The Guide on Optimizing Sleep? The Cheap (And Very Effective) Way!

why cant i sleep gorilla styleSleep is something that is fundamental to all of us and I have of course done a few experiments on the subject in the past few years. From tracking my sleep with a ZEO device or smartphone devices I’ve been able to get a good picture on how to improve sleep quality.

This article will start with things to avoid, and then tricks to help you sleep better which will include natural sleeping pills.

What you MUST avoid

1) Blue Light from electronic devices, destroys your bodies natural melatonin cycle

how to improve sleep quality by removing blue lightsIf you watch TV, work on a computer or simply have normal lights in your room, this is harming your sleep due to the spectrum of blue in the light which prevents your body to start fully going into “sleep mode” until everything is turned off (or you are so exhausted you pass out, with shitty sleep quality). Basically the sun emits blue light, so the lack of blue light entering our skin or eyes is a signal to our body to go sleep, and our body would start to produce a natural sleep hormone, melatonin, to regulate our sleep cycles. Blue light from electronic devices stops this release.

Solution: If you have a TV, buy “blue filtering screens” for your TV but ideally you should just move on to your computer and install f.lux which is a free application that you can manually or automatically at certain times make it remove the blue light from your screen (it will look a bit more orange). I do this ideally 1+ hour before going to bed. On your iPhone, you have no software solution (a blue blocking screen is always possible again) unless it is jailbroken, then you can install f.lux. Now that I have an android phone, I find the twilight app does a great job. This is probably one of the best ways to prevent insomnia naturally. In my case, since I work on the computer I have to also stop working and shut my mind off, by either reading fiction or watching a TV show on my laptop. Don’t forget to close the lights in the room also, unless you buy lights that do no emit the blue spectrum they will obviously also harm your sleep timing.

2) You want absolute darkness while sleeping.

Sleeping mask will help you get good sleepIf you are a night owl like me, you wake up many hours after the sun is in the sky. The sun rays passing from cracks in the curtains will harm your sleep quality (slowing/removing the release of melatonin) or simply constantly wake you up.

Solution: If your curtains do not completely block the light, make sure to always wear an eye mask and ear plugs. I have used many over the years and this one from amazon is by far the best, the elastic has behind seems very durable and its adjustable even if it did get loose, unlike all the other ones I bought at my local pharmacies. For ear plugs (if needed) its a personal preference, some I hate some I love… But most of them tend to get lost by leaving my ear during sleep… I haven’t found a perfect solution, but I definitely need them on the road as I never can guarantee if my hostel/hotel/apartment will be noisy or not.

Things to help you sleep

1) Taking melatonin supplements

Melatonin for sleepAs you read above, melatonin production being blocked is most likely the culprit for many people suffering from insomnia. An easy solution is to simply take it in supplement form. While side effects have not been established, most supplement companies put WAY too much of it. The body naturally produces very little melatonin (milligrams, mcg) while most melatonin for sale in stores will be of dosages around 3 milligrams (mg) to 5mg. While I took that dosage for a while, after breaking up my tablets into smaller pieces I found no difference in my ability to sleep easily, nowadays I just buy my melatonin supplements from life extension because they offer low doses and time release capsules which is very key, because you want a stable amount of melatonin comming in, not a big burst then nothing, ideally. You can find it on Amazon (in the US) in the 300mcg dosage or here on iHerb (Anywhere else in the world) and you can use my $10 off coupon IFI934.  If you don’t mind breaking them up, feel free to buy the 3mg variant and experimenting with lower doses. I take lower doses thinking that if melatonin has one side effect, it might be your body diminishing its own natural production, and since I take it regularly now I try to avoid the risk with low doses, since the benefits do not go up either way. An added benefit is for those trying to do lucid dreaming, melatonin has helped me a lot with lucid dreaming (taking control of your dreams, basically playing inception).

2) Solve any magnesium deficiencies!

magnesium supplements one of the ways to help you sleepAs I noted in my post on solving magnesium deficiency, most of us are deficient in this very important mineral for the sole reason that our public drinking water nowadays is completely filtered out of it. One benefit of supplementing with it is the muscle relaxation it induces (I get cramps if I do not supplement) which also helps you sleep very well. I take 400mg a night 1 hour before sleep, with water is fine, or the “special sleep tea” noted below. The only form of magnesium to avoid is magnesium oxide (around 10% of it is absorbed by the body, but sadly it is the one most common in stores), the other ones like citrate or malate (link to the one I use from amazon) (and many others) are all useful. Some people have bowel problems using citrate, but that is not me so I alternate between various forms.

3) Control your blood sugar levels before sleep.

A final tip that might help for those with trouble sleeping at night is to simply limit your consumption of food before going to bed and also experiment with drinking a tablespoon of honey, potentially mixed with 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in hot water, to stabilize your sugar levels. Honey comes in two forms, fructose and glucose. With glucose being digested less fast which nourishes your brain a few hours later. Another tip in the same type from Tim Ferris is to use almond butter on celery sticks. I have not had much improvements with either, but I am very careful of my diet (low sugar overall, so no spikes during the day)

 

Join the Conversation

11 Comments

  1. I had F.lux installed a while ago but that didn’t fix the problem completely. It was better, but it didn’t solve it, at least not for me. My fiancé loves f.lux because she found it very useful. I also tried an eye mask but it just isn’t for me.

    I hope I can find a way to beat my PC addiction and go to bed earlier and sleep better.

    1. Ya going to bed earlier can be a problem for me, especially with the late night working that gets me in the zone … I have to force myself at a certain time to go to bed and keep it up.

  2. I am so aware that blue light from electronic devices such as my PC are “helping” me stay awake more! I want to sleep earlier so I can wake up early but I also can’t let go of my PC at night. I will give f.lux a try, thanks!

  3. I’ve screwed up my sleep cycle by staying up browsing through Tumblr and youtube too many nights. I’ve found melatonin and valerian help get my sleep cycle back on track.

  4. Absolute darkness has never helped me sleep. I just become hyper aware of all the sounds I hear, and then get paranoid.

  5. Unfortunately, whilst F.lux has been useful for reducing my eyestrain, it hasn’t solved my issue with sleepless nights. But that is a lot to ask of free software! 🙂 I will try the sleep mask as you mentioned, and hopefully, I’ll begin to see an improvement!

    1. I would go with supplements like melatonin next then, it’s very safe (unlike the side effects with typical sleep drugs)

  6. I’ve never really had an issue with getting to sleep. Usually, by the time I’ve gone to bed I’m so exhausted that it’s a matter of minutes before I drift away. However, I am having some trouble with my laptop and iPad screens giving me eye strain. I’m going to try out f.lux and hope for the best.

    1. Ya f.lux does actually help a lot with eye strain, I think the blue spectrum light is a big part of it.

  7. I used to suffer quite badly from insomnia, but I found that having complete darkness (blinds and an eye mask) has worked wonders! Thanks for the advice.

Leave a comment

Leave a Reply to Sharon Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.