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On Wikipedia: Sleep, Dream

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• Lucid dreaming
• Maladies > Sleep paralysis
• Polyphasic sleep

• Relearning to dream

There is definitely a series of things all interacting more healthfully.. the workouts, my food and cooking habits, my mental state etc..

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• https://web.archive.org/web/20151221091205/https://www.sentwell.org/helpful-hints-to-improve-your-sleep-hygiene/

Winding down ∞

• Prepare for tomorrow.
• Go over all your successes during the day. If you keep notes for later review, write it in that journal.
• Write down any thoughts and TODO items. Don’t bring them with you into bed.
• The idea is to be “done” with the day; to have things out of your mind.
• A light carbohydrate and warm milk (for its tryptophan) will help you sleep.
• A light carbohydrate and 500 mg magnesium, and 250 mg calcium supplements will help you sleep.
• If you suffer from jet lag or have a particular need, consider Melatonin. It isn’t appropriate for regular use, but it will set you on the right track if you need to or just end up staying up way too late one night and end up shifting your waking schedule too much into staying up late constantly.
• Have a bedtime ritual.
• I’ve had particularly vivid dreams after regular workouts. Working out 4-6 hours before bed time will help a lot. Do nothing strenuous closer than four hours to your bedtime.

• Don’t eat a meal before four hours of bed. If you have weight issues, carefully time that final meal and be certain to not snack from that final meal to bed time.

You have to know the type of person you are. Some people need to dismiss entertaining thoughts, and others need to encourage them. Either way, the urgency of thoughts needs to be avoided.

Falling asleep ∞

• Magnesium

  • Increases neurotransmitters like GABA to help turn off the DPO (duration-path-outcome analysis)

• 300-400 mg of Magnesium L-threonate 30-60 minutes before bed

  • It’s associated with transporters in the body that bring more of it into the cells that allow people to feel drowsiness and help them fall asleep.

• 100-200 mg Theanine 30-60 minutes before bed.

  • Can give vivid dreams. Sleepwalkers should be careful taking it.

• 50 mg Apigenin

  • e.g. from Chamomile tea
  • It’s a fairly potent estrogen inhibitor (for both men and women).

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• If you’re the creative sort, and do things with your ideas, get up and write anything that comes to mind. Your sleep will be better, and you’ll wake up to a list of interesting things to consider throughout your day.

• A light carbohydrate and 500 mg Magnesium, and 250 mg calcium supplements will help you sleep.

Staying asleep ∞

• There’s no need to suffer in bed if you aren’t falling asleep in a reasonable time and are getting stressed out. You’ll get better sleep overall if you get out of bed and do something relaxing for a while. Don’t snack.
• If you glance at your clock while you’re in bed, then hide it.
• If you keep repetitive sound around you, that part of your brain will have something to pay attention to. If you continue it while sleeping, then interruptions are less jarring.

• Sleep in the dark.

Being asleep ∞

Dream. Consider Lucid dreaming.

Waking up ∞

• Have a regular time to wake up.
• Your clock is tyrannical, which is unfortunate, but if you are able to instead go to bed at a set time then you can wake up whenever you want and let the clock be more of a nuisance than a tyrant.

• Have something already lined up for the day that’s interesting.

Staying alert ∞

• Wake up at the same time.
• Get good morning sunlight, even if you need to get a SAD lamp.
• Don’t develop a dependency on caffeine or other stimulants. No coffee.

• A good sleep schedule is critical.

Supplements and interventions ∞

• Warm milk and a little carbohydrate like a bit of banana.

• Tryptophan (5-Hydroxytryptophan) for serotonin.

  • If you also have predigested collagen protein then you can keep the dose at like 1/10th the size.

• If you need a sleep drug, don’t use Ambien, use Xyrem.

  • Enhances stage 3 and stage 4 sleep.
  • See Non-rapid eye movement sleep, Slow-wave sleep
• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor

• Correct your diet

  • Vitamin B complex.
  • /tag/minerals
• Low doses of DMAE can be used to induce sleep.

• Acetylcholine, helps control body movement, such as sleepwalking[unknown prefix: w], tossing and turning, and general muscle activity, during sleep. — Robert Haas, Eat Smart, Think Smart ISBN 0-06-109234-7 page 116.

The benzodiazepine system is a brain neurotransmitter system that affects sleep. The well-known prescription sedatives Valium, Librium, and Dalmane all affect this system because their molecular structure “locks” onto cell membranes, thereby triggering the release of the brain’s own sleep chemicals. One of these chemicals is GABA (gama aminobutyric acid), which works in concert with the sugar inositol (found in nerve-cell membrances and muscle, and vitamin B3 (niacinamide) to help lock onto and activate the benzodiazepine sleep system. The important difference between sleepers and prescription drugs is that sleepers are generally nonlethal in relatively large doses even if taken with alcohol. Barbituates, in general, have a high potential for abuse with life-threatening consequences if mixed with alcoholic beverages.

— Robert Haas, Eat Smart, Think Smart ISBN 0-06-109234-7 page 116.

Notes ∞

• keywords: narcolepsy, catalepsy, cataplexy.

• http://circadiana.blogspot.com/

  • http://circadiana.blogspot.com/2005/01/everything-you-always-wanted-to-know.html

• Exploding head syndrome

• ISBN 0747521387 – Dr. Katrina Berne: Running on Empty

  • She cites a Harvard study on semi-wakeful paralysis.
  • Possibly also useful:
  • ISBN 0897931912 – Katrina Berne: Running on Empty: The Complete Guide to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFIDS)
  • ISBN 0897931009 – Running on Empty: Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome