Sleep

I am a huge fan of sleep, but am not very good at it.

I am in a routine of in bed by ~10:30, up at 6:15. I can fall asleep with a proper wind down in a matter of minutes, and do not require a sleep aid.

But I toss and turn like a crazy person.

Sleep quality is largely dependent on room temperature. I wake up every night during the summer either hot, or to pull the blanket up. I desperately want A/C to manage the house rather than trusting mother nature to do it for us!

Also, I want a Sleep Number bed for my wife and I. She likes very firm mattresses; I do not. Seems logical! Anyone have experience?
 
sengsational said:
I gave up caffeine a few months ago and love how easy naps became! Also my nightime awake spells got shorter. I'm sure that dropping my tea habit has allowed me more sleep, and I hope, better health.
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I don't drink any caffeine after noon, and usually not after 10AM or so. It doesn't seem to affect my sleep one way or t'other.
 
One more thing to try, and is far more natural and seems to work for me recently:

I've been experimenting with supplmenting with resistant starch. The goal is to improve gut health, giving the little flora down there something to chew on and thus flourish. I started with 1/2tbsp of Bob's Red Mill Unrefined Potato Starch ($3.50/bag) mixed with water right before bed. I immediately noticed that I slept more soundly and my dreams were more vivid. There's no real rhyme or reason I can think of, but many people who supplement with up to 4TBSP (do NOT start with this much... gas will be just awful!!) throughout the day, including some before bed, report similar experiences.

I'm not being as consistent with it as I want yet, but I'm up to a heaping 1TBSP before bed, and it's helping both digestion and sleep. I have to balance that with how much water I drink so I don't have to get up in the middle of the night.

Note: I do not eat very much, if any, refined carbohydrate or flour-based products. A serving of this starch is 40cal of carbs, so take that into account with your diet should you choose to try it!
 
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Along the PS cure line are those who find taking a teaspoon of raw Honey at bedtime to be helpful. (I have found that -- real -- Maple Syrup works also but other sugars do not). I asked my doctor why that might work and he explained that it would increase ones blood sugar similarly to eating a high carbohydrate meal -- think of those big Thanksgiving meals and how easy it was to fall asleep on the couch afterwards.
 
nash031 said:
I've been experimenting with supplmenting with resistant starch. The goal is to improve gut health, giving the little flora down there something to chew on and thus flourish.
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Here is a quite detailed (more so than desired) article on RS and sleep:

Why Resistant Starch & Prebiotic Fiber Improve Sleep and Dreaming | Mr. Heisenbug

Gut bacteria produce SCFAs. These SCFAs modulate our immune system and inflammation. Solid ground.
So, what does this have to do with sleeping and dreaming? Apparently, a lot — every bit as much as I hoped and suspected.

It’s pretty common wisdom that the quality of our sleep has a lot to do with our immune system. But that wisdom tends to go in just one direction: that adequate sleep is essential for maintaining a strong, healthy immune system. And that’s almost undoubtedly true. But as I’ve suspected for a while now, that is only half the story. I believe, and a decent body of research supports the idea, that our immune system has a tremendous impact on the quality and structure of our sleep.
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Much data demonstrate that at least two cytokines, IL-1b (hereafter referred to as IL-1) and TNFa (hereafter referred to as TNF) are involved in the regulation of sleep. These two cytokines may be considered as sleep regulatory because data derived from electrophysiological, biochemical and molecular genetic studies demonstrate specific effects on sleep-wake behavior.
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What we’ve done is added a monumentally significant data point toward the broader theory that fermentable fiber consumption, through increased intestinal SCFA production, is hacking the immune system. In other words, the resistant starch / sleeping & dreaming connection is now a major piece of proof for the broader and much more important theory that gut bacteria, through SCFA production, profoundly modulate the human immune system and result in a systemic anti-inflammatory effect.
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For most of us, irregular sleep is a byproduct of modern times - artificial lighting and the work schedule.
Apparently, our ancestors had a different sleep cycle - sleep shortly after dark, wake for a couple hours in the middle of the night, then re-sleep until dawn. The ultimate freedom would be to sleep whenever the mood strikes. Some solo full time RVers follow this pattern.
 
I usually only slept 4-6 hours per night when still in work mode and while I was able to function okay I certainly would have preferred another good 2-3 hours of sleep. Have always gone to bed around 11-11:30 and been able to fall asleep in ten minutes or so. But the quality of my sleep was terrible. Felt like light sleep with a lot of tossing and turning and terrible snoring. DW recommended I get tested for sleep apnea and found out I did have it. Had UPPP surgery in 2010 and that corrected both the poor sleep and the snoring. Now in ER, I sleep a restful 7-8 hours per night interrupted only by the dreaded TB (Tiny Bladder). Still working on a solution to that issue. :nonono:
 
nash031 said:
Sleep quality is largely dependent on room temperature. I wake up every night during the summer either hot, or to pull the blanket up. I desperately want A/C to manage the house rather than trusting mother nature to do it for us!

