It's a problem
It's a problem
27 comments
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Does anyone have tips for this
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- Do all the usual sleep advice: no caffeine the day before, no electronics in bed, no bright lights, etc. Make sure the only thing keeping you awake is anxiety.
- If anxiety is the only thing keeping you up, then the only way to get sleep is to reduce the anxiety. Different things will work for different people, it's worth experimenting to see what works best. There are a million different ways.
- If you can't calm down, just accept that you may not get any sleep. For the vast majority of situations, a night without sleep will not hurt you or your performance as much as you think. Sometimes the best way to calm down is to realize that the stakes are not as high as you imagined and that you are going to be okay.
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Bonus tip re: your last bullet is just try and lay in bed and keep your eyes closed, almost like an extended meditation. I let my mind wander etc not like a structured meditation, but just try and physically rest. This def takes the sting out of lack of sleep.
Also, a big part of dark bags under your eyes is not letting them rest. This helps a ton with that even if I’m only getting a handful of true sleep hours on a given night. And psychologically, not having the “heavy eyes” feeling helps when I’m awake.
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Point 3 only applies if you otherwise get healthy sleep
If you usually get sucky sleep anyway, a night with even less or none will absolutely affect you
Source: I only sleep like 5.5-6 hours a night
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All the "sleep hygiene" advice helps, but I also find listening to a lowkey podcast in the dark distracts and relaxes me. When I start drifting off I stop the playback and (usually) fall asleep.
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Mantras.
As you’re trying to fall asleep, repeat in your mind ‘I will awake at seven alert and refreshed’. (e: or six or five, or whatever, but keep a rhythm.)
If your thoughts are intruding, say it aloud. Keep your phrase to four beats (awake, seven, alert, and refreshed should be even beats). Keep saying or thinking it, over and over, until you fall asleep. Sync it to your breath and heartbeat.
It sounds stupid and simple, but it works.
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Paying attention to my breathing has sometimes worked (though not always) (not changing it, but feeling how your chest goes up and down and hearing the air rushing in and out and maybe even picturing the rhythm in your head). It distracts me from other thoughts and calms me down.
If that doesn't work, I try to distract myself with an interesting fiction book. That normally brings my head to less adrenaline-inducing thoughts (since now when trying to fall asleep I will be more focused on who the murderer of the dead child could be, or why the Zogophonts abandoned that resource-rich planet)
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Cannabis, heavy indica. Some sort of Kush usually that I keep in reserve, I rarely smoke these days otherwise. Knocks me straight out in this sort of situation, great sleep.
Don't overdo it or you'll be all baked and goofy feeling, you just want to be relaxed and sleepy.
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Anxiety:
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Very nice 3D meme you made for us
27 comments
Me starting my new job in 2 days that requires me to be awake at 8am while my current sleep schedule has me waking up at 4pm.
(Chuckles) I'm in danger.
Wake up at 8am tomorrow. You will be very tired, but stay out of bed. You want to be as tired as possible. Next night go to bed earlier and you shouldn't have too much trouble falling asleep before your job.
Also, if that doesn't work, don't worry too much. Your first day on the job is usually easier and you'll be able to pull through.
I just want to let you know I pulled through. I went to bed at my normal time and just woke up exhausted and just pushed through it all day. That night I passed right out after being home and it fixed everything.
I only wanted to let you know because you put a decent bit of thought into your response.
Amen brother, using the same tactics for my exam tomorrow.