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Trying to get to sleep/relieve stress, any ideas?

Does anyone else see floating dots of purple?


  • Total voters
    8

UberScout

Please Don't Be Mad At Me 02/09/1996
V.I.P Member
I love sleeping in, and unfortunately I don't get to do that too much often anymore since I got a job at the Carolina Ale House. Allow me to explain how I tend to relieve stress and try to get some sleep in the process.

I'm a 90's kid, and one of the most recognizable characters I remember LOVING to see on anime I used to watch back then was a Pokemon called Jigglypuff, a small, pink, cat-like balloon Pokemon with huge eyes and a squeaky voice. Its most notable ability is singing a serenade to send other living things to sleep, which according to its Pokedex entry, is its main method of defense.

In one Pokemon episode, the group is traveling through a forest when a Jigglypuff pops out of nowhere onto a tree stump. Misty, the female of the group, finds it adorable and wants to capture it, sending out one of her own Pokemon to weaken it (this is the main method of capturing Pokemon in both the game and anime). After a short series of events, Misty manages to get Jigglypuff to sing. It starts singing, and after the song finishes, everyone is asleep.

Later on, a YouTube search revealed to me that the same song she sings was recorded from the show! I saved it as an MP3 to my PSP and used it to fall asleep ever since.

Other than that, I use other methods of stress relief/falling asleep, albeit sleeping sort of ties in with relieving stress. I've found many open-ended video games such as WATCH_DOGs for the PS4 to be highly satisfying when it comes to my burning flame and I'm so pissed that I want to see blood spill out. So, I just jump on WATCH_DOGs, grab a 416 machine gun and just let the sparks fly. Other times, I meditate, if the environment is stable enough and I'm not interrupted. If I'm not too angry, I just watch some cat vines on YouTube, or something Jigglypuff-esque. (I'm a huge Jiggly fan.)

Lucky that I have TWO weighted blankets (swag) so throw that all together and I'm floatin' on clouds. Speaking of which I'm getting pretty sleepy just thinking about all this, it's 4:56 AM here and I should go to bed anyway.

So how do you guys unwind? Is there a certain system that you follow or a routine, or do you just simply put in some earbuds and *THUD CRASH BANG SHATTER ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz*
 
I never had sleep problems until a few years ago. I had an unhealthy lifestyle and nothing effected it. But since two years ago when my mental health seriously declined along with my ability to sleep I had to rethink all of that and clean myself up.

Nowadays I avoid activities that stimulate me too much, for example if I want to work on building a story for table top RPGs I do that earlier on in the day so I can get the creative mode out of my system with other things after I've finished that. Otherwise I'm thinking of what I can do when trying to go to sleep - and whilst that is one of the times you can the most creative it, doesn't help if you have problems trying to sleep.

I try my best to go to sleep at the same time each night, about 10:30. That helps. I can then sleep until 8:30 and only have to wake up a few times in the night.

I try not to drink too much (as in any sort of drink, not alcohol "drink") as to avoid the need to go to the toilet in the middle of the night because my body somehow think that being 26 years old is only a stones throw away from my eightieth birthday.

I could do move and probably should like reading a book for thirty minutes or so something more to calm down my thoughts.
 
Sleeping in. Interesting concept. o_O

When I wake up- (which could be at any time) I'm like a hard drive booting up. :eek:
 
Things I did to turn my sleep from 2-4 hours a night to 8-10 hours of good sleep:

  • Sleep before midnight is especially valuable, so I set a firm bedtime of 10 pm and stuck to it.
  • Used a sleep mask.
  • Wore blue-blocker (amber-lensed) sunglasses as soon as the sun went down.
  • Took pregnenolone (for vital sleep hormone production) and niacin (inflammation ruins sleep, why some people use aspirin or other NSAIDS as a sleep aid.)
  • Unplugged the wifi when I went to bed.
  • Got a weighted blanket.
  • Used my Brainwaves app set on Deep Sleep.
 
Rocking chair, Epsom salt baths, my first experimental weighted blanket(I'll be making another), antihistamines, dark room, fans or other white noise, chocolate, sometimes hot pudding or macaroni and cheese.
 
I have overcome horrible life-long insomnia(now my sleep is only poor;) , and have taught behavioral sleep management to people as well).

