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Getting up at the same time every day

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Posted 10/23/2020 8:20 AM (GMT 0)
I know this is something that is strongly recommended for better sleep in all the books I read about sleep, but as our classes at school have been recorded I have been getting up between 8:30-10 am for a while. But at the end of next week, we have an exam at 08:30. I have been working hard on changing my circadian rhythm and have had the alarm on 08 (soon 07 as its winter time) so that I can perform better on the exam.

I changed my wake up time with 15 min every few days, started eating dinner earlier and 3 hours before planned bedtime, and stopped working so late. I still need to work late 2 days a week to about 13 hours after I get up.

My classes start at 8 am 3 days a week after the exam so I believe this is something I will keep on doing for a while. It leads to falling asleep faster and better sleep so I hope to go from my normal 9 hours to 8-8:30 hours in bed. It’s a bit hard when I'm not feeling that great at night and can't go to bed, but I will still get up the same time and hope my body adjusts better after a while.

If I'm up later during the weekend I will just accept less sleep or take a short nap during the day.
My morning routine is quite good, but I need to step up at night and read more books on my Kindle instead of using the phone the last hour before bed.

I recommend working on this if it's possible.
Posted 10/23/2020 11:32 AM (GMT 0)
my sleep pattern became very offset in the run up to getting ill - where I somehow thought it was OK to work long hours in a high-stress troubleshooting role - then come home and do other stuff until the early hours - because it didn't feel right to me to just work all day then eat and sleep.

so i would only sleep from around 2am til 7am and this combination of lack of sleep and high stress I think predisposed me to become ill with Lyme.

initially, if i went to bed earlier i would simply wake up even earlier.

it has taken me a long time to get my sleep rhythm back to something approaching healthy
its been a major focus for me now for around 12 months -
- going to bed at the same time each day
- getting exposure to sunshine / bright outdoor light in the mornings
- winding down / no screen etc for 1hrs before bed at least
- doing regular exercise in the day
- keeping the bedroom cool
- meditation before sleep - or in the last half of the day
- trial and error with many sleep supplements = melatonin, theanine, motherwort, valerian, pasque flower, skullcap, ( i think maybe skullcap and theanine have helped a little )

I'm averaging around 7hrs sleep a night now but still waking in the early hours and the sleep i used to get before being ill is still a world away - but each time I get my sleep better for a few days in a row my overall health is so much better i know its a key lever to pull on.

tricky to manage though - but I do think it's so important to recovery - not just because of how it makes me feel -= but also my partner wh is pretty much fully recovered - managed to sleep well through the illness and recovered much faster.

am going to try LDN shortly as some say this helps them considerably
Posted 10/24/2020 9:10 AM (GMT 0)
I go for a walk or sit on the balcony in the morning to get some sunshine but I wonder what I will do in winter. I have a SAD light I might experiment with.
Posted 10/25/2020 6:30 PM (GMT 0)
I take melatonin and lemon balm & l theanine 30-45 min before bed, relax a bit and then brush my teeth, etc. A small adjustment is that I will brush my teeth before I relax so I don’t need as much lights just before I go to bed.

I really like this book https://www.amazon.com/sleep-redefine-your-success-sport/dp/0241975972
and my Oura ring to measure sleep. It's wintertime now, so tomorrow the alarm will be at 7 am.

Garzie, have you tried doing this for longer, if yes, have you noticed any difference?
- winding down / no screen etc for 1hrs before bed at least

Im thinking about if I should avoid screens for a longer time before high performance days like a exam in school.

Post Edited (Deep_sleep) : 10/25/2020 12:50:33 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/25/2020 7:32 PM (GMT 0)
Early exams are harsh, with or without lyme! (There will be morning people who cannot understand this).

Since actual sleep more than a few hrs was almost impossible for me to achieve, I used a different approach:

Power naps, .............or even just relaxing with eyes closed, for 15 min always did wonders for my alertness and thinking ability. So I'd get to school even earlier set my watch alarm and power nap in the quiet lounge. Dont know how that would work covid.

