Are You Getting Enough Sleep? Sleeping properly?

[Finduilas495]

My husband and I went blackout curtain hunting this weekend, and the bedroom is finally dark. The wooden blinds on the outside of the house are decoration only, not very user friendly. The difference these curtains make is really quite remarkable! After two nights, I also notice feeling more energetic in the morning. You do only notice how much light there is around the house when you try to cover everything... I even put a write protection sticker on the power supply of my laptop to cancel out the light of the LED.

I'm about half way through the book, but I have to read chapters at least twice... There is so much information there, it's impossible for me to process in one go :)

 

[Laura]

I've been slowly reducing melatonin and last night slept fine without any at all. I've also been taking magnesium before bed which seems to help with relaxing. I do still wake up for bathroom runs at least once, usually twice, during the night, but it's a lot easier to just go back to sleep afterward. I think I mentioned sleeping about 6 or 7 hours straight one night, but I haven't repeated that yet. It seems to be mostly in 3 or 4 hour chunks.

 

[TheSpoon]

I got hold of melatonin, but haven't started on it yet. If I could ask: what is the driver behind cutting it out?

 

[Laura]

I got hold of melatonin, but haven't started on it yet. If I could ask: what is the driver behind cutting it out?

I think it is mentioned in the thread here that being in total darkness for sleeping helps the body to produce its own melatonin more efficiently and therefore, you may not need it.

 

[mcb]

I got hold of melatonin, but haven't started on it yet. If I could ask: what is the driver behind cutting it out?

I think it is mentioned in the thread here that being in total darkness for sleeping helps the body to produce its own melatonin more efficiently and therefore, you may not need it.

Also some of us experienced peculiar side effects of one sort or another from taking it. Personally, when I looked at the side effects I was having and put that together with the information in Lights Out about the central role of melatonin, I decided I just didn't want to mess around with the supplement any longer. I never did identify a beneficial dose before I quit.

 

[Tigersoap]

I have stopped melatonin completely and I sleep very deeply since we blackened our bedroom.

I noticed that I am not afraid of the dark anymore, at all.
It may sound stupid said like that but I think I still had some residual anxieties to be in the dark even a few years ago.
They would still sometimes pop up and make my heart race wildly while hearing a noise or falling asleep.
I don't think I would have noticed if it wasn't pitch black in our room now where in darkness I feel quiet and peacefull.
The EE/diet program certainly played a large part in this.

 

[Echo Blue]

I have stopped melatonin completely and I sleep very deeply since we blackened our bedroom.

I noticed that I am not afraid of the dark anymore, at all.
It may sound stupid said like that but I think I still had some residual anxieties to be in the dark even a few years ago.
They would still sometimes pop up and make my heart race wildly while hearing a noise or falling asleep.
I don't think I would have noticed if it wasn't pitch black in our room now where in darkness I feel quiet and peacefull.
The EE/diet program certainly played a large part in this.

What I've noticed since I've been sleeping in total darkness is that my son, who is very afraid of sleeping in the dark, seems to be adjusting to the darkness in the apartment at night. In the past, he'd wake up and turn on the lights - which would wake me up at some point. But lately he's either sleeping better and not noticed that I've turned off all the lights (I used to keep the bathroom light on for him which was really too bright) or he's adjusting to not having any lights on. I hope it continues, but time will tell. I'm not getting to bed very early, as i wait for him to fall asleep before going to bed to turn the lights off. It wasn't until I read Tigersoap's comment about not being afraid of the dark anymore that it occurred to me that lately, when I wake up, the lights are still off!!!

 

[Mrs.Tigersoap]

It may sound stupid said like that but I think I still had some residual anxieties to be in the dark even a few years ago.
They would still sometimes pop up and make my heart race wildly while hearing a noise or falling asleep.

