[Ferrari1976]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Here's a fun thing to do. Start a dream journal. Every morning, the first thing you do is jot down all your dreams in as much detail as you can in a dedicated notebook. Will make for fun reading later.

And importantly, might provide you some clues about your subconscious mind as well.

Happy dreaming

This is an interesting idea. I do not remember the dreams many a times, but when I do, I certainly can jot them down.

[matizcrazy]

While this thread is an interesting read, I agree with Sanjaymugur.
A few minutes of anulom vilom helps quite a bit. The afternoon naps should be just that, naps. If they run the distance, they mess with the night time sleep.
Despite waking before 0600 for over 30 years, I have realized recently that I enjoy the 0600 - 0730 sleep quite a bit. Allowing myself that indulgence because I no longer have to save the world.

[sukhbirST]

Thanks and really appreciate the detailed write up
Everyone needs to read this fully, as it is indeed a key to healthy living
Will share with my friends and family now

[RaghavEvoX]

Thank you for writing this amazing piece of information. I read this completely and these are great insights. Never knew so many components are involved in such a simple sleep. Kudos

I will try to incorporate at least few things which is possible for me.
But to be honest , I have never seen a sunrise in my entire life. (I'm 35). The least that is possible for me is 7AM. Every day I wish I can get up by 6AM but that has never happened. Even if I sleep at 10 or 11 or 12 pm, I get up only by 8AM. (Thanks to my daughter's online classes that it has come to 8AM from 9AM).

Plan for next 3 weeks to see if I can really do it.

• Try to have an early dinner by 7PM.
• Reduce the number of coffees from 4 to 2.
• Hit the bed by 10 PM.
• Get up by 6AM & see the rising sun.

I will update after 3 weeks if I could do it & see if any changes.

My biggest problem is the lack of motivation to get up by 6 AM. (I don't know what to do from 6-8 AM). This thread has inspired me and I hope it brings some positivity.

[corvus corax]

Temperature and lighting has been two big issues for me.

Earlier the room was painted apple white and the window curtains were of transparent in nature. The street lights, though its far, are LEDs. The safety conscious neighbour would keep the compound lights lit all night. Switched to darker curtains and gray colored walls, lighting issue is solved.

Coming to room temperature, its particuparly warm during the nights even when fans on. I don't wanna crank up the speed past 3/5 then the noise would be high enough to disturb me. When it gets too uncomfortable, like today, I will switch the a/c on. Then I can sleep sound even though the dim lit a/c panel would be of slight disturbance. I am trying not to use the a/c much though, reason 1, to avoid hefty power billls, reason 2, to not to get spoiled.

[warrioraks]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

What we are going to cover

Thank you Red Liner for this crash course. I never knew there was so much research being done on sleep. Your posts were very informative. I am going to use this as a ready reckoner for improving on my sleep quality. Definitely needed it.

Based on my practical experience, I can vouch for effectiveness of having early dinners to improve overall well being and sleeping routine. I typically sleep within 3-4 hours of my last meal and this has started getting wired to my system. So a dinner at 7 would mean hitting the bed by 11 at the latest. It is truly ironical that of all my posts on Tbhp, this is the one I am typing at 1 am in the night. Seems I need to recover some lost territory here

Would also like to call out for anyone picking up the tips from your guide to be well aware that different things work for different folks. Not everything will give results. Although this statement is nothing new, it is very important to understand that every person has a unique body composition and there is no one size fits solution. Medical science’s movement towards precision medicine is a testament of this. Some people can go fine with 6 hours of sleep and others might need 9 hours minimum to recharge. Some folks would respond exceptionally well to chamomile tea while others might have no bearing. So eventually every individual needs to figure out for themselves what clicks. The best way to do it is constant experimenting, observing and listening to your body. It’s a long but interesting journey once you start looking beyond quick results.

@Red Liner - Were there things that you tried for better sleep but did not impact as much as you were expecting. That would be a good supplementary read in my opinion.

Lastly, I have a feeling this thread will turn out motivating many people to improve their sleep patterns just like Graaja’s fitness thread has positively impacted so many of us. Kudos to you.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by RaghavEvoX

Plan for next 3 weeks to see if I can really do it.

• Try to have an early dinner by 7PM.
• Reduce the number of coffees from 4 to 2.
• Hit the bed by 10 PM.
• Get up by 6AM & see the rising sun.

I will update after 3 weeks if I could do it & see if any changes.

My biggest problem is the lack of motivation to get up by 6 AM. (I don't know what to do from 6-8 AM). This thread has inspired me and I hope it brings some positivity.

The best way to wake up earlier is to do evening light viewing at the right time. Say between 5.30 and 7pm. For a duration of 20+ minutes (longer the better). Just be outside for a walk or gentle stroll and enjoy the evening light. This will reset your circadian rhythm. You will find yourself waking up earlier.