How does Redbull work for you? We had a post on energy drinks late summer early fall here.

I went to school in bits and pieces for years and first tried red bull in the late 90's before it was popular in the US. I used about 1/2 of the little can before tests, if they were long final exams, I sipped a little as the hours went by. I had one five hour final that I did very well on (was worried).

8oz or less of sugar free RB gave me an "alert calmness" without edgyness. It has LESS caffeine than the same amount of coffee. Some of the other energy drinks made me a jittery mess- not recommended. We are all different. And no I dont use these today unless its a necessity, its like a spare tire or emergency flare.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I just slept in till 10AM on this dark snowy northern morning. I dont keep regular sleep hours - on weekends its whatever I feel like doing, and it feels great, like a "staycation". Much warmer temps coming next weekend (yippie) and I wont sleep in.
Posted 10/26/2020 6:38 AM (GMT 0)
about two years before I got sick I got a reaction from drinking a Red Bull and got very red on my throat, so I don’t drink things like that anymore. I will stick to good sleep and coffee instead.

I think it's important to find books that you want to read, to skip using the phone before bed. My current sci-fi book isn't that good so far, so I hope reading some calisthenics books tonight will be more exciting.
Posted 10/26/2020 2:39 PM (GMT 0)
yep - i have tried experimenting with most things to help sleep
ultimately, in my case, i think its driven by raised cytokines due to infection at the root of it and so its hard to get dramatic improvements while that is ongoing.

the anti-0lyme/Bart herbs have helped a little, exercise and early daylight seem to help a little
i try not to use screens for the last hour at least before bed - but it doesn't seem to have a huge impact if

if I break this rule - or stay away for another hour - but if i work my brain late in the day on something where i need to concentrate - then i can tell that gets my mental juices flowing and its harder to go to sleep

in general, days where i spend more time outside - like long walks 2x a day make more difference

i am just experimenting with LDN as this is known to reduce IL-6 and IL-^ is thought by many to be the cytokine most associated with sleep problems in Lyme patients.
my first trial was last night - 0.5mg taken 1hrs before bed - but it made my sleeplessness worse - so i may need to experiment with taking this in the morning rather than the evening.
but some period of adjustment and even worsening of symptoms is expected / common in the first weeks
Posted 10/26/2020 4:00 PM (GMT 0)
"red on my throat"-

That is odd, can’t think of what would be an irritant in it. Its B vitamins, Taurine with a little caffeine and of course the original has sugar but less than typical 12oz Coke-A-Cola. It has a strong metallic taste.

Personally I found out that I pool up B6 if I take to much of any B6, this Ive not had a RB in four months.

FYI to anyone reading- Its should be harmless to most people who dont guzzle several cans. People can go to ER from to much coffee(!), I know a knucklehead who did that.

Post Edited (astroman) : 10/26/2020 11:04:11 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/26/2020 4:02 PM (GMT 0)
Best thing for sleep is exercise and NO stress. Illness is also stress.

And the ability to shut off your brain, if you have stress in your thoughts, but we dont have a switch for that.

I read that there was a study on power naps with college scores. It was related to "coffee naps" which is a thing now apparently. They improved test scores. I got a kick out of it.

Post Edited (astroman) : 10/26/2020 10:06:40 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/27/2020 10:25 AM (GMT 0)

Garzie said...

i am just experimenting with LDN as this is known to reduce IL-6 and IL-^ is thought by many to be the cytokine most associated with sleep problems in Lyme patients.
my first trial was last night - 0.5mg taken 1hrs before bed - but it made my sleeplessness worse - so i may need to experiment with taking this in the morning rather than the evening.
but some period of adjustment and even worsening of symptoms is expected / common in the first weeks

It's not surprising that the naltrexone worsened your insomnia.
Please keep in mind that one of the known side effects of naltrexone (LDN) is insomnia according to the manual.

