I'm trying to get myself to wake up at 06:00 AM to go for an early 20 minute morning run. As an insomniac this has proven to be really difficult. But I really like running, even when I'm out of shape, as it has been a part since I was a kid.
I think I'm inching towards a stable rhythm though, but time will tell. I always need 2 months of a stable rhythm to be fully sure that I got a rhythm locked in.
Here is what I figured out so far:
- Magnesium before sleeping
- Vitamin D when I wake up, especially now since I'm sitting inside all the time.
- Obviously basic sleep hygiene that all the popular blog posts write about (fun fact: I use Iris instead of Flux, it dims the screen even more).
- Melatonin when I can already tell I won't be able to sleep anytime soon. I used to try to fall asleep on my own strength for way too long. Things I've tried: meditation (my username is derived from it), progressive muscle relaxation, not thinking about anything (I am quite good at this), visualizations of being in familiar places, exercise and going to the doctor. It all doesn't work. What does work: melatonin. Only since recently I've been a bit more aggressive with it (after 25+ years of sleep issues).
This leaves me with one issue: sometimes I wake up after 4 hours of sleep. My usual way of dealing with this is being awake for another 4 hours, so I can sleep my second quartet of hours. The problem: I wake up around 11:00 AM when I go to bed around 11:00 PM.
So what I'm trying now, since my lifestyle supports it, is waking up between 04:00 AM and 06:00 AM so that I have enough leeway to sleep a bit more. I'm starting a job soon and I have to be 09:00 AM in the office. This is my makeshift solution.
I think this is what people did some centuries ago: Wake up in the middle of the night and do some stuff, then go back to sleep for a couple of hours. See [1].
I also have issues sleeping. When I sleep at my parents house, I sleep excellently. I did sleep there for a week a couple of months ago and I never felt so good. The downside is that my girlfriend gets upset when I sleep there for a week (and my parents think I'm in a fight with my girlfriend).
Things that might explain why I sleep so much better at my parents house are:
- It's darker
- It's less noisy
- There's a better bed
- There's no-one sleeping next to me in the same bed
- Maybe I feel safer if I sleep on the second floor of a big house instead of right next to a street?
Ah, yea. Varying sleeping locations, I've done that a lot, unintentionally. I've slept in humble homes to mansions to far out locations (my own place being a humble home). My best sleeping moments are when I go camping and rise and fall with the sun. That's the only time when I am capable of sleeping normal, waking up and falling asleep with the sun, no clock needed.
Here are my experiences to what you said.
It's darker: I use a sleeping mask.
It's less noisy: I used earplugs but I have tinnitus and it acts up when I do that. Currently though, it's not noisy because of Covid. Maybe I should have a noise cancelling / ambient white noise system. The normal tinnitus levels don't bother me, airplanes flying do.
Better bed: turns out, I love a mattress on the ground the most.
Sleeping next to people: that's funny, I sleep better sleeping next to someone! Well, we all differ.
Regarding safety: that's how I feel when I sleep next to someone. Not that I feel unsafe sleeping alone, not at all. I simply feel safer.
Have you tried just sleeping, waking up, running, without the magnesium/vitD/melatonin/iris/flux/etc. People have managed these basic tasks fine without all these props for a very long time.
You're so off the mark with your comment, the only way my message might get through to you is by being very direct.
You're right, there are also a lot of people who are capable of simply going to sleep. But if you think that there isn't a sizeable group of people in society who have difficulty with this, then I have news for you.
You're wrong.
Also when I state I have issues with this for 25+ years, do you really think I haven't heard these type of comments or advice? Because if you think your comment is something that I have never heard before, or am not aware of, then I have news for you again.
You're wrong.
The reason I'm replying: you're either trolling (if so, touche) or you're serious. Since you have 500+ karma (aka leave some good comments), I simply wanted to give you this feedback. Because I know my stuff when it comes to sleep by (1) dealing with, by (2) studying the neurobiology of it in my psychology undergrad multiple times. Moreover, I know the group of people I fall in (the group that has trouble with sleep). I can't speak for them but I have an idea of how they feel and think since I'm recognizing what they say in my own experiences.
