Tips to get consistent sleep

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zill
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Tips to get consistent sleep

Postby zill » Tue Jan 13, 2015 4:22 pm

At the moment, sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night (to go to the toilet) but then have trouble getting back to sleep. What are some strategies to get back to sleep quicker?

CKinnard
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Re: Tips to get consistent sleep

Postby CKinnard » Tue Jan 13, 2015 5:13 pm

If you are under 35, you really shouldn't be regularly waking up to go to the toilet, even once a night.

- drink 500mls water immediately you wake up, and before breakfast, do the same before lunch and dinner. stop drinking an hour before lights out. The idea being to hydrate your body as soon as you get up, which should help you not feel dry after 7pm and wanting to drink.
- make sure you pre and post hydrate adequately around exercise.
- no caffeine after 4pm.
- try not touching alcohol for a month and seeing what diff it makes.
- regularly stretch and breathe.
- practise mind calming techniques before bed. i.e. forget the world and immerse yourself in a book, don't watch tele or utube for entertainment in the 30 minutes before sleep.
- strengthen your lower back and core, practise good posture, sleep on a firm bed. these things will reduce chances of a mechanical cause of neurogenic bladder.
- if prone to anxiety, repeat mind calming stuff...and get your life priorities and goals sorted. always go to bed with a plan to do something first up in the morning i.e. a bike ride to coffee or a good exercise session. This can help you settle to sleep better as tomorrow won't feel as drab.

zill
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Re: Tips to get consistent sleep

Postby zill » Tue Jan 13, 2015 5:30 pm

CKinnard wrote:If you are under 35, you really shouldn't be regularly waking up to go to the toilet, even once a night.

- drink 500mls water immediately you wake up, and before breakfast, do the same before lunch and dinner. stop drinking an hour before lights out. The idea being to hydrate your body as soon as you get up, which should help you not feel dry after 7pm and wanting to drink.
- make sure you pre and post hydrate adequately around exercise.
- no caffeine after 4pm.
- try not touching alcohol for a month and seeing what diff it makes.
- regularly stretch and breathe.
- practise mind calming techniques before bed. i.e. forget the world and immerse yourself in a book, don't watch tele or utube for entertainment in the 30 minutes before sleep.
- strengthen your lower back and core, practise good posture, sleep on a firm bed. these things will reduce chances of a mechanical cause of neurogenic bladder.
- if prone to anxiety, repeat mind calming stuff...and get your life priorities and goals sorted. always go to bed with a plan to do something first up in the morning i.e. a bike ride to coffee or a good exercise session. This can help you settle to sleep better as tomorrow won't feel as drab.

I'm usually pretty good with not drinking too much fluids before going to bed.

How much damage (to sleep) does surfing the web while in bed do (in the half hour before falling asleep, note that I usually don't have trouble getting to sleep)?

At the moment my bed is average but decent. How much of a difference would a top of the range bed make?

dalai47
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Re: Tips to get consistent sleep

Postby dalai47 » Tue Jan 13, 2015 5:38 pm

zill wrote:How much damage (to sleep) does surfing the web while in bed do (in the half hour before falling asleep, note that I usually don't have trouble getting to sleep)?
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-01/a ... rs/4790448" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

and

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/2 ... 72828.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Last edited by dalai47 on Tue Jan 13, 2015 5:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Parker
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Re: Tips to get consistent sleep

Postby Parker » Tue Jan 13, 2015 5:42 pm

Point your toes x 3
Tense your calves x 3
Tense your bum x 3
Squeeze hands x 3
Tense arms x 3
Tense face (squish) x 3

I hold each for a count of ten.

Another tip is ear plugs and face mask, I find that helpful.

zill
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Re: Tips to get consistent sleep

Postby zill » Tue Jan 13, 2015 6:02 pm

dalai47 wrote:
zill wrote:How much damage (to sleep) does surfing the web while in bed do (in the half hour before falling asleep, note that I usually don't have trouble getting to sleep)?
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-01/a ... rs/4790448" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

and

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/2 ... 72828.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

But would they impact more on getting to sleep in the first place rather than about waking up prematurely and then not being able to sleep again? Or maybe it's the second time trying to sleep that the devices really do their damage?

