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In this episode of Hey Plant Trainers, we answer one of the most common questions asked about sleep.  Sleep is often neglected in our busy schedules as most people in society today are over-scheduled, multi-tasking and simply taking on way too many things.  Here is Jessica’s question: I have trouble falling asleep at night.  What can I do?

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23 thoughts on “How To Get Better Sleep – PTP060”
  1. Avatar Sean S

    This episode has educated me on the topic of sleep deprivation, especially since it is more common amongst children nowadays, with distractions from all our technologies and also because the blue lights emitted from them. I very much agree with the concept of creating routine, training your body to go to sleep at a consistent time, in part by the routine of pre-sleep activities. Going to sleep at the same time each day is important because it establishes a time in which your body will get ready for a healthy, deep sleep, providing energy for the next day. While I’ve heard of, and support, going to bed at the same time each day, I have never thought of other factors contributing routine that aids one’s sleep. This episode taught me that eating dinner corresponds to one’s sleep patterns and quality of sleep, but that eating too close to bedtime is a deterrent, therefore recommending waiting two hours after eating to sleep. This is something I don’t currently do, but I will reconsider. Further, I agree that using computers and technology before bed is bad, something of which I am a victim. I have noticed this first-hand as the blue-light emitting from my phone stimulates my mind. This episode enlightened me on this topic, giving me the motivation to actually try and fix my phone issue both by trying to avoid my phone at night and also changing the blue light to yellow light when I do use it. Instead of being on my computer at night, the podcast suggested that it would be better the take a soothing shower instead. Going forward, I can see myself getting reversing my schedule, eating dinner before I start my work at night and taking a shower after my studies. I have always had little knowledge in ways to improve my sleeping method but this video gave a clear and precise way of doing so, which gives me the motivation to give it a try.

    • Avatar admin

      Getting a great sleep will have a huge effect on your everyday performance in all aspects of your life!

  2. Avatar Sydney Serfaty

    Thanks Plant Trainers for the tips on how to get a better nights sleep. As a teenager I often neglect sleep, as I sometimes I will be out late with friends or I’ll stay up at night to do school work. Sleep is essential to repair the body physically and mentally and I can notice a difference when I get a good nights rest and when I do not. Often when I get into bed, I toss and turn for at least 20 minutes and sometimes more. I think this is because my mind is still focused on what I was previously doing. Throughout the school week I often stay up late studying or complete assignments, and once I’m complete I start to get ready for bed. Before listing to this podcast I didn’t know the effects that the blue light from my laptop had. After listening to the podcast, if I do need to do my work before bed I’ll save the work that does not require me to be on computer to be done at the end. As well to help me sleep I’ve tried melatonin which hasn’t really helped, now that I know magnesium is another alternative I will look into it and see if its right for me. I also found it interesting that if you have a routine your body knows how to follow. I know not every night for me is going to be the same, but implementing something that I do every night before getting into bed, such as reading a book or planning out my next day may help. Thanks again Plant Trainers for the tips, I know how important sleep is and I really want to work on getting enough rest!

    • Avatar admin

      It’s all about getting into a routine…quality of sleep is so important!

  3. Avatar Jacob

    Hey Plant Trainers! Firstly, I would love to thank you for another great podcast! This podcast in particular appealed to me as I suffer from insomnia on almost a daily basis and will definitely use some of the tips and tricks expressed here to help me improve my duration and quality of sleep. Over the past couple years, I have found that I have been up later and later every night, unable to fall asleep. Like you suggested, I listen to soft music every night before bed and take a hot shower as well. In recent months, it has gotten to the point that my sleep patters have caused me to be late for school and my morning responsibilities on a daily basis, so I tried to take Melatonin as a sleeping aid to get me back on a more regular schedule. This helped, but I suffered from side-effects like drowsiness throughout the day so I stopped taking it. I will look into the Magnesium Glycinate pill that you have suggested. I try not to eat before bed, although I do watch T.V. before bed, as well as go on my computer. I will definitely try to change these habits for the future, as per your recommendation and hope that what I have learned today will benefit me, and many other Plant Trainer Podcast listeners. Thank you again Adam and Shoshana for another great video!

    • Avatar admin

      Thanks…I would try all other tips before going to the supplements.

  4. Avatar Ben Brenman

    Wow! First of all great podcast, I have been in urgent need to finding some ways to improve my sleep as I always feel tired throughout the day. I learned from this podcast that I should keep my bedtime routine consistent. For me it changes every night, depending on my work load or the time I have to wake up the next day. I also tend to stay up really late throughout the week so that could also be a reason why I feel tired. Now I will make a schedule which I hope to follow every night to start getting a better sleep. I was also intrigued by what you said about taking magnesium and cutting down screen time. I am usually by my phone all night, but thankfully apple released their new update to avoid the eye straining and to get a better sleep so I have made a bit of an improvement. The magnesium part also caught my attention because I have seen my family members take it but I never understood why they took it. After listening to this podcast, I figured out the answer. They took it to get a better sleep. Thanks for all of these great tips for a better sleep, hopefully now I won’t be such a krabby patty in the morning by getting a better nights sleep. Once again thank you and keep up the great work!

