NZLcyclist

Am having trouble sleeping..... just takes me a while to zonk out half dead.....once im out im out for the count lol. 8 hours a night isn't enough even. I go to bed early enough to get 9 but I just don't get to sleep...so does anyone have any ideas for getting to sleep?

Soft Music?
Small amounts of alcohol?
Pills (ugh last resort)

cheers,
Brendon

pacesetter

A women!

NZLcyclist

hell damn I get less sleep that way.....

rmwun54

Try stretching for a half hour or meditating. Take time to relax.

orguasch

try counting sheep, that might help

jeff williams

THC, in marijuana may be a consideration. If not used consecutively, I've been told, causes the user to become sleepy.
Non-habit forming, probably a restricted plant\ chemical in most countries.

NZLcyclist

the green weed would get me in biig trouble here.

Chris L

Reading is a good way to relax before bed. However, after reading this thread, I'm thinking I might give meditation a try too.

slvoid

I always feel completely beat after a long hard ride. You tried going out and completely beating yourself up doing 30-35mph for an hour in the evening?

Boomer

Try melatonin. It's non-narco and can be purchased over the counter at health food stores. It's a synthetic enzyme that replicates what your body produces to make you sleepy. I used to take it for jet lag.

slvoid

Isn't that also in milk?

a2psyklnut

You could have a U.S. Traditional Thanksgiving Day Turkey dinner with Mashed Potatoes, gravy, peas, cranberry....etc. everynight.

One of the ingredients in Turkey, (Triptophaine or something) that makes you sleepy!

L8R

foehn

My advice, since you sound like me:

First, start to wind down. Shut the curtains/blinds and lower the lights;I know I am very sensitive to light and the long days now (northern hemisphere) tend to keep me up and the electric lights just make it worse. You want to be able to see, but things should not be very brightly lit; try not to use overhead room lighting, but use small lamps to light only things you need to see. Put some mellow music on, not too loud. If you want to eat something, try a small portion. And yes, turkey and milk do have some sleep inducing properties or you could try something high in carbohydrates. Turn the TV off if you are a partaker of it, for at least a half hour before bedtime. If you read, read somthing light or try something like a textbook you are not really interested in (this always worked in college!). Take a warm shower or better a soak in a warm bath.

Try to build a routine of little things you do before you go to bed. Try to keep to this routine as much as possible.If you are going to sleep in a different bed keep to your routine and feel free to take your own pillow to sleep on; your pillow smells like your own bed and should be more sleep inducing than total strangeness.

If you are used to hard exercise, try not to exercise too close to bedtime. Now that I am used to it, exercise is stimulating to me and I try to avoid it a couple of hours before bed. Maybe you are different, and it relaxes you--then do it, go with what you feel is relaxing to you. You want to "mellow out" before bed.

Most of all, learn to listen to your body. Try to learn when you start to feel sleepy and try to go to bed then. I think alot of people miss the "I'm sleepy" cues their bodies give them because they are too busy doing stuff, any stuff that will keep them awake and remember that the television can be pretty stimulating, depending on what you are watching.

Like mentioned before, take time to relax. Sometimes you have to just learn to do nothing and to not feel guilty about it! They catch is when you are doing "nothing" you really are doing "something" -- you are relaxing, no?

And don't stress about not falling asleep, if you can't fall asleep. My husband is asleep within, I swear 30 seconds of his head hitting the pillow. Most of the time it takes me 10-20 minutes to fall asleep. If I lay there and it has been a half hour, I get up out of bed, go to another room and read, no music, no TV, and only what I am reading is lit. I read junk and I read till I get sleepy, and usually this second go at getting to sleep works for me. Sometimes I am up late and sometimes I get to bed earlier, but I don't worry about it, or at least I try not too.

Last resort: have someone tape 1 or 2 hours worth of Mr. Rogers shows. Start watching them just before bedtime. If you aren't made sleepy by these, you have a serious problem!

slvoid

Yeah that's called work.

Also 30 min before bed time, dim the lights to 25% or do what I sometimes do is turn them off completely so it's pitch black and just go by the light of a candle. It's weird but candle light somehow reminds my brain that yes, it is indeed night and I need sleep.
Another thing to try is to listen to music at the lowest perceptable volume while you're awake. I find that when music's really low, my mind tends to focus on trying to make out what the words or notes are and while my mind's preoccupied with that monotonous task, my body relaxes enough that I usually fall asleep within 5-10 minutes.

I know of one thing that's been proven to work and that's um... adjusting your stem... repacking your hubs... lubing the chain... uh...

foehn

This is what I meant by reducing the light and I think that artificial lighting can really mess up your sleep patterns at times.


Is this the same as having you clock cleaned, having your ashes hauled, . . .? ;-)

SanDiegoSteve

Mine starts talking every time I'm just about to nod off... like the anti-sleep aid.

ewitz

2 mg lorazepam and 5 mg diazepam. Works for me every time. Safe, legal (with a prescription), and covered by your drug plan.

pacesetter

SEX. best sleeping medicine.

slvoid

Well I can't say if it's the same for you but I'm sure most of us here are guilty of inserting the crank... raising the seatpost... putting your fork in the headtube before going to bed... ehehehe...

pacesetter

LOL sounds like you have experience. i can't sleep without smokin some good green before bed, i also love to smoke before my rides or races.

travis200

Ride more I have no problems going to sleep. In fact I can't wait to go to bed at night.

jeff williams

Smoking is very bad for your lungs, and studies have even linked it to some cancers and emphysema.
Used as a food ingrediant? is perhaps more favorable to one with such an active sports lifestyle.

DnvrFox

Man, I would die for 8 hours of sleep!

I now average about 6, which keeps me going fine.

I have no problem going to sleep, jsut wake up after about 6 hours "ready to go!"

foehn

I was talking to my husband about this over dinner last night. Here's what has helpe him fall asleep and stay asleep.

He told me that sometimes he is just too hot to fall asleep or would fall asleep and wake right back up quickly. He found that if he drank plenty of water in the evening before bedtime and then a glass of cold (or cool) water just before settling into bed he would drop off to sleep quite nicely. As your body temperature is supposed to drop as you get ready to sleep, maybe the cool water helps his core temperature and thus his whole body temperature to drop and gives his body the signal to sleep? Anyway, water won't hurt you.

Another reason to stay well hydrated.

DMulyava

Sorry, stupid question - but if you drink that water late in the evening won't you wake up to take a piss?

I already do, halfway through the night. Maybe it's because I down like 4L of water every day..