Looking back on your 5 year self, what would be your advise be to deal with your Sleeping issues?

[MoiveMarcus]

I'm pretty sure answering this question could help a bucket load of people already with your experiences sleeping issue(s).

Can the more experienced people go all out and detail how you would help yourselves at the beginning of your journey with your sleeping issues (an adult version of you) or someone who had just found out/been diagnosed with your condition or simply that they identified with it?

feel free to include any habits that you changed, how to navigate your countries healthcare system, which jobs helped you adjust to a more agreeable lifestyle, the use of crutches such as alcohol, coffee. drugs; which supplements helped, some people might have things to say about medication but all should acknowledge everyone is different especially regarding medication

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Think if I could go back 5 years I wouldn't have used alcohol to help me sleep at night due to somniphobia. I would have gotten help earlier and would have been referred to Italk earlier. Also I may not have ended up with a fatty liver either if wouldn't have drank like a fish in the evenings. Least I think I am going in the correct direction now. Hence summon it up: I would have seemed help earlier!!

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Seeked help earlier. Hate predictive text!

[Metabobbly]

I started on working to improve my sleep, but have since learnt a lot about different supplements and metabolic processes. At the moment I am running few protocols that uprate my metabolism for various reasons. Actually last night was the first night on the new protocol that my fitbit said my sleep was "good" with about 6 1/2 hours solid sleep.

There is a need to balance out the different metabolic issues. To give a bit more detail

Vitamin K2 MK7 - I am taking this to decalcify my soft tissues, but it also increases the metabolic rate of the mitchondria and hence acts to keep me awake.

NMM a NAD+ booster - this I am taking to give more power to cells particulary for DNA repair, but also other things.

CaAKG - also uprates the Krebs Cycle.

Resveratrol - has an interesting mixture of effects. Now and again I take a bit of extra Citric Acid which also underpins the Krebs Cycle.

I hence have some quite complex routines for handling sleep, but have moved on from focussing entirely on sleep, but instead trying to improve my cellular health more generally. Things like Zinc, Boron, Vitamin D are also relevant.

I am also currently using a limited feeding schedule where I have breakfast at 11am and eat dinner at 5pm with a view to consuming no energy after 5pm until I have breakfast the next day. (This is to encourage autophagy and cellular maintenance).

I am 61 and generally go through each day being active all day although I go to bed early and am often asleep by 9pm. (which means waking up quite early).

What my younger self needs to understand about sleep, however, is the GABA-Glutamate balance, the Sleep pressure Adeonsine system and the Cortisol Awakening Response and the various strategies to use to make these work the way I want them to.