Hi, not wanting to complicate things but i have been wondering if Sofi would find it useful if we could report the approximate time we get off to sleep as well as our duration and broken vs solid sleep?
We are at different stages in our lives on here and that means different opportunites to grab some sleep if and when we can. For example, i often can’t get to sleep until 5 or 6am, sometimes 7am, which is not healthy and very frustrating being awake most of the night, but i am effectively retired so if i am able to sleep for a few hours after nodding off, i dont have to set an alarm every day and only rarely have to be up early. If i was still in full time work or bringing up a family those demands would mean i would frequently only get 1 or 2 hours a night and that is the amount i would be reporting. This was often the case in the past, when i was working.
So i am lucky now in that i can sleep in during the mornings (when not subjected to the DIY drilling by my neighbours in the wall right behind my head! or the bin men once a week under my window). However, its not ideal to be effectively on New York time here in UK for decades!
According to Sofi analysis my reporting of 5 or 6 hours (until late morning) must look quite good, but there is an old saying that every hour of sleep before midnight is worth 2 after.
I suppose that has something to do with natural rhythms and melatonin production. I would give a lot to sleep during the night and would no doubt feel more refreshed. I am hoping that some of the herbs Sofi are trying might make a difference in the time getting to sleep but would the analysis pick up on that and would that extra little bit of info about time getting to sleep be helpful?
I posted the above in part because i have been thinking back on my sofi experience so far … I missed the original S1 having joined last February so my first experience was with Passiflora around September time i think, followed by the opportunity to try Valerian after that.
Although i have always been a night owl, in my recollections of S2 i feel that the Passiflora definitely helped me relax and drop off to sleep faster and earlier than before. Although tempted to try some other sleep aid during my months of journalling pre sofi stick, i resisted so as not to confound the data.
Then i tried the Valerian, which i know has worked for many but i think I must have a different brain chemistry from those pioneers who found it helpful. I am becoming convinced that the Valerian perks me up! I am using it now and as usual I am wide awake, brain buzzing!. I find it hard to drop off in spite of no tv and reading more novels to help with sleep.
So i reckon that Passiflora worked much better for me but i wonder if that would be evident in the Sofi analysis.
I have reported this in the extended journal bit that we can add to while using the pods but i cant help wondering if a number (i.e. time getting to sleep) could be incorporated into the analysis to give a truer picture of the effect of the sprays on our relaxation at night.
So now what to do for the next few hours?!
Valerian Smalerian! Pah!
A good book perhaps. Sleep well all
What a good question and welcomed discussion point @drmudlark. Albeit, I am sorry to hear that you are stuck on New York time! I can image that is really frustrating.
I couldn’t agree more that actual bedtimes would be a valuable thing for sofi to measure and reflect back. While we currently don’t have a way to log metrics changes in sleep environment, or time of falling asleep, we are working on being compatible with Apple and Android Health apps/trackers so that any changes at all (even including temperature changes, time of year - and even how full the moon is) can be one of the many factors sofi takes into account with her analysis.
I believe with one of our future app designs, there will also be a build-in “bedtime” feature that I have seen a brief but gorgeous preview of. I have reached out to the talented @josif to see if he can tell us any more about it!
(P.S. brilliant to hear that passiflora worked well for you! We will definitely be bringing back trials of passiflora in the future, as it is such a valuable plant for nudging us back towards that restful sleep we could all very much use)!
Hi ‘drmudlark’,
I have just read your last two posts and I am exactly the same. Like you, I am retired and therefore can sleep in longer than if I was still working but I would much rather be getting off to sleep earlier. Also, like you, I found the Passiflora helped me drop off quicker. I didn’t realise how much it had helped until I went onto valerian and I feel as if I am back to square one. I have been sent another set of valerian, which I am persevering with, but it doesn’t seem to be helping. I am really hoping the new ashwagandha will have more effect when it becomes available.
Hi Milli (@Milli47) looks like its just you and i who don’t feel any relaxing effect with Valerian. Maybe it only relaxes younger brains!
I too am on more Valerian but becoming increasingly convinced that it either has no effect or makes me feel more awake than taking nothing.
Yes, roll on S3 Indian ginseng / Winter cherry. It specific name - somnifera (Latin - meaning ‘sleep inducing’) bodes well for relaxation and sleep
Oh it would be so good to sleep regularly during the night.
I’d also love a feature/question about how long it’s taken me to get to sleep,
For example as a natural night owl I could spend 6+ hours in bed trying to sleep with no joy, but once I finally fall asleep, sometimes it’s solid and over all really good quality meaning the questions asked by sofi makes it looks like I’ve had a late night but a good night’s sleep. When I have to be awake for work if I’m on an early shift I might only get 3-4 hours & on days I’m not working I sleep the whole morning away so my journal will look like I’ve had 8+hours of solid, quality sleep with no indication of the hours of desparately trying to sleep!
I also found little to no benefit from valarian at first, some nights It definitely made me feel a bit wired, I even stopped usesing it for a while but started again determined to push through! Now I think it might be helping a little, it definitely isn’t making things worse and I feel like my general day to day mood has improved!
No its not just you 2. I am almost identical in issues to drmudlark. And it is a known fact I believe that for some people valerian can have the opposite effect and cause insomnia. I am one of those I think. As is my friend. Although I find that the sofi version does not bother me as much as the oral herbal pills used to. But the sofi valerian spray did seem to make my sleep worse on most days.
I found both passiflora and valerian worked for me. Like you I joined too late for the first shipments of valerian. I have had to try off the shelf supplements of valerian since then, just to enable me to sleep. One or two do work. Wish I could afford a subscription but it isn’t going to happen for me. Not sure I will be included in any future programmes, as a result of this but I keep logging and reading the posts. Who knows, I might be lucky .
or the bin men once a week under my window). However, its not ideal to be effectively on New York time here in UK for decades!
