Help me with my 30 days trial on sleep

[Chrisi]

Hi, I'm at day 5 of my 30 days trial to get up at 6:30am. I want to use my more productive time in the morning and midday and try to reduce my need of sleep which is 9.5 hours average.

First thing is that I cut back sleep to 7.5 hours. The first 2 days and the day before the trial I slept 6.5 hours per night and took a nap of ~1 hour in the day. I felt okay and enjoyed the naps. The last 3 days I slept 7.5 hours at night and therefor didn't take a nap at day. Now I feel lower on energy and productivity went down. Which sure is normal, but to make sure I don't suffer for nothing, I want to ask you, if cutting back 2 hours of sleep at once is such a good idea? Can I manage to get it 'click' when I stick to it? I didn't really decided to sleep only 7.5 hours, I just adapted the sleeping habit of my girlfriend who began working this week (and also suffers from sleep deprivation). But I still wonder why taking a nap was so much better or is it just because that it were the first days? I think I have to try it again later…

Second thing is that I can't fall asleep very good. In fact it's bound to a very weird scheme. Since I was 15 or 16, I only fall asleep on the hour and only if I went to bed at least half an hour before. So going to bed at 22:35pm means falling asleep around 00:00! Steves trick to go to bed only if you fall asleep within 5 minutes would keep me awake for a few days When I stay up late or when I didn't go to bed early enough (or moved to much or whatever) I can even feel how more and more tired I get from X:30 to X:59 and then at Y:00 I'm totally awake again. I'm sure it's hard to tell the reason (especially since a lot happened back than), but if anybody can help, please answer!

[Ralph]

You've got a cool inner clock in there Chrisi

Your old patterns have a certain momentum and that's for certain. I suggest to you the 'blunt' approach - go through the sleep deprivation willingly. I don't think it can be avoided anyways. It will go away as soon as you overcome the inertia.

If you are anxious about the lower productivity, you haven't fully realized that the long-term productivity, over the course of months and years will drastically increase through your decision, even though you will get little done in the next week.


Hold on and keep going! Do something fun to make the sleep deprivation more bearable. I always switch from writing to PC games when I mess with my diet or sleep. This way it requires almost no self-discipline. I just WANT to keep fasting or implementing new sleep pattern, just for the benefit of having an excuse for playing PC games Fooled my mind, didn't I?


Cheers
Ralph

[Claus Levin]

Hi! Sleep and the amount you need, is closely related to what you eat. The harder it is for the body to digest what you eat, the more it has to lie down and rest. When you eat a lot of animal fat and protein you are going to need more sleep. Try, for a period of time, to eat a lot of vegetables and fruit instead.

Another tip: Physical exercise makes you sleep better and deeper, so you'll get more bang for the buck when you sleep. You'll rest more effectively and need less sleep. Try jogging and hour each day and see what that does to your sleep patter.

Another: Don't watch TV before you go to bed. Read instead. This will make it easier to fall asleep.

Another: A negative, frustrated or anxious mind will create a lot of fearfull dreams. Be conscious about selecting a positive outlook on your life and for a period of time; don't watch the news, don't watch negative and violent movies and stay away from negative people. Make lists of what you are greatfull for in your life, what you look forward to, what your goals are and how great it's going to be to achieve them. This will make improve your sleep patterns as well.

Hope this was helpfull to you

Claus

[Chrisi]

Thanks for your replies! I already feel better than the last 3 days. Of course I did good research before the trial, so I just began fasting meat and try to eat more fruits and also test some vegan food. I will consider exercising as well. I'm definitely not lacking of positive thinking, but don't sitting in front of the computer until I go to bed is a war I'm still fighting

Originally Posted by Ralph

Hold on and keep going! Do something fun to make the sleep deprivation more bearable. I always switch from writing to PC games when I mess with my diet or sleep. This way it requires almost no self-discipline. I just WANT to keep fasting or implementing new sleep pattern, just for the benefit of having an excuse for playing PC games Fooled my mind, didn't I?

Now that's a great tip!

I know I need to push myself. I just wanted to make sure, I'm not pushing to hard. But so far it seems, I'm on the right path! Thank you both.