1.
I have the Philips Hue lights in my place and turn my lights to a "night" setting that I programmed- which are all orange and red hues(blue light will hit your retina and actually possibly make sleep quality/quantity worse for many people--especially SPD people). I find it makes me calm and relaxes me.
2.
I use f.lux app(it is free) on my computer. It allows you to set your own sleep cycle and the computer will automatically reduce the blue-light emitted from your computer screen at night before your bedtime. It allows you to surf your computer later into the night.
3.
The iphone has a night-shift setting on the phone to turn off the blue light as well.
4.
Blackout shades-if you need them.
5.
Find your ideal blanket/sheet feel and weight! I even wake up if my sheets/blankets get bunched up:(
6.
Find your ideal sleep temperature.
7.
I live on the top floor of my apartment because any foot step above my head startles me and instantly wakes me up.
8.
It may be especially important to have a very regular calming routine that you don't deviate from an hour before bedtime. This may be more important for people with Autism/SPD issues.
9.
Keep the same bedtime, and wake time. Sleep research shows that "sleeping in" does not actually make up for lost sleep & makes many people more at risk for insomnia. Again, this may be extra important for people with Autism/SPD issues.
10.
Remember, only sleep and sex in bed(If sex is not stressful).
Do NOT watch TV, text, or surf the web in bed(this is a big rule in insomnia management).
11.
If you are wide awake, DO NOT stress out in bed for more than 15 minutes. In insomnia management, they recommend to get out of bed and read or do something boring/relaxing and then when you begin to feel sleepy, go back to bed(and repeat as necessary).
12.
Do not snack late at night. There is exciting circadian rhythm research by Dr Panda from the Salk Institute, showing that basically eating late at night makes your body/brain/internal sleep clock think it is day-time. Dr Rhonda Patrick on Found My Fitness had a great interview with him on this. I actually now eat dinner very early every day and totally stopped my late-night snaking(which I loved so much), and my sleep has significantly improved.
13!!!
Try not to get too pissed off & stressed when you are wide awake in the wee hours(like I did for many years). It's gonna happen for many of us. IIWII(it is what it is). It can take months to overcome bad insomnia. Try to be patient.


There is a lot of individual variability in this area--especially for people with Autism/SPD issues. Experiment and find out what works for YOU.

PS there is a lot more but I am already down a Rabbit Hole!!!
PS there are alot of other great posts here. Thanks everyone!
 
Melatonin has done wonders for my kids. I use it anytime I have time for a full night's sleep. If you try it take it about 30 minutes before you want to go to bed. It should kick in at just the right time.
 
I sleep with my eyes open (Nocturnal Lagopthalmos) so sleeping has always been a problem. I really wish one of my many eye doctors had discovered this before I was in my late thirties!! If you have severely dry eyes, this may be a cause of it. When I try to sleep without assistance, it's nearly impossible, I would have to be close to collapsing. I shut my eyes, but as soon as I fall asleep, my eyes pop open and it startles me awake! Now I use an eye mask called Tranquil Eyes to block out all light and to keep my eyes moist. (The tiny light on a smoke detector could keep me awake without my mask!) To fall asleep, I use ZZZquil, (or Advil PM, if I have pain) and to stay asleep I take Amitriptyline. I can finally sleep for six to eight hours a night!
 
I sleep with my eyes open (Nocturnal Lagopthalmos) so sleeping has always been a problem. I really wish one of my many eye doctors had discovered this before I was in my late thirties!! If you have severely dry eyes, this may be a cause of it. When I try to sleep without assistance, it's nearly impossible, I would have to be close to collapsing. I shut my eyes, but as soon as I fall asleep, my eyes pop open and it startles me awake! Now I use an eye mask called Tranquil Eyes to block out all light and to keep my eyes moist. (The tiny light on a smoke detector could keep me awake without my mask!) To fall asleep, I use ZZZquil, (or Advil PM, if I have pain) and to stay asleep I take Amitriptyline. I can finally sleep for six to eight hours a night!
OMG!! So sorry to hear that. I remember when my insomnia was at its worst. It was like I lost a chunk of my life that I can never get back. It is hard for other people to even understand the degree to which it effects one's life. I'm glad to hear that your sleep is now improved. I like to say that my own sleep is only bad--but I'll take what I can get. I hope your sleep continues to improve!
PS a little aluminum foil under masking tape works great for covering up all those tiny lights.
 
OMG!! So sorry to hear that. I remember when my insomnia was at its worst. It was like I lost a chunk of my life that I can never get back. It is hard for other people to even understand the degree to which it effects one's life. I'm glad to hear that your sleep is now improved. I like to say that my own sleep is only bad--but I'll take what I can get. I hope your sleep continues to improve!
PS a little aluminum foil under masking tape works great for covering up all those tiny lights.

Thanks! Yes, my sleep quality is much better now!
 
I try listening to Jigglypuff's song over and over again and it. Just. Won't. Work. Aggravating >< @%$# #^$# @#^% @$#&
 
I'm three nights using the Brainwaves, I last for 10 minutes on Deep Sleep and then I'm out. Last night I set it for 4 hours, woke up at the end and then reset it for another 2 hours. Works for me.

Thanks for the reference @WereBear
 
I'm three nights using the Brainwaves, I last for 10 minutes on Deep Sleep and then I'm out. Last night I set it for 4 hours, woke up at the end and then reset it for another 2 hours. Works for me.

Thanks for the reference @WereBear

Thrilled it helped!
 

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