Tips for improving (deep) sleep

Could you explain this? How does your roof temperature affect sleep? Or is that a typo, and you meant “room”?

Some people like to sleep on the roof? :slight_smile:

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Had sleeping problems for several month in a row and audio hypnosis helped me to get through this, it turning my mind in a calm state somehow. https://sleephypnopill.com/fall_asleep_fast/ also does the job, has mobile version and it’s decent option overall.

Actually, I was suffering sleep from since couple of months due to loud noise in front of my house. But was not getting the proper solution to avoid the noise. Lastly, my close friend advice’s me to buy a earplug to solve the problem but I am facing a problem while choosing the right earplugs. I need a suggestion for buying the best earplugs. I gathered a little knowledge when I read their blog. I am still waiting for getting knowledge before buying the perfect one.

My partner (Jennifer) and I just bought the Bose Sleepbuds. Some folks say they’re limited - they don’t like that the buds are not capable of listening to the phone outside of the Bose app - seems expensive ($250) for pretty much a single-function device. We, on the other hand, absolutely love them. They do a good job of noise reduction by simply putting them in the ear, and they do an outstanding job, when you listen to one of the eight or so sleep sounds offered in the companion app. Snoring, loud voices leaving the bar below us at 2am, and truck back-up alarms are a thing of the past. Another bonus is a very-chill wake-up alarm that only the user can hear - a boon to relationships where one is an early-riser. 5 stars.

As others on here have said, there are plenty of supplements which can help you sleep. However, you don’t have to jump right in with an expensive sleeping supplement. If you’re really trying to be scientific about it, you will want to start with the most likely candidates for enhancing your sleep and test them out one by one.

In my experience, magnesium is a fantastic, reliable sleep aid. Using magnesium for sleep has the added benefit of leaving you fresh and alert in the morning (melatonin can sometimes leave people drowsy). I recommend using about 100mg of citrate or bisglycinate to start, and the upping the dose as needed.

I tried the Bose Seepbuds and they were no better than Howard Leigh 33 dB NRR earplugs. On the contrary, the Bose are hard plastic, while the earplugs are soft.

Have you tried highly-reviewed earplugs for sleep?

I appreciate the non-electronic earbuds, for what they are. For me, though, the sleep sounds that are played through the bose earbuds are wonderful, and deeply relaxing. Regarding the hard plastic - the actual electronics are in a hard plastic shell - though that shell is placed in a soft silicone earbud. I love 'em!

Yup, great ideas. Especially when it comes to supplements. Magnesium can help a lot, L-theanine as well. Adaptogen herbs might help some, but I know people who didn’t like them. Then there are other sleep nootropics (https://www.yourinception.com/best-nootropics/best-sleep-nootropics/) and nootropic stacks that many people enjoy. But as other have mentioned, supplements are just one part of the whole game. To be really successful in improving your sleep, I think you should “hack” all other parts as well.

Hey!
I always do dome meditating when I feel stressed out and think that I will have trouble sleeping. I also try not to eat right before going to bed and do my workouts in the morning, not in the evening. However, some stretching exercises can also help you to relax. Also no phone or any screen in bed! :wink:
Hope that helps!

Working while on stationary bicycle or treadmill for almost 5 hours but at a slow pace was the only thing that kept my sleep from dropping to less than 6 hours every night while consuming energy drinks in the morning.

When I don’t have access to blackout blinds, I find that eye masks have a similar positive impact on my sleep.

Dan mentioned a study highlighting the impact on light on the skin. I highly doubt that light on the skin has a significant impact on sleep, and my guess is that eye masks have almost an identical impact versus blinds. Of course, this requires that the mask doesn’t allow light in or cause discomfort. You have to go for premium masks, but I think mine only cost about £15.

Like another commenter, I’ve found that exercise late in the day affects the depth of my sleep. I imagine it raises my cortisol levels as I just feel restless into the early hours of the morning.

I also find heavy or sweet foods in the evening to be a big issue. I tried apple cider vinegar after a recommendation from Tim Ferriss. It seemed to have an impact but I need to test it properly.

