(Part 3) Top products from r/sleep

Sleep: A Very Short Introduction is a fun little book that covers a lot of ground.

Dreaming: A Very Short Introduction is a fascinating perspective on dreaming from Hobson, one of the pioneers of that field. It's a little dated now (you should read some newer perspectives, like this article), but still super interesting.

The Sleepwatchers is unique in that it's a combination of facts and autobiographical anecdotes written by one of the early pioneers of sleep research.

If you want to get into the academic side of sleep, then Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine is the book. It's pretty much a comprehensive guide to the history and subfields of sleep medicine and research, from the disorders to the physiology to the psychology. Note that you'll save a bundle of cash and not lose too much by going for an edition that's a few years old, such as this one.

During sleep you're in an altered state of consciousness which prevents you from being aware of your surroundings. It seems like your perception of time is much influenced by different types of sensory information (such as vision, sound, hearing). Since you're no longer consciously aware of that information from the environment, there is no way for the brain to determine the time between constituent events.

Alterations of the perception of time also occur when people are intensely focused on a task, which makes it seem like time is speeding up. Psychologist call this mental state *flow*, which is characterized by complete absorption in what one does, and a resulting loss in one's sense of space and time. If you find this interesting I highly recommend Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.

What is also interesting, is the fact that a lot of people report time distortions after taking psychedelics or cannabis. This probably also has to do with a different awareness of the order of events which in turn distorts the perception of time. For instance people experience dilation of time; the feeling that time has slowed down. This commonly occurs during intense hallucinogenic experiences and seems to stem from the fact that during an intense trip, abnormally large amounts of experience are felt in very short periods of time. People also experience the opposite effect, speeding up of time. This commonly occurs under the influence of certain stimulating compounds and seems to at least partially stem from the fact that during intense levels of stimulation, people typically become hyper-focused on activities and tasks in a manner which can allow time to pass them by without realizing it.

And what is even more bizarre is the experience of time reversal, reported in many psychedelic experiences. This is the perception that the events, hallucinations, and experiences that occurred around one's self within the previous several minutes to several hours are spontaneously playing backwards in a manner which is somewhat similar to that of a rewinding VHS tape.

It's a fascinating complex subject, full of unanswered questions ;)

It was effective, but unreliable for me. The best experience I had was using a low dose of slow release melatonin. I've experimented with four different brands/doesages, and I can firmly say that less is more. When I took a low dose (<2 mg) I had a much higher percentage chance of staying asleep for the entire night. The higher doses (> 5mg) would cause me to fall asleep quickly, but I would usually wake up 3-4 hours later and be wide awake for the rest of the night. I'd recommend this as a good one to try: Natrol 1mg Melatonin Slow Release Tablets

1mg will allow you to start with a low dose to test the effectiveness and then experiment with higher does by taking more than one.

Good luck!

This is a weird one - have you been check for adrenal fatigue ? Look into that.

• Also look into a Mg supplement like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Vitality-Magnesium-Stress-Orignal/dp/B000OQ2DL4
  
  This one had a really good impact on my life in terms of being in a calm alert state after I wake up. Most supplements you hope are good for you like Vitamin D, B12 etc since their effects tend to be long term and harder to measure. But this one is different - you will feel the short term impact on your mood, stress levels, focused energy levels almost immediately, something you can't say for a lot of other mineral or vitamin supplements.
  
  
• Take a plant protein based shake before you go to bed. Protein is essential for metabolism, and if you are running low for some reason during sleep, you will wake up without energy.
  
  Again, these are experiments. You will have to try many things that you think can make sense to you and see if it works.

It's going to be very very very difficult, but whenever the schedule gets early enough, wake up early and see plenty of daylight. It's the thing that tells you to wake up.

In fact, if there isn't much daylight coming through the windows, get some bright lights (ANYTHING, but CFL / fluorescent, light quality is horrible) and slowly turn those up in the morning. Then go outside very very soon.

Edit: To break up all the lighting talk, make sure to stick with reliably timed, breakfast, lunch and dinner. That also moves the sleep / wake schedule around so keep it consistent.

Also at night, dim all the lights, and use warm yellow lighting, very similar to a candle flame. In fact, if you have candles or a lighter, you can use that and match the lights to it.

This probably only works well with halogen or older incandescent bulbs so if you have any of those around still (hopefully!) then go ahead and use those with a plug in lamp dimmer, if you don't have that then just throw a light yellow / orange shirt over the light to dim it down. If you opt to get the light dimmer, I strongly suggest you get a few of them. You'll probably really like it if you get it, so having more than one is really nice--I got a couple.

A couple of things that I've started taking and coincide with better sleep are nice and natural (by which I mean supplements), here are the Amazon links:
Nature's Way Vitamin D3, 2000 IU, twice daily.
Doctor's Best Magnesium 200mg, three times daily.

Given that Sleep Restriction seemed to help, I'd recommend looking into Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). It's a research-backed behavioral approach to sleep problems. Most people don't know it, but it's actually widely considered by most medical associations to be the treatment of choice for insomnia.

Look for a clinical psychologist (PhD or PsyD) who is trained as a cognitive behavioral therapist and also does CBT-I.

These two books are also very good:

Say Goodnight To Insomnia by Gregg Jacobs

The Insomnia Workbook by Stephanie Silberman

Good Luck!

