NA Secrets to good sleep?

Challenged

Challenged

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Challenged
My wife has occasionally been struggling with sleep. Anyone have any secrets to share?
 
Not enough information.

Is she trying to sleep in a bed?




side rhetorical: Why do we sleep in a bed but on a couch?
 
I sleep like a baby since I reduced my weight.
 
No "screen time" starting one hour before bed. Read a book instead. More physical activity in the afternoon particularly. Eat a lighter meal in the evening and make "lunch" your big meal. Did I mention no "screen time?"
 
don't have kids -- whoops talking the quiet parts out loud again.... :D
 
MuseChaser said:
No "screen time" starting one hour before bed. Read a book instead. More physical activity in the afternoon particularly. Eat a lighter meal in the evening and make "lunch" your big meal. Did I mention no "screen time?"
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I fall asleep to YouTube videos all the time, or watching TV, and don't move until the alarm goes off (or the dog barks) 8 hours later - pretty sure this is going to vary person to person.
 
EdFred said:
I fall asleep to YouTube videos all the time, or watching TV, and don't move until the alarm goes off (or the dog barks) - pretty sure this is going to vary person to person.
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Indeed. Bob Ross is my favorite sleep aid. pretty little accidents....zzzzzzzz
 
[QUOTE="side rhetorical: Why do we sleep in a bed but on a couch?[/QUOTE]

[guess mode on!] In bed, there are usually some covers on top of you, so you are “in” the bed. If you lie down on a couch, there is usually nothing covering you. Yes, exceptions are very common here. Note the word ‘usually’ above. [/guess mode]

-Skip
 
Challenged said:
My wife has occasionally been struggling with sleep. Anyone have any secrets to share?
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There are so many different components to a good night's sleep. I have struggled with it for years myself. Based on things I have read and learned, here's a few ideas I have...
- go to bed and wake up in the morning at a consistent time seven days a week. Our bodies apparently have a circadian rhythm, and if we get that set to a consistent time frame, that helps a lot of people.
- no electronics one to two hours before bedtime. The blue light affects some people's serotonin production.
- no alcohol in the evenings. It may help you get to sleep, but it affects your sleep cycles later in the night.
- be sure to eat a healthy diet.
- if a person is overweight, weight loss helps some people. I have lost 30 lbs since the beginning of summer, and my sleep has improved.
- there can be physiological issues. I did a sleep study about 8 years ago. They said I have periodic limb movement, which is similar to restless leg syndrome.
- if getting to sleep initially is the problem, drinking a cup of chamomile tea 30 minutes to an hour before bedtime can help. It can also wake you up in the middle of the night to have to go to the bathroom because of the liquid you drank.
 
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Also, blunt objects can help. Of course CTE might become a long term issue.
 
Yes.

A big heaping table spoon of a good quality raw organic honey right before bed...not that cheap processed chain store crap. Knocks me right out.

You would think the sugars keep you wired but quite the opposite. Shuts my mind down and out like a light.

Not a help sleep solid all through the night remedy but certainly a get to sleep solution that I swear by.

For the better sleep, I have ben drastically cutting back on coffee and caffeine (not eliminate, just reduce by 3/4 or better) and starting to sleep a lot more solid...plus by detoxing off caffeine and reducing my tolerance where I would have a venti cold brew every day just cuz...now when I have a coffee it actually does something.
 
Stress can keep your brain from relaxing. Is there something going on in her life? Setting the thermostat down a few extra degrees might help, too.
 
Stay hydrated. Exercise. Sex.

I started going to the gym back in August. I was sleeping 5-6 hours a night then. After about a month of going twice a week to a pretty vigorous hour long workout session, I was sleeping 8 to 9 hours a night. I have been on the bench for almost two weeks now due to a shoulder injury, and I am starting to have an issue sleeping again.
 
Groundpounder said:
Stay hydrated. Exercise. Sex.

