- regular vigorous exercise - I do this five or six days per week
- no caffeine after about 2 pm
- mostly consistent bedtime
- heating pad, for nights when my lower back is stiff or sore
- white noise in the form of a fan (though I’m going to need something more powerful, as my neighbor has started the lovely habit of watching tv at 330am with no headphones)
- on nights when I’m really having trouble, I have a small stash of chewable 5mg melatonin tablets on my nightstand
I scrolled way too far to find exercise. Not that you're going to fall asleep within 5 minutes of returning from a run, but it really does work. Among other things, aerobic exercise will help with stress, sleep, some back and joint problems, helps you to eat less and burn more calories.
On another note, I heard something in a podcast or radio show that said that a special type of breathing exercise is as good as exercise for many of these things and will fool your body. Obviously, it won't build muscle, but it may help with sleep and stress.
4 hours of 30 second videos viewed on a screen held 4 inches away from my face, it never fails 👍
Having a partner who loves me
got myself a sleep apnea mouth guard. It's amazing to actually be able to sleep just 7 hours and actually be refreshed instead of even more tired than the evening before.
Monitored the change with an app that records your snoring. and it's insane what a different it makes
Removing all distractions, which takes a bit of work. Covering every single source of light. Little indicator on my charger? Slapped electrical tape on it. Blackout curtains. Noise machine. The hardest one: Never using the bedroom for anything but sleeping. Not even a little peek at the phone and YouTube for a relaxing video. I have an analogue non-illuminated clock for daytime, and if I need to check the time in the dark, a Timex I can hit the glow button on. If I really can’t sleep, I get up and go into another room to read or listen to something.
Fan for air flow and noise (I've got tinnitus). Rub one out. Small glass of cold water. I'll roll over and pass tf out in seconds.
Highly recommended, but not necessary: Take an edible ~ 2 hours before you wanna go to sleep so you're in the middle of riding that high when it's time to crash.
White noise. I bought a white noise machine years ago when I lived near a large emergency room that had ambulances going by all day every day. It really helped with the sirens, and when I moved away I kept using the machine. My brain now interprets the white noise as profound silence, and I sleep so deeply that I don't know how I ever got by without it.
A lot of this was already covered but here's what I have:
- Lights/screens:
- Switching to light sources/bulbs with lower brightness/warmer light temperature (lower Kelvin/K-value) 3 hours before bed. (Light affects our sleep-wake cycle, aka the circadian rhythm. Our brain processes bright light as "the sun is still up so it's not time to sleep yet")
- Gradually dimming electronic screens until bedtime. (Computer: using a program like F.lux and lowering the brightness gradually in the graphics card's control panel. Phone: with a built-in Night/Dark Mode option that you can schedule or by using an app like Twilight). // Don't take your devices to the bedroom, or keep them far away from the bed and set them on silent/shut them off.
- Use a face mask (or tie some other cloth around your eyes), or sleep in a dark room (closed door, covered windows, covered LED lights on electronics, etc.) (note: if you sleep in a closed room make sure to keep it well-ventilated in all other hours)
- Try not to sleep for more than 8 hours, so you'll always be tired enough the next night.
- Masking noise:
- Use something that makes a white noise - a loud fan/air purifier, a plugged-in radio that's not tuned to a working station, a white noise device, etc. (put it next to a window if it's noisy outside to mask the noise better)
- Additionally (or alternatively) you can use foam earplugs. Just make sure to roll&squeeze them before putting them in and don't push them too far, otherwise you might get impacted earwax and have difficulty getting them out.
- Food: Have a light meal 3-3.5 hours before bed and light snacks (like crackers) 1.5-2 hours before bed, to not go to sleep hungry and get distracted by that and to not put the body into overdrive by having to digest a heavy meal, or cause heartburn/indigestion.
- If you sleep on your stomach with your head to the side, you can use a thin and narrow side pillow (but firm) along your torso to support your shoulder on the side that your head is pointing to. (you can also use a thin pillow for your head to not strain your neck/spine - there are ones made for kids if needed)
Cool.