Another trick. Do not use an alarm to wake up. Tell yourself just as you nod off to sleep, that you have to wake up by 6.30am (don't be aggressive in this approach - go easy). Repeat that as a form of self hypnosis a couple of times. It will slowly work and you will find yourself waking up at that time without an alarm input.

Motivation ebbs and flows. Discipline is constant. Work on discipline and not motivation.

Here's a bunch of stuff you can do between 6-8am
- Exercise
- Walking
- Cycling
- Reading a book (not phone/newspaper)
- Studying a research topic
- Working on a new hobby
- Listening to your favourite music by yourself
- Meditation

I don't know what your likes or dislikes are, but all the listed activities will have positive long term benefits for someone who does them consistently.

Having an enjoyable activity first thing you wake up, will make the waking up enjoyable too and something to look forward to.

Originally Posted by warrioraks

@Red Liner - Were there things that you tried for better sleep but did not impact as much as you were expecting. That would be a good supplementary read in my opinion.

Meditating just before going to sleep has not really worked for me. Instead all the thoughts just bounce up during meditation, and then I am stuck with them before I sleep lol. But for some folks meditation at night is an enjoyable activity.

This is the key.

Having an enjoyable activity first thing in the morning will make your waking up activity enjoyable something to look forward to.

If the Alarm is the first damn thing you hear to wake up in the morning, you will begin hating your morning's.

And having an enjoyable activity at night as the last thing before you go to sleep, will make sleep something you look forward.

[ksakotai]

Our ancestors practiced Sattvik lifestyle and so were able to live relatively stress free and long lives. No booze, no heavy food, vegetables, small portions, rising with or before sunrise and doing puja, sleeping early, not becoming slave to "I want this, I want that", and similar mentality.

I believe today's population has veered so much from good practices that lifestyle related diseases are killing increasing no people.

[kamilharis]

Big thanks for this eye-opener thread!

My sleeping hours are roaming around 5-6hours on weekdays. I get to sleep around 11.30-12.30AM and I have to get up at 7 AM to reach for the office. In between, I get up between 4-5 AM for 20-30minutes for my prayer. So overall I sleep around 6hrs I guess, which looks bad! I am 27 btw.

On weekends I get a good sleep for around 10-11 hrs as I wake up after 10.30 AM only, and I am not sure how healthy/unhealthy this weekend sleeps are.

Insights, please.?

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by kamilharis

Big thanks for this eye-opener thread!

My sleeping hours are roaming around 5-6hours on weekdays. I get to sleep around 11.30-12.30AM and I have to get up at 7 AM to reach for the office. In between, I get up between 4-5 AM for 20-30minutes for my prayer. So overall I sleep around 6hrs I guess, which looks bad! I am 27 btw.

On weekends I get a good sleep for around 10-11 hrs as I wake up after 10.30 AM only, and I am not sure how healthy/unhealthy this weekend sleeps are.

Insights, please.?

Read the thread again and start working on your sleep mate. You might be 27, but you're probably ageing like a 50 year old at this rate. The ramifications will be quite bad if you keep this up.

You will probably need to sacrifice some parts of your life/entertainment/friends/parties etc to ensure you lead a disciplined waking and sleeping life.

[kamilharis]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Read the thread again and start working on your sleep mate. You might be 27, but you're probably ageing like a 50 year old at this rate. The ramifications will be quite bad if you keep this up.

You will probably need to sacrifice some parts of your life/entertainment/friends/parties etc to ensure you lead a disciplined waking and sleeping life.

Yes, the thread has really got me thinking. I was taught that 6hrs sleep a day was enough for our body, and even heard that sleeping for 6hrs+ is unhealthy. So an average of 6hrs/day with 2 days of longer sleeping hours on weekends was what I was following.

[SN88]

Guys, This is from a personal experience and practice.

SWITCH OFF your phone and sleep or keep your phone away from your bed. You will notice in the next few days itself how fresh you wake up and how much better you can sleep!! Something to do with radio waves etc I suppose as we all know that our brains have electrical activity continuously and these radio waves cause some disruption to our sleep.

[am1m]

Great thread, very important topic!

Stress is the biggest enemy of sleep.

Used to be able to sleep like a child till my 30s. Sleep anywhere, anytime. Past 10 years, it's been an on-off thing. A good, full night's rest has been the exception rather than the norm. I can count the days where I've woken up feeling that I've had a good night's rest, they have been very rare now for years. Most days I end up getting 6 hours. Been functioning ok with that, but on the rare occasion I do end up getting 8 hours or more, I can see a significant difference mentally and physically. Much sharper at work, much happier mentally and definitely able to do more physically.

[JoshMachine]

Sharing my experiences from a neuroscientific approach or more of an "experiment" that I undertook recently - for trying out different methods of inducing sleep, relaxation and focus.

Am talking about Endel - Apple's app of the year 2020.

Please note, this post is neither an endorsement nor a critical review of the app. Rather this post is more about sharing some of my high-level observations.

