Saving My Sleep

[Alex D]

Okay, so I've never really gotten as much sleep as I should. In fat I'd go as far as to say the amount of sleep I get is abysmal. So as from Tuesday I'll be following a new schedule and posting how it's going in here.


7:00 AM Wake

10:00PM Sleep

Simple. It'll cut into my social life a bit, but if I follow it right I might well get rid of these bloody panda eyes.

Exciting, no?

[megabenman]

How much did you get before? (I get 7 hours)

[The Blue Meanie]

I cannot emphasise ENOUGH how good what you are doing is, D. I'm much the same, I don't usually get much sleep, but I find that when I DO, my recall increases drastically, and I even get the occaisional LD. When I CAN, I try to keep to a similar schedule as the one you posted: Roughly, 10pm sleep, 6am wake, or sometimes 7pm.

Good luck with your schedule! I'm gonna try to get my own schedule back where it should be too... Sleep schedule is a much underrated way of getting decent recall, in my opinion.

[PenguinLord13]

I cannot emphasise ENOUGH how good what you are doing is, D. I'm much the same, I don't usually get much sleep, but I find that when I DO, my recall increases drastically, and I even get the occaisional LD. When I CAN, I try to keep to a similar schedule as the one you posted: Roughly, 10pm sleep, 6am wake, or sometimes 7pm.

Good luck with your schedule! I'm gonna try to get my own schedule back where it should be too... Sleep schedule is a much underrated way of getting decent recall, in my opinion.
[/b]

Yeah, having a sleep schedule is great, and since I have school I am forced to get up at 6:15, so I go to bed at 21:00, and try to get 8.5 to 9 hours of sleep. It does wonders for recall, and makes LDing actually possible. Soon I intend on returning to keeping a dream journal, and I am just trying to get my sleep schedule really good, so I actually fall asleep quicker (which I'm starting to do thanks to a sleep schedule). Anyways though, how much sleep did you get before starting a sleep schedule, D.

[Alex D]

At the moment my sleep is very sporadic. I sometimes get six hours, sometimes four. For some reason I just don't feel tired. So forcing myself to go to bed early might just do wonders.

Oh look, I have half an hour left.

[Casualtie]

i usually only get about six hours of sleep (sleep at 12 - wake at 6). i think tonight i'm going to go to sleep at 10 P.M. like you said. hopefully it will have a positive effect on my dream recall.

[LucidDreamGod]

I too made a sleep schedule, I think it was the exact same as yours I can't force myself to go to sleep, no matter how hard I try I keep falling asleep at the same time eachnight. like last night I got a cold shower so it drained all my energy I felt very tired I got in bed at 9:30 and fell asleep at 11:30, yes it was aloung time, I kind of half fell asleep too during that time so its kind of like I'm dozing off but I don't actualy do. thats what makes it seem alittle fast. I think its chemicals in teenagers body's its what makes your body go to sleep. oh make sure you get a cold shower it actualy makes you tired.

[The Blue Meanie]

make sure you get a cold shower it actualy makes you tired.
[/b]
NO! Do the exact reverse. Have a hot shower. A cold shower will not make you awake not tired, but a hot shower will. Because you are heated up by the hot shower, your body will have to do less work to keep warm, and so your body will.. well... turn down the amount of work it does. Trust me! Take a hot bath, and I guarantee you'll feel very sleepy afterwards.

[Leixor]

NO! Do the exact reverse. Have a hot shower. A cold shower will not make you awake not tired, but a hot shower will. Because you are heated up by the hot shower, your body will have to do less work to keep warm, and so your body will.. well... turn down the amount of work it does. Trust me! Take a hot bath, and I guarantee you'll feel very sleepy afterwards.
[/b]

Supposedly either works depending on the person. For me a hot shower or bath works best, it's relaxing and there is something about laying in a clean soft bed when you are all clean and just freshly dried off that really puts me to sleep. However, I read someone around here saying a cold shower (or cold temperature in general) causes the body core temperature to drop and thus the body must expend energy to raise it, thus making you tired. Sounds logical to me but that's not my preferred method, or even one I've tried heh. Time wise I usually get 8-10 hours of sleep per night. I can go on 7.5 but any less and I am really tired and irritable. If I don't set an alarm I'll sleep 10-12 hours hehe.

