Consistency matters a lot for good sleep.
Absent corrective efforts, my sleep schedule drifts forwards each night.
When I sleep late, the next day I feel constrained by my sleep schedule, as I have fewer hours to stay awake. So I decide to sleep later to “have more time”.
I can fix my sleeping schedule within a week if I want to by shifting when I sleep by 0.5-1 hour each day.
Shifting your sleep schedule too quickly can lead to poor sleep.
After I fix my sleep schedule, it’s glaringly obvious when I feel tired. I want to go to sleep on time.
Caffeine doesn’t make me more awake, but does stave off tiredness for several hours.
When I get mentally exhausted, I can take a 10-minute nap to get a second wind.
Nap restfullness does not monotonically increase with nap time.
Going to the gym at night doesn’t make me that tired.
Eating before bed makes it harder to sleep.
Switching off digital devices an hour before bed helps me sleep.
I’m more like to start reading OOD things when I’m awake too late: this includes things I’ve always wanted to read, but never got around to. Fiction, blog posts, papers, even textbooks.
But if I start reading slop just before I’m meant to go to bed, I will keep reading it till well after I’m meant to go to bed.
I can just decide to go to sleep. Yes, even if I’m doom scrolling on twitter late at night.
Consciously weighing the value of going to sleep vs. continuing what I’m doing right now helps me realize I want to go to sleep. “Is sacrificing tomorrow worth what I’m doing today?” Often the answer is no.
Melatonin isn’t meant for putting you to sleep immediately. You take it several hours before your intended bed time, to shift your sleep schedule.
Magnesium gives me crazy dreams. Like, spelunking caverns whilst hiding from the dragon god in Demon Souls, fighting zombies for chocolate in supermarkets, and finding a space-warping trash stream that accelerates till its velocity becomes singular. And yes, that was all a single dream.
Blocking out light works. Pro-tip: use tin-foil. It’s good for more than just blocking out telepaths.
Earplugs work, but I have to roll them thin before inserting them, otherwise they won’t seal themselves in your ear.
I can just change clothes at night if I’m too hot/cold in bed.
I can cough so much that I can’t fall asleep for more than an hour at a time for weeks on end.
Sleeping too much can tire me out as much as sleeping too little.
Waking up in the middle of a sleep cycle, about 1 and a 1/2 hours, is tiring.
My body has an internal clock and I can just decide when to wake up by setting an intention to do so before you go to bed.
I regularly get migraines nowadays if I stay awake >2-3 hours past my normal bed time.
The costs of missed sleep often show up not the next day, but the day after that.
I become funnier when I’m severely sleep-deprived.
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Consistency matters a lot for good sleep.
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