Weird Sleeping Patterns

It’s funny that I’m working on a project to help with sleeplessness when every night I fight not to sleep. So I find myself adopting weird sleep “rituals”.

It always begins with the couch … I treat myself to a COVID update on BBC News … and inevitably by the time they get to the numbers I feel the urge not to be conscious … and then I wake up on the couch (some point near midnight) feeling rather refreshed - thinking I really shouldn’t sleep on the couch … start looking back at may laptop and in my inbox … looking at schedule tomorrow … drafting some emails … now I am fully awake so I decide to move from couch to bed … doing emails … by about 02.30 or so I think … this is really not healthy. I should really sleep! But I fancy something to switch myself off … will I randomly pick something on Amazon or Netflix … hmmm … then I start watching something and I’m out usually by 03.00 and sleep till about 07.30 - 4.5 hrs - I think of that as three sleep cycles (somewhere long ago I read apparently that 90 minutes is a sleep cycle - probably not substantiated by much evidence)! and so I repeat …

Last night I was unusually tired (and sick, though I don’t think it’s COVID) and went to bed rather than the couch and managed 6 hours of sleep!! Hallelujah … but so much of how I sleep is the patterns I let myself drift into … there’s no doubt much more at play here than the humble plant! But at least by starting to keep track of it I’m becoming more conscious of it … maybe there is some advantage in this journalling.

Perhaps better sleep tonight.

Your fellow pioneer!

KM xx

ps Here’s a snapshot of my.sofi.health/me page … this should be complete in a week or so and we can give more access to it shortly. But hoping this will help as part of that increased self-awareness!

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Oh… what a surprising and yet not-so-surprising account of your sleep pattern.
In my experience, busy executives typically prioritise well; until it comes to prioritising sleep. Many believe it’s a waste and many believe they don’t need much of it.
There have been countless (independent) studies showing that prolonged lack of sleep can have (and often does) have an impact on overall health.
On that note, I do hope that journaling will help to put “pressure” on you to get a few more hours per night.
Sleep well (and lots)
L

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I think my memory is shot!!

OMGoodness with that amount of tech light late on no wonder your sleep is shot! Blue light levels need to drop so that your body can produce melatonin… it’s because our bodies are built to respond to light levels. We are linked to the planet in so many ways :slight_smile: At least put a blue light filter on all your devices. Oh and switch off the news :wink:

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Fair point … just fancy an espresso to chill out now :slight_smile:

:woman_facepalming: If you want the caffeine lecture you can have it! :grin:

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Everybody is different. I go to bed around 11pm, do puzzle books, read, listen to music or audible, gets to around 1am, I decide I’ll try to sleep. 2.30am awake, drink of water, maybe a puzzle, spend next 30 to 40 mins staring at the walll. Drift off, awake just after 4am, get up, coffee, chill in living room 6.30am body goes, your tired now. Nod for an hour before house wakes up. Best sleep I get is when hubby comes home from working away, he is so knackered, he snores loudly so I sleep on sofa first night, I always get a 3 hour solid sleep. Afyer that back to usual.

I’ve tried hot bath, shower, golden milk, herbal teas, no tech from 6pm, exercise blah blah, no napping. Doc gave antihistamines that make you drowsy, I bounced off the roof. Melatonin patches, had 4 on at once foot patches messy. 12 years of between 2 to 4 hours ish sleep at night. Same sleep pattern. Give up and resigned to it. I want nap, I’m having a nap, I need it.

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Exactly why we been thinking about sofi! I doubt there will ever be a magic bullet for everyone. But if we can begin to nudge this in a gentle way to somewhere mildly more palatable with plants. Can’t wait to see what we can do here together! Thank you for being a Pioneer and let’s make sure we get you on one of our Valerian boxes when they come out. In the meantime, happy napping! KM

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I think the caffeine has stopped working!

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I fall asleep on the couch after dinner, in the middle of watching a show, movie, or playing on my phone. Then some hours later I wake up. I’m usually too hot at that point to just go to bed so I do stuff like dishes or laundry before heading to brush my teeth before bed. Sometimes it takes me an hour to cool down enough so I’m back on my phone watching IG Reels as well.

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Thank you for sharing your story @triplethreat3. I can hear your frustration!

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Sleeping has to be my nightmare 🤦I know my body needs it to restore for the next day, but I can’t get enough sleep. I live a active life horses sheep cows dogs always on my feet mucking out riding or chasing something. In the afternoon I get tired but have no time to rest. So by 8pm I feel like I could sleep for days. I stay up till about 9 as by than I can’t keep my eyes open. So I go to bed and the moment I get in my body and mind go hey we’re not ready for sleep. Than my mind goes and does all the checks about the animals. Have I done this that and the other.
Takes about 1.5 h to switch off enough to go to sleep, but mostly only till 12 or 1am than I wake up sometime totally refreshed and ready for a new day. Sometime tired.the rest off the night I spent in bed resting drifting off waking up but no longer than 30 minutes at the time. Than 5:30 am my alarm goes for a new day. It’s been like it for as long as I can remember.

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The hardest thing to do is letting go of the day. In that aspect meditation has helped me somewhat. Noting and labelling thoughts can help give them a place, rather than make them go round and round. Although I’m sure you’ve tried that already!

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Very jealous of your connection with all the four legged friends!! I always feel super recharged by the time I get up on the couch (around midnight) and feel like - I don’t want to waste this energy - and try to have a little creative run of something cause I like the idea that everyone else is sleeping and I get a chance to do something … but then, before you know it, it’s 3.00! Happy Thursday Sonja and thx so much for being a part of our sofi! KM

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