can totally see how it gets addictive, compellingly pleasant but tolerance builds quickly and the effect lessens, works best occasionally when you havent had any for a while, I dont nowadays, was just a short prescription and obviously it is very controlled and illegal to have unless presribed ! 10 mg did the job for me and more and its kind of into recreational usage and feels a bit like being drunk, a very slippery slope to get on but I found that it sometimes reset my sleep pattern if I got that one great nights sleep, sometimes poor sleep is s self-fulfilling prophecy as you worry about it and the worry means you struggle.
Phenergan, old school anti histamine, can be bought online, doesnt seem to do anything, then you wake up next thursday feeling like you have been in suspended animation for years, does leave you a bit groggy. Does lose its effect over time.
Night Nurse, only if you have a cold but by god that stuff does the trick when you are feeling rough, really does do what it says on the bottle.
Over the counter herbal stuff, rubbish by and large
Hot Milky drink, surprisingly effective.
No screens for an hour before bed, if you must use the sleepytime mode on an Ipad where it chanes the colours, does help a bit.
I prefer not to use any pharmaceuticals as they can only really every be a temporary measure unless you want to become dependent on them for any sleep whatsoever, I know have to but I dont so I avoid and only use something if I have had a couple of bad nights sleep and really need to ensure a good one.
Valium, does the trick, just relaxes you enough and clears your head, but can totally see how it gets addictive, compellingly pleasant but tolerance builds quickly and the effect lessens, works best occasionally when you havent had any for a while, I dont nowadays, was just a short prescription and obviously it is very controlled and illegal to have unless presribed ! 10 mg did the job for me and more and its kind of into recreational usage and feels a bit like being drunk, a very slippery slope to get on but I found that it sometimes reset my sleep pattern if I got that one great nights sleep, sometimes poor sleep is s self-fulfilling prophecy as you worry about it and the worry means you struggle.
Phenergan, old school anti histamine, can be bought online, doesnt seem to do anything, then you wake up next thursday feeling like you have been in suspended animation for years, does leave you a bit groggy. Does lose its effect over time.
Night Nurse, only if you have a cold but by god that stuff does the trick when you are feeling rough, really does do what it says on the bottle.
Over the counter herbal stuff, rubbish by and large
Hot Milky drink, surprisingly effective.
No screens for an hour before bed, if you must use the sleepytime mode on an Ipad where it chanes the colours, does help a bit.
Edited by J4CKO on Tuesday 25th July 10:04
hyphen said:
Craikeybaby said:
The breathing part of yoga helps. I had a private session with a local yoga teacher, I think it was about £20, and that has given me a good base to start from.
have you tried the P90x yoga dvd, it's good.Hoofy said:
hyphen said:
Craikeybaby said:
The breathing part of yoga helps. I had a private session with a local yoga teacher, I think it was about £20, and that has given me a good base to start from.
have you tried the P90x yoga dvd, it's good.My improvement in sleep is from quitting cigarettes 4 months back (to the day), which has subsequently improved my overall fitness too. Resting heart rate has dropped from mid 60s to low 50s (52 last night according to the fitbit).
Sunnysider said:
Yipper said:
Poor sleep is a sign of current or future illness, so make sure your health and fitness are good.
Make sure the room is 100% quiet and 100% black (dark), with not even the slightest ch*nk of light. It is amazing how many people don't sleep in dark or tranquil rooms. Wear earplugs or eyemask if necessary (even if it looks stupid). Our ancestors for 99% of the past 1 million years never had street lights and noisy cars.
Stop eating and drinking (except sips of water) after 6pm. Stop tablet, phone and TV by 9pm. Quiet radio for background noise at 10pm. Always go to bed at same time, 7 days a week. Boring, yes. But necessary if you seriously want to get sleep back.
I'd honestly rather die in my sleep tonight than follow such a ridiculously constrained, regimented and pitifully dull existence.Make sure the room is 100% quiet and 100% black (dark), with not even the slightest ch*nk of light. It is amazing how many people don't sleep in dark or tranquil rooms. Wear earplugs or eyemask if necessary (even if it looks stupid). Our ancestors for 99% of the past 1 million years never had street lights and noisy cars.
Stop eating and drinking (except sips of water) after 6pm. Stop tablet, phone and TV by 9pm. Quiet radio for background noise at 10pm. Always go to bed at same time, 7 days a week. Boring, yes. But necessary if you seriously want to get sleep back.
exercise and hitting the sack when you actually feel tired. The harder one is getting up when you naturally wake. I often wake at 4-5 am and then I turn over a try go back to sleep till half 7. Then feel like complete ass.
Otispunkmeyer said:
Indeed
exercise and hitting the sack when you actually feel tired. The harder one is getting up when you naturally wake. I often wake at 4-5 am and then I turn over a try go back to sleep till half 7. Then feel like complete ass.
Yipper is full of sexercise and hitting the sack when you actually feel tired. The harder one is getting up when you naturally wake. I often wake at 4-5 am and then I turn over a try go back to sleep till half 7. Then feel like complete ass.
t. All of that crap is not necessary at all to get quality kip!clonmult said:
I've looked in at the yoga classes at work; looks good, but in my case little different to attempting to follow some of the channels on youtube - there are loads of them out there - although some of the talking is ridiculously inane.
Have you tried the classes at work? The difference is when you are in a position that could result in an injury, a teacher will spot it and correct it. Some of the time, you're doing something ever so slightly wrongly so it may not result in an injury right then but over a few weeks, it creates a niggling pain.That said, if by work you mean a gym or hospital and you have a decent understanding of A&P, ignore me.
I sleep well, but on the odd occasion my brain is in overdrive, I try a focussed relaxation which works for me.
Lie in bed in whatever position you find comfortable / normally go to sleep. I start focussing on my toes.....ensuring they are as relaxed as possible. Focus for a minute. Maybe wiggle them first, then relax. Are your toes relaxed ? Then I move up to feet, ankles calf, knees etc up through my body....spending a good 30 secs/ minute on each. I find it feels like I'm almost sinking into the bed. Sometime I drift off, sometimes I don't, but even if awake I'm in a kind of dazed relaxed state....which is better than tossing and turning. I eventually drift off.
Lie in bed in whatever position you find comfortable / normally go to sleep. I start focussing on my toes.....ensuring they are as relaxed as possible. Focus for a minute. Maybe wiggle them first, then relax. Are your toes relaxed ? Then I move up to feet, ankles calf, knees etc up through my body....spending a good 30 secs/ minute on each. I find it feels like I'm almost sinking into the bed. Sometime I drift off, sometimes I don't, but even if awake I'm in a kind of dazed relaxed state....which is better than tossing and turning. I eventually drift off.
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