ApoE4.Info

I'm not one to chase after advice from miscellaneous blog posts. This one is a little different, because it's written by a Juilliard alumnus & faculty member who also has a degree in performance psychology, and coaches aspiring and professional musicians to do better, be it in the practice room, auditions or performing. I've followed his weekly articles for several years to improve my own performance, and have found many good, well researched, and cited practices.

Anyhoo, last week he posted a new article about how to fall back asleep, if you wake and your brain won't just turn off. Because we just moved and my brain was busy creating my to do list in the middle of the night, I found the timing impeccable, and the advice spot on. This approach worked well for me to get back to sleep after several middle of the night ruminations..

Here's the article.

My advice would be to pick a word that doesn't repeat a letter, so instead of "bedtime", I use "daisy" because if you run out of "E" words while working through "bedtime", the second "E" can be annoying. And have a spare word in mind in case you get through the first word and are still awake. I had to use my second word just once.

Hope it works as well for you as it has for me. Sweet dreams.

Wow. This is working very well. Thank you!

Nords wrote:Wow. This is working very well. Thank you!

Hi, Nords, glad it works for you! The process seems so simple to believe it would work, but it has not failed me yet over several weeks now.

SusanJ wrote:The process seems so simple to believe it would work, but it has not failed me yet over several weeks now.

I would not say it is 100% for me, but it does work most of the time. I'm a tough case! I like the app better as I don't have to think up new words, just visualize what is said

I also do this body scan beforehand. It came from another group I'm in

Tincup wrote:I like the app better as I don't have to think up new words, just visualize what is said

Interesting about the app. Haven't tried it, mostly because I can get back to sleep within about 3 letters now. I've even quit using a word and just start at some random letter in the alphabet.

SusanJ wrote: Interesting about the app. Haven't tried it, mostly because I can get back to sleep within about 3 letters now. I've even quit using a word and just start at some random letter in the alphabet.

Hi Susan, This is such an interesting sleep intervention. As soon as I read your post and the linked article, I g]began pr timing it. The first few times I tried this I used a word. Now, like you, I randomly select a letter, and if I need a new one, I pick another. Very simple. I do find it relaxing, and think it is helping me fall back to sleep quickly when I wake up in the night. I haven’t tried the app yet.

Thanks, Susan. This is definitely helping me easily fall back to sleep most nights. If something is “up” for me and I’m unaware of it and go to bed with whatever that something is unresolved, it’s less effective.

I’ve found the need to change the word I’m using every five days or so. Otherwise, the activity becomes too repetitive, and I tend to pick the same words for each letter. As a result, my mind wanders, which defeats the purpose of what I’m attempting to do.

I like the idea of just starting with a random letter. I’ll try that.

SusanJ wrote:This approach worked well for me to get back to sleep after several middle of the night ruminations..

Well, I was skeptical, but after trying it, I have to join the crowd and report that this technique has worked amazingly well for me. Thanks for posting it.

(As an alternative for some, my sister said that she just mentally recites the hail mary prayer a number of times and that also works to block off rumination and let her slide back into sleep.)

SusanJ wrote:My advice would be to pick a word that doesn't repeat a letter, so instead of "bedtime", I use "daisy" because if you run out of "E" words while working through "bedtime", the second "E" can be annoying. ;) And have a spare word in mind in case you get through the first word and are still awake. I had to use my second word just once.

I've used this tactic for a solid 11 weeks-- long enough to form a habit-- and it's a winner.

I have not had to go beyond the first "e" in "bedtime." I don't watch the clock, and that's the nice part. It only takes 5-10 minutes and I never think to check the time. When I wake up in the middle of the night (bathroom or a loud noise) then I can go right back to sleep.
When I wake up at my usual time (4-5 AM) I'm fully rested.

Best of all, I'm not wasting my time thinking about my breathing or reviewing my life choices or trying to shut off the rock&roll soundtrack in my head.

Thanks again for posting this, @SusanJ!

Nords wrote:Thanks again for posting this, @SusanJ!

My pleasure. Happy to share my hacks to help my fellow E4 travelers get a decent night's sleep.

My husband has started using it to deal with the stress of dealing with moving his sister to memory care after his brother-in-law's recent passing. It's not a 100% for him, but it's helping.