originally posted on 14-03-2016 8:08 PM

Hello everyone! I'm looking forward to tonight's GR sesh.

I managed to get a refreshing 9 hours of sleep today. Didn't need to be anywhere today so no alarm was set.

originally posted on 14-03-2016 8:10 PM

Hiya @ryvb3!

Woooo sounds like a good day if you were able to wake up whenever your body woke 🙂

originally posted on 14-03-2016 8:07 PM

Hey!!

 

I love this topic! Sleep is something I have always found hard, but this year I've been doing really really well with it.

 

How much sleep did you get last night? How did this make you feel?

 

I got close to 8 hours sleep I think, which is really good for me! Plus maybe half an hour extra on top where I fell back asleep this morning when I realised I didn't have work. I had a huge weekend so that contributed me sleeping well. 

This made me feel mostly ok, I didn't wake up overly tired but I didn't wake up like they do in movies where the birds are chirping outside and everything seems so great. 

originally posted on 14-03-2016 8:09 PM

Thanks so much for joining us @j95! stoked to have you here 🙂

Haha when I wake up and can hear birds they are always massive cockatoos and I wish they would shut up. I guess they help get me out of bed though

originally posted on 14-03-2016 8:12 PM

@CICI there is a large group of crows that like to squawk??? outside my bedroom window every morning and this sounds really bad but I just wish I had a slingshot like Bart Simpson, I also wish I could use it on them from the comfort of my bed.

originally posted on 14-03-2016 8:13 PM

Haha I totally get where you are coming from @j95 and I am a massive bird lover.

Anything that interupts a slow wake up gets on my nerves

originally posted on 14-03-2016 8:18 PM

Hey @ClCl!

I'm the opposite, as soon as I'm up, I'm up. Although I have the same problem as Jay (Melbourne thing???) where there's a big tree and we have the local crow squawking for hours in the morning. I like listening to the birds but the crow can be irritating.

originally posted on 14-03-2016 8:16 PM

My neighbours used to play horrible horrible music at like 7am every single day before they left for work, which is ok because I'm usually up by then but on the weekends it was making me wake up and have angry start to the day. passive agressive me wrote them a note and put it in their letter box, haven't heard any music since.

originally posted on 14-03-2016 8:14 PM

Now we have all considered out night sleep last night...

 

2. What do you think sleep hygiene is?

originally posted on 14-03-2016 8:16 PM

What do you think sleep hygiene is?

 

To me, sleep hygiene is all about getting a good nights sleep. So that involves what to do and what not to do.

originally posted on 14-03-2016 8:21 PM

Sleep hygiene is about the things that you do or avoid doing so you can fall asleep easily and feel refreshed after.

originally posted on 14-03-2016 8:23 PM

It sounds like you have a really good routine @FootyFan26 which is awsome! Do you wake up feeling refreshed?

originally posted on 14-03-2016 8:26 PM

@Stealth_ninja I wake up refreshed no matter how much sleep I've had. Only when i wake up at 2-3am and know I have to go back to sleep gets annoying a bit.

originally posted on 14-03-2016 8:36 PM

3. What can be some barriers to getting a good night sleep?

 

I like @FootyFan26's term 'brain stimulants'. Things we like doing that will keep our brains ticking over rather than winding down gears into sleep mode. SO that's definitely a barrier. I think there's a lot of stuff that's internal too. We can fill up with thoughts and worries that feel like they have to be dealt with ASAP and that is a kind of stimulant too i think.

 

Also light! We have a gland in our brain called the Pineal gland (it's called that cause it looks like a teeny tiny pine-cone:P). It's very good at telling when your eyes are detecting light and then deciding it must be day time and waking you up. I have been told that even a tiny bit of light can throw off some people's sleep cycles! Although it's not such a big deal for me, so i should probably go nerd out about it a bit more and find out how big a deal light is in terms of sleep...

 

 

originally posted on 14-03-2016 8:38 PM

It's interesting that you say that about small bits of light @Ben-RO I left my laptop on all night the other night because it was updating or something, even though it was mostly folded down and not facing me having it sit on my desk glowing all night really did impact on my sleep, I actually woke up heaps. And sometimes I plug it in to charge and when the tiny tiny light goes green to say it's done I'll wake up. I should leave it out of my bedroom from now on.

originally posted on 14-03-2016 8:37 PM

Yo @Bay52VU! Sup? Good to see you!

originally posted on 14-03-2016 8:31 PM

Yeah i get kind of broken sleep too if I wake up to go to the toilet or somethign in the night. I agree with ben though, you have a lot of self control! It's really great! @FootyFan26

originally posted on 14-03-2016 8:33 PM

Cheers! 🙂

originally posted on 14-03-2016 8:25 PM

Seems like we all have little things that affect us when it comes to being able to sleep well!

 

We have already touched upon some of these...

 

3. What can be some barriers to getting a good night sleep?

originally posted on 14-03-2016 8:34 PM

3. What can be some barriers to getting a good night sleep?

• Using your phone for hours and realising that its 2am 😛 (i.e., staying up)
• Stress or anxiety about the following day; thinking too much
• Drinking tea or coffee in the evening (i find it difficult to fall asleep when I do that)

originally posted on 14-03-2016 8:35 PM

 

originally posted on 14-03-2016 8:32 PM

What can be some barriers to getting a good night sleep?

 

For me, my main barrier to a good night sleep is whenever my PTSD has been triggered. My brain finds that me being asleep during the night is something that is extremely dangerous for me.

 

Other things that stop me from having a decent sleep include using laptop and phone in bed. Staying up way too late. Having caffiene after midday, although most of the time I can get away with it. 

 

Eating too late. Going back to sleep once I have woken up. Going to bed before 10 pm. My body just thinks it'll have a nap instead of sleeping the whole night.

originally posted on 14-03-2016 8:36 PM

Ooo ... I forgots to say that staying to bed all day no matter the activity is bad for your sleep.

originally posted on 14-03-2016 8:37 PM

There is such a variety of things for all of us that can get in the way of sleeping well !