Will try switching off computers and phones at least 1 hour before bed time to see if that makes a difference.

dalai47
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Re: Tips to get consistent sleep

Postby dalai47 » Tue Jan 13, 2015 6:12 pm

Did you actually read either article?

From the huffington post link.
iPad readers took longer to fall asleep, felt less sleepy at night and had shorter REM sleep compared to the book readers, researchers found. The iPad readers also secreted less melatonin, which helps regulate your sleep.

Parker
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Re: Tips to get consistent sleep

Postby Parker » Tue Jan 13, 2015 6:20 pm

Also going to bed and waking up at the same time each day where possible, also ensuring that you only sleep (and have sex) in your bed, that reading and computers should be elsewhere.

If you can't sleep. It's best to get up after 20 minutes and do something else

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Thoglette
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Re: Tips to get consistent sleep

Postby Thoglette » Tue Jan 13, 2015 6:35 pm

CKinnard wrote:If you are under 35, you really shouldn't be regularly waking up to go to the toilet, even once a night.
(good stuff deleted)

Watch your salt intake carefully too. If you wake up both thirsty and "needing to go" that's probably salt/dehydration related. (INAQuack)
Last edited by Thoglette on Tue Jan 13, 2015 8:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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zill
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Re: Tips to get consistent sleep

Postby zill » Tue Jan 13, 2015 7:07 pm

dalai47 wrote:Did you actually read either article?

From the huffington post link.
iPad readers took longer to fall asleep, felt less sleepy at night and had shorter REM sleep compared to the book readers, researchers found. The iPad readers also secreted less melatonin, which helps regulate your sleep.
Definitely read both articles.

It's just that they really stress the fact that it's about harder to get to sleep.

Also I didn't associate "less sleepy at night and had shorter REM sleep" to waking up in the middle of the night although in thinking about it a bit more, it means if there is only a little incentive to wake up like going to the toilet then it means actually waking up rather than sleeping through it.

CKinnard
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Re: Tips to get consistent sleep

Postby CKinnard » Tue Jan 13, 2015 9:22 pm

zill wrote:I'm usually pretty good with not drinking too much fluids before going to bed.

How much damage (to sleep) does surfing the web while in bed do (in the half hour before falling asleep, note that I usually don't have trouble getting to sleep)?

At the moment my bed is average but decent. How much of a difference would a top of the range bed make?
I recall you are not too overweight. But if you are, further weight loss may reduce the urge to urinate at night.

The brain has similar requirements to muscle. When you use muscle even at low intensity for long periods, it benefits significantly from being able to rest completely. The brain is the same. We are designed to use our brain an hour or two, then back off for a while, and repeat.....at night we need to respect that calming the mind before sleep more reliably leads to deeper better quality sleep. If you need a strong motive for good "sleep hygiene", just remember exercise is purely a stimulus for the body to adapt to being better at exercise. Much of the actual growth and remodeling of muscle and other systems occurs during nrem sleep, especially the third episode. Regularly going to bed with a brain preoccupied with trivia or worldly problems, will compromise your athletic gains and your optimal long term health.

As for beds, you don't need top of the range (meaning expensive). The first thing to do is get your body fat down to healthy athletic, so you don't wear your bed out sooner. I advise people to buy a firm budget priced mattress, stick it on a slat base, turn it regularly, and toss it as soon as the support mechanisms start to fail. This might be as soon as 4-5 years, but it will still be cheaper than the most expensive you beaut beds that cost 15x more and begin to lose their support within 7 years.

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Semar
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Re: Tips to get consistent sleep

Postby Semar » Tue Jan 13, 2015 11:55 pm

I think that the point is that you have difficulty getting back to sleep after waking. The cause of the waking might be a full bladder, or you are not sleeping very deeply and you become fully awake more easily.

