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If you haven’t already, try taking melatonin before bed. I found my sleep to decrease in length but I wake more rested.
by supple-mints 2y ago
If you haven’t already, try taking melatonin before bed. I found my sleep to decrease in length but I wake more rested.
- jdironman 2y agoI feel this will be very subjective of course. The biggest thing I have found I can do for a full rest (not length but quality) is no screens at all after 8pm and no lights except candle light after 930pm, coupled with reading by candle light. Melatonin does help me occasionally but it's hit or miss. Reading instead of watching or listening seems to be the biggest help. I guess different parts of my brain fires during that activity than normal.
- xattt 2y ago> …no lights except candle light after 930pm… I am imagining a household transforming into Amish roleplay by 9:30 PM. I’ve achieved a similar-but-less-impactful effect by putting Zwave dimmer switches where I could, and setting the turn-on brightness to be lower during a “wind-down” house mode.
- p1esk 2y agoFYI, candle light probably makes your air worse.
- vundercind 2y agoI did the same thing for a while, and found it weirdly hard to replace with electricity. Most options are too bright, almost none are incandescent. If I try it again I’ll have to build my own battery powered lanterns with ultra-low-wattage incandescent bulbs (don’t want the spiky spectrum of LED for this purpose) to get them dim enough and in a useful form factor. I could read and get around just fine by two beeswax candles (and after getting used to that, full room lighting seemed insane, it’s so bright) but most things you can buy are at least 5x that bright. Even most plug in night lights are brighter than two beeswax tapers.
- therobots927 2y agoI’m looking at getting Philips Hue bulbs. They’re expensive but look promising. I cannot stand the eco friendly bright white lightbulbs these days. Nothing against saving energy it’s just not for me.
- moi2388 2y agoWhy not just get regular orange led light with a dimmer?
- thatcat 2y agothose orange salt lamps have a similar spectrum to candles
- sgarland 2y agoI have Kasa Smartbulbs (KL110) for bedside and couch-side lamps. They claim 2700K, and while I don’t have a way to measure that, they feel pretty similar to incandescents. They’re also extremely dimmable, which was my main reason for getting them. At the lowest setting, they claim 10 lumens, which is roughly equivalent to a candle. Two of them in the living room at a low-moderate brightness are plenty for evening relaxation.
- salamo 2y agoSwitching my smart lights to red works pretty well for me, although from the street it definitely looks like something unholy is happening in the apartment.
- lazide 2y agoOr you’re running a brothel!
- therobots927 2y agoYes I intend on getting smart lights. They’re expensive but I’m sure they’re worth it.
- Lammy 2y ago> no screens at all after 8pm and no lights except candle light after 930pm I swear by blue-blocking glasses for this reason, especially when driving at night since the advent of obnoxiously bright LED (but I repeat myself) head and tail lights on every car. These are my current pair, no affiliation: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CXYT17C/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CXYT17C/
- MrDrMcCoy 2y agoI have a much darker, cheaper pair that's great for before bedtime, but would be far too dangerous for night driving. I'll have to try these some time and see how they compare.
- justinclift 2y agoMake sure to check if it's legal in your jurisdiction before attempting to go and buy it. Saying that from personal experience after I returned to Australia from the UK, and popped into a local pharmacist to grab some to try it out. The lady behind the counter and the customer next to her acted like I'd literally asked to buy heroin. (!) It turns out Melatonin wasn't legal to buy at that time (a few years ago now), though the law has apparently been changed since.
- Jedd 2y agoI assume it's national not state based policy - I asked my pharmacist (in NSW) about this a few months back, evidently it's available to people over the age of 55 only.
- stephen_g 2y agoYou can get a prescription from a doctor if you have trouble sleeping. My sleep doctor prescribed me a sublingual suspension instead of the tablets (you measure it with an oral syringe and squirt it under your tongue), and to take it earlier than what is recommended. I do just 1mg, 2 hours before sleep and since starting my sleep has been far, far better than it ever has been in my life. The sustained release tablets (like ‘Circadan’ or similar branding) I found were not good - I’d wake up groggy and generally didn’t get good sleep. They were just prescribed by a regular GP, and the sleep specialist I saw later on thinks it’s counter productive because they keep releasing longer than you want it to.
- Jedd 2y agoYup, though for a cheaper option you can just buy it online (iherb stocks 3mg and 10mg tablets, f.e.). I have the 'Natrol' brand. The liquid form sounds like an interesting option. I haven't experimented much with timing - instructions suggest 20-30 minutes prior to bed, which I've been following for my very occasional usage.
- sundvor 2y ago
- ilaksh 2y agoVitamin D3 might also help.
- laluser 2y agoMagnesium as well.
- therobots927 2y agoI’m a huge fan of magnesium in tea before bed
- specialist 2y agoI'd like to try this. Recommendations? (My quick search's results were roobios, white tea, etc.) TIA.
- RamblingCTO 2y agoNot the parent, but I love some fresh mint tea with honey.
- therobots927 2y agoWell I prefer celestial seasonings sleepytime tea and CALM brand magnesium
- specialist 2y agoYes and: I take magnesium (Mg) at bed time. I believe it helps reduce muscle cramping, improving my sleep. TIL There are many compounds avail OTC. The most common Mg-citrate upsets my tummy. After trying a few variataions, I settled on Mg-glycinate, which is also reasonably priced (vs say Mg-orotate). YMMV. Please consult your doc. Adverse effects, drug interactions, etc. Best, of course, is a nice hot bath with epsom salt. But that's not always practical.
- therobots927 2y agoI need to get back into taking that. Good idea!
- RamblingCTO 2y agoOr, you know, fix the issues that prevent you from sleeping instead of messing with hormones. If you really need to sleep, take some GABA. Otherwise, work on it and maybe take magnesium.
- supple-mints 2y ago[flagged]
- supple-mints 2y ago[flagged]
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