Are You Getting Enough Sleep? Sleeping properly?
- Thread starter Laura
- Start date
Legolas said:
You can include some of the studies that have been published in sott lately:
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/221834-Good-Old-Melatonin-Making-News-Again
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/221835-Evening-light-exposure-dangerous-to-health-new-study
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/221634-Why-Too-Much-Bright-Light-Before-Bed-Harms-Sleep
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/202553-Melatonin-Precursor-Stimulates-Growth-Factor-Circuits-in-Brain
:)
SolarMother
Dagobah Resident
Laura
What about having orgasms in my sleep that wake me up? This happens fairly regularly, sometimes with erotic dreams and sometimes not.
I must be de-toxing as well, as I am not getting unbroken sleep yet and the room is as dark as we can get it. I will have complete darkness in the house we are building.
What about having orgasms in my sleep that wake me up? This happens fairly regularly, sometimes with erotic dreams and sometimes not.
I must be de-toxing as well, as I am not getting unbroken sleep yet and the room is as dark as we can get it. I will have complete darkness in the house we are building.
Laura said:
I tried the very dark room for sleep when this thread appeared and it is having some effect. Curiously I sometimes wake up earlier, unfortunately I can't lie quietly because it's too noisy around here. As to the 'inclinations' mentioned, I thought it was the full moon, but true sleep and recharging is a very good possibility.
Rhys
Jedi Master
Trevrizent said:
Well, I bought the book (thanks Trevrizent!) and here is the chapter:
[quote author=The Circadian Prescription - Appendix B: Shift Work]How to Handle Rotating, Night, or Evening Shifts
Human chemistry is geared to sleep, restoration, and and repair at night and the full exploitation of consciousness during the day. Doing things the other way round is not natural, but millions of us do so at some cost to our health and safety. Some individuals are more adaptable than others, who could never function effectively if their work required them to oppose the normal day-night schedule by working at night. Those who have the most challenge to their physiology and health are those who dont work regular day or night jobs but instead have to adapt to periodic changes in the rotation.
Employers in all sections of the military and civilian economy have used circadian research to learn how they can help workers achieve improved health and reduce the risk of the enormous losses that arise from accidents due to human error. As Dr. Martin Moore-Ede points out in his book The Twenty Four Hour Society [1], the three Mile Island and Chernobyl nuclear disasters, the Exxon Valdez accident, Bhopal, numerous plane crashes, and countless other catastrophies have all happened at times of day (night, actually) when human functioning is low. Shift work's negative effect on the way we function played a significant role in causing many of those calamities.
Incorporating scientific research and principles into planning shift work rotations is beneficial to health, morale, productivity, and the bottom line. Unfortunately, many employers stick with traditional methods of shift work planning.
Here are some guidelines that may help you negotiate healthier rotations with your employer or at least to adapt when your shift rotations are not under your control:
1. Slow rotation, allowing your body to adapt to each shift as you come to it, is preferable to fast rotation. An example of fast rotation is working day shift on Monday, night shift on Tuesday, evening shift on Wednesday, and night shift on Thursday. In other words, you're working different shifts in the same week, expecting your body to stay on "regular time" while you work at the "wrong time of day."
2. Delayed rotation, in which you move in the direction of morning shift to afternoon shift to night shift (remember: it's MAN) is much better than advanced rotation, in which you move from morning shift to night shift to afternoon shift.
3. If you must rotate, you should stay at least a week or more on each shift.
4. When you are on a shift, you should live the shift. Move your whole schedule so that it conforms to the practices outlined in the following table. It will take a few days to adjust, but it is better to do that than spend the whole rotation with your body in rhythmic turmoil.
5. Be sure you have two days off between shift changes. Use the table to guide you in preparing for the new shift.
If the shift change is a phase delay (going from morning shift to afternoon, afternoon to night, or night to morning), you can do even better by following some simple rules for preparing. here are the rules, which depend on two days off between shift changes:
*The times in the Early phase column are the beginning of the work shift.
*The activities in the Early phase column are what you should do when getting up at the appropriate time before work to have "breakfast" and so on.
