Sleeping well – no longer maintained
written by: admin
Date Written: 11/27/22
Last Updated: 10/5/25
Introduction
One of the keys to a productive day is getting a good night's sleep. I have been having trouble getting enough sleep for the past several years and have been taking steps to correct this. This has been a long process, but I believe I have been making a lot of progress.
I am dividing sleep into two separate areas: pre-sleep ritual and sleeping.
Bed
Baseline: I was sleeping on a carpeted floor with a generic sheet, flat feather pillow, and old cheap quilt.
Mattress: I bought a Lebeda mattress. This was my first real mattress and it felt wonderful to have that padding underneath me. I no longer had a hard floor under me and yet had the level of support I wanted. This may sound strange, but I do not have or use box springs under my mattress. I don't see the need.
Sheets: Next I purchased
MyPillow Giza Dream Sheets 400 thread count. More is not necessarily better when it comes to thread count. What is important is to find what is best for you. These sheets are so soft and cool. It made my previous sheets feel rough by comparison.
Pillow: For the pillow I bought two different ones and I am not yet sure which I prefer. The first is a
Coop Queen Pillow. It was certainly fluffy and soft. My previous pillow was so flat it was like sleeping on a rolled up t-shirt, this was a great improvement, especially with the MyPillow pillowcase that I got with my MyPillow sheets. I can't really complain, but I later purchased the
MyPillow pillow and while it seems to have less firmness and support, I have to add that my back pain disappeared overnight, so I am currently using the MyPillow brand for now.
MyPillow is pretty unique among the pillows I have tried. It never loses its fluffiness, is very soft and moldable yet keeps its shape after being molded.
Update 9/28/25: After nearly 3 years of use, this is my favorite pillow and I love it.
Covers: I replaced both of my old aging, generic quilts with a
MyPillow 700 fill Down Comforter (
Update 9/28/25: only 600 fill are available/sold) with
MyPillow Duvet Cover. This has to be my favorite addition to my bedding. This is beyond my expectations. It was so light when it came that I was a bit skeptical to say the least. After I got underneath it and felt it envelope me like a fluffy cloud I was
very impressed and still am after several months (
Update 9/28/25: 3 years). The Duvet cover is basically a protective sheet covering for your down comforter. With a down comforter you will sleep warmly and comfortably. It feels like when you were a kid and your mom or dad literally tucked the blankets around your body for the night. A down comforter is a few hundred dollars, but is an investment that will last many years and probably decades.
Misc: For my room I play brown noise at night, I have a humidity/temperature sensor, and humidifier during the winter. Blackout curtains for my windows.
Bed time ritual
Brush.
No screen time at least 1 hour before bed. Two or more hours of no screen time is better. The lighting inhibits the melatonin production in the brain making sleep more difficult. I am working on changing my screen time habits, but it is not easy.
Before bed I take some melatonin gummies about 30 minutes before bed. It works and gives you a natural sleep. I advise against alcohol or diphenhydramine (found in Benadryl, Equate Allergy relief, etc.) as these will give you unnatural sleep. It is easy to develop a tolerance to diphenhydramine after 2 days and the first day you take you will feel the effects in 90 minutes and for about the next 18 hours. I always feel like I have lost a day after taking it and it never seems to put me back into a normal sleep cycle. I am sure it would work if you have insomnia and melatonin is not working.
Update 9/28/25: I have noticed that it is best to take the Melatonin only as needed and that I can feel the effects for about 2 - 3 days and caffeine only minimally masks the effects. Preferably, it is better to take it the day before a day off. It does give a good night's rest though.
Other Tips:
- Have breakfast and clothes prepared for the next day to make getting up that much easier.
- If possible, have a clean room and made bed.
- Try to take care of any stressors that you are able to deal with such as unresolved conflicts with someone or talk with someone about whatever other issues may be stressing you out. Stress is a good hindrance to sleep.
- Avoid caffeine before bed.
Conclusion
I am not there yet, but I have come a long way towards getting a good night's sleep. I am getting maybe 6 hours of sleep a night now. I was getting about 4 hours a night. My goal is to get 8-9 hours of sleep a night. Yep, even with the above, I am still not getting enough sleep, so this is all still a work in progress.
Some things I will be trying next include supplemental fruits and vegetables in pill form, modifying my pre-sleep routine, possibly getting a down mattress topper, getting chiropractic care, doing some stretches or exercise. I'll try to update this post as I try different things if they work.
Update 9/28/25: Chiropractic care helped, exercises help somewhat, I felt no effects from the supplemental fruits and vegetables in pill form at all and I took it for 1 - 2 years. I get about 6 - 7.5 hours of sleep per night and I am pretty happy with that.
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