Getting decent sleep

[Columbia]

How can someone get a good nights sleep?

Every night I go to bed at 1 am and just lie awake in bed until 4-5 am before I actualy get to sleep. Then I have to be up at 9 am to go training (I'm a cyclist) with my club in the morning.

After coming home from training I get a little nap.

It's not that I dont get enough sleep (I guess I get an average of 6-7 hours per day) but its all those hours lying awake in bed that seem like such a f*ckin waste of time. And then I have to waste time during the day to get some sleep (if, indeed, I do get to sleep).

I wont keep harping on about it, but what can I do to fall asleep quickly at night, and not waste so much of my day trying to make up for lost zzzzz's?

Some points: (these have all been recommended to me in the past)

1) Sleeping pills are out of the question (I think)
2) I dont suffer from stress/anxiety
3) At night there is ABSOLUTELY no light sources in my room - not one!
4) My room is neither too hot nor too cold

 

[Levex]

dont take naps or sleep during the day.if you do, at 1AM you are just not tired enough to fall asleep so you're awake until 4-5 when your body finally starts feeling tired and wants sleep. at first its gonna be hard to stay up the whole day but after few days you get used to the new schedule and fall asleep at your regular time(for you 1 am).

 

[blabla]

Do something that exausts you before hand? Make your day have more exausting activities? Before you go to sleep, don't do stimulating activities like TV, video games, cardio and imaginative books but rather let yourself "wind down" with something else (a badly written calculus textbook works.)

 

[hyd]

hot shower before bed sometimes works for me

 

[Columbia]

Thanks for the advice guys.

Levex, I'm trying that today, I've missed my nap (never felt weaker in my life) so I'll see how I sleep tonight.

Blabla, Calculus - are you serious? No way.

And hyd, I shower after training. Or if I'm not training I take a coldish one in the morning to wake up. I'm not a two-shower-in-one-day sort of guy.

 

[DJBen]

Things that can help:

-Before bed, take a warm bath and unwind.
-Take an evening walk and wind down - a lot of people are stressed and never even know it. This might help a lot.
- Avoid being on the PC, or watching TV before bed

I cant sleep in pitch black, and I need background noise to fall asleep to. I put the TV on and set it on a timer so it'll just go off when I fall asleep.

Apart from that, I'd love to hear of other ways to get better sleep too

 

[Heizen]

When I cant sleep I take something called melatonin.

Its the natural stuff your brain produces with you sleep. I take 2 mg an hour before I want to go to sleep, and around a hour later I am tired regardless of my day I use it to reset my body clock, like if I want to go to sleep at 1am when I had been staying up til 4. A few nights using melatonin and I am straight.

I know you said drugs are out of the question, but this is natural, over the counter drug.

Otherwise I usually do a running workout, and take a nice shower, then straight to sleep, or a little TV beforehand. I know people saying a workout beforehand doesnt work but it has always worked for me, I think because during the shower I relax and Im out like a light after that.

 

[Levex]

Originally posted by Columbia
Levex, I'm trying that today, I've missed my nap (never felt weaker in my life) so I'll see how I sleep tonight.

its doubtful that you will fall asleep right away the first day since your body is still on the old schedule,but give it a few days and you wont feel tired during the day anymore and fall asleep much faster.

 

[blabla]

I didn't realize you were 15... I can't really think of other was to get obtuse writing. Find something with obtuse writitng in it and you got the ticket. Something that takes 10 minutes a page to read because its dense and badily written (or just badly writen and your not used to the style).

That melatonin thing is a good idea, i need to set my sleep schedule that I go to sleep at 10:30 PM. Make myself feel the same as i do at midnight-2:00AM.

 

[hyd]

you can try some meditation, just totally sit confortable, close your eyes and take deep slow breaths, try to clear your mind and focus on relaxing your body, start with your legs then move upwards.. take a deep breath then let go, as you let go also think about how all the muscle tension releases in a specific body part (lower legs, neck, shoulders etc) and how relax you are becomming

dunno if this is real meditation but helps for me sometimes

 

[Columbia]

Oh jeez, another restless night. Went to bed at 1. Came agonisingly close to sleep a few times but just as I was drifting off my mind comes back and wakes me up again. I got up to take a drink at one point and the clock showed 3:30. I went back to bed and was awake at least another 45 minutes. I then woke up again at 7:40 am and never got back to sleep. I'm not overly tired though. I probably wont sleep much tonight because my seasons biggest race is on tomorrow.

