[Saith]

I'm on a caloric deficit at the moment and trying to get enough sleep is fucking impossible.

[Ziltoid]

Originally Posted by Saith

I'm on a caloric deficit at the moment and trying to get enough sleep is fucking impossible.

Oh man. I hear you. When I was cutting weight I would go to sleep hungry and I was very irritated and was very hard for me to sleep.

[cheath]

I'd suggest some behavioral psychology methods. Improving nighttime/sleep behaviors and possibly resetting your circadian rhythm. We do all kinds of things to condition our bodies for shitty sleep patters, so you have to fix those things. I avoid sleep aids, as the psychological consequences can become very hard to deal with.

[Jake Martin]

Originally Posted by cheath

I'd suggest some behavioral psychology methods. Improving nighttime/sleep behaviors and possibly resetting your circadian rhythm. We do all kinds of things to condition our bodies for shitty sleep patters, so you have to fix those things. I avoid sleep aids, as the psychological consequences can become very hard to deal with.

This is the best advice. If you don't already, make sure your bed is used only for sleep (and sex). No TV or anything that will get your CNS fired up as you're preparing to go to sleep...get a routine (wash your face, brush your teeth, whatever) that tells your mind "okay, time to power down for the night."

[millasur]

Originally Posted by Ziltoid

Oh man. I hear you. When I was cutting weight I would go to sleep hungry and I was very irritated and was very hard for me to sleep.

how can you even fall asleep like this? When I'm training hard and eating big i sometimes can't sleep because I'm hungry (eg if ive had my nighttime meal, had my shake, but end up staying up for another 2-3hours). Can't even begin to imagine how bad life wud b with -calories

[Darksky]

Always struggled, somethings that have helped are those natutre sound CDs, warm milk, sleeptime tea, PnJ, and a valerian root mixture like VHT.

[King Kabuki]

I just finished reading Game of Shadows so the ZMA references are a funny coincidence.

That book sucks, and so do the mooks who wrote it.

Anywho, I'll go ahead and suggest time-released melatonin if all else fails. The time-releasing is important because it'll keep you asleep. Some people don't continue to secrete sleep hormones at night, and are proned to waking up. Melatonin remedies that problem, is safe, cheap, and usually efficient.

Some people report grogginess upon waking when using it, but that's normal and subsides once REM sleep becomes routine to the body.

[Saith]

Originally Posted by Darksky

Always struggled, somethings that have helped are those natutre sound CDs, warm milk, sleeptime tea, PnJ, and a valerian root mixture like VHT.

Night time tea? Really? I would think the caffeine would just keep you up for another hour. Not to mention the resulting bladder discharge.

[Ian Coe]

Originally Posted by Saith

Night time tea? Really? I would think the caffeine would just keep you up for another hour. Not to mention the resulting bladder discharge.

I always drink tea within a hour of going to bed.

I used to drink coffee before going to bed

Different people have different reactions (as long as you don't go to high amounts, I don't think anyone could sleep after say 200mg)

[TTrent]

Originally Posted by cheath

I'd suggest some behavioral psychology methods. Improving nighttime/sleep behaviors and possibly resetting your circadian rhythm. We do all kinds of things to condition our bodies for shitty sleep patters, so you have to fix those things. I avoid sleep aids, as the psychological consequences can become very hard to deal with.

as someone mentioned before, this is really good advice. i've always had sleep problems since highschool. i got around 5-6 hours then, and over the years in college it dwindled to about 2-3 hours a night, waking up about once every hour, freaking sucked. a few times a month i actually couldn't fall asleep at all (this was even proven during sleep studies i did)

getting into a cycle really helped me along with a few other things (many of which were already mentioned by others)

1. bed is just for sex and sleep, dont read or watch tv in it. your mind makes the wrong association with staying up while in bed.

2. keep a clean, comfortable room if possible. get rid of or cover any digital LED clocks. make your bed. make sure you have a mattress and pillow that give you good comfortable support (especially if you're a person who can never find a comfortable sleeping position like me)

3. always try to get in bed at the same time everyday. make a schedule that gives you enough hours to sleep whether it's weekdays or weekends. have one schedule every day so you dont have to sleep in on your off days.

4. diet/exercise (a given)

5. dont take naps

6. give yourself 15-20 min before bed as a sleep prep period. brush your teeth, do the little nagging things you forgot to do earlier. during this time i also like to write down all the little stuff that i'm afraid of forgetting like appointments for the next day, grocery list, things i need to remember to do, even stupid stuff like the name of a song i wanted to look for on the computer. basically you shouldn't go to bed trying to keep things in your head that you're afraid you'll forget.

7. wake up the same time everyday regardless of how much sleep you got. i think some may disagree with this but i feel it helps complete the internal cycle and keep it consistent.

you might want to try asking you pharmacist what they recommend as a mild over the counter medicine to help. if it's still bad you may want to see your doctor. i did all the above stuff i mentioned and it didn't really work much, my doc put me on a sleeping pill that was found to be non addictive, after a week of using the aids and doing the stuff above my cycle was back and now i'm sitting here with over 20 pills that i dont need anymore lol. though if i do break my cycle (stay out late, sleep in, etc) i find that my sleep cycle goes back to the way it use to be and it takes a few days using the sleeping aid to get it back. personally i'd only recommend using prescription sleep aids if all else fails and your sleep gets real bad. tho i didn't experience any of the bad side effects (i wasn't on them for very long), there are some really bad ones that you shouldn't take lightly.