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Sleeping has a multitude of benefits. It helps your brain to consolidate stuff that it has been exposed to during the day. That’s why people wake up with creative ideas to tackle their problems. It is nature’s way of shutting yourself down from the outside world so that you emerge feeling recharged.
I’m aware of this, but don’t always follow through on my resolve to sleep lots and well. I attribute this to revenge procrastination. After a long day of working and parenting, I just want to scroll social media mindlessly before turning in for the night. 15-30 mins in a space that belongs to me only.
Of course, I usually regret this the next day. I get 6 hours of sleep, which makes me functional but not in my best form.
The simplest solution is to keep my phone in another room. But I use it as my alarm clock - and somehow don’t feel like reverting to the old-school alarm clock.
Yesterday I was a good boy and promptly focused on sleeping when it was time to put my two children to bed. I put the phone aside on a bean bag situated near our sleeping area. Super disciplined. I don’t know if I can be so disciplined every day though.
Are you disciplined about getting enough sleep?
this territory is moderated
I have some deep sleep issues.
My neighbors must think I’m crazy but I have two giant windows covered in black electrical tape. Every cm.
Light still manages to peak through so I got a blackout tent. It’s super pitch black in the tent.
Also wear a sleep mask and wrap leggings around my mask and forehead bc apparently, the forehead can sense light which wakes the body up?
Humidifier runs for 4 hours then shuts off automatically.
Magnesium and zink is super helpful.
I never had sleep problems as a kid, or in college. Don’t know what went wrong. I need to be super rigid about my sleep routine and preferences or I feel like crap all day.
Perhaps you could compare your situation to mine and see that all you need to do is sleep early in order to feel good. 🤷‍♂️
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Thank you for being vulnerable and sharing all that you need to do to sleep well.
I put away my phone last night. I should cherish the fact that I can drop dead anytime.
How long did it take for you to establish this system, with all bases covered?
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Didn’t feel vulnerable in sharing. I was happy to talk about.
This routine is a just a mildly entertaining quirk of mine that people sometimes get a kick out of.
Routine took years of small changes, experimentation and realizing what was and wasn’t effective.
I feel rested maybe around 70 percent of the time these days by limiting blue light at night, caffeine etc. The 30 percent crap days.
I do envy the old days when I could just sleep without much thought but I guess I tried to adapt.
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1011 sats \ 1 reply \ @grayruby 6 Feb
Generally get around 7 hours a night and don’t have any problems falling asleep. I do find as I get older I struggle much more when I don’t get a good nights sleep. When I was younger I could easily go 4 or 5 days in a row with 5 hours or less sleep. Now if I get 5 hours sleep I am a exhausted by 5pm.
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You took the words right out of my mouth.
So I work in a school. If I get really exhausted due to 5 hours of sleep, I will drop everything and go to the staff lounge and take a 15-min nap. I can’t work on anything even if my life depends on it haha
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955 sats \ 3 replies \ @OgFOMK 6 Feb
Thank you for reminding me to put my phone down!
I got stuff to do in the morning and it would be wise to do that in front of a real computer and not a finger fidget device.
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lol. If I’m tempted to use my phone late at night again, I will remember your “finger fidget phrase” to will me to stay strong haha
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108 sats \ 1 reply \ @OgFOMK 7 Feb
I takes a village idiot. Or maybe I messed that phrase up.
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You have great humour, I see
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My sleep habits are pretty great. I've always made time for sleep: in college I never pulled all-nighters and I don't wake up to an alarm clock, except on rare occasions.
Every so often I stay up too late and then get woken up early by the kid in the morning, but I'm pretty good about not doing that.
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This sounds the opposite of your username!
How do you resist the temptation of wanting to achieve more during a day? Squeezing one more task to be completed before you succumb to slumber?
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I suppose you could go either way with the username on this. It doesn't seem particularly disciplined to just go to sleep whenever you want and wake up whenever you want.
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Who cares about discipline in this case? It sounds like R E T I R E M E N T!
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I've definitely struggled with my sleep habits for many years.
I've always been a night owl. Midnight is my usual bedtime, sometimes 1 or 2am. I get up at 8am to get the kids off to school and start work at 9am. Working from home helps a lot. When everything goes well I feel great.
Technically if I count the hours I'm laying it bed you could say I get 8 hours sleep most nights. In reality, it's probably more like 5 or 6 hours once you count the time it takes to actually fall asleep. I feel pretty good most of the time but if something ruins the routine I end up crashing hard.
I've tried going to bed earlier, but I end up just laying there doing nothing. I know if I kept this up my body would probably get used to it eventually but so far I haven't found anything that works. It is what it is.
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But I think even though you aren’t exactly sleeping, the time you spend lying down in bed can be considered as time to unwind your body and mind
It’s great that you can work from home!
