Looking for sleeping help

What sleep doctors call good sleep hygiene has nothing to do with bathing or showering, and it could contain the answers you're looking for. Here are a few suggestions from someone who has the double whammy of sleep apnea and occasional insomnia from twisted sleep cycles:

-- Restrict your caffeine. If you find you can't have any after 3 p.m. and get to sleep, don't have any after 3 p.m. If you can't have any at all, don't have any.
-- As much as possible, try to reduce the amount of mental stimulation you have in the hours before bedtime. I know that's tough in this business, but if you can keep it to light reading, TV comedies and anything that doesn't require a lot of deep thought, that's great. Working for hours on a report or your taxes or something mentally grueling at late hours will keep your mind racing.
-- Try to re-set your internal "sun" clock. Within 15 minutes of waking (and as soon as possible within that 15 minutes), sit or walk outside in whatever sunlight there is for at least 20 minutes, preferably 30. This tells your brain the day is here, and it starts your clock. All of this was easier before electricity, of course, and before people's schedules became more varied and complicated because of electricity. You can sit under something with a roof, but you need to be within about 2-3 feet of the edge nearest the sun. It's better if you are directly under the sky. And don't let a cloudy morning fool you: If it's after sunrise, you're getting more of the right light than if you were sitting in a house with all the lights on.
-- Try blackout curtains so you can sleep in as dark a room as possible. Same underlying principle in some ways.
-- Have a warm bath (or shower) before going to bed. The drop in body temperature in the minutes after you're done will simulate the same dynamic in your body that tells your brain you're sleepy, and it will help you drift off.
-- Warm milk is a cliche for a reason.
-- Try to have the same ritual before bedtime, and once it becomes a habit, you'll have almost a physiological response and become drowsy. Take out contacts, drink warm milk, brush teeth, etc., and always in the same order.
-- Exercise in the morning, not late at night.
-- Don't eat a heavy meal within 2-3 hours of bedtime.

There are other good suggestions on this thread. If I think of more, I'll post them. Good luck.

 

Melatonin and/or magnesium supplements. Work like a charm.

 

One twist on this I found is that I started sleeping with a sleep mask ... it's also helpful because I can take it on the road when I travel and I don't have to stress about lights/crappy curtains at a hotel.

 

Someone pimped this out to me, but I haven't found the guts to pay this much for a sleep mask. But they swore by it.

http://www.brookstone.com/store/product.asp?product_code=234393&search_type=search&search_words=sleep%20mask&prodtemp=t1&cm_re=Result*R1C1*T

 

I have a different sleep problem: I always wake up too early. I have plenty of time in the morning, but I always wake up tired and can't get back to bed. Anyone else have this?

 

The only time I wake up early is if someone wakes me up with a phone call, text or if they need you to sign some paper for them.

 

CSPAN and a six-pack.

 

I do that sometimes too. I used to work nights like so many people do here, so I would always sleep til 10, 11, noon or whatever.

Then, about 5-6 years ago, when I got a daytime job out of the industry, it took me a good year to get used to waking up at 5-6am.
Now, tho, on my days off, I'll wake up around 5-6am since I'm so used to waking up then.

I usually fall back to sleep fairly soon after, tho.

 

Good sleep is the most underrated health aspect I can think of. All kinds of good things happen when you get good sleep. Wounds heal better, you recover from illnesses faster, and many other restorative functions of the body work more efficiently when you're getting good rest.

People often expect sleep to happen naturally, and yet they'll pay a lot of money for products in other areas of their health that will have less overall impact.

 

I've been sleeping with a sleep mask ever since my freshman year of college when my idiotic roommate always wanted to work with the lights on until 3 a.m. when I had early-morning class. They're great and durable. The only problem I've found (and it's probably because of my ever-expanding hair) is that the elastic sometimes gets all stretched out, so you might have to pull out the needle and thread and resow the elastic. But otherwise, sleep masks are great, relatively inexpensive and you can find them at department stores, like Wal-Mart or whatever.

 

Yeah, I have a cheap one I got free with some travel set, but I've been contemplating spending the dough on a decent one. Mostly, haven't found one I like better than my current one to make it worth the $25-40 most of 'em cost.

 

They said that one was good because of the memory foam or whatever, so it molds to your face and won't let any stray light in.