I have shared the blackened room/no light thing with clients, colleagues, friends, etc. and I must say I was pretty surprised at how many people are really scared of the dark. One of my colleagues told me that her best friend (who is 30 years old) sleeps with the light on all night long. And she has been doing this ever since she was a little girl! :O Having read Lights Out, I can only imagine what this must do to her system!

Pre-Lights Out, I was taking 2 mg of melatonin and I gradually decreased to 0.5 mg. I will take this for a few more days and then go without. I quit 5-htp several weeks ago. As far as sleep is concerned, I only take magnesium (bisglycinate) at night. This seems to work for me for the time being.

 

[Nimue]

Hi,
an excellent thread !

Sleeping in total darkness is very restorative! How could I ever have slept another way ?
I think it is a good idea to take also the room and bed climate into account.

There is a German saying: “As a man makes his bed so he must lie”

I haven´t read the book until now , but I have made the experience the room
and the bed climate are also important for a restorative sleep and can make a huge difference. At night the body is loosing up to 1,5 l water/moisture per night
(especially in summer everything sticks on the skin), that often let me wake up, and hardly fall back to sleep. In the meantime I use bed clothes and covers
which are breathable, they are made out of natural materials, not filled with hollow fiver or other plastics ( this could be interesting for people with skin problems ! ),
also my tick is made out of cotton, so there is a good moisture absorption. In summer I use wild silk covers, they are comfortable cool,
and I don´t wake up from this clammy feeling, and I no longer have plastic on my skin ! Mattress and pillows are also important, they
should be ergonomic and they should adapt to your body shape. I think good materials are tempur or latex, but be carefull with latex,
you must have a good air circulation under your bed, otherwise you can get problems with fungus ( Latex absorbs a lot of moisture) and you should turn around the mattress regularly.

Furthermore we have removed all sources of radiation out of the bedroom : no mobile, no radio alarm clocks etc.,no TV,
(we use a mechanical bell, like in good old times !) now it is only a room to rest and sleep in total darkness.

A good tip also is a demand switch for electricity, so you can shut down the power source at night only in the bedroom ( if not to costly).

I knew from a friend that she is sensitive to underground watercourses, so she have placed her bedroom in another part in the house,
maybe this could also be a problem for restless sleep ?

I´ve seen some general remarks in this thread about bruxism: Maybe a good idea is to let check your occlusion, sometimes small defective positions (after new dental fillings)
or the height of your occlusion can activate to grind one´s teeth, I also was a “grinder”, after a night with grinding teeth, you feel like overtraveled by a train, so to check such physical triggers could be a good idea !


I wish everyone a restorative sleep !

 

[treesparrow]

Not managed to obtain any black drapes or curtains yet. For the moment I'm just using an eye mask, with a tiny amount of light peeking in near the top of nose. Maybe I'll rig up some sort of mini dark fabric 'tent' over the top half over the bed to stop the light completely. Going to bed around ten and getting about 8-9 hours sleep usually ( albeit interupted for bathroom breaks) and feel much more refreshed in the mornings than I usually do. Recently finished reading Lights Out - a real eye opener as regards a lot of health issues. Who'd of thunk something as basic as proper sleeping patterns could have such beneficial effects.

Came across this today -

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How losing just a few hours of sleep can take YEARS off your life

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1367811/Sleep-How-losing-just-hours-sleep-YEARS-life.html

 

[anart]

Not managed to obtain any black drapes or curtains yet. For the moment I'm just using an eye mask, with a tiny amount of light peeking in near the top of nose. Maybe I'll rig up some sort of mini dark fabric 'tent' over the top half over the bed to stop the light completely. Going to bed around ten and getting about 8-9 hours sleep usually ( albeit interupted for bathroom breaks) and feel much more refreshed in the mornings than I usually do. Recently finished reading Lights Out - a real eye opener as regards a lot of health issues. Who'd of thunk something as basic as proper sleeping patterns could have such beneficial effects.