Also, I want a Sleep Number bed for my wife and I. She likes very firm mattresses; I do not. Seems logical! Anyone have experience?
Click to expand...

I love my Sleep Number bed ! It was riduculous expensive for a mattress but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I love that I can crank up the firmness for a few days when my back is aching (I generally keep it on the softer side). If you know someone who has one and you do end up purchasing one make sure you give their info to the salesperson so your friend can get a discount on other Sleep Number products (pillows, etc).

I hear you on the temperature thing ! I've solved this issue by using a small clip on fan that blows directly onto on my face all night. My face is cool, which makes my entire body feel cooler. During the hottest nights I'm still good under a light blanket. Somehow the fan helps my entire body regulate its temperature (but this could just be a menopause thing, so who knows !).
 
WARNING!

Under no circumstances should you take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night!
 
imoldernu said:
WARNING!

Under no circumstances should you take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night!
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That made me laugh imoldernu! Thanks!

I typically head to bed at 11:00 with a book. When I catch myself nodding, the light goes out. Don't normally have a problem sleeping unless my brain won't shut off due to some stressor. I try not to get in intense conversations after 9:00 (on the phone or otherwise). No caffeine after noon. Have found that red wine keeps me up for some reason.

On the occassional night I have a problem sleeping, I take a benadryl. Usually up by 7:00 to 7:30 a.m.
 
There is an old seldom used anti depressant (I forget the name) that is prescribed for sleep issues due to its major side effect of drowsiness. As a bonus you probably wake up with a smile in the morning.:)
 
Bikerdude said:
There is an old seldom used anti depressant (I forget the name) that is prescribed for sleep issues due to its major side effect of drowsiness. As a bonus you probably wake up with a smile in the morning.:)
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Trazadone?

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MRG said:
I've had insomnia my entire life, starting at age 7-8 I'd spend the entire night reading. It seems to get worse the older I get. Best treatment for me is self hypnosis. Works better at bedtime than at 3AM.
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Can you elaborate on the self hypnosis that you use? Is this similar to progressive relaxation?
 
I was diagnosed with a mild form of sleep apnea and my doctor let me try a CPAP machine for about a month. I absolutely could not sleep with it! Plus, it caused my throat to get sore. I do have friends who say you do get used to it over time.
 
nash031 said:
Also, I want a Sleep Number bed for my wife and I. She likes very firm mattresses; I do not. Seems logical! Anyone have experience?
Click to expand...

My son has a basic Sleep Number bed. I liked it with hardly any air, very soft. That should work for you, but give it a try to check out the firmer edges.

You can also get Latex foam beds with different firmnesses on each half from a custom mattress manufacturer. They are relatively price competitive.
 
David1961 said:
Can you elaborate on the self hypnosis that you use? Is this similar to progressive relaxation?
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What I know about progressive relaxation came from Wikipedia. The two sound similar at an abstract level. Both require you to focus on something, what I do instead of focusing on muscles is visualization. In my minds eye I see numbers written on a blackboard. Start at 100 and 'see it' then it gets earased replaced by 99. You only think about and see numbers. Slowly counting down and dowwnnn, don't believe I've ever made it to 50, if it's going to work.

There was a post 6-8 months ago on a similar topic. Someone had a link in there of a guy speaking in a monotone, hypnotic type voice. That put me out in a couple of minutes. I'm not very good with search on my phone or I'd link that thread in.

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I go to sleep at midnight and wake about 5:45. Since I ER'd I may take a 30 min nap in the afternoon but it isn't necessary. I love my Duxiana bed and the Tempurpedic neck pillow. I fall to sleep very quickly. Don't ever remember my dreams.
 
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JakeBrake said:
I'm fortunate in that I sleep very well. My problem is that I wake up at first light. This was not a problem when I was working because I had to get up way before first light.

I've tried keeping the room dark. That doesn't help. For a while I blamed the Canadian geese that can make quite a racket around here. But the geese don't come every morning and I still wake up.

So, if I want to sleep longer, I have to go to bed earlier.
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+1
I just explained this to someone who didn't understand why I got up so early every day (usually around 5 AM). I simply cannot seem to sleep past 6 AM, regardless of how late I might have gone to bed, but I can generally fall asleep early on any night I so choose.

I'm convinced the reason I fall asleep within, usually, 5 minutes or so, is that I exercise vigorously most days. Virtually every active person I know sleeps like a log.
 
MRG said:
In my minds eye I see numbers written on a blackboard. Start at 100 and 'see it' then it gets earased replaced by 99. You only think about and see numbers. Slowly counting down and dowwnnn, don't believe I've ever made it to 50, if it's going to work.
Click to expand...

I do something similar but with a "Sesame Street" flair. For those who remember "the Count" I see the number 10 in various fonts and colors flying in from all angles. When I feel myself relax a little I change it to a 9. I keep repeating the number over and over (just like the Count did .... 10, 10, 10, 10, 9, 9, 9, 9). When I feel myself relax from the "Level 9" I go to 8. If I haven't fallen asleep by the time I get to 6 its a lost cause and I get out of bed for 30 minutes and try again later.
 
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