Ways to help you get sleepy & stay asleep

For starters—before experimenting with supplementing—make sure you get a nice dose of direct sunlight first thing in the morning (e.g. 10 min) and see how that affects things.

The available dosage for melatonin is all over the map. The people I know and trust recommend less than 1mg. This is 30% of a mg.

https://amzn.to/3IuaCBy

(there are mixtures like "Dreamwater" that also include 5-HTP and GABA, or OLLY Gummies with L Theanine, chamomile, & lemon Balm) but products like this tend to use >1mg of Melatonin, so I recommend DIY)

Update: I spent ages not being able to sleep through the night (but for whatever reason not taking more melatonin when I’d wake up, so I’d just lie there for hours) and then read about the possibility of the drop in that initial melatonin boost triggering you to wake up. So I now take 300mcg of melatonin in a 6hr time release tablet and it seems to have solved the problem.

I take a melatonin tablet with a small fizzy potion of powdered 🌿Magnesium (+ Vitamin C + Calcium) before I start getting ready for bed (I wouldn’t be surprised if the ritual helps).

I discovered these when trying to find some sort of cover to make the light from my kindle warmer (the new kindles have this built in, fyi). It's a pretty good general solution and they really seem to make me feel calmer/more relaxed. When I have to take them off to e.g. wash my face before bed, I feel like a pouty toddler. (people also reference this and flux when talking about reducing eye-strain from computer work)

https://amzn.to/32eEH7O

There's a useful app for automatically shifting the color spectrum of your computer screen to be warmer during the evening hours:

https://justgetflux.com/

Update: the new mac OS has something like this built in called “Night Shift”

In the accessibility menu in iOS, you can use a triple tap of the home button (or triple tap of the side button) to "reduce the white point" to make your phone darker than it goes by default with the brightness gauge in the control center.

See details here: 🖥️Tech Tips - ♿️ Explore the “Accessibility” menus to e.g. make your screen (even) darker at night

See 💡Programmable lighting for more info on using lights to reinforce bedtime and wakeup time. But to start right away: 🤔Advice: drape a shirt over your lamp in the evening

Circadian rhythms are important; if you live with someone else, try to agree on a sleep schedule and hold one another accountable by e.g. turning off computers at the same time every night and helping them to be up in the morning by having a set breakfast date.

"Downtime" + do-not-disturb + App Limits — if this isn't effective, consider storing your phone and laptop in a room other than your bedroom. There’s also a product called “Brick” that I’ve heard good things about (for people who need more help disconnecting).

Soaking (🛀Hot Tubs or just your feet)

🤔Advice: use a hairdryer under the covers to warm up

Drinking hot water or herbal tea 🫖 

Lavender has the most evidence, but the ritual/training effect is probably also relevant. Some people spray it directly on their pillow, but you could also put a handkerchief to the side and spray that instead.

See ◼️Blackout blinds 🕶️Eye mask for more on avoiding light hitting your eyelids during your designated sleep time.

My sister lives in Europe and has adopted their penchant for airing out the bedroom right before bed, regardless of how cold it is outside. It’s nice to snuggle under the covers when it’s chilly, and fresh air also seems good. If you use a space heater to keep your room temp constant overnight, I wouldn’t set it higher than 69F.

For jotting down "reminder" or "list" type thoughts that will be handled only by knowing that you won't forget them

On the iPhone, you can use "Downtime" to cut off access to all apps except for a few whitelisted exceptions, e.g. "Notes"

e.g. Thinking of gifts or other nice things you could do for friends and family, or thinking of the things you've discovered that might improve other people's lives 🙃

There’s a balance between being distracting enough to supersede unhelpful/busy/worrying thoughts and being mellow enough that your mind is fine drifting off instead of staying awake to pay attention.

I also listen at ~85% speed at bedtime.

See also: 🗃️Useful Services - Libby for digital library books

So that you won't wake up to pee and then have trouble falling back asleep. (If you’re a dude, consider using a pee bottle to minimize necessary alertness.)

If you do feel the urge to go, experiment with not. It may seem counterintuitive because you might think it's better to empty your bladder to be able to sleep through the night without further interruption, but I personally have found that my digestive system essentially hibernates during the night/when I'm sleeping and there's almost a "breaking the seal" phenomenon where if I pee once during the night, I'm more likely to pee more than once. (Though it's also the case that if I spend a long period of time awake in the night, I'm much more likely to need to pee — where I'm assuming my digestive system is essentially also "awake." So it could be that my data is being affected by that first wakeup affecting how deeply and quickly I get back to sleep).

If you’re worried about holding it too long: I recently read that you should be spending about 20 seconds per pee (obviously that can’t really be a proper “should,” but I never had any point of reference before, so seems good to add).

Warm soft light on the way to the bathroom and in the bathroom, a pathway without the need to walk barefoot on cold tile or hardwood floors, even a sweater for your toilet seat can help keep your body properly relaxed and sleepy. It’s also worth thinking about bathroom placement 🤔Advice: minimize navigation between bedroom and bathroom

(my current favorite nightlight for general use is so great that I keep a spare in my toiletry bag for travel: it’s small enough to leave the other outlet available, it’s backlit in a lovely warm amber with almost no blue light, you can set how bright you prefer it, and it has three modes: you can set it to come on anytime it’s dark (e.g. around a corner in the bathroom), only when it’s dark and it detects motion (e.g. hallway), or off (e.g. if it’s only necessary for guests). Two areas for improvement: 1. the 60 second motion detection setting is perfect for navigating a hallway, but doesn’t always stay on long enough to prevent someone needing to wave around while on the toilet and 2. the unit itself is glossy and has the logo embossed on it, so isn’t particularly attractive in the daylight)

This is maybe the weirdest and least rational of the bunch, but when I was in a really really tough spot and basically couldn’t sleep, a very dear friend sent me a link to an 8hr track of “sleep music” that’s supposed to play at a frequency that supports deep sleep. I have no idea whether there’s anything to it, but maybe having a weird supportive thing recommended by a loved one is magical all by itself 🤷‍♀️ 

So I’m sending this to you and I hope that it helps you when you need it 🤗