    • Avatar admin

      Thanks! Getting yourself into a routine will definitely make a difference…as long as you stick to the routine it will become the habit you want it to be. Keep it going for 66 days and the routine will become a habit!

  5. Avatar Anaelle Cohen

    While hearing the podcast, “How to Get Better Sleep” I found it really interesting and I learned many new things. The things I learned are:
    1) Having a routine before going to bed is very important in your every day life. Our bodies are creatures of habit, it enjoys redoing things over and over again, therefore your body will react better if it knows what is going to happen next.
    2) You should go to bed 2-3 hours after you eat dinner because you will not be comfortable if your stomach is rumbling.
    3) You should not watch TV or go on your computer an hour before you go to sleep because the TV and computer are projecting light that our bodies absorb, which will cause you to stay awake and will ruin your routine.
    4) Before going to bed you should find ways to calm your body such as listening to soft music, meditation or taking a hot bath.
    5) Where you sleep should be a place of comfort. Your sleep environment should be used just for sleeping, it should not be used as an office.
    After hearing this podcast I now know that I should not be going on my phone or computer right before I go to bed and I should eat 2-3 hours before going to bed so I can get better sleep, since sleeping is very important in our lives. Now that I know better, I will try point number four, which is being relaxed before going to bed and listened to nice soft music!

    • Avatar admin

      Setting up a good bedtime routine is a great thing to do. That’s why parents of young children get their kids into the same routine every single night. Here’s to a quality sleep!

  6. Avatar Albert Bloom

    Hey plant trainers. Thanks so much for such a great podcast. I love all of them and have been eagerly waiting for one about sleep. As a bad sleeper myself, I found this podcast very helpful in my adventure to better sleep. Firstly, I 100% agree with the way you explained the habits of human beings. Me, myself have my own habit of having 1 cup of tea before I go to bed which I’m not sure is good or bad for you?Secondly, I never knew that eating so close to going to bed is bad for you which I’m going to change in my habit immediately. Thirdly, being a kid, I am constantly on my phone or computer before bed. I’ve heard here and there that watching tv is not good right before you go to bed but I never really listened to it. Now that I know for a fact that it’s not good for sleep, I’m going to try and cut down the screen time and see how it affect my ability to fall asleep. I am also going to see if the new iPhone feature which makes the screen light a warmer light will help with my sleep. I also never knew that magnesium is a sleep aid. I may want to try it out in the future. Just overall a great episode and looking forward to listening to so many more.

    • Avatar admin

      Thanks…don’t start with Magnesium if not needed. There are many other things (some of which you listed in your comments) that you can focus on prior to supplementation. Getting quality sleep is one of the keys to success!

  7. Avatar Emma

    Thank you this great episode in showing me a better way to develop better sleeping habits. This podcast showed me new techniques of what to do and what not to do before going to bed. It is interesting to know that our body needs to develop and routine to create a habit and how our body enjoys things better and is easier when we do thing over and over again. As well I found it interesting that you should limit your screen time cause it affects your sleeping.

    • Avatar admin

      So many things we can do to improve our quality of sleep and too many people overlook the true value and need for a quality sleep. Glad you found some useful info here!

  8. Avatar Ethan cohen

    Hey adam and shoshana, i really enjoyed listening to this podcast because as a growing teenager, a good rest is very important. It is hard to find very good tips on sleep, so thank you so much for sharing what you know. Ive been very tired during the day, and i find it very hard to wake up and Upon listening, I’ve discovered so many issues with my habits, and i believe following some of your tips will help very much. I agree that we are creatures of habit. We like to have routine, so i will definitely create, and follow a concrete routine for my sleeping. I usually eat and watch tv right before i fall asleep, and I’ve been having trouble falling asleep, and i don’t think i have been having a deep enough sleep, since I’ve been waking up tired. I tried fixing my routine, and i think its been helping! Ive also been making sure my body has been relaxed, and my mind is calm too before going to bed. Also, as a high school student i have lots of studying to do (which i usually do in my bedroom). Ive shifted my studying to my dining room, and i primarily use my bedroom for sleeping. This allows me to shift my mindset (whenever i walk into my room) to a very relaxed, and calm “sleep mode”. Im a vegetarian, and being so my iron intake might be low (causing me to be more tired). Which foods have lots of iron? And could this potentially be my problem of being tired?

    • Avatar admin

      Following a routine will be helpful and shifting out of the bedroom for studying will hopefully help your quality of sleep. It is possible for your iron to be low, and you can go for a blood test to find out. Some foods that are high in iron are spinach, lentils, beans and pumpkin seeds…you should be good with your iron if you enjoy those regularly.

