Since I get up at 5:00AM Monday through Friday, making sure I get quality sleep is very imprortant to me. The Ririan Project gives eight tips to help setup your bedroom in order to facilitate quality, energy producing sleep. The following tip is my favorite and has been helping me sleep soundly for years:
THE FAN Blocking out noise will help you not only fall asleep faster, but also reach a more restful stage of sleep and stay that way. The most popular way of doing so is to use ear plugs, but this may not be as effective as we’d like, because any sounds made by our own body (even breathing), are amplified.
Paradoxically, the best way to block out noise is to produce your own white noise. By having a constant sound that isn’t too loud, other, more disturbing sounds are blocked out. And since noise is probably the most common disruptor of sleep, you’re bound to have a positive effect from this. A fan is the most frequent choice.
Do you have any tips the Riran Project doesn’t mention? Please let us know in the comments.
8 Tools for 8 Hours of Energy-Boosting Sleep – [Ririan Project]
A couple they don’t mention (especially if you’re a light sleeper, like I am)
1) Eye masks : It doesn’t need to stay on all night, but it’s very useful for blocking light while you’re falling asleep, and there’s a number in the $12-30 range.
I got mine from Dream Essentials (http://www.dreamessentials.com). No association other than being a very happy customer, but one thing I really like about their site is that they include lots of useful information on each mask. For example, whether it works for side sleepers, how thick the profile is, how well it blocks light, whether it’s designed to place light pressure on your eyelids or have you open your eyes, etc.
If you’ve only seen the airplane or drug store ones, the mid-range masks are a *big* step up.
2) Ear plugs. I wake up easily when asleep, but didn’t want to miss my alarm. When I was married and my husband (now ex) snored, I started sleeping with an earplug in one ear, not both. I sleep on my side, and would stick it in the ‘up’ ear, and the pillow would muffle sound for the other.
If he started snoring, it was much less of a sleep disturbance for me to roll over, instead of elbowing him to get him to roll over, or burying my head under a pillow. These days, it works well when the cat decides to be noisily playing in the bedroom at 3am, or to block normal household noise from my housemates.
3) A good body pillow’s made a huge difference in how much stress I retain over night in my neck/shoulders/lower back.
I use the Comfort-U (which is big), also got from Dream Essentials, and it’s been one of the better investments in my body I’ve made in a long time. It’s very adaptable to different shapes, positions, etc.
4) They mention several possible tea and other options for natural sleep aids.
I’m really fond of the Republic of Tea’s Chamomile Lemon tea, which has several other good sleep herbs. (Check for allegies, etc. first. If you’re allergic to ragweed, be careful with chamomile, for example: they’re in the same plant family, and allergies can cross over.)
I also use a couple of aromatherapy based blends (mine come from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – I use the Somnus and TKO blends, depending on how desperately I need sleep. They should be used sparingly, and not every night, to keep the efficacy.)
5) I’m sort of surprised they don’t mention avoiding caffine – if you’re having issues sleeping, try avoiding caffine after 3pm, or even noon.
I found it didn’t make a huge difference in when I fell asleep, but it makes a significant difference in how *well* I sleep. Some people have similar responses to alcohol, or certain kinds of food.
I agree with the previous comment about using a sleep mask. Though you can get them at Target or Walmart for $3-$5
Writing down things that are bothering you before you go to bed is another good idea. Otherwise, you might keep thinking about them and that might keep you awake. Plus, your subconscious might literally dream up the solution during the night and you’ll have answers when you awake the next morning.
A note on the masks:
I found that the cheaper ones really didn’t stay on my head at all well (I’ve got long hair I braid at night, so there’s not a lot of ‘grip’), and they didn’t block light as well either (some creeping in under the nose.)
The one I have now has a line of soft padding (maybe a centimeter thick?) along the bottom edge, which does a lot to both make it stay on my face better, and block light. Mostly this is a “If the cheap ones don’t work for you, there are other variants that may.” personal preference thing.
Thanks for your tips. For restful sleep in a noisy neighborhood and copters and planes flying overhead, I have used ear plugs and “white noise” to block out noise. I recently bought a pack of “Mack’s” 32-decibel-level protection ear plugs at a store for just a few bucks. They are a comfortable foam, they are washable, re-useable, and they work great for me. Recently the next-door
neighbors were doing construction on their driveway, using electric saws, and the ear plugs are blocked it out. The 32-noise-protection by Mack’s are the best ear plugs I have ever used.
I have tried rubber plugs molded to the shape of my ear canal, but those have not worked as well. The plugs seem to produce moisture (creating an uncomfortability). I recently read
at the website of an ear plug manufacturer, that the moisture caused
by ear plugs molded to the shape of the ear is due to the canal being warm and humid. And the website says that to alleviate the moisture, a “desiccant drying system” is needed. I have not looked into that.
In the past, I’ve also used an upright fan to create “white noise”, and set the power level to “medium” or “high”.
I also have a really great chiropractor and have received regular adjustments, which have helped me to get better sleep and better health.
I hope this can be useful information to others here.
Oh, I forgot – I recommend calcium supplement before bedtime, especially for coffee drinkers. (Coffee consumption dissipates calcium levels in the body, so it is good to take supplements.) Calcium can help produce calming effects.
Looking after your listening has to be one of the most fundamental matters you can do. Take it from me, somebody who sufferred listening damager early on. As a result, I really like taking care hearing and whilst I do agree with the above poster and I really hope I do not get shot down for saying this, but I think it is important to take all things in moderation.
1. Eight Hours Myth
All of us heard that in order to be fresh during the day you should
get 8 hours of sleep, but the truth is every human body is different, my
body it’s different from yours and so on.
2. Experiment
To find out how many hours your body
need to stay fresh the whole day, you should do this experiment: sleep
one night 5 hours and see how that works for you, are you fresh, wired
and focused all day long, then this is how much you should sleep.
If 5 isn’t enough for you , try 6 or 7, maybe 8 works. For me it’s somewhere in between 7 and 8 hours, let’s say 7 and 1/2.
3. Position
The position when you sleep it’s very
important, basically you need to sleep with your face up and your legs
should be straight as a arrow, this way you will improve your sleeping
quality.
4. Comfy Bed
For sure, you need to have a comfy bet, find what works for you and buy it.
5. Pillows
I can’t sleep if I don’t have 3 or 4 pillows with me, one on my face,
one under my head and the rest surrounding me, that’s how I can get a
great sleep time.
6. When To Sleep
You should sleep when you are tired, when I have a free day, with no
university classes I usually get sleepy around 3 AM and sleep until 10
AM or so..
It’s very important to sleep when you are tired, when your eyes start to heart.
7. Tea
Sometimes I drink a hot cup of tea, I
have some tea special made for relaxing you before sleep. You should try
and find that sort for tea and see how you feel.
And I can keep writing, but you’ve got the point..