Post Edited (insomniaaa) : 12/23/2020 7:26:12 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 10/27/2020 10:53 AM (GMT 0)
yep - thanks for that - as far as I could ascertain from my research its a well-known side effect - one that is supposed to be transient and goes away again once you stabilize on the desired dose
and the effect is known to be variable from person to person.
some find it works better for them if taken at night and some if taken during the day
the LDN foundation says to take it in the morning - but many patients seem to advocate taking it last thing at night. so it seems to be a bit of suck it and see

I was just doing trial and error to see what works best for me.


I am self-prescribing as no access to an LLMD so only have myself to blame smile
am switching to a first thing in the morning approach and will see if that's better
Posted 10/28/2020 5:57 AM (GMT 0)
Very high stress at work yesterday and I worked to 7:30 pm. I was still able to fall asleep after 10 pm but woke up a lot during the night and it took some time to fall asleep again.
I did a muscle relaxation exercise that helped some, but I guess I have to accept that sleep will suffer after those high-stress days. But It feels great to wake up early. Going for a long walk now when the sun is rising.
Posted 10/29/2020 1:14 PM (GMT 0)
I likely failed my first exam today. Normally 30-50 % fail depending on what course. I was unlucky with the questions, but yesterday I had a very big stomach crash and the same this morning. Woke up at 06 am as I needed to go to the bathroom and went 4 times before the exam. Not because of stress, but because my body is dumping toxins. Had a decent amount of brain fog also today, I think I would have gotten the extra points if I had felt better.
I wonder if the better sleep has something to do with it, as I haven't taken any treatment for 9 days.
But I will continue with setting the alarm at 7 am, and hope it leads to better health. The last month has been hard with a lot of brain fog. I need to work smarter and I think this will help with that.

Sometimes I hate that both my job and school is so demanding. And then add that I need to fix a lot of things with my girlfriend's company that doesn't work. I just tried to get the payment option to show for another country, but it doesn’t work…….
No time for me to be sick ☹
Only 1.5 days a week off work/school sucks……

Post Edited (Deep_sleep) : 10/29/2020 7:21:52 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 11/3/2020 2:53 PM (GMT 0)
I had my worst night for the year after that day, with a ton of herxing. Today I got the grade, and I failed sad My current class is easier (I study 50 % this semester) so I will start for study for a re-exam in december. Mega toxic today again, even as I dont really take any treatment.

I need to step up my game, but its hard when the brain isnt always there......
But I will keep on using the sauna and work on my sleep and hope it turns around soon.

Post Edited (Deep_sleep) : 11/3/2020 7:56:17 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 11/3/2020 4:55 PM (GMT 0)
Been there. I tried summer classes once...big mistake, other seasons where hard enough with this..

Sleep/stress: You just have to figure out what works for YOU, even if its not the "correct" way, what you read ect.

Your "flow" is better for you than "the" flow, just have to experiment.

Normal people dont have lyme or co, so how do they (health advocates) know whats best for us?
Posted 11/3/2020 5:01 PM (GMT 0)
To pass you needed 24 of 60 points. The average score for the class was 19.7, so it seems like the majority failed. That makes it a bit easier. I had the same problems with brain fog in Nov/Dec last year after doing a lot of flushing. I just need to time my performance better.
I added a new payment option for my girlfriend's e-shop today, so that is one win for the day. Still struggle with adding for another country, but giving it another go tomorrow.

I think I would have passed if I would have felt better the last month and during the exam, or if the exam had been more similar to the other exams. It's bad that I failed because I can't work as much at the end of December and January, but the silver lining is that I think it will help a lot with my programming skills. I did well in 3 of 5 questions but the most points were around my weaknesses. So now I will put in a lot of time to fix those.

The alarm is at 07 am again tomorrow, and I hope tomorrow will be a better day.

Post Edited (Deep_sleep) : 11/3/2020 12:13:21 PM (GMT-7)

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