Give Progressive Muscle Relaxation a try. There are plenty of guides here in Cyberville, just pick one that appeals. Be sure that you choose one that finishes with you 'feeling' the muscle groups you have relaxed in a methodical survey of your body. Over time, your 'virtual' muscle relaxation process will improve as you become more in touch with the muscles that hold tension. When you have had a piss, go back to bed and do the survey. A relaxed body equals a relaxed mind.

The benefits of PMR are that it will relax you for better sleep and in addition give you a process of returning to sleep.
It’s more like our thoughts are thinking us than we are thinking them.

Parker
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Re: Tips to get consistent sleep

Postby Parker » Thu Jan 15, 2015 4:47 pm

Another thing that is good is magnesium, I take that every day and I tend to sleep better, basically I read an article somewhere that it helps your muscles relax and that's what I needed. It might help you sleep through the night.

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flashpixx
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Re: Tips to get consistent sleep

Postby flashpixx » Thu Jan 15, 2015 4:54 pm

Parker wrote:Also going to bed and waking up at the same time each day where possible, also ensuring that you only sleep (and have sex) in your bed, that reading and computers should be elsewhere.

If you can't sleep. It's best to get up after 20 minutes and do something else
Parker wrote:Another thing that is good is magnesium, I take that every day and I tend to sleep better, basically I read an article somewhere that it helps your muscles relax and that's what I needed. It might help you sleep through the night.
+1 to both of these.
Gordon

Riding: Trek Domane SLR 7

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jules21
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Re: Tips to get consistent sleep

Postby jules21 » Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:26 pm

loss of sleep is closely linked with anxiety. a lot of the stuff discussed in this thread is peripheral. if your mind isn't ready to sleep, nothing will help.

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skull
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Re: Tips to get consistent sleep

Postby skull » Wed Jan 21, 2015 9:02 am

I have been on a diet for the last couple of weeks and have also started to train consistently again. I am getting up to go the the loo for a wizz at least 2-3 times a night (even if I go just before bed) and upon waking I am usually busting again.

I probably drink 2-3 litres during the day but stop by around 5PM and the only drink I have after that is a protein shake around 9PM (with about 300ml of water). I also find any wizzes after 6PM are yellowish rather than clear (like I am dehydrated), I am also very overweight at the moment but am working on fixing that again. So annoying.

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Bon
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Re: Tips to get consistent sleep

Postby Bon » Thu Jan 22, 2015 12:16 pm

If you also snore and/or have lots of day time sleepiness you should get it checked out. Sleep apnea will often make you want to go to the toilet at night. When you're struggling for breath in your sleep your heart gets stressed and puts out a hormone (atrial natriuretic peptide) that increases urine production.

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casual_cyclist
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Re: Tips to get consistent sleep

Postby casual_cyclist » Wed Jan 28, 2015 7:14 pm

skull wrote:I have been on a diet for the last couple of weeks and have also started to train consistently again. I am getting up to go the the loo for a wizz at least 2-3 times a night (even if I go just before bed) and upon waking I am usually busting again.
You may want to get that checked out. I would.

http://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-disord ... s/nocturia" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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skull
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Re: Tips to get consistent sleep

Postby skull » Wed Jan 28, 2015 7:38 pm

casual_cyclist wrote: http://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-disord ... s/nocturia" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Interesting I was up 4 times last night.
Patients with severe nocturia may get up five or six times during the night to go to the bathroom.

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casual_cyclist
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Re: Tips to get consistent sleep

Postby casual_cyclist » Wed Jan 28, 2015 8:40 pm

skull wrote:
casual_cyclist wrote: http://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-disord ... s/nocturia" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Interesting I was up 4 times last night.
Patients with severe nocturia may get up five or six times during the night to go to the bathroom.
Not suggesting you have nocturia as Dr Google is notorious for wrong diagnoses. However, I was hoping the information in the article might prompt you to have your situation checked out by a medical professional. Chances are it is nothing but seriously, go see someone.
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