Room temperature too.If it's hot AC or good fans.
Or opening windows( if possible) or changing rooms(or sleeping on the bed to sleeping on the floor with a blanket/cloth below)
- Lights/screens:
Ear plugs. They are also very effective at keeping the alarm from waking me up though...
I do not do anything but sleep in my bedroom. My phone charger stays in the living room. When I feel tired, I lay down and basically turn off for four to five hours. I have no issues getting to sleep, but I can't stay asleep for a "normal" 6-8 hours. My body won't do it.
not moving
(advice for falling asleep if you are not tired coming from someone who worked rotating shifts for a decade) like this is not a joke but nothing helps me fall asleep faster than not moving as soon as i lie down.
"oh i can't fall asleep, i rotate onto my other side" no!
"oh i know turning on my belly might help" no!
"oh i know…" just stop it.
stay put, try to calm your thoughts but do - not - move - any - limps - at - all! no little arm movement, no turning around and very soon that little tingly feel will start to appear letting you know that you'll soon be fast asleep.
Melatonin and a podcast very quietly, just enough to focus on over the tinnitus
A pint of stout and earbuds with rain noise.
A pint is great at helping me fall asleep. Unfortunately, it also prevents me from sleeping restfully.
In no particular order:
- being fit
- physically tired
- no booze or cannabis on nights I actually have to sleep well
- a completely dark room, no little lights on electronic devices, blackout curtains, etc..
- a bed (I won't mention the brand unless asked) that adjusts to my sleep patterns. It measures my breath rate, heart rate, how often I move, if I'm snoring (rare), etc.. It then knows how well I'm sleeping and can soften or firm up, and tilt my upper body up or down. Depending on how my vitals change it learns how best to accommodate my sleep.
If I have trouble due to stress or the neighbors are making noise I'll throw on an eye mask and ear plugs.
I'm basically comatose 15 minutes after hitting the pillow and wake up before my alarm.
what brand of cannabis would you recommend?
Which bed does all of that?
Clearly weed, but the job doesn't permit it.
listening to asmr
Asmr bakery is my absolute favorite!
Masturbation to get things started. CPAP machine to make sure I don't suffocate in the middle of the night. Ear plugs to muffle out all the little noises.
This specific brown noise makes my brain shut down fast. Jason Lewis is a genius.
I came across c/futuramasleepers when it was on Reddit and being a Futurama fan, it worked like a charm. Effect, I wore out Futurama for myself.
So I switched to downloading Family Guy funny moment videos onto my phone. They are usually 1h long, but 20 minutes or so in, I am knocked out, with a laugh to boot.
Before, when I lived alone, I used to put on tv shows, switch off the tv and let the home theater on very low sound do the heavy lifting.
Also, the guy on YouTube, City Planner Plays has been a tremendous source of sleep for me. Put on one of his YouTube videos and bang, out like a light.
My service dog to keep PTSD at bay and extreme nightmares. And sleep as android having my thunderstorms playing to drown out the things in my head and everything around me in RL
Reading a book or listening to a podcast usually works. If not, I add a couple of CBD puffs.
Stuff You Should Know podcast. Josh and Chuck's voices put me this sleep even though I find their topics, and delivery, great to listen to.
I listen to TechStuff to fall asleep!
Absolute dark
Black out curtains and 45min of an audiobook while I snuggle the wife.
Pot, and nose strips. I've always been terrible at falling asleep, but the last couple years I've been so much better rested with this combo.
Have you tried crying for 45/60 minutes? Works like a charm
Honestly, sleeping isn't a problem for me, its getting up.
Just need more hours in the day, maybe fourty more. Although; I'm not sure if I'd sleep a minute away
Ambien. I know that it's not great but unfortunately it's more complex for me than just sleep, so it's necessary. I don't think I'd ever sleep again without it. Wow can you do some weird things on Ambien if you don't put your phone away.