No worries, I am not hurt by directness, in fact I appreciate not sugarcoating an argument.
I was not trolling. For most of the stuff you list it is not clear at all that they have any effect in general, and if they do, it is not clear whether it is positive or negative, or of what kind. It is perfectly rational to be cautious with these things and fall back on things that have been tried and tested for millennia: spending time outdoors, fresh air, good eating, physical exercise.
I am not claiming that these would solve your specific problems, I am just putting out a list of tools. You have also done so, and someone naively browsing may try out either of the two sets. Mine has less chance of being harmful.
On sleeping there was also a very informative essay by the supermemo guy, good sleep good life, or something like that.
Ah, now it makes sense. Thanks for the claryifing comment.
I agree that people shouldn't grab pills as a first resort. In my case, they are my last resort and only after circling around other resorts multiple times. I'm not a fan of pills.
In hindsight, I should've disclaimed in my main comment that I feel this is working for me. It was not intended as advice. I was simply talking about my side project (getting myself to sleep, so I can run in the morning).
The effects of melatonin are super noticeable. It's like taking drugs: you pop a pill, and feel different 30 minutes later. Melatonin makes me feel drowsy.
There is no placebo here. After 15 to 20 minutes, I always get irritated and ask myself: why doesn't it work?!
It does, just a bit later.
===== Vitamin D ======
Sorry that I'm sourceless on this. I read somewhere that melatonin and vitamin D are inversely related in their cycles of when they peak. Someone suggested to take it in the morning.
Regardless of whether the timing is off or right, vitamin D is needed to not be depressed [1]. So this part might be a placebo (like I care, I'm pragmatic) and at best it does something.
I do notice that it indeed prevents me from feeling like shit by virtue of sitting inside all the time. That also might be a placebo (I still don't care, placebo's are demonized and it's a competitive advantage if you accept it). The trend has been going on for 2 weeks now.
[1] Note: there are way more sources. I just did a quick Google search and picked the first URL I could find.
If you take a lot of vitamine D, you also want to take some extra vitamine k2.
However, vitamin D and calcium supplementation along with vitamin K deficiency might also induce long-term soft tissue calcification and CVD, particularly in vitamin K antagonist users and other high-risk populations
I've been a chronic insomniac for as long as I can remember and melatonin changed my life. Recently though, I've been having trouble getting to sleep again, and waking during the night. I've also recently started taking Vitamin D at the same time as my melatonin and hadn't twigged that that might be why. So thanks, gonna switch that one to the morning.
I think I'm inching towards a stable rhythm though, but time will tell. I always need 2 months of a stable rhythm to be fully sure that I got a rhythm locked in.
Here is what I figured out so far:
- Magnesium before sleeping
- Vitamin D when I wake up, especially now since I'm sitting inside all the time.
- Obviously basic sleep hygiene that all the popular blog posts write about (fun fact: I use Iris instead of Flux, it dims the screen even more).
- Melatonin when I can already tell I won't be able to sleep anytime soon. I used to try to fall asleep on my own strength for way too long. Things I've tried: meditation (my username is derived from it), progressive muscle relaxation, not thinking about anything (I am quite good at this), visualizations of being in familiar places, exercise and going to the doctor. It all doesn't work. What does work: melatonin. Only since recently I've been a bit more aggressive with it (after 25+ years of sleep issues).
This leaves me with one issue: sometimes I wake up after 4 hours of sleep. My usual way of dealing with this is being awake for another 4 hours, so I can sleep my second quartet of hours. The problem: I wake up around 11:00 AM when I go to bed around 11:00 PM.
So what I'm trying now, since my lifestyle supports it, is waking up between 04:00 AM and 06:00 AM so that I have enough leeway to sleep a bit more. I'm starting a job soon and I have to be 09:00 AM in the office. This is my makeshift solution.
I hope it works.