Apr 15, 2023Liked by Ellen Britt, PA, Ed.D., Denise Wakeman
Good article! I track my sleep with my Oura ring. It's really pretty accurate when it shows that I was restless during the night, and then I don't feel alert and ready to go when I get up. I also have sleep apnea, so I use a CPAP machine, which makes a big difference. And don't discount really good sheets and room temperature! And - when I can't get my mind to shut down, I use Wholetones music or self-hypnosis.
Apr 14, 2023Liked by Ellen Britt, PA, Ed.D., Denise Wakeman
Great information and tips I'll be using... and I have to tell you the photo of that big cat snoozing is great inspiration for a nap right now! Will share.
Apr 16, 2023Liked by Ellen Britt, PA, Ed.D., Denise Wakeman
I read a lot of articles about sleep, and you've added some tips here that I've never heard of. Room temperature, for me, is really important -- I need it to be cool. I also find that if there's any light coming in the window, even a full moon, I sleep better with my eye mask.
Apr 12, 2023Liked by Ellen Britt, PA, Ed.D., Denise Wakeman
Professor Walker was recently on BBC Radio 4 and said (more diplomatically than this, but I’m accurately summarising the message!), that they are all pretty inaccurate. The kind of equipment that gives a decent summary of your sleep types and patterns is too complex to fit into a small device like that.
Apr 11, 2023Liked by Ellen Britt, PA, Ed.D., Denise Wakeman
I was recommended (by a sleep expert within the UK's National Health Service) to use CBTi - cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, which involves sleep restriction. It involves spending a week logging (a) when you go to bed, (b) when you get out of bed, (c) when you believe that you fell asleep, (d) when you woke up in the morning and (e) any periods when you were awake in the night for more than ten minutes. You aggregate the "in bed" timings (i.e. items (a) and (b) above), and then the "asleep" timings (so (c), (d) and (e) above. You're trying to work out how much time you are, in aggregate, asleep. So if I'm in bed for eight hours, but only sleeping for four hours then...you go to bed at the same time EVERY night - 11pm for me - and you're only allowed to stay in bed for four hours. So you get up at 3am, even though you might not have slept for those four hours. Then...get out in the morning daylight as you suggest. You keep at this restricted number of hours till you're sleeping for the full (in this example) four hours. You're then allowed to extend your time in bed by fifteen minutes per night, till you're sleeping for that full time reliably, then extend by another fifteen minutes and so on. The purpose is to reset your Circadian rhythym.
The other point I'd make is that there's lots of research linking less than seven hours of decent quality sleep per night with a significantly increased risk of Alzheimer's. I'd highly recommend "Why We Sleep" by Matthew Walker, an Englishman and Professor at the University of California, Berkeley for the detailed science.
Good article! I track my sleep with my Oura ring. It's really pretty accurate when it shows that I was restless during the night, and then I don't feel alert and ready to go when I get up. I also have sleep apnea, so I use a CPAP machine, which makes a big difference. And don't discount really good sheets and room temperature! And - when I can't get my mind to shut down, I use Wholetones music or self-hypnosis.
Great information and tips I'll be using... and I have to tell you the photo of that big cat snoozing is great inspiration for a nap right now! Will share.
I read a lot of articles about sleep, and you've added some tips here that I've never heard of. Room temperature, for me, is really important -- I need it to be cool. I also find that if there's any light coming in the window, even a full moon, I sleep better with my eye mask.
Professor Walker was recently on BBC Radio 4 and said (more diplomatically than this, but I’m accurately summarising the message!), that they are all pretty inaccurate. The kind of equipment that gives a decent summary of your sleep types and patterns is too complex to fit into a small device like that.
I was recommended (by a sleep expert within the UK's National Health Service) to use CBTi - cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, which involves sleep restriction. It involves spending a week logging (a) when you go to bed, (b) when you get out of bed, (c) when you believe that you fell asleep, (d) when you woke up in the morning and (e) any periods when you were awake in the night for more than ten minutes. You aggregate the "in bed" timings (i.e. items (a) and (b) above), and then the "asleep" timings (so (c), (d) and (e) above. You're trying to work out how much time you are, in aggregate, asleep. So if I'm in bed for eight hours, but only sleeping for four hours then...you go to bed at the same time EVERY night - 11pm for me - and you're only allowed to stay in bed for four hours. So you get up at 3am, even though you might not have slept for those four hours. Then...get out in the morning daylight as you suggest. You keep at this restricted number of hours till you're sleeping for the full (in this example) four hours. You're then allowed to extend your time in bed by fifteen minutes per night, till you're sleeping for that full time reliably, then extend by another fifteen minutes and so on. The purpose is to reset your Circadian rhythym.
The other point I'd make is that there's lots of research linking less than seven hours of decent quality sleep per night with a significantly increased risk of Alzheimer's. I'd highly recommend "Why We Sleep" by Matthew Walker, an Englishman and Professor at the University of California, Berkeley for the detailed science.
Such great tips! Getting more sun seems so simple, yet so important!