
To beat insomnia, sleep less - rahulshiv
https://www.sleepedy.com/articles/sleep-better-with-less-sleep/
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Ghjklov
This might work for some people but for me, if by 1AM, I'm not sleepy and I
get out of bed to do something else, there's probably no chance I'll sleep at
any reasonable time and then be able to wake up at a time like 7AM. I would in
fact probably sleep in that day and ruin my schedule, which could start a
negative trend. From my experience, I find that even just lying in bed and
resting my eyes even if I can't fully sleep is the best way to go. A few hours
of meaningful rest in bed alone with my thoughts is time well spent. 1AM is
too late to start "occupying myself until my body is ready to sleep". If I
needed to do something like this, I would start a few hours before the time
I'd like to sleep. First tiring myself out with a quick workout or something
and then taking a cold shower which will make me want to bundle up inside a
blanket and get super comfortable.

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rahulshiv
Yes, working out and showers are definitely good for your sleep.

While it may be hard to wake up at 7, if you could do it, it would generate
what we call 'sleep pressure' for the next night. Basically you are tiring
your self into sleeping more when you are in bed vs being awake and tossing
and turning.

Also when you hop out of bed, do something relaxing like listening to music or
reading a book. If you started working it could stimulate your mind and keep
you up even longer.

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caymanjim
This sounds like complete nonsense, and zero evidence is presented. It's just
an ad for some app, as if what people who can't sleep need is to be bothered
by their phone. There are myriad causes of insomnia including physical,
psychological, environmental, and combinations. Stress and anxiety are the
biggest factors for people like me. I sincerely doubt this guy has ever had
insomnia from anything other than partying too much. If I followed any of the
listed advice I'd be up for a week at a time.

~~~
rahulshiv
Hey, author here. I did have Insomnia for a few months before coming across
Sleep Restriction (the method in question in the article) after some serious
life-changing events.

Here is Stanford's guide to sleep restriction:
[https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-
treatments/c/cognitiv...](https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-
treatments/c/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-insomnia/procedures/sleep-
restriction.html)

This is an evidence-based method, meaning its been proven clinically to work.
I'll make sure to add some citations so it seems more legitimate.

PS: We also have a full guide on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia
(CBT-I) for which sleep restriction is a subset: [http://sleepedy.com/cbt-for-
insomnia](http://sleepedy.com/cbt-for-insomnia)

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jlohn
I am trying to do this a long time. But no success.

~~~
rahulshiv
I'm very sorry to hear that. If you don't mind me asking, how long did you
consistently try it for? and did you see any improvement?

~~~
jlohn
I tried about a month. Don't sleep between 6 am and 10 PM. Very hard to do.
And no results. Still keeping whole nights awake.

~~~
rahulshiv
In that 8 hour window did you go to sleep only when you are sleepy? That is
the biggest guiding principle of sleep restriction. You want a fixed wake-up
time but NOT a fixed sleep time.

