Are You Getting Enough Sleep? Sleeping properly?

[Paragon]

What about an issue with noise?

I live in a flat with other people and you can often hear the neighbours argue and fight etc too. Would one just try and find a way of conditioning themselves to noises? Become a heavier sleeper?

Forgot to mention that I sometimes wear earplugs so that I'm not disturbed as much, but this makes it harder to sleep when I'm not using them as I've got used to wearing them. So this could be a bad thing OSIT?

 

[Nicholas]

Ok, I haven't read the book yet (on order), but I have some questions.

If the room is so dark, how will you know when the sun is up so you can wake up? I usually wake up at sunrise.

Is it really important to be so completely dark? What about when our ancient ancestors slept, didn't they still have light from stars and moon?

 

[Gawan]

Okay thanks for the reminders, I missed that part.

The whole room needs to be totally dark, or else your body will detect the slightest amount of light.

You can just hang a dark curtain/blanket on your windows, for example. Anything that ensures NO light.

It is really worth doing it.

That was my second thought, using blankets.

I'm working on it.

 

[Mrs.Tigersoap]

It's very important to have total darkness, not just in respect of your eyes, but your whole body. Your skin has light sensing cells too. Just a minute or two of light on one square inch of the skin will stop the hormones that secrete only in the dark and those hormones are crucial for all your body systems.

Aha! Tigersoap has been taking me for a mad woman for years, because I cannot stand the slightest light in our bedroom. That's why we have dark velvet curtains, I sleep with a blindfold (and wax in my ears), with long sleeves even in the summer and I'm usually buried under the cover! And just this morning, I was thinking of adding an opaque shade! If I don't do all this, I'm a very light sleeper, I'm in hypervigilance and the slightest thing wakes me up. I used to be woken up by Tigersoap staring at me!
Thank you for this, really. If I explain this to friends, they usually think I have OCD when in fact I was just trying to give my body what it needed.
Yet another book on my to read list...

 

[Alada]

Well, as chance would have it, last night I went to bed at 22.20 as the internet was down and I was feeling pretty tired. Read for about ten minutes but had to turn out the light then. I woke up today at 10.30! I did feel SO much the better for it, felt fresher and the brain chemistry felt 'cleaner', more alert too. I usually get maybe 7/8 hrs, but there are street lights outside, I do still feel tired in the mornings. So trying to get more sleep, and better quality of sleep will be a good experiment. I see if I can get some blackout material to stick over the window frame with velcro each night. I didn't know that even the slightest light, from a clock or whatever can make a difference.

I remember reading an old romantic novel my mum gave me a few year back, being struck the idea that before electricity of course people went to bed pretty much when the light went. Candles were expensive, so in winter people slept when there was no light. One phrase I love from that era, that if a book made for poor reading it was considered "not worth the candle!"

 

[Laura]

What about an issue with noise?

I live in a flat with other people and you can often hear the neighbours argue and fight etc too. Would one just try and find a way of conditioning themselves to noises? Become a heavier sleeper?

Forgot to mention that I sometimes wear earplugs so that I'm not disturbed as much, but this makes it harder to sleep when I'm not using them as I've got used to wearing them. So this could be a bad thing OSIT?

Earplugs and some white noise like an air filter or fan should help.

 

[Laura]

Ok, I haven't read the book yet (on order), but I have some questions.

If the room is so dark, how will you know when the sun is up so you can wake up? I usually wake up at sunrise.

Is it really important to be so completely dark? What about when our ancient ancestors slept, didn't they still have light from stars and moon?

The evolutionary issue here is hibernation which was done, apparently, in caves or other very protected places during long - very long - cold climatic conditions.

 

[Z...]

For me this thread is a great synchronicity as this issue was high on my agenda lately and one of my NY resolutions is to be in bed by 2130 latest.
Speaking of which its 2150 - Good night everyone!

 

[SolarMother]

Aha! Tigersoap has been taking me for a mad woman for years, because I cannot stand the slightest light in our bedroom. That's why we have dark velvet curtains, I sleep with a blindfold (and wax in my ears), with long sleeves even in the summer and I'm usually buried under the cover! And just this morning, I was thinking of adding an opaque shade! If I don't do all this, I'm a very light sleeper, I'm in hypervigilance and the slightest thing wakes me up. I used to be woken up by Tigersoap staring at me!
Thank you for this, really. If I explain this to friends, they usually think I have OCD when in fact I was just trying t o give my body what it needed.
Yet another book on my to read list...

