Sleep issues

[Liam Dougherty Springer]

I have made a pact with myself to get 8+ hours of sleep a night..... I have been failing. The past 3 nights I have been on ~5 hrs. a night!

I have been haveing a hard time getting the sleep in with my recent work schedule. Sometimes I am getting up at 4-5 in the morning and I cant seem to get to sleep before 10-11 at the earliest. I also tend to wake up every 3 hours to use the restroom and often will wake up 30-50 min before I need to be up and can't get back to bed. I take Naps sometimes but I don't know if that makes up for it and I worry it will make it difficult to sleep that night.... only problem is when I don't nap I still have a hard time getting to sleep. I am allergic to all sleep aid medications and don't know if they would interupt recovery anyway.

I am training hard in strength and explosive power eating a crap ton and PRing at every WO in some shape or fasion..... I know I need to get the sleep but on nights I have to work early the next day do the naps help?

Are there any suggestions as to herbal sleep aids that won't make me groggy the next morning etc.

Thanx all for your consideration.

[Emily Mattes]

Have you tried melatonin? I also read on these boards that supplementing with magnesium helps sleep tremendously. I know I sleep a lot deeper on it.

Establishing good sleep patterns is also behavioral as much as anything else. Make sure you don't do anything in your bedroom/bed except for sleep, so you build the association. Try to finish workouts at least a few hours before going to bed, that can mess up some people's sleep schedules. Don't watch TV/go on the computer very late a night.

[Garrett Smith]

Nothing that plugs into the wall, whether the plug, cord, or item itself, within a six feet radius of your head. This includes alarm clocks. Turning items off is not good enough.

No cell phones in your bedroom, especially not ones that are plugged in and charging.

This simple thing has fixed many people's sleep problems.

[Gittit Shwartz]

Dr. G, any recommended reading on this?
What about a wireless computer network?...

[Darryl Shaw]

The darker your bedroom is the better you sleep so if you're having problems you might find that blackout curtains help. Also your body should reduce your urine output at night so you shouldn't need to use the bathroom every couple of hours. If you discuss this with your doctor they'll probably want to check your prostate and test you for diabetes mellitus and diabetes insipidus but even if there's nothing wrong with you they might suggest trying some desmopressin tablets to see if they help.

[Garrett Smith]

Gittit,
A wireless internet network would be a very bad thing to have close to your head while sleeping. This could be a very important piece of the puzzle for you.

Some links I found through searching for "EMF syndrome sensitivity":
http://www.spinspace.com/biophysics/emfsens.htm
http://cpbb.drofdetox.com/learnmore/...tion_emfss.pdf

This is a very real issue. Many people only show very "mild" symptoms of this issue, like insomnia or a seeming inability to reach a deep/refreshing state of sleep.