I’d say I have good sleep hygiene. No coffee in the afternoons, generally in bed for 21.30-2200 with no phone on, dark room etc. I have ZMA, fish oil and vit d3 before bed as standard but I’m just a very light sleeper!! I’m not saying my garmin is “correct” but the deep sleep is usually under 30mins and always within the first hour of sleep. It’s a fairly standard trend Any recommendations? Melatonin isn’t available in the UK and I don’t like the thought of prescription sleeping meds if I’m honest.
Recently I am testing CBD oils and the sleep quality has improved (subjective feeling). Even if I wake up at night I have no trouble to fall asleep really fast. I have recently very stressful time at work, practically no cycling to release the stress and calm the mind.
Turn the lights off 1-2 hrs pre-bed. It’s been a game-changer for my wife and my quality of sleep. I’ve always slept well, and it still improves my sleep latency. She’s always been an insomniac and it’s made her sleep latency quite short, which is more than we’d ever dreamed of.
I’ve noticed a difference with my sleep patterns and restorative sleep when taking a magnesium supplement regularly before bed. I prefer a garden of life (350mg)one that is raspberry flavored. I’ve tried a bunch and some are too citrusy or fake tasting.
Of course notice a difference in sleep when I don’t have a glass or two of wine as well. Even notice a difference in sleep between drinking beer compared to wine (beer makes sleep worse)
I use a Whoop for tracking sleep and recovery and use journal entries each morning to determine what effects my sleep and recovery.
I’ve never been a big weed smoker or user, but in the last 6 months I’ve started taking edibles. I’m in Canada so they are super precise with THC/CBD content, so it’s really easy to avoid overdoing it. I have a 2.5.mg THC + 10 mg CBD gummy and it makes me super relaxed and I can get a really deep sleep. Works better than any other supplement I’ve had, even sleeping pills.
Vitamin D before bed actually gives me insomnia. It’s not as bad if I take it in the morning, but after a week or two of regular supplementation even in the morning I start sleeping really lightly and run into issues with insomnia that doesn’t go away until I stop it. It’s the only reason I stopped taking VitD.
For deeper sleep it’s Ambien, hands down. I sleep less hours but I feel fresher. It’s prescription unfortunately, but if you can get it, it does the job well. Only down side is that you can’t take it every night.
Diphenhydramine also helps. These are the over the counter I believe. Zzzquil and Benadryl are the brands.
As much as I understand that it’s not perfect, it’s a definate trend that my garmin doesn’t think I get much deep sleep! My wife has a garmin too and hers registers about 3.5-4hours nightly.
So even if both aren’t “correct” they both trend similarly.
I’m using an Ashwaganda extract and it’s been really good for my sleep and anxiety. There’s a few studies that show an effect in the quality of sleep, anxiety and even testosterone levels.
Usually the first hour the lights are kept very very dim. A nightlight or two.
Make workout fuel for the following day. Final kitchen clean-up. Lay out clothing for tomorrow. Plan tomorrow’s schedule and push any tasks not yet completed today, into tomorrow’s plan. Set alarm for next day. Quality time talking with each other.
Final 45-60min pre-bed, in nearly full darkness (we live in a motorhome so there is no place in the rig that is truly fully blacked out due to windows in every room):
Readying bedroom, pre-bed snack, shower, brush teeth, mouthwash, dressing for bed, listening to a minimally stimulating audiobook sometimes, running a load of laundry (tiny W/D, do laundry every other day in motorhome). More chatting with each other.
If I were single, I’d probably be asleep before that second hour was anywhere near complete. I’m usually quite drowsy from even 15 minutes of darkness. There are chemical processes allowed by the light exposure reduction for sure, but I think that something not well-considered (yet) in the scientific literature is simply that being in the dark forces people into a state of boredom and slowness which isn’t achieved when lights are kept on.
I think for me, that boredom and reduced hastiness of action caused by not being able to see much in the darkness is at least 50% of the reason I’m immediately drawn to the bed and faster to fall asleep.
Agreed. Has been marginally effective for my wife too.
I’ve found that 3 grams of glycine + magnesium (200mg) taken 1-2 hours before bed has improved my sleep quality ( + optional 25-50 mg CBD). Also no caffeine after noon.
