Training Sleep: A New Experiment

[fattymeatysardine]

I and many other NDs struggle with sleep. Sometimes I suffer from headaches or simply can't focus and being able to quickly fall asleep to nap would be invaluable for cope.
The goal of this thread is to report my attempts at training my sleep speed. It will be updated with results and changes to training methods.

TRAINING METHOD:
Leave bed if still awake after 10 minutes.

 

[717]

writing comment to get updates on this topic.

 

[fattymeatysardine]

writing comment to get updates on this topic.

It just started. Updates will be posted later in the week

 

[TBRS1]

I and many other NDs struggle with sleep. Sometimes I suffer from headaches or simply can't focus and being able to quickly fall asleep to nap would be invaluable for cope.
The goal of this thread is to report my attempts at training my sleep speed. It will be updated with results and changes to training methods.

TRAINING METHOD:
Leave bed if still awake after 10 minutes.

I look forward to reading how it goes.

 

[mw2530]

Sleep has been a constant struggle for me too. My watch, while probably not 100% accurate, tends to indicate I don't get enough REM sleep and that I spend a lot of time awake during the night - sometimes I am aware of it, and other times I am not.

 

[Outdated]

I used to have fantastic sleep habits, right up until just 4 years ago when a doctor prescribed me antidepressants. Since then I've been taking a lot of notice of the things I do that help me sleep.

TRAINING METHOD:
Leave bed if still awake after 10 minutes.

I do this too, but more like half an hour rather than just 10 mins.

I never go to bed on an empty stomach, that will keep me awake more than anything else. Nothing spicy just before bed, but always with food in my belly. Even as a teenager I'd have a bowl of cereal or something before going to bed.

I try to control my thoughts and keep them on track. I have quite a few different pleasant things I like to think about while going to sleep. My mind is often quite chaotic and will wander to other topics but as soon as I realise this is happening I deliberately focus back on one of my happy daydreams. This is how I keep my mind from running in circles ruminating over things that upset me. It's not always easy but I'm mostly successful at that.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

I generally do not have a problem falling asleep... at least initially. Mental exhaustion usually causes me to fall asleep very quickly. However, I will often "speed sleep"...dream and then wake up about 2 hours later, seemingly "fully rested". After that, then it's 2hr "cat naps" throughout the night. It's a rare thing for me to sleep anymore than 3-4hrs before waking up again.

 

[Jumpinbare]

I just give in to my narcolepsy and stop trying to stay awake. Of course I wake up several times during the night, so...

 

[Outdated]

I generally do not have a problem falling asleep... at least initially.

This has always been me too. It's only during times of extreme stress that it takes me more than a minute or so to fall asleep. And for most of my life I nearly always got 8 or 9 hours of deep dreamless sleep in one hit. I hate waking up in the middle of the night.

There were strange occurrences once or twice a year where I'd wake up just 3 or 4 hours later and I'd feel fully awake and rested and there was no point in trying to get back to sleep. Instead I'd just find some way to amuse myself until it was time to go to work.

As I got older I started waking up in the middle of the night needing a wee, this was something I wasn't used to and I really didn't like it, still don't. That's what put me off of drinking beer and going to the pub on evenings more than anything else, I don't like waking up in the middle of the night. Since my mid 40s I've refused to drink anything for several hours before going to bed.

However, I will often "speed sleep"...dream and then wake up about 2 hours later, seemingly "fully rested". After that, then it's 2hr "cat naps" throughout the night. It's a rare thing for me to sleep anymore than 3-4hrs before waking up again.

That's what SSRIs did to me - escotalorpram or however you spell it. I only took them for a few months, still haven't fully recovered 4 years later. With my age it's a bit unrealistic to expect to be able to have my old sleep patterns back but I'm now sleeping properly again about 3 or 4 nights a week.

Last night was a good night, went to bed at 10:00, out like a light, woke up at 6:30. When I was younger that was normal, these days it's a luxury.