I have a very long list of heuristics for this, as I’m a nerd with this topic, and also tend to be the de-facto expert in my wider family for sleep help. I need to clean up the raw notes before I could list them.
But I’m going to give you an inconvenient truth: Good rest begins 48-hours before.
Most of the major factors in sleep originate from your body’s 48-hour cycle, which includes digestive tract, your sleep and wake the day before, your exercise on both days, sun exposure, your 48-hour hydration consistency (yes hydration correction takes this long or more), what you ate yesterday, and what you ate within 4-6 hours before bedtime.
If you’re trying to fix sleep while already in bed with insomnia, then you already did something wrong and cannot really correct course in a healthy way. Whether it’s alcohol or benadryl —These sleep aids to force you through the night will have you pay a price later. Your REM will be worse. Your deep sleep will be worse. You will be more irritable the next day and peter out faster. You’ll compensate with more caffeine or something stronger and then that will have a downward-spiral for your next night of sleep.
But hey, Life happens. People have babies. Disruption to the best routines is bound to happen. Tricks near or especially at bedtime can only increase your sleep inertia so much. Most have been listed, but if you just need a nudge, then (1) Turn off the phone and read a book, or at least read articles and stay away from videos. Turn on night mode and dim completely. (2) Keep room as cold as possible. (3) Get a white-noise generator or fan. (4) Practice deep breathing techniques to preoccupy your mind and move your ANS from sympathetic to a parasympathetic state. (5) Don’t be afraid to let your mind wander. Make up a story in your head. Find your happy place in your thoughts so you set yourself up for a “win-win” while just lying there. (6) Magnesium Glycinate tends to be a safe sleep aid that actually improves REM, but take with meal otherwise it can have laxative properties to the sensitive. Just some stuff off the top of my head.
Easily falling asleep but waking up in the middle of the night with insomnia “tired but wired” is a different albeit related beast…
I have a very long list of heuristics for this, as I’m a nerd with this topic, and also tend to be the de-facto expert in my wider family for sleep help. I need to clean up the raw notes before I could list them.
But I’m going to give you an inconvenient truth: Good rest begins 48-hours before.
Most of the major factors in sleep originate from your body’s 48-hour cycle, which includes digestive tract, your sleep and wake the day before, your exercise on both days, sun exposure, your 48-hour hydration consistency (yes hydration correction takes this long or more), what you ate yesterday, and what you ate within 4-6 hours before bedtime.
If you’re trying to fix sleep while already in bed with insomnia, then you already did something wrong and cannot really correct course in a healthy way. Whether it’s alcohol or benadryl —These sleep aids to force you through the night will have you pay a price later. Your REM will be worse. Your deep sleep will be worse. You will be more irritable the next day and peter out faster. You’ll compensate with more caffeine or something stronger and then that will have a downward-spiral for your next night of sleep.
But hey, Life happens. People have babies. Disruption to the best routines is bound to happen. Tricks near or especially at bedtime can only increase your sleep inertia so much. Most have been listed, but if you just need a nudge, then (1) Turn off the phone and read a book, or at least read articles and stay away from videos. Turn on night mode and dim completely. (2) Keep room as cold as possible. (3) Get a white-noise generator or fan. (4) Practice deep breathing techniques to preoccupy your mind and move your ANS from sympathetic to a parasympathetic state. (5) Don’t be afraid to let your mind wander. Make up a story in your head. Find your happy place in your thoughts so you set yourself up for a “win-win” while just lying there. (6) Magnesium Glycinate tends to be a safe sleep aid that actually improves REM, but take with meal otherwise it can have laxative properties to the sensitive. Just some stuff off the top of my head.
Easily falling asleep but waking up in the middle of the night with insomnia “tired but wired” is a different albeit related beast…