[Deilla]

Yesterday, my online T shared a sleep link with me. It triggered me. The article started off with all this research on how poor sleep causes health problems like dementia and alzheimers. After about three pages of this, it offered 9 tips. The tips weren't very realistic. They were like many sleeping tips. No TV before bed. No screen time before bed. No exercise or food before bed. No naps during the day. Sun light in the morning.

I think I had every right to be upset by this. I made it clear to my T that the article was disturbing. Now I'm still upset. I couldn't sleep well last night like usual. And now I'm worried about harmful effects. I'm trying to tell myself that it's just someone's stupid opinion. Just like "red meat kills" and "sausage is a carcinogen." I like to think that if someone worries about it, then they make themselves ill.

So how do I stop worrying about it? Do you have sleep issues? How do you deal with it?

[bpcyclist]

I am sorry this information was just sent to you without a conversation and support about it. That is a shame.

As everyone knows, I also have hige sleep problems. I have failed all meds. Special blanket and pillows and total darkness and silence and everything you mentioned. I do it all all the time. It does not matter. I can't sleep. So, now, I just sleep maybe 2 hours or so about every maybe 7-8 hours, which is better than nothing, that is for sure.

I know all about all the dementia stuff. Shrot life span stuff. Blah. I was a surgeon and did not sleep for a living, so there is that, too. Surgeons have an average lifespan of 59 years. I'm 55.

Don't know what I can do about any of this. So, I eat as well as I can, given budget, and ride my bike a lot, exercise is supposed to be good for us. Meditate a ton and pray. And that is it. I can't worry about all that other crap. I am just trying not to get psychotic today, you know?

Just do the best you can, Deilla. It's all you can do.

[Raindropvampire]

I have sleep issues and I've seen all the studies. In 5 years they will probably come out with a study that says the opposite so I just take it all with a grain of salt. And I deal by simply saying what will be will be.

I mean I'm on psych meds, have sleep issues, am overweight and have a family history of dementia and Alzheimer's IF I worried about it I'd go mad. No sense worrying about what might happen.

I hope you are able to find some peace and get through this.

[Mountaindewed]

I have sleep issues but mine are not consistent. They come in waves. Usually a couple weeks are good then a couple weeks are bad. I think my issues have to do with environmental factors. I also work the first shift and have to get up very early which can get difficult at times and affect my sleep. I see a sleep doctor but he’s useless. I had a sleep study but it just showed some heart stuff that didn’t mean anything.

I think more harm is done when trying to force a person into a certain body clock mode that perhaps their brain isn't naturally wired for. I was never a day shift guy. I tried midnight shifts...terrible! Finally I found that my body clock prefers the afternoon shift. 3PM to 11PM. I then stay up all night and fall asleep naturally at 6 or 8 AM. Try finding what sleep cycle YOU prefer and see if you can adapt your life around it.

Some peoples clocks just aren't geared to the 'up in the morning' routine. Trying to force that schedule often causes more problems than it can fix. If you can get what you need done using your own natural cycle then do that. Not all folks can do this because of lifestyle commitments/responsibilities etc that can't be changed or accommodated but if you can, it may provide the relief you're looking for.

[Deilla]

Originally Posted by Xeero Gusteaux II

I think more harm is done when trying to force a person into a certain body clock mode that perhaps their brain isn't naturally wired for. I was never a day shift guy. I tried midnight shifts...terrible! Finally I found that my body clock prefers the afternoon shift. 3PM to 11PM. I then stay up all night and fall asleep naturally at 6 or 8 AM. Try finding what sleep cycle YOU prefer and see if you can adapt your life around it.

Some peoples clocks just aren't geared to the 'up in the morning' routine. Trying to force that schedule often causes more problems than it can fix. If you can get what you need done using your own natural cycle then do that. Not all folks can do this because of lifestyle commitments/responsibilities etc that can't be changed or accommodated but if you can, it may provide the relief you're looking for.

That makes sense to me. I've tried normal sleep hours. I can't seem to do it. I prefer going to bed early and waking up early. Then I usually fall back to sleep before the sun comes up and sleep a couple of hours. I feel better emotionally allowing my body to sleep this way.