[LucidDreamGod]

Well I tried a warm shower last night, but yes a cold shower does work, but I did fall asleep quite quickly last night got to bed at 9:30 meditated for 30 minutes and must have fell asleep at 15 minutes past 10.
Although I'll admit cold has been linked with alertness, can't remember were I read that I'm not sure if its even true.

[Howie]

It seems that certain people do not require as much sleep as others. But the inconsistency and sporadic sleep seems overwhelmingly dysfunctional to our proper cognitive and physical functioning. I say proper because some people also adapt quite well to sleep deprivation. However that does not mean they are functioning at their full potential. In addition healthrisk can increase.
As we get older we require less sleep too.
Well......happy sleeping! :sleeping:

[Alex D]

Day one - Boom, we have dream recall and my first lucid in ages. Low level, but still it's awesome. Though, maybe it wasn''t my first, I've only been remembering the odd dream.

Anyway - Dreams recalled = 3
Mood upon waking = Kill me new please
Energy though the day = more than usual.

[Alex D]

Well this isn't going well. Start again Monday?

I think so.

[LucidDreamGod]

Me either I slept in till like 10am and fell asleep at 12am, I think I might beable to drag myself through the day with only 6 hours of sleep so I can wake up at 6 instead of 6:30 that way I'll be more tired tomorrow.

[PenguinLord13]

NO! Do the exact reverse. Have a hot shower. A cold shower will not make you awake not tired, but a hot shower will. Because you are heated up by the hot shower, your body will have to do less work to keep warm, and so your body will.. well... turn down the amount of work it does. Trust me! Take a hot bath, and I guarantee you'll feel very sleepy afterwards.
[/b]

I totally agree with that. Even though I feel more awake after a hot shower often, a nice extra hot shower will make sure I get to sleep in under 30 mins almost always.

[Peregrinus]

Alex,
After staying up late and having a sporadic sleep schedule for so long, how were you actually able to go to sleep at 10pm? Since classes started again, I've tried going to bed earlier in order to get more sleep, but all that results is several hours of lying awake on my back staring at the ceiling in frustrated boredom. I've tried hot showers, relaxing beforehand, chamomile tea, and nothing really works. On weekdays I'm lucky if I manage 6-7 hrs of sleep after falling asleep between midnight and 1am and snapping awake at 7am to make the stuporred shuffle over to the half pot of coffee I chug every morning as a sleep-substitute. (On weekdays, if I allow myself to awaken naturally, it's usually after ~9 hours, so I'm running on a daily sleep deficit of 2-3 hours between what I get and what my body apparently needs :( )

So, any tips on falling asleep earlier would be much appreciated.

[LucidDreamGod]

A good Idea is to remain active throughout the day I usualy run around for a bit, and it helps. oh dang I forgot to day, better go do that now.

[Leixor]

This from Wikipedia:

The half-life of caffeine — the time required for the body to eliminate one-half of the total amount of caffeine consumed at a given time — varies widely among individuals according to such factors as age, liver function, pregnancy, some concurrent medications, and the level of enzymes in the liver needed for caffeine metabolism. In healthy adults, caffeine's half-life is about 3-4 hours. In women taking oral contraceptives this is increased to around 13 hours, and in pregnant women the half-life is 18-20 hours. Caffeine can accumulate in individuals with severe liver disease when its half-life can increase to 96 hours. In infants and young children, the half-life may be longer than in adults; half-life in a newborn baby may be as long as 30 hours. Other factors such as smoking can shorten caffeine's half-life.

If you assume the "healthy" half life of 3-4 hours then it's no wonder so many people have sleeping difficulties. I know some people who literally drink a pot of coffee in the morning. 16 hours later when they go to bed they've still got roughly the equivalent a cup of coffee in their system and that's assuming they didn't drink any more caffeinated beverages throughout the day. If you drink a Mountain Dew with your dinner at 5pm and go to bed at midnight, you've still got the equivalent of 1/4 a Mountain Dew in you when you go to sleep. 1/4 of a Dew may not seem like a lot but most people don't just drink one. A lot of people drink many soft drinks throughout the day. Just one of the many ways life in todays society is rough on our sleeping habits. I used to drink 5+ caffeinated beverages a day. Now I try to limit it to no more than a couple. It's helped with my sleep, though I still have difficulties. Anyway just thought I'd bring that up.

