![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
[sleep] Bitching, mostly
Hmm. My sleep schedule appears to be _completely_ fucked up. Beyond the point of my ability to fix it, I think, and almost certainly not jet-lag-related anymore. Probably an unfortunate combination of beginning-of-week jet-lag and my normal added difficulty with sleeping in winter.
I hope, very much, that I _do_ have sleep apnea, because this is ridiculous. And more or less normal for winter (although usually I manage to stop the trend of mostly not sleeping, or sleeping _only_ very restlessly, before it gets this bad).
My poor cat is likely to stop trying to share a sleeping space with me, soon. Which, considering how much he missed me, is pretty damn impressive.
So, yeah. Severely anti-social. Picture me having to fight from growling at anyone who comes to my cube to talk to me. IRC! Dammit! Not even going into my body's physical reactions to the lack of decent sleep...
Contemplating seeing if just not trying to sleep might work better than trying to sleep and either sleeping restlessly or brokenly all night. If nothing else, I figure I'll eventually pass out if I don't even try to sleep for a while.
I also hope that someone at Friday's massage/reiki share is able to help, somehow.
(on the plus side, I appear to as of yet not be picking up the evil cold bug that's going around. But I forgot my immune boosters, and won't be home tonight. Ooops)
I hope, very much, that I _do_ have sleep apnea, because this is ridiculous. And more or less normal for winter (although usually I manage to stop the trend of mostly not sleeping, or sleeping _only_ very restlessly, before it gets this bad).
My poor cat is likely to stop trying to share a sleeping space with me, soon. Which, considering how much he missed me, is pretty damn impressive.
So, yeah. Severely anti-social. Picture me having to fight from growling at anyone who comes to my cube to talk to me. IRC! Dammit! Not even going into my body's physical reactions to the lack of decent sleep...
Contemplating seeing if just not trying to sleep might work better than trying to sleep and either sleeping restlessly or brokenly all night. If nothing else, I figure I'll eventually pass out if I don't even try to sleep for a while.
I also hope that someone at Friday's massage/reiki share is able to help, somehow.
(on the plus side, I appear to as of yet not be picking up the evil cold bug that's going around. But I forgot my immune boosters, and won't be home tonight. Ooops)
no subject
What position do you sleep in?
I have obstructive sleep apnea (though I think I have a touch of central sleep apnea too... I've woken myself up 'holding my breath'). I use a CPAP at night that blows air in my nose to remind me to breathe while I'm asleep.
I hope they can find out what is disturbing your sleep.
no subject
sleep positions: back, sometimes with a pillow, sometimes without; curled up on my side with at least one leg pulled in close to my body; if having a _really_ difficult time sleeping, on my stomach.
And, yeah - I need to ping my doctor and get a different appointment now.
Ah ha!
One highly prized suggestion from the book: white noise. David and I use a fan to drown out the noise of our hamsters, nocturnal as they are, playing all night long. Without it, I don't think either of us would ever sleep.
The book explained that parts of your awareness shut down during sleep. Thus, the ability to sleep through an alarm - you don't hear it because that part of your awareness is shut down.
Sometimes, for all people, and for some people, all the time, that awareness doesn't shut down enough. So, every little noise/disturbance wakes you. Like, the sound your fridge makes when it's motor kicks on. Maybe it's just enough to make you stir, not enough to wake you and make you go "what was that noise?" But that stirring brings you out of the deep, restful sleep that is so good for you.
So, white noise will drown those tiny noises out and make you rest better.
A humidifier as your white noise source was doubly recommended. *Highly* recommended, even. Moister air is better for sleep apnea and snoring and dehydration and on and on and on...and it provides white noise!
Other suggestions were to have two aspirin washed down with warm (or cold if you can't stomach warm) milk before bed. Both aspirin and milk have shown to have ingredients that help sleep.
Get the temperature right for sleep. Your body cools as you sleep because parts of you are "shutting down" so not as much body heat is generated. Most people pile blankets and things to be warm when they get into bed, but your body *wants* to cool down. If it's staying warm, it's sending mixed signals and not letting you get enough rest. So, a suggestion to avoid this was to use an electric blanket. Set it high before bed, but lower it to a comfortable setting as you get into bed, so that it will gradually get cooler. Or have a heater set on a timer to do the same thing. Or, warm your body with a hot shower or bath *immediately* before bed. Or pile the blankets on and get in bed to warm it up, but then hop out for a few minutes and remove some of the covers then get back into the warm bed. But basically, just don't have your bed/bedroom too hot because the gradual cooling down is good for sleep.
If you get bad sleep, take a nap the next day. "Sleep debt" can mess up your sleep rhythms. "Sleep debt" can also be made up by getting enough sleep in the next 24 hours that you have. Nothing is wrong with napping and a short enough nap in the afternoon/evening (an hour or two) can help you sleep better that night.
Light affects sleep, duh. So make sure it's dark for sleep, dark enough that light doesn't show through your closed eyelids, but, if possible, make sure *morning* light does get in. Set a lamp on a timer, even. Light clues your body into waking up. Dark clues your body into sleeping.
Don't do non-sleep things in bed. Other than sex. Sex is okay. But don't stay awake and read, watch tv, do crosswords, whatever. It's like training your body to recognize "bed=sleep" instead of "bed=use my brain for a little while longer". It has been proven in some study somewhere, in fact, that "reading yourself to sleep" may actually make for a less restful sleep. It's like the equivalent of exercising before sleep. Your body is all pumped up, it doesn't want to sleep. So, exercising your *brain* right before sleep has the same affect.
Use the minutes right before bed for sleep prep and ritual. Get into a prepare-for-sleep ritual because that, too, tells your body "okay, we're laying out clothes, brushing our teeth, locking the door and covering the bird cage, that means we'll go to sleep next".
Um, that's all the ones I can think of right now that sounded even remotely plausible/useful to me.
Sorry for the wordiness!
Re: Ah ha!
white noise: have used white noise for years and years. Humidifier in winter, fan in summer.
awareness: I _never_ sleep through alarms, and it's unusual (although not impossible, if I'm used to it) for me to not wake up if people are moving around near me.
Aspirin & milk: Hmm. I don't have either one right now. Is there any concern about excess aspirin? I think there is for other pain killers, so... And I don't _like_ milk much, but it's worth a shot.
Temperature: Hmm. I tend to prefer to be warm at night. I wake up if I'm too cold. If I'm too warm, I just kick off some of my covers. Then again, the temp in my apartment is ~60 all winter, unless someone is feeling especially cold.
Nap: difficult to do when I work a 9-5-type job. But noted.
I don't do non-sleep or sleep-prep type things in bed when it's time to go to sleep, but I do if it's not. Bed is comfy... I wonder if the time of day matters for that?