Never heard of the device, but I can speak from personal experience with light as an alarm/ waking up naturally with light: it works for me. I started with one of these wake up lights and because I liked it (and my apartment had very little natural light) I decided to buy an additional full spectrum bulb and put it on an electronic timer, like this It turns on at 7 am and shuts off at 6 pm. As a result, I developed a rhythm for waking up that didn't require a noise-making alarm. Additionally, it's much easier for me to get out of bed in a "sunny" room. Light wakes you up, or at least it does for me.

I've found the Howard Leight earplugs to be comfortable, and they are pretty difficult to have fall out. I commonly trust them to stay in while I'm in 150db+ environments (with ear muffs too of course)

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0007XJOLG/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=1977604522&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B008MVYL7C&pf_rd_m=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB&pf_rd_r=0DA66ZKCYPAWR5ZM0981

http://www.amazon.com/Ohropax-Wax-Ear-Plugs-plugs/dp/B0006NXBVQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1335060037&sr=1-1

wax ear plugs. always fit perfectly.

Here is a link to a random one https://www.amazon.com/NatureBright-SunTouch-Light-Therapy-package/dp/B000W8Y7FY.

Then they have those things to plug into outlets to make the thing plugged in operate on a timer. Here is an example

https://www.amazon.com/Century-Plug-Mechanical-Timer-Grounded/dp/B00MVFF59S/ref=zg_bs_495340_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=35SVFS2GRDGP54NJ5VBV


I saw someone suggested a sunlight alarm clock. If you end up getting one, I’d love to know how you like it. I’ve been thinking about getting one.

Just remember it's easier to go forward than backward.

"Normal" clock would be 25 hour day. You can adjust +/- 2 hours per day without any difficulty, so you can change to a 23 hour day up to a 28 hour day.

source: read it in this book

This book could be really helpful
http://www.amazon.com/The-Power-Habit-What-Business/dp/081298160X

this is my favorite right now:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07W3L3DJB

doesn't touch the eyes, and actually stays on my face.

Try Clocky... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000TAS9XQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_QdyBDbV47S569

Read it in this book. https://www.amazon.com/Take-Nap-Change-Your-Life/dp/0761142908.

Pillows are tough. Something that I find wonderful may be horrible for someone else.

If you have all those problems a pillow is the least of your concerns. I would recommend back sleeping with a pillow under your knees to ease your back pain. Sleeping on your side will also cause hip pain and shoulder pain. I am a side sleeper but I am trying to learn to sleep on my back to ease a shoulder problem I have been having. I also have arthritis in my neck and tend to be most comfortable on my side but that aggravates the shoulder. Can't win.

Get a good mattress. I have a coil spring mattress with a 4" foam pillowtop. It's heavenly. I got rid of my really nasty hip pain when I got it. But mattresses are also something that are an individual thing. You need to be able to lie on it for 20 minutes or so and see if it supports you properly.

First thing to consider is that unless you are average height most pillows will be the wrong size. If you are tall or short then the pillow will be too small or too big. So look for pillows that come in different sizes. I am short so I look for smaller pillows.

If you have neck problems then a neck roll can be very comfortable. Some are good for side sleepers too. You need to find one the right size for your height. Some neck rolls are designed to go into the pillowcase with your pillow.

Memory foam pillows can be very comfy since they deform to match the shape of your body. You can get fancy contoured ones or regular ones. I have a contoured Tempur-pedic neck pillow in size small and a cheapo one from Walmart. Sometimes one is more comfy than the other. But, because they are temperature sensitive they are too hard in winter and too soft in summer.

I just bought a Tri-Core pillow which is good for both back and side sleeping. If you lie on your back there is a neck roll to support your neck with a depression for your head. I like it because my head doesn't roll side to side. Then the sides are high for side sleeping. When I first got it I tested it for about 20 minutes on my back and my whole body started tingling as my neck relaxed. Now that I sleep with it I wake up with little or no pain in my neck.

So this is the one I bought.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007ZO6DK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&th=1

Here' some info on getting used to a new pillow. https://youtu.be/0HXlh1x1XKM?t=3m20s

Something else I like is the Mooshi Squish pillow. It's a small microbead roll that is comfy on the back of the neck. If you can't find that brand there are lots of comparable brands.

My serious response is:

If he is just laying there being quiet and not disturbing the other kids, then it's okay. I have two toddlers and sometimes they just rest and are quiet. Other times they fall asleep.

But I do feel your pain. That's why someone wrote this book.

I use this one; https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MXWSY6
It's got 2 different alarms you can set and changing the alarm time is just a matter of twisting the dials on the side.

More insight might be available on your symptoms if you describe:

the onset of this experience (i.e., all life? last year? after hospitalization? after hit to the head? etc.),

the duration (is this the case every day? does it last all day? does this problem wax and wane?),

the course (getting worse? static?)

the severity (how much does this impact your ability to appropriately function across domains - social, academic, work, family, etc.)

A differential might include both neurological and psychiatric conditions such as epilepsy, sleep deprivation, multiple sclerosis, lyme disease, anxiety, stress reactivity, or depersonalization disorder.

This type of presentation does not immediately make me think of a behavioral or neurological disorder, but that does not preclude it. Instead, it is more consistent with a psychological symptom termed depersonalization or dissociation. If you went to a psychologist or psychiatrist who conducted psychotherapy, he/she might take a mindfulness-based-cognitive-therapy or dialectical behavioral therapy approach, basically training your mind to 'ground' itself, until it becomes second nature enough to not require significant effort. (example article written for therapist 1 , example self-help text 2).

That being said, your experience is abnormal, and you should talk to your GP about exploring the potential etiologies.