*The times shown in the Mid phase column should be considered "noon" on each shift while you are at work. For example, on the night shift you would have a big, high protein "lunch" at 4:00 am.
*The Rest phase refers to the time after you get out of work.
*The Presleep phase refers to the time and the meal that precedes sleep. If you are on the afternoon shift, for example, this phase would start around 4:00 or 5:00 am and last for eight hours, ending between noon and 1:00 pm in time for "breakfast" and getting to work.
*This scheme is the same if you stay on the same shift for more than a wek or if you're on a permanent shift.
A phase advance (going from morning to night, night to afternoon, or afternoon to evening) is the less preferred shift rotation but it is still practiced in many industries that took their lead from the watch rotation of the navy. It is backwards according to scientific evidence but deeply rooted in tradition. The preparation is trickier because this is a much more difficult change for your body to handle. The main difficulty has to do with the caffeine intake - several cups of black coffee - recommended in the Presleep phase of your first day off, which may give you a bad night's sleep before your second day off. The tradeoff is that your body's clock will be reset more quickly in order to face the beginning of your new shift.
[1. Moore-Ede, M. The Twenty Four Hour Society. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1993.]
[/quote]
SolarMother
Dagobah Resident
Dawn said:
Maybe so, but I am not feeling that, instead I am feeling quite tired out...
Is it also important where the bed should stand? I moved my bed today in the middle of my room, cause there is the only hook in my room and a new one I cannot trill without a huge ladder, to fix my "tent" properly.
This small discussion I could remember, as I moved my bed:
This small discussion I could remember, as I moved my bed:
Laura said:
Nawd
Dagobah Resident
SolarMother said:
Do you have a difficult time getting back to sleep after waking up after these dreams?
I have other reasons for waking up, often six to ten times a night (I tend to be a light sleeper for the first couple of hours). Sometimes reciting POTS helps me relax and go back to sleep fairly quickly (expecially after a bad dream!)
Edit: fixed quote
pete02
The Living Force
Mrs. Peel said:
Maybe you could try just putting a piece of black electrical tape over it? I'm not sure how your smoke detector is designed but that should help and maybe not block too many of the vents either.
SolarMother said:
I have also been feeling more tired than normal. Not quite sure why either. I thought it might have something to do with the few sugary snacks I had over the holidays but that should have filtered out of my system by now and my diet hasn't really changed otherwise.
mada85
The Cosmic Force
Pete said:
It's the same with me. I haven't changed my diet or supplements at all. The only change was to start sleeping in total darkness. For the past week I've been feeling really tired nearly all the time. I've been going to bed at 7pm instead of 8/8.30 pm and getting up at 5am instead of 4.30am, and still feeling that I'm not getting enough sleep.
Today is Sunday and on Friday just gone I was in bed at 7pm, did POTS, and stayed in bed until 7.30 Saturday morning. Yesterday I was in bed at 7pm, but I got up at 6.20am today, feeling much less tired today than for the past week.
I suspect that there is a period while the body adjusts to the new way of sleeping. I wouldn't go back to the old way though! One of the benefits of the new way is having quiet time for thinking, just lying there in complete dark. It's almost as though darkness promotes clearer thinking.
Last night was my first night sleeping in total darkness. Went to bed around 10:30 pm. It was a little disconcerting at first, not seeing any light. But I fell asleep quickly and woke to use the bathroom. I had been dreaming, so I thought it was early morning - which is usually when I find myself dreaming and remembering them. But as I used my flashlight to make my way to the bathroom, I glanced at the clock and it was only 12:30 am. I felt totally refreshed and awake, but went back to bed and did more dreaming. I woke at 6:30 am and felt really refreshed again. I'm hoping I can continue this way of sleeping but.....
There is only one problem, I was able to sleep in darkness because my son stayed over at his dad's house last night. He (my son) is really scared of the dark. Has been since he was very little. I have attempted to have only one nightlight on, and that one is in the bathroom. But sometimes I wake up and every light in the house is turned on. We've discussed this and there are nights when he's ok with dim light - other nights not. I'm not sure how to get him to enjoy total darkness.
