Cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Getting uninterrupted sleep?

ANSWERED

Would anyone have tips to help getting more uninterrupted sleep? I don't mean the short 'awake' spikes that get recorded, but actually waking up and then being unable to sleep for 1h30 or so.

 

I've been trying quite a few things already (even before I got my Alta HR earlier this week). Usually I would never sleep before midnight-1 am, which didn't make for more than 5 hours of sleep since I have to get up around 6 for work. I went through a combo of various things to 'force' my body to sleep around 22-22:30, which seems to work well so far, but now my problem is that I spontaneously wake up around 4 am, as if that stupid body of mine was so used to 5-6 hours sleep max that now it refuses to sleep longer! Moreover, this coincides with the time when I start having to go to the bathroom, and if I don't, I'm aware of the slight discomfort and I go anyway, and walking and doing my business is enough to completely wake me up. -_-

 

(I don't feel particularly well-rested physically, and I wasn't well-rested either before I tried to change my sleep pattern, so my gut feeling tells me that I need more sleep than that).

 

Things I've been doing so far:

- No caffeine after 11 am (no coffee, Coke, whatever)

- Tea: only rooibos after 2 pm

- Blue light filters on all my devices (phone, tablet, computer)

- I go to bed around 21:00 with a book, either paper or Kindle or on phone (but with the filter on and low luminosity. (This is what I started doing to sleep earlier, and the phone reading doesn't seem to be a bother in terms of feeling nervous. I can't just go to bed and do nothing, already tried this, and it just makes me feel frustrated --> trouble to sleep ensues)

- No drinks after 19:30-20:00, to avoid the Bathroom Break of Doom. I think that if I didn't wake up around 4, I'd be able to sleep through it until 6.

- No exercise after 19-20:00. That part is annoying because apart from walking, there isn't much I have time to do before, but...

- Sleeping with earplugs on, since I'm sensitive to noise

- Sleeping with a mask on, since I'm sensitive to light and can't have actual shutters installed (why shutters aren't a think in the UK still baffles me, but nvm)

 

I think I've got the falling asleep part down, it's been 2 weeks and it hasn't failed me once *fingers crossed*

But the waking-up-around-4 part is annoying, all the more because on work days, by the time I can get back to sleep, it's around 6 anyway. I'm at a loss as to what else I could try.

 

Any tips? Or does this just look like my body needs to be used to spending more time in bed, and will 'allow itself more sleep' with time? (Which worries me: we're heading into longer days, and sunlight filtering through the blackout curtains will wake me up around 4-5 even with a mask on my eyes... :/)

If you ever feel like dying to help the universe, just let me know. I'll be waiting.
/人 ◕ ‿‿ ◕人\
Best Answer
0 Votes
1 BEST ANSWER

Accepted Solutions
@WyldHaggiswrote:

Hm, I may have started too hard then? (Going from a 23:00 bedtime to 22:00... but when I did that I thought I'd still need a full hour to fall asleep anyway. Hard to foresee, these things.)

 

 

Yes, I think the body gets very ingrained with sleep patterns, and it takes time and small increments to make changes. That's just my observation.

Work out...eat... sleep...repeat!
Dave | California

View best answer in original post

Best Answer
0 Votes
5 REPLIES 5

Hi @WyldHaggis,

 

Based on the early morning light and bathroom necessity, I would guess the only way you're going to be able to get more sleep, is to start going to bed earlier. If your body is used to getting less sleep than it wants, you may want to take the change gradually. Something like going to bed 10 minutes earlier each week?

 

 

Work out...eat... sleep...repeat!
Dave | California

Best Answer
0 Votes

Hm, I may have started too hard then? (Going from a 23:00 bedtime to 22:00... but when I did that I thought I'd still need a full hour to fall asleep anyway. Hard to foresee, these things.)

If you ever feel like dying to help the universe, just let me know. I'll be waiting.
/人 ◕ ‿‿ ◕人\
Best Answer
0 Votes

@WyldHaggis,

 

This answer assumes you are male. If you are not, there may be other mechanisms for women.

 

If you used to sleep through the night without urinating, then more frequent urination is cause for some concern. As long as men produce testosterone, their prostate enlarges. Eventually, it presses on the urethra and prevents complete emptying of the bladder. Occasionally, cancer forms in the prostate, which causes it to swell. You can get a PSA test, but these have false positives and negatives.

 

To collect data, I start a workout when I get in bed. Then the trips to the bathroom register as an increased heart rate. The next day, I measure the "P to P times. Just doing this may resolve your problem as Hawthorne's Law says that things that are tracked tend to improve. I've always gotten up during the night, but the intervals are increasing because of my diet.  (* diet described at end)

 

About the time people start to urinate more often, they often start to get erectile dysfunction. Most men should wake up with an erection. If not, then the blood vessel leading to the **ahem** is starting to get blocked. This is one of the earliest symptoms of developing heart disease. The other one is a slipped disc in L5-L6 (the lower back.) Don't panic. The heart attack is likely decades away when these first happen.

 

I'm certain everything I've written is correct, but there is no reason for you to believe some 64-year-old guy you don't know. I suggest watching "Forks Over Knives" on Netflix for an overview. Then Dr. T. Collin Campbell's book "The China Study - the Revised and Expanded Edition. Also explore books by Drs. Esselstyne, Ornish, McDougall and McGregor. Visit their websites and watch their video. After you have done this, schedule an annual physical if you can. 

 

If you just want a band-aide approach, call your doctor and get a prescription for a drug that will make you pee less often. However, it only treats the symptom, not the cause.

 

*There is only one way of eating that has been scientifically proven to prevent, arrest and reverse most of the top 15 causes of death. They could be collected under the heading "Nutritional Diseases.)

 

The way of eating is simple:

1. No animal products. 

2. No added oils like olive oil, etc.

3. Food should look pretty much in its natural state.

4. Most of the calories come from starches.

5. Lots of cruciferous vegetables for vitamins.

 

6. No protein supplements. (I added this because of people's interests. They are harmful.)

 

Obviously, no junk food. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Answer
0 Votes
@WyldHaggiswrote:

Hm, I may have started too hard then? (Going from a 23:00 bedtime to 22:00... but when I did that I thought I'd still need a full hour to fall asleep anyway. Hard to foresee, these things.)

 

 

Yes, I think the body gets very ingrained with sleep patterns, and it takes time and small increments to make changes. That's just my observation.

Work out...eat... sleep...repeat!
Dave | California

Best Answer
0 Votes

You probably should not read in bed. In general, if you tend to wake, it's a good idea to do nothing in the bedroom except change clothes, sleep, and have sex. No reading, TV, radio, or whatever.

However, if you've already solved the problem, this may be irrelevant for you. The above advice is for people who have serious problems. I hope you continue to sleep well.

Best Answer
0 Votes