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Sleep ….. zzzzz

Quantity of sleep does not equal quality of sleep.

Signs of poor quality sleep:

  • bruxism (tooth grinding) – this opens the airway, so it can indicate a restricted airway
  • mouth breathing, drooling (means mouth is open) – look into tongue posture and nasal breathing
  • noisy breathing, snoring
  • night terrors (not the same as nightmares)
  • sleep walking, restless sleep – lots of movement (like restless legs)
  • hyperactivity (ADHD anyone???)
  • bed wetting, frequent night waking

Something that has worked for me

  • find something to do that I enjoy, but that is relaxing, not exciting/engaging
    • In my case that’s puzzle games on my phone
  • I do the thing only when I’m sleepy & trying to sleep
  • I now cannot play the games any other time unless I want to take a nap
    • After some unintentional naps, I realized I need to be careful about which games I do this with or I can’t play the ones I like outside of bedtime!
    • The Pavlov effect works!

More ideas:

  • ​Sleep ASMR
  • brown noise
  • https://mynoise.net/
  • coloring book
  • wind down music playlist
  • alarm with soothing sounds to remind you to prepare for sleep
  • set a pomodoro timer for how long you’re allowed to do the unwind activity. Then use the breaks to try laying down in bed to sleep
  • you could have a music playlist that helps move you through your routine, then journal if needed to brain dump, then relaxing and then something to fall asleep to (on my to do list to set up still…. my VERY long list)
  • when setting your routine – get ready for bed BEFORE you start whatever your wind down activity is so you don’t start doing stuff and waking your body up again
    • ​We do bathroom/teeth 8am & 8pm to decouple it from bedtime
  • ​Minty flavors and big bright bathroom lights aren’t helpful when you’re trying to wind down (might be great for your morning routine)
    • I hate mint toothpaste, so we use lemon or other flavors, kid flavors also have some good stuff!
  • ​Rule out physical problems
    • UARS – Upper Airway Restriction Syndrome – Not full apnea, just enough to be in fight or flight mode and not get quality rest.
    • Look into other causes of UARS or Sleep Disordered Breathing, like tongue tie or congestions
  • regulate your body’s circadian rhythm:
    Morning sunlight for sleep cycle setting. (1) The Optimal Morning Routine – Andrew Huberman – YouTube
    • Being more sensitive, ND/HSP would have a larger impact from lack of sunlight, such as:
      • sleep problems
      • Seasonal Affective Disorder SAD
  • https://www.sciencealert.com/incessant-tinnitus-seems-to-be-connected-somehow-to-sleep