Heya, I’d recommend using the bat cave method i.e. you want to ensure that your bedroom is as quiet and dark as possible. Switch off your phone. In fact, avoid staring at screens including your computer screen for at least an hour before going to bed. Just do as much as you can to avoid the effects of blue light. Other than that, consider using a melatonin-rich supplement. Melatonin is the main hormone that you need to flip the switch, you might want to learn more about it and how to get just the right quantities of it in your body. Cheers.

While sleeping putting electronic devices near you is what makes you more anxious about your daily routine and especially the commotion of the alarm or call.

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Here are some things that have helped me improve my deep sleep:
No heavy exercise 2-3 hours prior
No eating 1-3 hours prior (practicing intermittent fasting on a 16-8 schedule has helped me as well, this means I have all my meals between 11 AM - 7 PM.)
Cold shower before bed
Meditation before bed (stress reduction in general)

Don’t force yourself to sleep. If you don’t feel sleepy, get out of your bed and do anything until you feel you are ready to sleep.

I’ve found that pink noise can increase my deep sleep for additional ~1.2h per week.

Interesting. Many people who can’t fall asleep actually have different circadian rhythms and are natural night owls. The problem for this group seems like insomnia when it’s actually having to get up too early. If you use an alarm clock to wake up, your sleep times may not match your innate circadian rhythm. In that case, how can you change your life to fit your natural circadian rhythm? Trying to fight it only leads to chronic sleep deprivation.

According to science of chronotypes there are not too much natural night owls in population, most of them night owl because of social / technological influence. For example you can check this paper which states “we find 40% early, 44% intermediate and only 16% late chronotypes.”

Agree, but there is a lot of other reasons for insomnia.

I dont use alarms. I’ve measured my circadian rhythm and it seems to be synchronized with my bedtime start: around 22:00 my body temperature drops and my sleep is initiated and it start to rise at about 5:00 and waking me up.
I think the best timing for alarm is 30-60 mins after your usual waking time :slight_smile:

I’m not using alarm, but if was forced to, i’ll shift my bedtime start to (alarm time - 8.5 hours) to wake up naturally. Also i think it good to shift breakfast and dinner to match that schedule (no eat 3-4h before bedtime and wait 1-2h after waking up).

Circadian rhythm can be shifted, just give it a some time. Most of thing which is matter for suprachiasmatic nucleus (which syncs rhythms) is a bright light sensed by melanopsin containing cells in retina. If you fly from EU to US, just give it some time and rhythm will sync after few days/weeks. If you shift your schedule for 1-2 hours - just keep it strict and rhythm will shift after few days. Important thing is to setup your bedtime for a 8-9-10 hours prior alarm, to wake naturally most of days. Anyway your brain clock isnt precise to 24h and are syncing everyday with bright light and other external factors.
Most of problems came when someone try to sleep at strict schedule, like 23:00 and having bright light at 22:30 which disrupts and shift rhythm and cause long sleep latency.

Having strict bedtime schedule and optimizing daily/screentime activities seems to be best way not to fight with biological clocks :slight_smile:

In my experiment i’ve tried to find optimal bedtime for my current external factors (sunset/sunrise/meal timing) and habitual screentime. If some of factors will change i’m assuming a changes in optimal bedtime.

I would recommend to read Matthew Walker’s book “Why we sleep” - some of the mechanisms are explained there and provides useful info supported by science.

I read the book. It revitalized my career and life. The 44% intermediate group are often sleep deprived by what’s becoming known in the literature as social jetlag.

I am in that 44%. My brain wakes naturally at 7:30 AM. However, for 34 years I had to get up at 6 AM or earlier. I have patients in the 44 % who start working at 5:30 AM. They try to go to sleep at 9 PM but can’t so they say they have trouble sleeping. They sleep fine. They just have to get up too early for their circadian rhythm.

BTW, there is a 75% increase in the incidence of type 2 diabetes in patients whose social obligations shift their sleep time 2 hours from their genetic circadian rhythm.

You are correct, we adjust to different time zones, but it’s not because we change our circadian rhythm. We’re merely adapting to the change in sunlit hours.