Came across this today -

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How losing just a few hours of sleep can take YEARS off your life

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1367811/Sleep-How-losing-just-hours-sleep-YEARS-life.html

The eye mask really won't help, because your skin has light receptors. It's really important to remove all sources of light in your sleeping quarters - glad you read the book, though, now you have the info you need!

 

[treesparrow]

Not managed to obtain any black drapes or curtains yet. For the moment I'm just using an eye mask, with a tiny amount of light peeking in near the top of nose. Maybe I'll rig up some sort of mini dark fabric 'tent' over the top half over the bed to stop the light completely. Going to bed around ten and getting about 8-9 hours sleep usually ( albeit interupted for bathroom breaks) and feel much more refreshed in the mornings than I usually do. Recently finished reading Lights Out - a real eye opener as regards a lot of health issues. Who'd of thunk something as basic as proper sleeping patterns could have such beneficial effects.

Came across this today -

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How losing just a few hours of sleep can take YEARS off your life

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1367811/Sleep-How-losing-just-hours-sleep-YEARS-life.html

The eye mask really won't help, because your skin has light receptors. It's really important to remove all sources of light in your sleeping quarters - glad you read the book, though, now you have the info you need!

I'm just wondering - even though we have these skin light receptors whether the amount of light is really that critical if really minuscule amounts are sensed? The book does seem to make a big issue about sleeping in total darkness as our cave dwelling ancestors may have done, but was that necessarily always the case. I can imagine that hunter gatherers and other sorts of open air nomadic peoples sleeping by the light of the stars, planets and moon as well as light from camp fires - then and now. Has that been detrimental to their long term well being? I dunno. The book does struck me as being as being a tad pedantic about total darkness. With less than total darkness perhaps it would just mean that less melatonin is produced by the body or not as efficiently - but sufficient enough?



Then again I may be stumbling around in the dark here :)

 

[anya]

My room is almost totally dark. I have blinds but I think I am going to replace the blinds with black out shades. My curtains are dark but light does leak out at the top and bottom. I have been clipping the curtains closed and cover my clock with a scarf so that light doesn't effect me. If the black out shades don't work I am thinking of getting some Velcro for the sides of the curtains. I'm going to make a draft stopper for the bottom of my door. Maybe that would work at the top of my windows as well.When my daughter turns on the hall light its light really bothers me.
I know that the less light I have in my room the better I sleep.

 

[pete02]

I'm just wondering - even though we have these skin light receptors whether the amount of light is really that critical if really minuscule amounts are sensed? The book does seem to make a big issue about sleeping in total darkness as our cave dwelling ancestors may have done, but was that necessarily always the case. I can imagine that hunter gatherers and other sorts of open air nomadic peoples sleeping by the light of the stars, planets and moon as well as light from camp fires - then and now. Has that been detrimental to their long term well being? I dunno. The book does struck me as being as being a tad pedantic about total darkness. With less than total darkness perhaps it would just mean that less melatonin is produced by the body or not as efficiently - but sufficient enough?


Then again I may be stumbling around in the dark here :)

Hi treesparrow,

My understanding was that natural sources of lighting don't affect the skin light receptors the same way as artificial lighting.

 

[Gawan]

I'm just wondering - even though we have these skin light receptors whether the amount of light is really that critical if really minuscule amounts are sensed? The book does seem to make a big issue about sleeping in total darkness as our cave dwelling ancestors may have done, but was that necessarily always the case. I can imagine that hunter gatherers and other sorts of open air nomadic peoples sleeping by the light of the stars, planets and moon as well as light from camp fires - then and now. Has that been detrimental to their long term well being? I dunno. The book does struck me as being as being a tad pedantic about total darkness. With less than total darkness perhaps it would just mean that less melatonin is produced by the body or not as efficiently - but sufficient enough?



Then again I may be stumbling around in the dark here :)

Unfortunately we are not living like that anymore and that's the reason to take more extreme measurements into account, that means sleeping in total darkness to adjust the circadian cycle again and with that balancing hormones.
My two cents.