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Do you have a tip for better sleep?

2 points by sinuhe69 ↗ HN
I have a serious problem with my cardiac rhythms. I can only sleep properly if I go to bed around 2 AM. Needless to say, I'm very tired in the morning, and it seriously hampers my life.

I've tried to change that rhythm, but without much success. If I'm severely sleep-deprived, I'll feel tired early on and I can sleep early. But then I tend to wake up, sometimes around 3-4 AM, and feel exhausted the whole next day. Only when I go to bed at 2 AM and allow myself to sleep until 9-10 AM do I feel relaxed and clearheaded.

I've tried supplements (100 mg magnesium) and diets (oatmeal, banana before bed, etc.) without much success.

Most recently, I learned a tip from a blog that walking for a long session (45-60 minutes) immediately after waking up could help change the rhythm. Do you have any other personal tip? I believe it will help a lot of other people on HN as well. Thanks!

10 comments

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NoZebra120vClip
What type of magnesium? Different magnesium formulations have different benefits. Magnesium glycinate has been recommended to me for sleep.
sinuhe69
I took magnesium lactate. 120 mg ginkgo biloba extract and extract from the root of polyscias fruticosa help clear my head in the morning.

I'll see if I can obtain magnesium glycinate.

svennek
For me, the magic trick was getting up the same time every day even in the weekends (almost no exceptions). After a few weeks of zombie-state I got naturally tired at an appropriate time - and now, I go to bed when I feel sufficiently tired.

Also, I try to keep mentally far below full tilt the last 60-90 minutes before my expected bedtime.

sinuhe69
Yeah, I get this one will do, but sleep-deprivation can drive me crazy. After a few days with irregular sleep times, I often get heart palpitations, skip beats with an uneasy feeling in the chest and sometimes panic attack.
Quinzel
I’m assuming you mean circadian rhythm, rather than cardiac rhythm.

Yes going for a walk in the morning can help you get your circadian rhythm back on track. One of the reasons that is a good suggestion is that getting exposure to the sunlight early in the day signals to your brain to make melatonin which you need to sleep.

brudgers
I sleep better when I am not worrying.

So I stopped worrying about getting enough sleep.

I can't say it makes me more productive.

I know not worrying about sleep makes me happier.

YMMV.

Good luck.

rtem179
One easy tip that I’ve found to be useful is keeping your phone in a separate room when I am ready to go to bed. Not only does the light from our phones affect our circadian rhythm, but I also personally find that I end up using it since it’s right next to me. If you do leave it in another room and you wake up via alarm, you get the added benefit of being less likely to snooze your alarm because you have to physically get out of bed to snooze it (and getting out of bed is half the battle of waking up).