Any question answered...

ah, boxed standard midlife stuff.

Should I have a sound? I can barely hear anything in my head over the constant din of self-doubt, self-pity and theme tunes to shit the kids watch on Netflix.

I think that’s normal. Reckon my sound is a combination of blood trying to get pumped around furred pipes, and residual damage from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.

(which reminds me: was the law that every support band had to be Preying Mantis?)

-Avoid using screens near bedtime

Also using something like f.lux to reduce blue light on the screen when sun goes down (lot of phones have it built in too now)

Screens before bed is a massive one. I can't sleep if I've been looking at my phone in bed (even with the colour warmed). Can imagine this is more likely when you're away from home on your own. You need a good hour or more of phone down before bed time.
Reading a kindle is fine however and I believe reading before bed has been shown to improve sleep

Yeah, I think just generally putting my phone down as much as possible in the evening is good for me - I'll often leave it on charge downstairs rather than on my bedside table.

Reading a kindle is fine however and I believe reading before bed has been shown to improve sleep

yeah this too. Elle can't get to sleep if ive got my bedside light on, so ive got a light up kindle (paperlight? whatever they're called). Despite it being a blue-ish tone, I find it really easy to read in the dark. Reading is a sure fire way to get me off to sleep - especially escapist fiction, ive found.

I have to switch mine to dark mode when the bedside light goes off so as not to disturb Her Royal Highness

The new ones that have just been released have adjustable screen colour/warmth

I use sleep meditations. But the habit needs to be a regular thing and now when I hear Michael Sealeys voice it almost triggers immediate dozing off. He does very effective hypnotic suggestion meditations they are available on YouTube and some streaming services eg Tidal. Occasionally (once every couple of months) I remain conscious for an entire hour but generally they are really effective. I have aftershokz induction earphones so they don’t disturb the person who is the person with whom I have entered into a long term partnership (how the fuck do I say “my wife” without offending someone on here). I use them every night.

I also have a pre bed routine of reviewing the day to see if there is anything (task/emotion/conversation) unresolved from the day and work out what needs to be said or done the next day to sort it out. It helps relieve the stresses of the day as there is now a solution in the pipeline.

Royal Highness

Another effective sleep aid

So have a non nicotine smokey bath wank, reading erotic, escapist fiction but not on a backlit screen whilst listening to someone hypnotising you.

Reading a kindle is fine however and I believe reading before bed has been shown to improve sleep

I take ages to get to sleep unless I've had a read in bed before trying to sleep.

Sounds like the perfect night in

It’s always a good idea to lie in bed dredging up embarrassing things you said or did over 20 years ago, too. That always really helps me drift off to sleep.

.

1 Attachment

dredging up embarrassing things you said or did over 20 years ago

Every time I chop onions I remember the time I split my hand open at Antur Stiniog, and my mate had to cut short his day's riding to take me to hospital. Sorry, Tim.

A sedating antihistamine is a safe and easily available option, if it's just for occasional use

I am 55 and there’s one I still remember from being seven. If anything, the passing years make it more crystalline: There is nowhere to run. Arrrgh.

I also have a pre bed routine of reviewing the day to see if there is anything (task/emotion/conversation) unresolved from the day and work out what needs to be said or done the next day to sort it out

This is pretty good advice. (Except how do you stop yourself from logging-on, right there and then, and trying to fix the world?)

Knowing that they are things for tomorrow is helpful. Having done this for a number of years now I can rest fairly well assured that I am likely to make progress the next day.

Yeah I can really see the logic in this. There's nothing so frustrating than the feeling of needing to resolve stuff/tie up loose ends when you're trying to sleep.

@vilms5000 the worst for me are from just before I went to uni and then maybe the first year or so there. probably fairly common young male entitlement/lack awareness stuff, but there are a maybe 3 instances that just make my toes curl even thinking about them. Hard to believe I was once even more of a twat than now, but there we go.

I saw these on Ebay.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203347493054?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=503735475927&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

Dose anyone have experience of these? Do they work? Any good?

Sure, they feel great - make sure you get the right size though, can be painful otherwise.

blue light

All that seems to be challenged recently: https://time.com/5752454/blue-light-sleep/

The main reason for avoiding screens before bed is they provide too much (mental) stimulation. Doomscrolling TwitterOmicronCovidFuckwittery is not good for relaxation (unlike reading, even on a device like a Kindle).

I stay up til 3-4am about 3 nights a week watching live NBA games, based on my own anecdata I can get to sleep much easier after a game if i've been sat in a dimly lit room with my 2x key lights on 5% at 2900k compared to my more typical setting of 4800k.