  9. Avatar Daniel Perlmutter

    Thank you PlantTrainers for making a video about improving sleep! This is a topic that I am very curious about, because falling asleep has always been a challenge for me. Most nights, it takes me over an hour to fall asleep, and I have never fully understood why this is. Before listening to the podcast, I knew that I haven’t been getting much quality sleep because I don’t give myself enough time to unwind and relax before bed. Even though I have tried to engage in calming activities before bed recently, I now realize after listening to the podcast that I don’t give myself enough time to relax. I was only giving myself about 10 minutes for this, which isn’t nearly enough time. I did this, because I always assumed that it was better to go to bed earlier without unwinding than to have additional leisure time before bed and go to bed later. I also learned from the podcast that in order to improve my quality of sleep, I need to try to avoid looking at a computer, TV, or phone screen an hour before bed, and make sure to designate my room to be a place for sleeping only instead of using it as a workspace so that I don’t associate my room with stress. I think that doing these things would have a large impact on my sleeping patterns. But, in my opinion, taking a magnesium pill would be the most helpful, because when you take it, you know that it’s having a direct impact on your body, as opposed to the other strategies. I will definitely consider taking these pills nightly.

    On the whole, this podcast was extremely informative and answered most of my questions about how to promote good sleeping habits, but, I still have two questions. Number one, if a person is more of a night owl, is it okay for him or her to get into a routine of going to bed later and waking up later, or is it still better for him or her to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier? Number two, about the magnesium supplements, I often hear that it’s easy to become too reliant on sleeping pills as a way to fall asleep, and that taking them can often lead to addiction. Is this true? Is the supplement mentioned in the podcast different in some way?

    • Avatar admin

      Great!
      Before you go gung-ho into magnesium you should make sure this is right for you. Magnesium is not a sleeping pill, but a supplement that our bodies require to be efficient in many things…sleep being one of them. If you make up your mind to decide that taking a pill will help you sleep (placebo), that pill will help you sleep (most of the time). Taking pills to sleep is a dangerous habit…avoid it. Having magnesium as a supplement that completes your nutrient needs is a different story.
      Night owls are out there and many thrive. Research has shown that the key hours to be asleep to promote recovery and proper rejuvenation are between 10pm and 2am. Always remember that it’s the quality of sleep that’s most important not the quantity. If you can get to bed earlier and wake up earlier…it’s a habit I’m a huge fan of and makes a great difference!

  10. Avatar Adam

    I often have to wait 20 minutes or more before I fall asleep after I shut my eyes in bed. This episode intrigued me and provided me with information that I will definitely put into action starting pronto. Specifically the part where the speaker talks about how eating before bed is bad as our body is working to digest it and thus using its energy to do that instead of letting us fall asleep easier. The second idea that I agree with is limiting the screen time before bed due to the fact that it disrupts our sleeping pattern. While I understand how that works, I’m always using my phone before bed and to change this habit will be extremely difficult. I have a heard of Magnesium and its benefits of relaxing the body but have yet to test it. I will definitely be purchasing some of it and check out the results. I do often use my bedroom as a workplace or for any studying I need to do. I do not think I will be able to find another workplace in my house as my bedroom is most quiet and only I reside there.

    Overall this podcast provided me with some awesome tips that I will for sure be putting to work ASAP. I’m very excited to try out some of these methods and I’m confident it won’t only help me fall asleep but will prevent me from waking up mid-night or waking up and not feeling well!

    Thanks 🙂

    • Avatar admin

      Glad to hear there are some useful tips here for you…good luck and let us know how things go!

  11. Avatar Corey Katz

    I thought that this was a great episode! It has some really great tips as to how to get a better sleep. I thought that the tip of limiting your intake of light before bed from electronics like your T.V or your phone was really interesting. I learned that people should limit their use of electricity before bed because the light keeps your body awake and it could cause sleep issues when you try to go to bed. I also never knew that doing some activity before that will help you dial down and relax such as taking a hot shower or listening to soft music, will help you fall asleep and I am going to try that. Personally, I don’t really agree that much with the tip of trying not to eat food before bed. For me, when I eat before bed I usually find that I fall asleep more easily and I have a better sleep because my stomach is full and I am ready to rest. If I were to not eat before bed, then I would probably go to bed a little hungry and wouldn’t be able to sleep that well. However, that is just how my body works and it could definitely be different for other people so I’m sure that tip works. I was also wondering what your opinion is on how much sleep is not enough and how much sleep is too much? I find that on weekdays, I don’t get enough sleep (usually 6-8 hours) and on weekends I get too much sleep (usually 10-14 hours). Do you have any tips for getting the perfect amount of sleep?

    • Avatar admin

      Right, there is no perfect amount of sleep for everybody as each is different. That being said, research shows that the hours of 10pm-2am are the most important hours to be sleeping. The quality of sleep is always more important than the quantity of sleep. Most people, not everyone, are more productive in the morning…so try getting up earlier and going to bed earlier to improve productivity.

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