What things 100% improved your sleep quality from unrefreshing sleep?

[Adf]

For people who had / tend to have unrefreshing sleep (but mostly no problem with getting to sleep and staying asleep)

Not just stuff you take / tried because you saw it recommended and maybe it does something, but what's something you do or take that noticeably makes you feel more refreshed / less tired on wakeup most of the time?

No caffeine after 10-11am helps quite a lot. No caffeine at all helps immensely, night and day difference.
This may differ for each individual, as people have differing speeds of caffeine metabolism, but here's why...

- Caffeine blocks receptors that use Adenosine.
- Adenosine is the chemical your brain begins to produce, upon waking, when there's enough of it at the end of the day it makes you feel tired.
- When you sleep, your body then uses up the adenosine
- Adenosine is one of the primary chemicals that assists with putting you into deep and restful sleep.
- Adenosine receptors are blocked, not the production of it. So it builds up when there's still caffeine in your system
- With a 5hr half life on average, there will still be trace amounts of caffeine in your system still blocking some adenosine from being used.
- Your adrenalin levels come down a few hours after the caffeine was consumed, so you don't feel the energy hit, but your adenosine receptors are still being blocked to an extent.
- This blocks your body from entering the most optimal deep sleep.
- Also means you may wake up with unused adenosine left over from the previous day, this is why (as a caffeine consumer), you feel groggy even after 8 hours sleep, and dependant on your morning coffee to block the remaining adenosine and feel 'awake'.
- This can easily create a negative feedback loop where you slowly retain more and more adenosine from each previous day, as you ingest more and more caffeine to stave off the effects of blocking the adenosine during sleep.

Caffeine is in a lot of stuff, not just coffee. Most soda has caffeine for example, and many people enjoy their soda at night time. If you ever go cold turkey don't be surprised when you sleep 12+ hours and sleep through alarms, the first night of no caffeine consumption. That's your body finally able to utilise all the adenosine that has gradually built up over time, and often times there's a lot of it.

 

[Jennifer]

Not just stuff you take / tried because you saw it recommended and maybe it does something, but what's something you do or take that noticeably makes you feel more refreshed / less tired on wakeup most of the time?

The main thing that guarantees I wake in the morning refreshed, and not due to adrenaline, is a diet of mostly raw, easy to digest, non-irritating foods that is abundant in calories and all 3 macros.

 

[aniciete]

Quitting coffee and not eating 2-3 hours before bed

 

[-Luke-]

Nothing really. My sleep quality fluctuates between bad, even worse, mediocre and just fine.

But the things that come closest are:
- Mouth taping
- Stretching and/or foam rolling in the evening
- going to bed at approximately the same time every day
- hard mattress/surface
- adequate physical activity during the day
- not worrying when sleep is bad
- no experimentation with any supplements that supposedly should help sleep quality

 

[GodsHound]

Best things for me have been: Moving somewhere peaceful, exposure to natural dawn/dusk light, only simple carbs before bed and feng shui principles for bed placement.

 

[Aad]

Drinking at least 3 l water/day. Make sure to replenish it with enough electrolytes.

And not eating anything past 7 pm. So 19:00 hours.

 

[TheSir]

feng shui principles for bed placement.

Could you elaborate on these?

 

[GodsHound]

Could you elaborate on these?

View: https://youtu.be/_cbZsbrs1PU


It’s all obvious/instinctive stuff but I was sleeping for a long time in a bad arrangement and it actually made a difference to my ability to fall asleep quickly.

 

[Rafe]

adequate physical activity during the day

After my sympathetic & parasympathetic energy stabilized for me living & eating this way—it took maybe 3 yrs or more—I started to be able to do more physically than I ever could in my 20s. Huge thing. No soreness, no special recovery. Or, not very much.

Then I could get better rest from things I liked like hiking, hauling, pulling, & digging in my garden, stacking wood. Really anything that stimulated the parasympathetic system gave me a good night’s sleep, talking, singing, in really hot climates I even took cool baths/showers. That doesn’t sound very typically peaty, but in a very hot climate, it is.

The person above who said they like swimming, that sounds so great. I want to go do that now.