Aha! here as well....my hubby has exhibited the same behavior as you for years as well. He is a bona fide 'cave man,' and now he will feel vindicated! :D
Finally, when we got off the grid (with no electricity) over a year ago, I could see that he might be right about his need to be have a bear's den in the house!
Out in the boonies, not only was it totally dark at night, but we naturally found ourselves going to bed at sundown and many times, sleeping past dawn, needing 12 hours of sleep in the winter-time. But I think that was also due to waking up in the middle of the night and lying there awake many times. I am not sure why this happens so often!
It happens a lot even with 5HTP. I will get the book pronto and hope that following the advice alleviates, at last, this middle of the night awake-ness!

So, to continue, we got electricity (solar panels) but we forgot to unplug the lamps sometimes. I use a dim flashlight for finding my way to the bathroom at night.
Now we are building another more protected house--off grid-- in a different location, and this information about sleeping properly is very timely since we can make sure, while building, that the bedroom will be completely dark (the hubby was already planning on painting the bedroom walls black!)
I like your idea of thick velvet curtains too. We are both very light sleepers as well. Unfortunately, at this time, we are in between homes and living in a noisier place with 2 big windows and street lights nearby, and more noise level. Its been awful for sleep...
I will have to find thick quilts that I hope are big enough to cover these windows asap. We have a fan for white noise and I use earplugs as well. We still go to bed at 8ish pm...that helps a lot with any anxiety. Have you and Mr Tigersoap tried this yet?

I really look forward to implementing the book's plan-- and hope for sleeping through the night at last!

 

[Paragon]

What about an issue with noise?

I live in a flat with other people and you can often hear the neighbours argue and fight etc too. Would one just try and find a way of conditioning themselves to noises? Become a heavier sleeper?

Forgot to mention that I sometimes wear earplugs so that I'm not disturbed as much, but this makes it harder to sleep when I'm not using them as I've got used to wearing them. So this could be a bad thing OSIT?

Earplugs and some white noise like an air filter or fan should help.

Thanks Laura.

Just thought that maybe if I got used to wearing them, then when I don't have access to a pair , it shall be hard to get a good nights sleep. But it appears the benefits of consistently fuller rest, would outweigh the times where I wouldn't have any earplugs.

I shall have to experiment! :)

 

[Galaxia2002]

Thank you for this interesting topic Laura! Reading it, I have a doubt, and sorry if I am off the topic, but there said that cortisol is an stress hormone, but as far as I understood of I read in the Adrenal Fatigue topic is rather an anti-strees hormone, then receiving light during sleep can get down the levels of cortisol?

I don't know if I am fortune person but I sleep 9 to 10 hours but it is very difficult to me to wake up, I do it with a big laziness, the sunlight hits me across the face and still I manage to enjoy it and continue sleeping, so with the alarm clock, I put it to ring the radio at high volume and what I do is start enjoying music and I fall asleep again. Maybe I need to sleep early as recommended in the book but I find it hard because I feel more active at night to study and do other activities.

It is very true about the white noise, my fan helps me sleep.

 

[RyanX]

For me this thread is a great synchronicity

Yeah, me too! I was asleep a total of 2 hours on Saturday night; not by disorder or choice, mind you! Unfortunately, my employer expects me to be on-call and available at all hours of the night for 1-2 weeks per month. :( What happened on Saturday does not happen often, thankfully!

So, when I saw this thread pop up this morning with the title "Are You Getting Enough Sleep?", my two hours of sleep from the night before and my 11 hour nap from last night were still firmly on my mind.

 

[SolarMother]

All you Europeans should be in bed by now!
Good night! Sleep well!

 

[mkrnhr]

Hello Galaxia2002,
Just to make the remark that there is a difference between sleeping a lot and sleeping well. Duration is not the only ingredient for a sleep of good quality. Calm and darkness are essential.

 

[Divide by Zero]

For me this thread is a great synchronicity

Yeah, me too! I was asleep a total of 2 hours on Saturday night; not by disorder or choice, mind you! Unfortunately, my employer expects me to be on-call and available at all hours of the night for 1-2 weeks per month. :( What happened on Saturday does not happen often, thankfully!

So, when I saw this thread pop up this morning with the title "Are You Getting Enough Sleep?", my two hours of sleep from the night before and my 11 hour nap from last night were still firmly on my mind.

Working rotating shifts I can sympathize with the strange hours. What works is to block the windows and use a small fan for white noise. I too am over sensitive to light.

Also, even when working normal day shift, I tend to feel more groggy waking up after 8 hours or more of sleep. If I do 7 hours I feel refreshed. It happens whether I take melatonin/5htp or not.