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220 sats \ 7 replies \ @Se7enZ 6 Feb
I recently did a meditation retreat where towards the end, you stay awake for over 48 hours without any supplements or stimulants. Granted, you are meditating for about 14 hours per day, but the teaching here is that tiredness is actually a temporary state experienced by the body-mind complex.
Following, I've taken the retreat schedule home with me and been getting six hours sleep, from 10pm to 4am. I wake up, do some meditation practice, walk the dog and then sit and read for an hour or two. While reading, I get really, really tired, but stay sitting upright and when I nod off to sleep, I immediately wake up because I've dropped my book. After some time of this, the experience of tiredness passes, and I go about my day with a normal state of energy. When tiredness arises, I acknowledge I'm feeling tired and continue doing my best to concentrate without taking a nap.
It's been a fascinating experiment. Meditation has a lot to teach regarding the transcendence of our limitations and belief.
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This was so interesting for me to read as well, thanks for the elaborated account. It is amazing how we can condition our bodies and minds to function on less sleep.
I wonder if there are any medical repercussions to getting less sleep though. It’s like sleeping little literally takes years off our lives - and 6 hours of sleep is barely cutting it.
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108 sats \ 5 replies \ @Se7enZ 6 Feb
There are stories and accounts of yogis who don't sleep, like, ever. If you understand the body and the mind to be related, or even the same thing, then such examples imply that such different states of living necessitate the transformation or purification of the mind as well.
What "purification" means or entails? Well, that's to be discovered on the journey...
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I’m getting more n more fascinated.
Erm do you need to binge sleep on weekends to compensate this sleep debt?
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108 sats \ 3 replies \ @Se7enZ 7 Feb
Nope. My experience so far is that both my mind and body are normalizing to it. I did the retreat about three weeks ago, and presently, I find the new "routine" easier and more natural to maintain. Haven't been changing things up or getting more sleep on the weekends, each day is pretty much the same schedule. In fact, I find I have more energy recently.
Have you tried meditating before? When I first started, I began with just 10 minutes each day and could easily notice the difference in my ability to cope with adverse scenarios like bad traffic. Less reactivity. Slowly I've grown the time commitment over the years and it's become a big priority for me these days. Definitely worth experimenting with, IMHO.
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No actually. Haha
Maybe I should. I feel that being a parent puts me in this alert mode all the time.
What’s the difference between meditation and mindfulness, though? And how should I start? Download a meditation app?
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108 sats \ 1 reply \ @Se7enZ 7 Feb
Yeah, I hear you -- it's tough to get started. I'm not a parent myself, but I understand from friends that it's an extra dimension of challenge to carve out time for yourself. However, if you can find the time, and it ends up making you less reactive, that's good for the kids, too :)
Your question is great, actually! Ideally, there is no difference between meditation and mindfulness, meaning that living and acting mindfully in the world is essentially staying in a state of meditation during daily life. This is the goal! But practically, if we say mindfulness is "acting with awareness" and meditation is "perceiving with awareness", for me they are sort of like two muscles that need to be developed and balanced between each other. So I guess I need to sit in order to remind my system to stay more present during the day, and the more I'm doing life with awareness, the deeper and more insightful the sitting meditation is.
In terms of getting started, downloading an app is a good place and finding a guided meditation that walks through concentrating on the breath. The retreat that I've been referencing is Northern Vipassana and they have a list of branches here, unfortunately none in the USA. Another very good Vipassana tradition is from S.N. Goenka and they have many locations all over the world. There is a mini introduction and guided practice here. The practices are slightly different, but both retreats are very approachable while delivering an authentic technique that sets solid foundations. All Vipassana retreats and courses are given for free, too.
Again, though, don't feel like you need to start with a 10-day retreat. Try the guided meditation or one you vibe with online, watch your breath and catch your mind running around for a few minutes every day :)
Hope this helps somewhat! Good luck to you!
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Thanks so much for your detailed reply!
Let me get back to you on whether I grasp the difference between acting with awareness and perceiving with awareness 1-2 months from now haha
!Remind me 1 month
139 sats \ 1 reply \ @kr 6 Feb
generally i do a good job, but i can definitely do better.
a few years ago i went a long stretch of many months without an alarm clock and woke up pretty reliably around 8 every day.
i definitely recommend leaving your phone in another room overnight, alarms are still audible from adjacent rooms but you get the benefit of no distractions or blue light at night.
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I was resistant to leaving my phone in another room, for fear that my slow reaction time would wake up my missus n kids. Guess what? My baby girl stirred n cried n woke me up at 4.45am just now.
I’m going to try your suggestion this Friday
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I sleep for only 1 to 2 hours,which makes me think I might be suffering from insomnia. Do you think it's insomnia?
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There are some rare individuals out there who can function on very little sleep. Unless you are one of them, I would assume that you may be suffering from some form of sleeping disorder?
