A few years ago I realized I wasn't getting enough sleep. So I junked my old futon mattress and bed frame. I changed my mattress, got a memory foam, with tempurpedic pillows, poly knit bedliner ... the whole nine yards. The result? I didn't have aches or pains anymore but I still didn't feel like I was getting a great night sleep. I still felt tired no matter how many hours of sleep I would get.

Anyway, my life changed like a month ago when I randomly slept with an ex girlfriend.

Few years back, when we were together she always complained about my snoring keeping her awake at night. I was all like "I sleep through it, so should you." Unbeknownst to me, she would shove and push me during the night to get me to change positions in my sleep in order to get me to stop snoring. We broke up eventually but still see each other in the same social circles.

So one day I was surfing the internet, downloading porn or whatever, and I saw this ad for this blue headband looking dealy that was supposed to help you stop snoring. I call it a headband but its really not. It looks like a headband, but you're supposed to wear it vertically from your chin under your lower lip to the back/top of your scalp rather than like a traditional headband that you wear around the forehead. And it has slots thru the sides so it doesn't bother your ears. So I ordered this strange headband looking thing online -- it had a 30-day money-back offer and I let my ex know how it was supposed to stop snoring and that if she helped me test it out I'd get it. She agreed so I ordered the thing. But then we argued about something some dumb ****...i don't remember what... and we weren't talking to each other when the headband got delivered. So i tossed it in my closet and forgot about it figuring i'd break it out someday.

So a month ago I slept with an ex-gf and it changed my life. We were falling asleep. I began snoring (i guess) and she was elbowing me in the ribs, so I remembered the headband, got it and threw it on and went back to sleep. You don't want to wear it in the light fellas, it makes you look like a retarded smurf with hair clumps. In the morning upon waking she remarked how well she had slept through the night and that the headband must have worked. For myself I felt like I hadn't slept that well in years. And we only got like 4-5 hours of sleep that night. I went out and played basketball that morning at 8am for two and a half hours. I haven't had to wear it since for my ex but i've been wearing it every night anyway just for the way it helps my sleep.

It works for me because it keeps my upper lip and jaw from dropping open in my sleep. When that happens, it actually restricts airflow, which can cause snoring and not getting enough oxygen during sleep. By only breathing through my nose during sleep, I get proper airflow, so I'm getting fully oxygenated during sleep. Imaging someone choking you for 6 hours a night... that was what it was like for me before I got this headband contraption. I wasn't breathing right, so the quality of my rest suffered.

I know i'm not the only guy who snores out there... I just never cared. Nor did I know what it was a sign of... think about it.. what is the evolutionary reason for someone to snore? What purpose does snoring serve? Perhaps it is a signal that you're not getting proper oxygen during sleep.

I don't even get much sleep these days, maybe 6 hours a night on average, but the sleep I get is quality.

kam77 wrote:

Solace wrote:Do you have link for the headband?

It looks funny, but for me it works and I don't need to drink caffeine during the day anymore. I don't know if I have sleep apnea or anything. I know it helped with the snoring though.

https://mysnoringsolution.com/Default007.aspx

Heh, I was just curious. I know someone who could use one. But, that just looks ridiculous... and $90 for a strap for your head.

Solace wrote:

kam77 wrote:

Solace wrote:Do you have link for the headband?

It looks funny, but for me it works and I don't need to drink caffeine during the day anymore. I don't know if I have sleep apnea or anything. I know it helped with the snoring though.

https://mysnoringsolution.com/Default007.aspx

Heh, I was just curious. I know someone who could use one. But, that just looks ridiculous... and $90 for a strap for your head.

Yeah it looks odd but most people's eyes stay shut at night.

Figure you spend 30% of your life sleeping. If you're not getting good sleep, you're hurting yourself. Getting sick more often, not able to recover better from stress or exercise , they're finding all sorts of health problems are made worse through a lack of sleep.

The money is like a penny a night if you plan on living at least 27 more years.

my problem: i just can't fall asleep at a normal hour. i would get into bed around 11 and would toss and turn for hours w/o falling asleep. sometimes i look at the clock and it's 3am. sometimes it's 430. just terrible. and i would pay for it the next day and then the same problem the next night. i would snooze my alarm for 1 hour (in 10 min intervals) every morning trying to get in an extra bit of sleep before work.

and then during the night, i would wake up after a few hours and it would take me forever to fall back asleep. like i would have an intense dream, wake up and then just lay there in bed.

the funny thing is tho, that if i fall asleep at 430am, and it's the weekend, i can sleep through all the way till noon or so. but even that's not uninterrupted as i get phone calls, etc.

this has been brutal and has plagued me for years. i tried ambien/lunesta for a few weeks 2 years ago but that didn't help one bit.

and i went to india back in february and it got worse when i came back. i was really at a loss.

so i started looking online for some help and i self diagnosed myself as someone that suffers from delays sleep phase syndrome (DSPS):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_sleep_phase_syndrome

Delayed sleep-phase syndrome (DSPS), also known as delayed sleep-phase disorder (DSPD) or delayed sleep-phase type (DSPT), is a circadian rhythm sleep disorder, a chronic disorder of the timing of sleep, peak period of alertness, the core body temperature rhythm, hormonal and other daily rhythms relative to societal norms. People with DSPS tend to fall asleep some hours after midnight and have difficulty waking up in the morning.[1]

Often, people with the disorder report that they cannot sleep until early morning, but fall asleep at about the same time every "night". Unless they have another sleep disorder such as sleep apnea in addition to DSPS, patients can sleep well and have a normal need for sleep. Therefore, they find it very difficult to wake up in time for a typical school or work day. If, however, they are allowed to follow their own schedules, e.g. sleeping from 4 a.m. to noon, they sleep soundly, awaken spontaneously, and do not experience excessive daytime sleepiness.

it described my sleep behavior perfectly.

so now that i think i've diagnosed it, what's the cure?

that's when i found this: philips golite blue light therapy device

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-goLITE-BLU-Therapy-Device/dp/B001I45XL8

light therapy has been used to help people with sleeping issues. you can go to the link and read how it works but 2 weeks ago i got it and this is what i do:

the first night, i set this alarm up for 930am (on a saturday). when you wake up, the thing lights up for 30mins (you can control this). you basically sit in front of it and do whatever you want to do (like check emails, etc.)...but it must be in your peripheral line of sight. you don't look directly into it, but it must sit at like a 30 degree angle off your direct line of vision. it triggers stuff in your eyes that release some hormones. (again, go to the link to read how it works). i sat in front of it for 30 mins.

the next day, i set the alarm up for 830am (you are recommened to fix sleep phase shift by 1 hour each day). i repeated the same thing.

the third day, i set it up for 730am (monday morning). and then finally the fourth day, i set it up for 645am (the time i want to get up every day).

so did it work? resoundingly...YES.

i now fall asleep at a normal hour, anywhere from 1030-1130pm. and i fall asleep quickly. i no longer toss and turn struggling. sleep comes natural. i do wake up once or twice at night after an intense dream, but fall back asleep within minutes. and now, my natural clock has me waking up on cue at 630am every day before the alarm even rings.

this has been the case for the past 2 weeks and i feel great. alot of energy in the morning and i get sleepy when the time comes. i even got up at 645 this past saturday. i decided to sleep in a bit on sunday and got up at 8am. that for me is a major accomplishment. for years i have suffered from sleep issues but this little device fixed me up really quick. now i only have to sit in front of it for 15-20 mins instead of the inital 30 the first 3-4 days.

this type of therapy is also used to fix jet lag and seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

if you have similar issues, i would suggest looking into this...