I find when having difficulty falling asleep I'll pray for different people, and before I know it 💤😴. For noise (dog or hubbs snoring) i turn on the mini fan on nightstand & put the pillow over my head & "wallah" - I fall asleep. Melatonin helps too👍
We often get up in the night either for ourselves or to assist our daughter in the bathroom. We use a red night light for the bathroom and it helps us to not get so awake and in turn helps us get back to sleep better.
1. Sleep mask. It not only cuts out ambient light but it now signals "sleep" to me. It's like a face hug signalling my brain to shut down.
2. Night light in the bathroom. I often wake up between sleep cyles and normally I can just fall right back asleep and start a new one, but occationally I notice I have to use the restroom off our our bedroom. Turning on the light in there is always jarring so I plugged in a night light which provides enough light for me to see what I am doing yet keeps the room quite dim. This way the light doesn't disrupt my sleep cycles.
3. Dog in bed. This can be a huge disruptor of sleep depending on the dog, but one of our dogs sleeps on the bed with us and she's a sound sleeper so doesn't wake us up, but is always an arms reach away for pets and snuggles. It's very relaxing and if anxiety is keeping me up she gets extra pets until I fall asleep.
4. Ambient noise. We have an air purifier in our room which we crank up to full power when we go to sleep. It has the added benefit of keeping our air clean.
5. Just a Comforter. My husband and I (and dog) sleep with a sheet over the mattress and then just a comforter with a duvet. No other blankets or sheets to get balled up or wrapped up in. It's simple and provides for frictionless warmth. Added bonus is that morning bed making is a snap.
6. 90 Minutes During the Day. If I get a poor nights sleep and I have the luxury of 90 minutes during the day (which I admittedly usually do thanks to a remote work schedule with some flexibility) I take lunchtime nap of 90 minutes. Less than that and I end up either tossing and turning without much benefit or being woken up in the middle of a vivid dream by my alarm and feeling worse throughout the day. 90 minutes allows me a full sleep cycle and I often wake up naturally just before the alarm feeling considerably better. It's like a do-over in the middle of the day when I don't get good sleep the night before.
Nice list! I would add, avoiding late dinners/alcohol. Four hours between the last meal and sleep is ideal. Yes, let us not forget the nap. A daily short nap(20-30m) is good for an afternoon energy boost, and the occasional(shouldn’t happen often) longer one(90-120m) when we might be significantly sleep deprived.
I recently completed a course on bioidentical hormones. One topic was melatonin, which I tried myself once and found almost too effective. Any thoughts on uses, and/or how to integrate an understanding of melatonin along with the topic of sleep (is melatonin deficiency a thing?)?
Melatonin is a whole different topic with multiple sides to look at when debating whether to use it for sleep. For this stack I wanted to stick to non-Rx, non-supplement hacks for sleep. Perhaps I'll attempt a Melatonin stack in the future.
But I do like Melatonin for it's anti-inflammatory uses. Yes it helps some with sleep if that is their issue, but it does so much more.
I take melatonin every night for GERD, so yes there are so many other reasons to take it. Low carb diet + intermittent fasting + 3mg of melatonin every evening = no more GERD. So glad to not have to take proton inhibitors or antacids every night.
Elle is the sweetest🐾🐾❤️❤️
I find when having difficulty falling asleep I'll pray for different people, and before I know it 💤😴. For noise (dog or hubbs snoring) i turn on the mini fan on nightstand & put the pillow over my head & "wallah" - I fall asleep. Melatonin helps too👍
Reading! I get home from work at around 10:00 PM and need the diversion of a book to relax my work filled mind.
Often envy the ease and depth of sleep that my dog and cat effortlessly enjoy.
We often get up in the night either for ourselves or to assist our daughter in the bathroom. We use a red night light for the bathroom and it helps us to not get so awake and in turn helps us get back to sleep better.
Some additional items that have helped me:
1. Sleep mask. It not only cuts out ambient light but it now signals "sleep" to me. It's like a face hug signalling my brain to shut down.
2. Night light in the bathroom. I often wake up between sleep cyles and normally I can just fall right back asleep and start a new one, but occationally I notice I have to use the restroom off our our bedroom. Turning on the light in there is always jarring so I plugged in a night light which provides enough light for me to see what I am doing yet keeps the room quite dim. This way the light doesn't disrupt my sleep cycles.
3. Dog in bed. This can be a huge disruptor of sleep depending on the dog, but one of our dogs sleeps on the bed with us and she's a sound sleeper so doesn't wake us up, but is always an arms reach away for pets and snuggles. It's very relaxing and if anxiety is keeping me up she gets extra pets until I fall asleep.
4. Ambient noise. We have an air purifier in our room which we crank up to full power when we go to sleep. It has the added benefit of keeping our air clean.
5. Just a Comforter. My husband and I (and dog) sleep with a sheet over the mattress and then just a comforter with a duvet. No other blankets or sheets to get balled up or wrapped up in. It's simple and provides for frictionless warmth. Added bonus is that morning bed making is a snap.
6. 90 Minutes During the Day. If I get a poor nights sleep and I have the luxury of 90 minutes during the day (which I admittedly usually do thanks to a remote work schedule with some flexibility) I take lunchtime nap of 90 minutes. Less than that and I end up either tossing and turning without much benefit or being woken up in the middle of a vivid dream by my alarm and feeling worse throughout the day. 90 minutes allows me a full sleep cycle and I often wake up naturally just before the alarm feeling considerably better. It's like a do-over in the middle of the day when I don't get good sleep the night before.
Nice list! I would add, avoiding late dinners/alcohol. Four hours between the last meal and sleep is ideal. Yes, let us not forget the nap. A daily short nap(20-30m) is good for an afternoon energy boost, and the occasional(shouldn’t happen often) longer one(90-120m) when we might be significantly sleep deprived.
15 minute post-dinner walk. Helps bring down postprandial glucose spike, and a super way to wind down and clear the mind.
For those with poor circulation or Reynards, socks might be beneficial for better sleep. For you warm blooded types, let your feet go naked!
I know this was a non-supplement post, but if you do supplement magnesium, try the Glycinate version in the evening.
I recently completed a course on bioidentical hormones. One topic was melatonin, which I tried myself once and found almost too effective. Any thoughts on uses, and/or how to integrate an understanding of melatonin along with the topic of sleep (is melatonin deficiency a thing?)?
Melatonin is a whole different topic with multiple sides to look at when debating whether to use it for sleep. For this stack I wanted to stick to non-Rx, non-supplement hacks for sleep. Perhaps I'll attempt a Melatonin stack in the future.
But I do like Melatonin for it's anti-inflammatory uses. Yes it helps some with sleep if that is their issue, but it does so much more.
I take melatonin every night for GERD, so yes there are so many other reasons to take it. Low carb diet + intermittent fasting + 3mg of melatonin every evening = no more GERD. So glad to not have to take proton inhibitors or antacids every night.
Wow, I didn’t know Melatonin was good for GERD, I will definitely try it. Do you only take it at night?
Mark
Most hacks here are opinions and anecdotes of what has worked for others. I have not heard about melatonin and Gerd but am intrigued.
If you should try it, please come back here and let everyone know if it also helped you as it does Jennifer.
Low carb diets and intermittent fasting alone can also help Gerd.