I do know that if my bedroom door is closed, no light comes through. So I guess it's a matter of my getting used to sleeping with my door closed and not sleeping 'on alert' - you know, sleeping with one eye and one ear awake - something I've pretty much done my entire adult life.
There is only one problem, I was able to sleep in darkness because my son stayed over at his dad's house last night. He (my son) is really scared of the dark. Has been since he was very little. I have attempted to have only one nightlight on, and that one is in the bathroom. But sometimes I wake up and every light in the house is turned on. We've discussed this and there are nights when he's ok with dim light - other nights not. I'm not sure how to get him to enjoy total darkness.
I do know that if my bedroom door is closed, no light comes through. So I guess it's a matter of my getting used to sleeping with my door closed and not sleeping 'on alert' - you know, sleeping with one eye and one ear awake - something I've pretty much done my entire adult life.
mcb
The Living Force
There is a lot to assimilate in this book. I am still in Part I, because I am also still finishing some of the "recommended reading," namely The Magnesium Miracle. At the same time I am trying to avoid reading into the night by artificial light.
There seems to be a lot of subject matter that overlaps with other "recommended" books that I have recently finished. No one author seems to have a grasp of the whole picture. One thing that is jumping out at me at the moment is that while Dr. Murphree's recommendations (Treating and Beating...) for taking 5-HTP and melatonin (for those who need it) aren't working for me, Lights Out suggests a possible reason why melatonin and serotonin levels might be off in the first place, and dealing with the sleep timing and darkness issues might be much more effective than using those particular supplements. I wonder how many other issues might be better addressed this way as well.
I have been thinking about how artificial light affects us for a very long time -- decades -- but this is the first real data I have had to work with. It feels overwhelming, though, at the moment, especially when I try to understand the part about interaction with diet. I am hoping there will be plenty of repetition.
I haven't been able to completely darken my room at night just yet because there is another person involved that isn't yet on board. It's "pretty dark," though. I just need to install blackout shades in the windows and we will have it. For the moment I am focusing on eliminating unnecessary activities that keep me busy into the night (or delaying things that can wait for longer days), and aligning my sleep patterns with the sun. I have tried this before, but there were too many other unresolved issues back then. I think it will work this time.
There seems to be a lot of subject matter that overlaps with other "recommended" books that I have recently finished. No one author seems to have a grasp of the whole picture. One thing that is jumping out at me at the moment is that while Dr. Murphree's recommendations (Treating and Beating...) for taking 5-HTP and melatonin (for those who need it) aren't working for me, Lights Out suggests a possible reason why melatonin and serotonin levels might be off in the first place, and dealing with the sleep timing and darkness issues might be much more effective than using those particular supplements. I wonder how many other issues might be better addressed this way as well.
I have been thinking about how artificial light affects us for a very long time -- decades -- but this is the first real data I have had to work with. It feels overwhelming, though, at the moment, especially when I try to understand the part about interaction with diet. I am hoping there will be plenty of repetition.
I haven't been able to completely darken my room at night just yet because there is another person involved that isn't yet on board. It's "pretty dark," though. I just need to install blackout shades in the windows and we will have it. For the moment I am focusing on eliminating unnecessary activities that keep me busy into the night (or delaying things that can wait for longer days), and aligning my sleep patterns with the sun. I have tried this before, but there were too many other unresolved issues back then. I think it will work this time.
Echo Blue said:
Hi Echo Blue.
I do not know if it helps, but I remember Laurentien posting about her daughter having dark man dreams, and helping her deal with them. It may not be an approach you can use with your son, but its worth mentioning. Dark man dreams and sleep paralysis.
Laura also mentioned earlier in the thread that an increase in melatonin levels (from it being dark at night) can cause you to 'feel like an evil presence is in the room'. Working out a way for your son to counteract that fear himself (whilst providing reassurance and support) may help.
Another thing that may be worth mentioning (but again, it may not be appropriate in your personal circumstances) is diet. Gluten, dairy and sugar will have a negative effect on sleep.