uninterrupted sleep

[jak]

i havent had 8 straight hours of sleep for awhile. i usually wake up after 2-4 hours. how do i fix this problem?

[MazdaMatt]

more/better drugs.

I've been sleep deprived for a LONG time... I wish I could help you. I got some benefit from Melatonin (naturally produced suppliment that triggers your body's sleep functions).

[ColoWayno]

i havent had 8 straight hours of sleep for awhile. i usually wake up after 2-4 hours. how do i fix this problem?

Where are you at in your training? Overtraining could be affecting you. Could be other stress too.
My z's haven't been too terrific for a while either.

[mstrofbass]

Try some Magnesium/Calcium supplements.

And don't drink water before going to bed.

[bowdirk]

Search is your friend...

http://startingstrength.com/resources/forum/showthread.php?t=18508

-Bowdirk

[gamedog]

i havent had 8 straight hours of sleep for awhile. i usually wake up after 2-4 hours. how do i fix this problem?

Let me help you out by telling you a bit about what I do.

Firstly, I don't know what kind of job you have, or what kind of a commute you have or what, BUT, for EVERYBODY, ablutions performed every evening help. That's right. Take a nice, hot shower, every evening, about an hour or so before you go to bed. See, during the day we all encounter many stressors. When we get stressed out, adrenaline is released and cortisol, as well. What's more, we also release pharmones under those (and other) circumstances. When you get home in the evening, you are literally covered with your own, and other people's chemical markers. You need to WASH THAT SHIT OFF.

I'm not joking. Get reamed out by your boss at 2PM for fucking up a project, then sit in traffic for two hours to get home, where your wife nags you about shit, and you'll be loaded for bear. Kiss a good night's sleep good-bye.

I take a hot 20 minute shower every night, and I follow that up with 40 minutes of relaxing with a book and drinking hot, decaf green tea wit egyptian chamomile. That tea works wonders too, as do orgasms.

So, for protip number two, have an orgasm every evening. Nail your wife, or significant other, or just masturbate. Do this before you take your shower. Do it every evening. It works wonders. I have a shitty day at work, my commute always sucks but if it sucks more than usual I get double-pissed. But if I come home, eat a nice steak dinner and then fuck my wife, or jerk off, then hop in a hot shower and scrub myself down real well, and then sit down for a bit in there and breathe in the steam and just chill, when I come out I'm a brand-spakin'-new man. I dirnk my tea, read or watch some TV and I am, literally, out like a light at 10:30 and NORMALLY I don't wake up till the alarm goes off, though I have caught myself sleep walking twice recently, which I have narrowd down to being caused by some intense extended family stress that I have since resolved, only to find that I'm sleeping better once again.

But here's the thing chief. YOu have to establish a routine. You have to do this routine exactly the same, almost every night. Get into the habit of:

1. get home, do home stuff
2. eat dinner
3. have an orgasm
4. take a nice hot shower
5. drink hot tea and relax with a book or a calm TV show like "Morgan Freeman Into The Worm Hole" on the Discovery Channel or whatever
6. go to bed

You can go out some nights and stuff, but make this the routine for the majority of your evenings and I'll be very fucking surprised if it doesn't work ;-) Do like they said and don't drink too much water esp. on top of the tea and this routine will calm your mind, calm your body, and allow you to fall asleep fast and sleep all damn night like the dead. You'll wake up feeling good, and if you can, hey, get off again before you start your day :-D

[John2336]

I don't know if mentioning the supplement will get me blasted, but I've been using ZMA for the last week to help me get to bed, and it has worked wonders. It's composed of zinc,magnesium, and aspartate I believe. It' some BB supp that supposed to help recovery/muscle building while asleep, but a buddy of mine gave me a handful when I told him I was having sleep issues. The side effect of recover/muscle repair is that it make you drowsy. I don't know if it's true, and I may be experiencing a placebo effect, but I know that it's been working for me. About 30 minutes after I take it, I get hit by a wall of drowsiness. I believe it's about 20 bucks for 180 pills. Daily dosage is three pills before bed.

I don't think overtraining is the cause of my sleep problems, as they've been going on longer than I've been training.

Hope this helps.

[gamedog]

Dude, I recommended jerking off in lieu of a live human female to nail. I don't think you'll get ripped for recommending a sleep stack ;-)

[Regin Smidur]

I've had good luck with leaving a fan running for the white noise.

[Smoke_Eater]

Being a shift worker, getting good sleep on my days away from work is essential. Other than trying to keep my life a stress free as possible, I find doing the following helps:

- ZMA + Vitamin C + Melatonin pre-bed
- Limit coffee intake to pre-workout on days off
- Get off the computer/no tv for at least an hour before bed and read
- Good sex life with the gf/my right hand
- I block any light in my room from clocks, blinds etc. I keep my cell next to me and check the time on that if I have too.

[SBATTY]

I recently learned that a cold, cold room is my secret to uninterrupted sleep. About two weeks ago I left the window while the outside temperature dipped into the upper thirties. When the alarm went off at 6:00am I could almost see my breath, but damn if I never woke up a single time the entire evening. Ever since then I have noticed a significant difference in my sleep quality depending on the room temperature.

[WatsupHannity]

I agree a cold room is key. For me the optimal is between around 14 and 17 degrees Celsius. There's a limit, though. I've spent a couple winters in Japan where they have no central heating and paper-thin walls... when the temperature drops down to near-freezing it is FRIGID. Despite going to bed with a sweater, pants, wool socks, and ski mask (yes, it got that cold at night) I would wake up frequently from the cold.

In general, though, cold is much better than hot. If the temp is above 20 Celsius I can't sleep a wink.

[WatsupHannity]

DON'T stimulate yourself (I mean mentally, you pervs!) after 6 pm if you can. Stop working, don't browse the web if it hypes you up, etc. Calming down for one hour before bed isn't enough. You have to give yourself plenty of time to get the vigilance units of your brain to stand down. Like many things, it may take a week or two before the effects are fully realized, but if you get in a habit of giving yourself time to unwind and de-stress your sleep will thank you for it.

On a similar note, try taking a 15 minute catnap in the afternoon if you can. You don't even have to fall asleep. Set aside 15 minutes at around 2 pm to just close your eyes and watch the back of your eyelids. Try to think of nothingness or a peaceful image or something. Doing this acts like a release valve for stress halfway through the day and may really help as well.