By the way, this has all just come along in the last 10 days, I've never had sleep trouble in the past. I dont think I'm doing anything different now than I have done previously.

I'm certain stress is not the problem, people are always commenting on how laid back I am.

 

[The_SideShow]

As a former insomniac myself who tried many different tricks to fall asleep, ranging from exercise before hand to milk to eventually pills, I have discovered the best way to fall asleep. I'm not saying I can sleep for hours on planes and busses, but from the time my head hits a pillow I'll be asleep in 10 minutes.

Just consciously be aware of your breathing.

Make sure you take deep slow breaths, and breath with your chest, keeping your stomach tucked in.

Relaxes you very quickly.

As an aside, doing this if you are ever nervous or talking too quickly with an HB blonde will automatically relax you and you'll appear calmer.

 

[CaptainMorgan]

drink a cup of warm milk before u go to bed

 

[CableLight]

This definately isn't the "healthiest" way of getting to bed, but trust me, it'll work.

Smoke a fat bowl 30 minutes before you go to sleep.

Unless you're tokin' the proverbial "bubonic chronic," you should be able to fall asleep quite easily. If you can get some really good Indica (as opposed to Sativa) strains, you'll be bomb-chaundy and ready for sleep like no other. PLUS there's a good chance of getting some pretty funky dreams. Last night, I dreamt I was combating the forces of evil inside a fancy resturante that suddenly transformed into a vast underground citadel. Pretty sweet.

 

[Gus]

I sometimes use a program called Brainwave Generator when I can't sleep. It does cost money, but PM me and I'll tell you how to...bypass that .

The best preset is Deep Mind IV or Deep Mind VI. The same sound is available (I actually think it's better than the Brainwave Generator sound) from this site (scroll down to Deep Mind Ultra II), but the downloads are not available until August 1. PM me and I can send you the file if you want it.

BTW, you have to use headphones for these things. If you use speakers, it won't work, and will just give you a headache.

 

[AFK Protector]

er.....What's a "fat bowl." Some kind of drug I'm assuming.

 

[CableLight]

Originally posted by AFK Protector
er.....What's a "fat bowl." Some kind of drug I'm assuming.

Marijuana.

The "drug" (yes I mean't for it to be in quotes) with possibly one of the worst reputations created from people who either:

A) Have never tried it and thus make false accusations about it, or
B) Were negatively exposed to it; i.e. at a place where you couldn't just chill out and enjoy it. That's what hittin the bong is all about - chillin' out and enjoying the moment. If you're in a really fast-paced and stressful situation, blazin' the herb for the first time (or sometimes any time) isn't going to be very fun.

But definately...If you're home by yourself and want to get to bed - light it up...Hang for a little bit, and you'll be golden.

 

[splinterkb]

Usually if I can't fall asleep and I'm desperate, I'll take 2 or 3 shots of alcohol. Alcohol is a depressant, thus making you tired. It works good.

 

[-HPNOTIQ-]

7-8 hours is recommended..everyone is different of course.

there was a time that i couldnt get a straight 8 hours sleep..i'd wake up 3 hours into my sleep...falll asleep then wake up again 2 hours later...etc.

some tips i've read from men's health magazine to get a good night's sleep are:

*go to bed at the same time, and wake up at the same time as much as possible...even on the weekends.

*no caffeine, sodas, coffee, ect before bedtime.

*don't nap...naps keep you from getting the long REM sleep at night.

*your bedroom should be a place where you sleep and have sex ONLY..this means no tv, no computer, no reading...these things all cause stimulation of your mind.

*a soft jasmine sent kept around the bedroom and used only in the bedroom can help you associate the smell of the jasmine to sleep and may help you fall asleep faster.

 

[hootersrule]

I've used Melatonin too on occasion. Its especially great on vacation when you're in a different time zone. The fist bottle was 3mb but I've found that the 1mg is just as effective. Even though it is natural I'm concerned about possible side effects (remember that asprin, tobacco and pot are all natural too) so I try not using it for longer than a week at a time every few weeks or so.

One other thing, don't wait too late at night before taking it, especially if you have to get up early.