Discover the best of the web!
Learn more about Digg by taking the tour.
Relax Like A Pro: 5 Steps to Hacking Your Sleep
fourhourworkweek.com — Here are a few effective techniques and hacks I ’ve picked up over the last five years from sources ranging from biochemistry PhDs to biologists at Stanford University…
msaleem- 171 diggs
- digg it
- adryenn, on 01/28/2008, -0/+0I have a similar 'time to sleep' problem, but also the stay asleep problem! One glass of wine at dinner, or a couple of Tylenol PM will do the trick and knock me out quick and for 8+ hours, but I hate relying on anything. Although I am a serious anti-ice girl (I really dislike the cold), I'm going to try all the other techniques. With the schedule jamming up due to the release of my book, I'm going to need all the sleep help I can get! Thanks again for another great tip. Regards, Adryenn Ashley
- jggube, on 01/28/2008, -0/+2I am also on the same boat (#5), where I can sleep for ages, but I have a hard time actually falling asleep. I have a harder time sleeping when it's completely quiet and I have nothing to distract myself. I have found (from a separate experience, not through this article) that planning out your tasks helps tremendously. Before I planned my tasks ahead of time (i.e. a day or two before I do them), I used to fall asleep watching t.v., it's the only thing that kept me from thinking too much, haha.
With #4, I've heard this tons of time, unfortunately 1-2pm for most people means they're at work, and if you do this after work, then you're pretty much setting yourself up to stay up all night. I will try this out on a weekend where I have a ton of things to do, just for kicks (usually a redbull or two does the trick of keeping me energetic). - timbofirstblood, on 01/28/2008, -0/+1I dugg it because it is interesting, but I had a really hard time getting past the poster's use of the word "hack." What is the deal with the broad use of the word lately?
- ORMEs, on 01/28/2008, -0/+2I think the hackers are trying to restore the positive side of the term that has been receiving an increasingly derogatory connotation by the media. But yeah, the use of the term has become an excess in contexts unrelated to anything technological, such as sleeping tips.
- bamafun, on 01/28/2008, -0/+2I have a hard time finding a balance - too much sleep..... I feel bad - not enough sleep... I feel bad.
- naturalathlete, on 01/29/2008, -0/+1I have the similar problem of the jitter legs where I lay in bed for hours dreaming about what I am going to do while constantly moving my legs. As a professional athlete I always do the ice tub after workouts during the season and it usually helps, I think I will go back to it in the off season as well. Great tips Tim.
- sleepdock, on 01/29/2008, -0/+1This was an interesting post. As a sleep specialist, I'd add a few comments:
1) The Glycemic Index is always a topic of discussion. If you go for High GI foods do it about 4 hours before bed. Anything after that should be low GI foods. It basically falls around the idea of a sugar high and then crash. It is, as is everything, all in the timing.
2) The idea of ice baths are new to me. Studies show that HOT baths will raise core body temp then causing a drop, which is a signal to release Melatonin. But thinking about it, if you can be a polar bear, and get your body cold quickly, it may work. However, be careful since data has shown that sleeping in areas below 65 degrees can be disruptive to sleep.
3) What I have been calling the “Caff-Nap” in my book Beauty Sleep is exactly what Tim's discussing. However I would add that espresso is not the drink of choice here but regular drip coffee (much higher caff content), and it should be lukewarm (trying to fall asleep with burns on the roof of your mouth, just ain’t easy).
4) Remember also that the light source you read with before bed can in fact affect sleep. I ask patients to change the bedside table lamp to a 40 Watt bulb, or use a book light (check out the Lightwedge, very cool).
Digg is coming to a city (and computer) near you! Check out all the details on our 
© Digg Inc. 2008 —
Content posted by