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What Should I Do For The Last Hour Of My Day In Order To Sleep Better?

What should I do for the last hour of my day in order to sleep better? What activities are ok to do before I go to bed? Reading and talking prevent me from sleeping more than seven hours in a night. If I do, I lose about one hour of sleep or more.


Kevin: This is a good question, and one worth thinking about for each of us. Here's my quick response.

What not to do: Activities involving bright light, if your circadian rhythm is sensitive to shifting. The light from computers and TVs can push forward your circadian rhythm so that on future nights your body won't think that it is night time until an hour or two after you are used to.

One potential thing to do: Eat a small protein/nutrient rich snack. This will help ensure that your body wakes up to a stable blood sugar level so you feel refreshed and ready to go sooner in the morning. Ideas of what to eat? Tim Ferriss eats celery with almond butter, and a new product called Night Food is recently available that has the nutrients and even a bit of melatonin thrown in.

Again, this is a great question. Any visitors with some thoughts? What is your ideal preparatory routine one hour before bed to bring about the best sleep?

Warmly,
Kevin


(Please keep in mind that I am a student of sleep science and not a medical doctor. Please take any thoughts I give with my background in mind.)

Comments for What Should I Do For The Last Hour Of My Day In Order To Sleep Better?

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Aug 14, 2011
 Winding Down
by: Sean Folkson - NightFood

Thanks for the mention, Kevin...

when you mention that talking and reading cause you to "lose sleep", do you mean that doing those activities makes it more difficult to fall asleep? Or do you mean that you get caught up in those activities and, as a result, go to bed later?

If the latter, just make sure to put a limit on your time reading or talking.

those are 2 activities that are perfect for before bed, as long as you're not reading from a bright electronic device, or reading (or talking) about things that might make you worry or stress out.

Sean Folkson - Founder, NightFood, Inc.
http://www.NightFood.com
Aug 14, 2013
 What are you reading? NEW
by: Turq

I really wouldn't recommend writing about your thoughts and worries, Melly. It may work for you but it definitely doesn't work for me, and I've read a few articles saying to avoid thinking about worries before bed.

Anyways, O.P., what kind of books are you reading? What are you talking about and with whom? It might not be the actual activity of reading and talking that is keeping you awake so much as the content. I.e., if you are reading Stephen King before bed, that is probably not such a good idea. Try reading something boring that you don't like and don't want to keep reading. Like a text book on some dry subject that is really wordy and difficult.
Feb 16, 2014
 help. please , scared to sleep NEW
by: steviee

My experience happened about a month or so ago . I was asleep or what i thought i was asleep and i look at my daughter whos 7 months now and her mouth was wide open and her eyes were black.than they went away for about a week or so and the next dream me my boyfriend and daughter fell asleep and in my dream we were sleeping the exact same way but i look up at my boyfriend and i saw like a mans face i tried moving anf screaming for my boyfriend but i couldnt move and nothing came out. The nex dream happened a week later at my boyfriends grandparents, mr my daughter and boyfriend fell asleep on his bed and in my dream we werw laying in the same position and i felt something and my boyfriend said the wall by his tv looked weird and i woke up. Last night i had a dream again and this time i got the chills and saw like a man in the corner of the room this time i attacked him and thought i woke up and grabbed my daughter and fell asleep again and me and my boyfriend were kissing but than i woke up and woke my boyfriend up and i was crying than we started kissing like exactly what happened in my dream. I dont kbow wgat it means or why it keeps happening. Please help , commeny my name if your replying to me please

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