I have been experimented with background noise generators for sleeping at night.
My sleep pattern, which for years have never been fantastic, is something of a bit of a frustration to me now. I am not sure if it is due to the change in location (it gets darker much earlier here) or a general sense of being away from my family, but I end up sleeping in one of three camps:
1) Sleeping through from within 5 minutes of hitting my pillow to when my alarm goes off;
2) Waking up in the night, missing my window of falling back to sleep (it is two minutes or so, much like Seneca's), and then being up for at least two hours before I can go back to sleep;
3) Fitful waking up and falling back asleep that is restful.
Add to this that no matter which of these options I get on the "Nightly Wheel of Sleep", I seldom feel rested - even if hit Option 1 above and get 7 hours a night.
In general, the room I sleep in has blackout curtains with minimal light (that was a problem when I first moved in). There is a local light rail that runs nearby from 0400 to 0000, so that is a factor (for which I had been sleeping with earplugs).
One of the things that The Ravishing Mrs. TB has taken to over the last year is a background noise generator to help her sleep - in her case, due to tinnitus. I was complaining about the sleep I was getting last week, so she suggested I try it. And, as it turns out, the I-phone conveniently has an entire app dedicated to background noise generation with many selections.
How is working? On the bright side, I can report that I have not had the experience of waking up and then staying awake for two hours as apparently the noise is enough to fool my mind into going back to sleep, and I can scarcely (that I recall) hear the early morning train. On the less bright side, I do not know that I feel any more rested per se, and in some cases my mind feels like it has been active all night. I will also note my dreams have been extremely vivid (and rather odd to boot).
My options for "noise" are Balanced Noise, Bright Noise, Dark Noise, Ocean, Rain, Stream, Night, and Fire. I am trying a different one every night to see if there is any difference in my ability to sleep or how rested I feel when I wake up (so far, none). And my intention is to try this out, then try another night with just the earplugs and see if there is a noticeable difference.
Do I think it will really help the issue? I am not sure; the fact that I still do not feel truly rested is a bit bothersome (but maybe I have not let the experiment run enough). The next step would be to try to expand my bedtime by another hour to see if a set aside full eight hours helps at all (which would be a drag in some ways to my mind, as I really would like to use that time doing something else).
But some progress is better than no progress at all. And besides, maybe this teaches me more about sleep that I really need to know.
Got into the habit of taking a hot shower and reading for ten minutes before hitting the sack with not watching tv or using the laptop before bedtime. Blackout shades are in the bedroom, they help.
ReplyDeleteNylon12, I am blessed (at least now) with no issues falling asleep; for me staying asleep seems to be the issue. I have become painfully aware that this is something that I need to prioritize in the coming year.
DeleteI have many sleep problems also. I believe I mentioned no TV after 6 PM and that has helped some.
ReplyDeleteAfter my husband passed (which is not unlike you without Mrs. TB) I used to listen to very faint music when sleeping, but have found that I sleep... harder, if I do.
I try not to eat after 7 PM. That part is hard, and my stomach is not always happy, but between no TV and not eating, I think that is responsible for little to no dreaming.
I have also found that I can actually sleep with some small bit of light in the bedroom.
And of course some prayer.
I still mostly sleep only 3 or 4 hours before waking. Then I take my thyroid medicine and try to go back to sleep. Sometimes I succeed, and those 2 or 3 hours are usually very good sleep.
I hope you find something that works for you, TB.
You all be safe and God bless.
Linda - Thank you so much for sharing the things you try.
DeleteI am really not sure why I keep waking up - that seems to be the biggest issue. I do know that when I am very exhausted from training or a workout, I can sleep through the night. I also try and monitor my fluid intake from 6 PM onward, which helps a little bit (the other main reason I seem to wake up).
I've just figured my circadian rhythm isn't set up for a 24 hour day. Interesting about the noise generator. I used to use a box fan.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, that is an interesting point. I am not sure what mine would be set up for either. I honestly believed I could exist with less sleep, but that simply does not seem possible now. 7 to 8 hours - real, restful sleep - seems to be what I need. Which is either 1) A new development; or 2) has always been true and I have fail to pay attention.
DeleteI have to be fairly rigorous about my sleep habits or I will struggle to get a good night's sleep. Like Nylon12, I like to read for awhile and then have it completely dark in the room. Growing up on a farm with grain bin dryer fans running loudly for several months of the year, I have always had a fan going in my room for the white noise. It is great until I sleep somewhere like in a motel room where I can't adjust the fan to be always on and then my sleep is pretty terrible in the silence.
ReplyDeleteMaybe try a small portable travel fan?
DeleteEd, The Ravishing Mrs. TB pointed out that it was an app on our phone (I-Phone, but I imagine Android has the same one).
DeleteI will say one thing I have noticed is that my ears seem a bit overwhelmed when I first wake up using a sound generator. Not sure if that is the volume or just the fact that they are not used to that much activity at night. The experiment continues.