[PenguinLord13]

If you assume the "healthy" half life of 3-4 hours then it's no wonder so many people have sleeping difficulties. I know some people who literally drink a pot of coffee in the morning. 16 hours later when they go to bed they've still got roughly the equivalent a cup of coffee in their system and that's assuming they didn't drink any more caffeinated beverages throughout the day. If you drink a Mountain Dew with your dinner at 5pm and go to bed at midnight, you've still got the equivalent of 1/4 a Mountain Dew in you when you go to sleep. 1/4 of a Dew may not seem like a lot but most people don't just drink one. A lot of people drink many soft drinks throughout the day. Just one of the many ways life in todays society is rough on our sleeping habits. I used to drink 5+ caffeinated beverages a day. Now I try to limit it to no more than a couple. It's helped with my sleep, though I still have difficulties. Anyway just thought I'd bring that up.
[/b]

Woah, holy crap that's scary. I don't consume much caffeine as I'm growing, and I heard it stunts growth, but for people who drink a lot of, that explains a lot.

[Peregrinus]

Woah, holy crap that's scary. I don't consume much caffeine as I'm growing, and I heard it stunts growth, but for people who drink a lot of, that explains a lot.
[/b]
Well, I'm 5'11" and yesterday consumed 8 caffeinated beverages while feeling for the better part of the afternoon that I could have curled up on the cold tiles and fallen asleep w/i 10 minutes. So, the effects really do depend on the individual. I can drink no caffeine or consume an entire pot of coffee and I'll still probably fall asleep at 1:00am regardless. :whyme:

[Leixor]

Well, I'm 5'11" and yesterday consumed 8 caffeinated beverages while feeling for the better part of the afternoon that I could have curled up on the cold tiles and fallen asleep w/i 10 minutes. So, the effects really do depend on the individual. I can drink no caffeine or consume an entire pot of coffee and I'll still probably fall asleep at 1:00am regardless. :whyme:
[/b]

It's not so much that it makes you unable to sleep (though it certainly can) it's that it affects the QUALITY of the sleep you do get. Unless you are drinking caffeine right up until the moment you go to bed then you are not likely to be so wired you can't sleep from drinking it throughout the day. While the amount of caffeine left in your body at the end of the day may not be enough that you notice it, if it's there it is likely to have an effect on your sleep quality and such.

[Alex D]

Okay, this is something I really need to start doing again, but this time with more realistic goals. From now on it's awake at 7AM, but sleep any time before 11PM. That should do it.

I think I might say the time I went to bed and woke up in my dream journal from now on, see if I notice any changes.

[seaoharrwhy]

When I first read the thread topic it made me think of PurePwnage when Jeremey said that he doesn't need to sleep for a week cause he banked 20 sumtin hours of sleep over the weekend. lol. PurePwnage is funny as shit.

"You can take a noob to water but you can't make a noob drink"

[Lucidbulbs]

Yeah, more sleep, especially deep sleep will help out people. I leanred that when I had to cut out some of my social life to get more sleep [in my school program, being in it means pulling either lots of all nighters or quitting your social life, so I try not to do either]. My dream recall went from it's average of one lucid and/or vivid dream a night to three lucid and/vivid dreams a night [depending on if I took melatonin to sleep]. Good luck on the new sleep pattern.

Caffeine affects everyone differently [It increases my activity in my dream life and I get more interesting lucids if I drink before bed, doesn't give me trouble falling asleep at all] but it doesn't affect you dream life so if you're not like me and you want a good dream life, don't drink expresso before bed.

[Cutterkk]

Man, I need to get into a habit as well. I've been trying, but I usually go to sleep around 11-12 PM on the weekend, and 10:00 or 10:30 on weekdays. The thing is, as soon as sunlight leaks into my room, I have difficulty going back to sleep.

I'll try to follow a sleep schedule, because I know it'll help.