NA Secrets to good sleep?

A clear conscience.
 
Have you considered sleep apnea might be the problem? I've used a CPAP for over 20 years, and it has made a huge difference in my sleep quality and duration. It literally changed my life for the better.

Unfortunately, sleep studies are ridiculously expensive. If you don't have insurance coverage, the cost to do it is over $2K.
 
A good mattress is a big thing. How old is your mattress? The old norm was 10 years, but it seems like these days they're saying 8 years. My wife and I are at about 8.5 years on our mattress and both of us are noticing it. The mattress was something around $1k new I think. We will be spending a bit more than that this next time around.
 
Fallsrider said:
There are so many different components to a good night's sleep. I have struggled with it for years myself. Based on things I have read and learned, here's a few ideas I have...
- go to bed and wake up in the morning at a consistent time seven days a week. Our bodies apparently have a circadian rhythm, and if we get that set to a consistent time frame, that helps a lot of people.
- no electronics one to two hours before bedtime. The blue light affects some people's serotonin production.
- no alcohol in the evenings. It may help you get to sleep, but it affects your sleep cycles later in the night.
- be sure to eat a healthy diet.
- if a person is overweight, weight loss helps some people. I have lost 30 lbs since the beginning of summer, and my sleep has improved.
- there can be physiological issues. I did a sleep study about 8 years ago. They said I have periodic limb movement, which is similar to restless leg syndrome. I have been on gabapentin ever since. It has helped me a lot.
- if getting to sleep initially is the problem, drinking a cup of chamomile tea 30 minutes to an hour before bedtime can help. It can also wake you up in the middle of the night to have to go to the bathroom because of the liquid you drank.
Click to expand...
Probably all good points. For me, reading a book will put me to sleep in about 15 minutes - so that is my nightly routine. Sleeping soundly seems to be temperature related. Not warm enough and I don't sleep well.
Too warm can be a problem as well - but not as much. Getting up to go pee is an issue that increases with age. Fortunately, I am usually able to go back to sleep without much problem. As noted by others, quality
bedding is a factor as well. I have noticed the difference in some good hotel beds - and am due for a replacement at home.

Dave
 
Thanks for all the great tips so far, it's very much appreciated.
 
If I see my wife struggling to fall asleep I merely ask her to rub my back a bit and she’ll be out in less then 5 min.
 
Fallsrider said:
There are so many different components to a good night's sleep. I have struggled with it for years myself. Based on things I have read and learned, here's a few ideas I have...
- go to bed and wake up in the morning at a consistent time seven days a week. Our bodies apparently have a circadian rhythm, and if we get that set to a consistent time frame, that helps a lot of people.
- no electronics one to two hours before bedtime. The blue light affects some people's serotonin production.
- no alcohol in the evenings. It may help you get to sleep, but it affects your sleep cycles later in the night.
- be sure to eat a healthy diet.
- if a person is overweight, weight loss helps some people. I have lost 30 lbs since the beginning of summer, and my sleep has improved.
- there can be physiological issues. I did a sleep study about 8 years ago. They said I have periodic limb movement, which is similar to restless leg syndrome.
- if getting to sleep initially is the problem, drinking a cup of chamomile tea 30 minutes to an hour before bedtime can help. It can also wake you up in the middle of the night to have to go to the bathroom because of the liquid you drank.
Click to expand...

Those are all good suggestions. If you are a pilot you can not take the medication you mentioned, I removed it in the quote and you should probably remove it from you post too.
 
Dark. Quiet. Cool.

Physical exertion earlier in the day helps.
 
1RTK1 said:
Those are all good suggestions. If you are a pilot you can not take the medication you mentioned, I removed it in the quote and you should probably remove it from you post too.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I am not a pilot.
 
A good pillow. We changed ours recently for cheap IKEA ones and the quality of the sleep since has been great, Fitbit shows hitting the sleep stage targets and definitely more alert and energy
 
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