First-up, an introduction:-

Many apps deliver soothing sounds to help you relax, focus, or sleep. But Endel is one of the few with an algorithm smart enough to customize soundscapes for you in the moment. Endel syncs with Apple Health to tailor its sounds to the current state of your body and your immediate environment, taking into account factors like your heart rate and the local weather.
It essentially modifies its sounds based on factors like time of day and your energy level.

So, what it means - you have to be glued to the headphones (or keep the phone on speaker mode) - to be able to listen to the soundscapes and have it influence or induce you into one of the states of sleep, focus or relaxation.

Secondly, the science behind it:-





Next, their patented technology:-







General results, as claimed by Endel when compared to freeware music playlists:-



As for me, I can vouch that there is definitely a positive effect on my levels of focus and relaxation. But again, I didn't use it for extended periods of time in a day or beyond the couple of weeks that I subscribed to the app for.

And finally, what it costs:-



Now, at the first glance, spending Rs 1300 bucks a year on an app that puts you to sleep or helps you to relax & focus, may not seem to be a very attractive proposition.
I went ahead and subscribed to this app for a month, given that I wanted to atleast try it out.
Costed me Rs 159. That translates to Rs 5.30 per day. Now, if I compare this to other methods of helping somebody focus (a good filter coffee for example, costing upwards of Rs 10-15 per cup?) or helping somebody relax or sleep (chamomile tea for example, costing upwards of Rs 15-20 per tea bag?) - then the entire proposition changes dramatically! And a very attractive one at that. These comparos are just indicative, BTW.
Well, that's the consultant in me speaking aloud!

But keeping the commercial angle aside for a moment - what I encountered throughout the 2-3 weeks of my usage - was an iffy experience, mostly.
Here's why:-

* The UI/UX was pretty suave

* Some (not all) of the soundscapes related to focus were just super (meaning the sounds dramatically altered the state that I was in) and helped me change gears pretty quickly but linearly.
But the transition back into a "normal" state, was not that linear. Couple of times, I felt stretched mentally staying longer in the focus mode, and found it draining a bit.

* As for relaxation and sleep, I generally couldn't find much of a difference between the 2 soundscapes. It was more of a mixed setup, I felt. The app couldn't precisely determine my energy levels and then take a decision as to what type of soundscapes are required at that point of time.

* When I tried to switch over to sleep mode (the app can also do on its own naturally via the trigger through Apple Watch parameters), again I felt that it was a mixed bag. Sometimes, the changeover in the soundscapes was so subtle that I hardly experienced it.
For example, on a lazy Sunday afternoon (weather conditions conducive for a nap ), my heart rate was in resting mode + I wasn't doing much activity - basically all the right ingredients for the app to go into a lull mode by default, but still the app couldn't transition into a relaxation or sleep inducing soundscape mode. And this happened on 3-4 other occasions also when I tried to use the app to "go to sleep".

In summary, this app is good but I personally felt it is not that great.
It's really not a question of how much money one is spending on it as such, but more about whether it does the job it claims to do.
I would think it does about 5-6 times out of 10, on an average.
Is that percentage good? Yes, maybe given the Star Trek-esque tech it is based on.
However, is that percentage great? Nope.

Hope you found this short review useful.

[subraiyr]

Redliner - Thanks for starting this up. A great thread and a whole host of information for the sleepers and the sleep seekers as well

Some of the things I follow before nodding off

1. My TV viewing stops by 8:30pm or roundabouts
2. I spend the next hour with family (wife and son) chit-chatting about the happenings in the day and general conversations which are all neutral or happy conversations. If we encounter any negative conversations we agree to talk about it in the morning
3. A glass of warm or room temp water to drink
4. And then is off to bed by around 9:30pm on weekdays and Sunday
5. Saturday is party time and sleep happens around 11 to 11:30
6. Bed with a book - preferably a physical book or worst case Kindle
7. Phones are relegated to outside the room, but close to hear and alerts disabled except immediate family. iPhone seems to have this as a good setting and this helps
8. I end up sleeping anytime between 10 to 10:30pm
9. I wake up at 5:30pm - no alarms. The body clock has learned this rhythm and keeps to it.
10. I don't like curtains, blackout rooms. I need my windows open and air circulation. Without this, I feel claustrophobic and sleep gets affected
11. No workouts in the evenings. That is kept aside for mornings. I am out of my house by 6am every day- either for a run or a walk and spend about an hour out. This also becomes my time and helps me think through the past and the current. The future is out of control and I don't spend too much time thinking about it except to make sure I can meet the future head-on with positivity and enough in the pocket
12.The other thing I see as a pattern is that as I get older, the need for sleep increases. Not necessarily the quantum. When my sleep gets impacted, the next day doesn't function well.

The biggest contributor for me to a good night's sleep is to stay away from any negativity - esp news and arguments both at home and office. Everything happens for a reason and if something is not going right for you, it is because there is another door that will open up soon