 

[Dave Clark]

Gelatin or glycine dissolved in water.

I started using glycine regularly at bedtime to see the results. I had used it acutely in the past if I felt a bit insomnia, but I wanted to see what it would do if I used it every night. The main thing I noticed is that I can sleep through the night better without waking up. I don't know if I would use the term 'refreshed', but having no night time wake ups at 2 or 3 in the AM is a good thing. I also use taurine Mg, theanine, and some orange juice, etc. along with the glycine {I use one half teaspoon of powder straight into my mouth and washed down....why not it tastes good, sweet!}. I guess I will stick with this, until I end up rein something that says I shouldn't. I am not one of the people {at least it doesn't feel like it} that reacts negatively to glycine.

 

[David PS]

From Ray Peat email exchanges # aspirin

I think a little aspirin, regularly if not daily, is good prevention [CANCER], if you are sure to get enough vitamin K, to prevent excess bleeding. The amount depends on how you react to it, and can change as your metabolism adjusts. Taking some at bedtime can be very helpful for sleeping; sometimes I take about 500 mg at night, but other times just a little. I think the crystals are more stable, but I keep the big container (a multi-year supply) in the freezer, and keep out enough for a couple of months. The powdered forms developed an acetic acid smell with time, the crystals don't.

 

[Adf]

Oh also some form of breathwork like Wim Hoff method in bed right before sleep. Flood the body with oxygen and CO2 and sleep happily.

 

[cs3000]

From Ray Peat email exchanges # aspirin

maybe getting to sleep idk but by the looks of it ray's uninformed about this one recommending for sleep, as aspirin reduces key deep slow wave sleep in a couple human studies. Unless they're no good. I saw a 3rd one where SWS actually went up a little but awakening % was doubled Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs affect normal sleep patterns in humans - PubMed

maybe it could have opposite effects on the lower end or something

 

[AlaskaJono]

Ciproheptadine works for me.... but I did forget that we bought a little 25$ Schumann Wave Generator, 7.83 Hz, and my wife swears by it. I usually sleep well, and cipro does help me to not wake up and pee at 3 or 4 am. It is slightly anti-diuretic. N. Tesla said that the human body is operating between 6-8Hz, and this is a main low frequency(Electromagnetic Standing Waves) between Earth and the ionosphere. Ebay it's cheap, just get a small 5VDC or 12V DC adapter. I built a little wooden box, and we put it by the bed, within a metre.

 

[David PS]

maybe getting to sleep idk but by the looks of it ray's uninformed about this one recommending for sleep, as aspirin reduces key deep slow wave sleep in a couple human studies. Unless they're no good. I saw a 3rd one where SWS actually went up a little but awakening % was doubled Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs affect normal sleep patterns in humans - PubMed

maybe it could have opposite effects on the lower end or something

Thank you. I have stopped thinking experimenting with aspirin.

 

[Androsclerosis]

Drinking at least 3 l water/day. Make sure to replenish it with enough electrolytes.

And not eating anything past 7 pm. So 19:00 hours.

This works for you because you have sleep apnea to some degree. Water decreases acidity in the stomach and helps with mucus.

 

[ursidae]

I think my poor sleep has to do with my jaws. Will report back after surgery

 

[sunny]

Ciproheptadine works for me.... but I did forget that we bought a little 25$ Schumann Wave Generator, 7.83 Hz, and my wife swears by it. I usually sleep well, and cipro does help me to not wake up and pee at 3 or 4 am. It is slightly anti-diuretic. N. Tesla said that the human body is operating between 6-8Hz, and this is a main low frequency(Electromagnetic Standing Waves) between Earth and the ionosphere. Ebay it's cheap, just get a small 5VDC or 12V DC adapter. I built a little wooden box, and we put it by the bed, within a metre.

Would you post a pic?

 

[Birdie]

Forgot to mention that taking some T3/T4 at bedtime seems to help my sleep. Since I'm using Armour thyroid right now, I take part (45mg) of my dose at bedtime. Ray had suggested using T3/T4 rather than T3 alone to help sleep because that way you get some of the storage form during the night. T4 being the storage form.

 

[AlaskaJono]

Would you post a pic?