Getting a good nights sleep

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I can fall asleep within 5 mins of going to bed, but i sleep so lightly and wake up at the slightest sound which leaves me knackered everyday.
I dont know whats worse.

me - can't get to sleep and the slightest sounds wake me.
also I can only sleep if it is dark outside (but am better since cycling in scandinavia for 3months with no darkness) and the moment it is starting to get light - I am awake.

 

[westofsouth]

Plenty of self-help books out there - here's one of them...
Tired But Wired: How to Overcome Your Sleep Problems: The Essential Toolkit [Kindle Edition]

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Methods are going to vary of course but I found(after too many years trying for various reasons I won't go into) that a set routine seemed to put everything into place. I found that I prefer being up earlier,in work earlier and thus home earlier in the afternoon,which also came to being in bed earlier just seemed to settle in my head. I'm lucky that I my employer is more than happy to accomodate my 5.30 am ish starts. The bright side is 1.30pm finishes so the afternoon and daylight is mine to spend on the bike.

I've been in bed for the past hour or so

 

[Nigel-YZ1]

Camomile tea is a good knockout potion

 

[Fab Foodie]

Does anyone have any suggestions to help?

50mg Trazodone Hydrochloride. Working wonders for me ... a better life through chemistry ....

Also, 'Sailing by', followed by the Shipping Forcast. I have an mp3 player with radio and fall asleep listening to R4 on it. In hotels I find R4 on my laptop and leave it on quietly all night. Works wonders ... if I do wake -up at least I learn something. It's not as good as the Trazodone, but waking-up is easier.

Failing that ... masturbation and a cup of sweet tea.

 

[Blue Hills]

If that last suggestion doesn't work, this may be of use.

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/sleepytime tea

I virtually always fallasleep within minutes of my head hitting the pillow, but I like it - for some reason it often seems to give me particularly interesting dreams.

In looking for that image though, I came across this:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/336160-the-side-effects-of-sleepytime-tea/#comments

which contains the alarming news that it may cause drowsiness! Some folks are never happy/need something to worry about.

 

[stu9000]

If I'm wired from work,,, too much coffee n stress and no time to exercise, I get that tense restless thing too. My never fail cure is to listen to a radio 4 podcast . I actually love some of their stuff. Science, history, politics. But a half hour program, ear bud in, on the smart phone, it just resets me. I'm out like a light.

 

[slowmotion]

Have you tried an industrial intake of ethanol?

 

[buggi]

suck your thumb! even if i'm sitting at my desk and i put my thumb in my mouth, i immediately feel sleepy. i think this only works if you sucked your thumb if you were little though. did you have any "comforters" when you were little? my sister had a sniffy blanket. in the end, my mum cut it up into small hanky size pieces and she still has one or two of them in case she can't drop off.

otherwise, if you don't want to look like your regressing back to your childhood, i can fully recommend a nice relaxing bath before you go to bed. and quit the coffee. have a nice relaxing milky drink like horlics before you go to bed. and the other tip of writing stuff down is good.

or try to stay awake. that's sure to send you to sleep. you can never stay awake when your trying to!

my friend has an app on her phone which has sleepy sounds on it, like waves and rain. she says that works for her

 

[david k]

Just recently I have been struggling to get a good nights sleep. I have a lot going on at work which has does not help as I struggle to relax as my mind is working overtime thinking about all that is going on.

I do find getting out on my bike helps me relax and take my mind off things however, I do feel that feeling tired has been effecting my performance

Last night was the best nights sleep I have had for a while, which I put down to the simple fact that I have just got that tired my body needed to recharge itself.

Does anyone have any suggestions to help?

yeh ive been there - tried many things - alcohol - herbal sleeping tablets etc all with varying short term results

best thing as you say is good exercise, tires yor body and you shut down, warm/hot bath an hour before bed time, a small note pad at the side of your bed, if you cannot get an idea/work out of your mind write it down, you can relax then as you know its there when you wake, download some sleep music from itunes, watch some survival programmes, all these help for some reason.

work was my issue, not stressed as such but busy and lots to think about, you need to stop your mind from working when your not at work - could you start earlier? this help, you know you can drop eveything and start 1 hour before everyone else, helps you relax in the evening because you know you can deal with any probs tomorrow instead of today - also makes you more tired in the evenings

so you could

5-7pm - ride hard and fast
7.15pm - eat a recovery (not too heavy) meal
7.30-8.30pm - cold refresh shower then warm bath
9.00pm-10.00pm - watch some survival programmes
10.00pm - bed with sleepy music and note pad
6pm - wake 1 hour earlier than normal

 

[david k]

Failing that ... masturbation and a cup of sweet tea.

i dont like sweet tea

 

[Fab Foodie]

i dont like sweet tea

Some people are beyond help ....