I’m always fatigued and struggle with migraines. Any suggestions from people that have improved their nightly deep sleep?
Note: I have IBS and the long gaps awake are normally…. Well you can figure it out.
Man go to bed at midnight
We have very different sleep. For me: I get about 1/8 deep and almost always exclusive to the first half of the night. (Apple tracked sleep pattern that seems common anecdotally; I haven’t checked if a general sleep pattern in studies.)
Only thing I’ve noticed that increases deep sleep reliably so far has been, and I apologize if this feels rude, but it is relevant, is having had sex directly before. (Which is a great reason for it! :)
That said, as you can see, you’ve got much more atypical sleep.
Not an expert here. But I’d try recording yourself and seeing what’s going on at night. (I know there are audio apps for this, maybe video as well.)
If you can rule out snoring or not breathing (blood oxygen readings may help there) you can start looking at things like what you are, ambient noise, etc.
There are also drugs that help with sleep maintenance vs offset. And I know of at least one that purportedly doesn’t disrupt deep sleep. (A common problem with sleep drugs is they also disrupt sleep itself; but there do seem to be a few good ones out there.)
No alcohol, at least 15k steps a day, last coffee around 4PM and in bed before 12.
Have you considered the possibility that you have sleep apnea?
I work 4x12hr shifts and rotate days and nights week to week, sleeping ~9pm-5am one week, and ~7am-3pm the filling week- so I have tried various things to ensure I get decent sleep.
The one thing that hands down affected my sleep in the most positive way is to avoid screen time for 2-3hrs before bed. If I need to be up at 5 and my goal is to get to sleep at 9, then my phone is going onto the charger at 6:30pm and not being picked up unless it’s an emergency! Same goes for tv- I used to watch tv before bed and found I couldn’t sleep well. I now read in bed and it not only doesn’t keep me up like tv watching did, but I actually makes me drowsy and I fall asleep easier. It’s hard to not give in and be watching tv while on my phone… but I realized how much better all aspects of my life are if I sleep well, and it’s a sacrifice that has to be made. Plus, I can use my phone whenever I want at any other time during the day so it’s not actually that big of a sacrifice.
Secondary things to that- avoiding caffeine after 12, having a dedicated wind down period before bed, making my bed when I wake up so it’s all ready for me at bedtime, keeping my room around 20C when it’s time to sleep, using a white noise machine, having a shower before bed, using a diffuser with a ‘sleep blend’ of oils in my bedroom, blackout curtains, and avoiding alcohol on work nights.