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108 sats \ 3 replies \ @KLT 6 Feb
I am. Phone stays in the living room, read on the nice kindle e ink display for about 15 minutes. Re-reading Broken Money and Gradually then Suddenly and then I’m out cold. Other than my son kicking me in the ass while he sleeps, not too bad! lol
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I’m impressed by how you can read deep provocative books as the last thing you do before you sleep haha
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108 sats \ 1 reply \ @KLT 7 Feb
It leads to wonderful provocative dreams haha.
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Okay not gonna probe further in case of TMI haha
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129 sats \ 3 replies \ @Roll 6 Feb
During my day, there are a few tips that will help me to sleep better and sooner: -Have a walk, -Try to no drink coffee and if i drink coffee before 2pm, -Meditate, -Have a gap of 2 hours to 4 hours after the dinner before going to bed -when i wake up, i try to wake with a smile :)
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108 sats \ 0 replies \ @Se7enZ 6 Feb
meditation++
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Could you share with me your meditation routine? @Se7enZ wrote so much about it that I’m keen to give it a try haha
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Roll 8 Feb
Best Routine: it s your own routine, mine probably won t fit with yours. Moreover i m practising a technic that is mixing meditation and yoga.
Regarding my experience (more than 12 years ), i ve tried diferent technics (zen, bouddhist, mindfullness, breath, walk...) and all of them works perfectly at its time. It was part of my learning, testing etc...
Each person has its own path/resonance...., so you have to try diferent technics in order to know which one will fit more for you.
Now it s been nearly 3-4 year that i m practising another tehcnic, a mix between yoga and mediation. I ve learnt it by a Yogi called Sadhguru.
If you never pratice, the 1st technic to learn is to focus on the breath :
" you may simply focus on listening to your breathing for 5-10 minutes. To do this, relax your body, sit comfortably, and notice your breath. If you find yourself thinking of other things, simply redirect your attention back to your breath."
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I think it is not very important to sleep a lot (in normal circumstances, of course), it is more important to sleep well. Sleeping without phone and TV is a good start to a relaxed and deep sleeping. It is also useful, if the bedroom is soundproofed (based on some research, 30 minutes of sleeping in perfect silence it is enough...but you can "produce" perfect silence just teoretically).
My sleeping habit is to sleep 6 hours daily, and an other hour at afternoon (when it is possible...but I make efforts to be possible every day), and 8 hours at weekends (Friday+Saturday), without the 1 more hour at afternoon.
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Do you work from home? Wondering how it is possible for you to nap an hour haha
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I work from home just "part time"... when we need to plan some systems I work from home. When we install these systems I do fieldwork )idk if this expression is correct...) so I'm working outside. When I work from home, it is verz]y easy to realize a 60-70 minutes nap. When I'm outside, I sleep in the lunch break. At summer outdoors, at winter in the car :) Yes, I know sleeping in the car is not the best option to relax, but it is more than nothing :) This was a subsection of my employment contract with the boss
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I try do not use any electronic device 2 hours before go to sleep. Instead I read a book what is much better for my eyes by the way. 😂 It also makes me sleep more deep and relax the mind activities.
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Do you read light-hearted books or serious-minded ones? Curious haha
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I read both but I prefer and enjoy more the light hearted books
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108 sats \ 1 reply \ @gmd 6 Feb
Been thinking about investing in an 8 sleep mattress- but it seems like all of the enthusiastic podcasters and influencers are all shilling it and I'm not sure who's bought and paid for. Anyone have any experience with it?
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I have no experience with it! I hope the Universe provides you with the answer you need!
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We have a 16 month old, so I don't need my alarm anymore. My advice for any parents is to just go to bed early. When we stay up late we usually consume crap on our phones or eat when we aren't hungry. I get around 7-8 hours a night, but usually it is broken by our toddler waking up in his cot, which doesn't bother me.
Tips for ensuring better sleep, at least for me:
  • Avoid blue light at least one hour before bed.
  • Make your bedroom a phone free place. ban phones and stick to it.
  • Blackout blinds.
  • Get a bigger bed, especially if you have kids. We got a king, was a game changer.
  • Make sure all lightning in your bedroom is chill, none of those blinding light bulbs.
  • Keep bedroom minimalist and tidy. think of it as a sacred place.
  • no laptops or screens in the bedroom.
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I like what you say about keeping the bedroom a sacred place.
I think the thing I’m struggling with now is: I will feel like crap if I just go to sleep and not have my me time at the end of the day. Case in point: by the time I finished settling my two kids, it was already 11pm, so I was feeling so sorry for myself. But I just steeled my resolve to go and sleep lar
How do you fill your own tank throughout the day/night?
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I have a bitcoin meetup every two weeks, and a yoga class once a week. So thats an opportunity for me to get space to focus on me and things I am interested in. My wife has similar activities- and when she is partaking them I am on toddler duty. It has been working really well. In general, because I am trying to get a startup off the ground, I hack in the morning, early. So in the evenings, its really just dinner and getting the kiddo down that we have to worry about. I do notice when we mess up our schedule, everything falls apart. So as much as I love to travel - it is a disaster for routine.
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