I started going to the gym back in August. I was sleeping 5-6 hours a night then. After about a month of going twice a week to a pretty vigorous hour long workout session, I was sleeping 8 to 9 hours a night. I have been on the bench for almost two weeks now due to a shoulder injury, and I am starting to have an issue sleeping again.
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Fantastic advice that ties in with the username, lol.

Was going to suggest the same. Exercise fairly heavily for 45 minutes or so 2 hours before bed. Doesn't really matter the exercise as long as it gets the heart rate up for an extended period. Swimming is great, jogging, rowing machine, exercise bike, etc. Sexual activity is another good one, both from heart rate perspective (if you're doing it right, lol) and from the serotonin release which will help aid in falling asleep.
 
This one may or may not be applicable, but my sleep has improved immensely since giving up alcohol 18 months ago. I sleep like a baby 8 hours a night now.
 
I mean this seriously, more sex often helps people sleep better. A couple times per day, helps keep the sleepless nights away.
 
One of the things that kept me up was chronic pain. I now take an Aleve before bed and sleep better.
 
Agree with all of the above. Also is the bed too soft or firm? If the room is a little chilly, wrapping up in a comforter can be relaxing. Also a sound machine can help. But beware, water noises make wife want to pee, and you don’t want her floating your boat, so to say.
 
Groundpounder said:
Stay hydrated. Exercise. Sex.

I started going to the gym back in August. I was sleeping 5-6 hours a night then. After about a month of going twice a week to a pretty vigorous hour long workout session, I was sleeping 8 to 9 hours a night. I have been on the bench for almost two weeks now due to a shoulder injury, and I am starting to have an issue sleeping again.
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That's odd, my wife tells me sex wakes her up. Clearly either @Groundpounder or I are doing it wrong.
 
I think everyone is different, a lot of people's don't do this stuff is what I pretty much need to do. I've never found screen time or lighting to make much difference, I can't fall asleep if I'm hungry so I pretty much always eat before bed. Caffeine doesn't seem to have a huge impact unless I get super wired.

The biggest thing I've learned over the years is never try to force sleep. If you're not tired, you're not tired. Might as well stay up and read, watch TV, post on internet forums, etc. If you lay down when you know you won't sleep you're just going to get frustrated and angry then be up that much later.

Other than that, Melatonin supplements can help. Something like a fan that makes a consistent droning noise to drown out other irregular noise can help. Comfort- new pillows, comfortable temperature in the room, etc. Sometimes just changing something up works- seems like once or twice a year I'm unable to sleep in bed but if I go downstairs and lay on the couch I'm out right away.
 
Read this book. It's inexpensive, quick and easy to read, and highly informative. I heard the author speak at a lecture I attended years ago and was transformed by it. Sleep science is relatively new, and misconceptions around it are rampant.

Sleep For Success.jpg
 
For me, not being on-call is a good start to get some sleep.
 
I know a few people who take an edible a hour before bedtime and say it helps them sleep. One has been doing it for years. Not a cure all but a help. I haven't tried it. some nights I sleep well, some not so well.
 
hindsight2020 said:
Indeed. Bob Ross is my favorite sleep aid. pretty little accidents....zzzzzzzz
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I was watching Bob Ross vids on YT once looking to help with sleep when I came across ASMR. Autonomous Sensory Median Response. It’s actually a thing that helps with relaxation. Find the right one on YT, put in some ear plugs and you’ll be out in no time.
 
dbahn said:
Read this book. It's inexpensive, quick and easy to read, and highly informative. I heard the author speak at a lecture I attended years ago and was transformed by it. Sleep science is relatively new, and misconceptions around it are rampant.

View attachment 79521
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Are you saying this book will put us to sleep?
 
Timbeck2 said:
Why do we sleep in a bed but on a couch?
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Because a bed is made up with bedding (people sleep between the sheets) and "couching" does not exist as a noun.
 
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