How do you listen to the alarm clock? 
its loud…
but seriously, ear plugs block the low background noise brilliantly but dont stop stuff like an alarm or somebody talking to you. Its that lack of background noise that makes all the difference!
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Just an FYI - there are supplements recommended above that contain Magnesium, which is known to benefit sleep, but also to promote diarrhea (think Milk of Magnesia if you’re old enough to remember that).
I used CBD on a daily basis for a while and while I felt like it worked, after getting tired of the expense I cut it out, and now I’m not sure if it did over the long haul. Almost like i had developed some resistence to it. I now only take it when I’ve had a few nights of poor sleep or after a big ride day, and it does seem to help. I’m very skeptical of anything that depends on me “thinking it worked” though, so ymmv.
I find THC and Ambien both help me to fall asleep quickly and stay asleep longer, but I get almost no deep sleep from them and don’t actually feel refreshed in the mornings.
Also of note, you can overdo it with Ambien and have bad side effects. I have a friend who took more than prescribed in an airport and woke up several hours later at the end of the flight and had no recollection of ever boarding the plane. Stick to the prescription amount.
I’m very interested in this topic. I live where it’s hot most of the year and find that my best sleep tends to come on vacations where it’s cold or in cold hotel rooms. I just can’t afford to keep my house that cold (financially, and also, my wife gets cold any time the temp gets below 75 or so and I value my marriage!)
My wife is a big believer in ear plugs too, but I find they bother the contact point between my ears and the pillow during sleep (I’m a stomach/side sleeper). Do you have any recommendations for this? Maybe some form of smaller ear plug? I need to explore this option more.
Most supplements do develop tolerance (melatonin, CBD, Ashwaganda, etc). You need to have a periodic break to avoid it.
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I use a silicone plug that becomes very moldable when warmed between the palms. I roll it into a cyclinder so that one end sits inside the ear and the rest can be flattened into the inside part of the ear. I take a few seconds really mold it so that all the plug is flat against the ear and that way it forms a great seal against noise but also doesnt protrude from the ear and annoy you against the pillow.
The other tip from the manufacturer is to ‘open’ the ear before you put it in - you reach your right hand behond your head and pull your left ear lobe back, and then put the plug in. You then keep light pressure on the plug while you release the ear lobe, and it ‘closes’ the ear slightly and holds the plug nicely in place.
Foam plugs are totally useless by the way - needs to be silicone like these
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I just started using a type which look like small white jelly sweets, you warm them up and then mould them into your ear opening so they sit flush, they don’t stick out like foam plugs or go right into your ear canal so you don’t get that feeling of pressure.
I’m UK based, I did a search for reviews for this type of thing and went for the top one I found.
Edit - yes, just like the post before mine 
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Some good suggestions with this thread. Ear plugs are great!
Some things that have improved my sleep were using my garmin and keeping an eye on stress and body battery. I actually prefer it over the sleep metrics provided by garmin watch.
Late evening workouts would result in lots of stress that continued all night until morning resulting in very poor sleep. I’ve changed my workouts to mornings or lunch.
Eating late in the evening and alcohol. I stop eating now around 3 hours before going to sleep.
Big one for me is breathing, I used to wake up with clogged nose and dry throat and not feeling great. I’ve allergies (dust being one of them) and now keep my bedroom spotless and change bedsheets and pillow covers often. Got special pillow too. I used to also use nose spray before sleep to help with congested nose, but now I’ve switched to breath right nose strips and they are great. No more mouth breathing and I get good nights sleep.
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Interesting…I usually have the exact oppposite effect. Much deeper sleep and feel very refreshed when I wake up. Just goes to so that responses are very individual.
I recommend people start with 1/2 the Rx amount. I had a couple of occurrences where I had phone conversations with people that I have no recollection of….and that was using one pill as prescribed.
I chop a pill in half and that works great for me…I normally wake 2-3 times during the night to go to the bathroom (I’m getting old…
), but if I take 1/2 Ambien, I can occasionally go the whole night without getting up.
But I also only take “Vitamin A” occasionally….when traveling overseas or when I know my stress level is up or if I need to get to sleep earlier than normal. A 30 pill Rx will last me over 6 months.
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If you have the time check out Andrew Huberman’s podcast, Huberman Lab. His early episodes are about sleep. Key takeaways I got from them are melatonin only helps you fall asleep - not stay asleep, magnesium threanate helps you relax and stay asleep, and the role of light in regulating sleep cycle.
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My nutritionist recommended to me and it works. My SO uses it too with good results.
Drop the temperature in the room if you can. Also, if you can tolerate a sleep mask, that helps me. unfortunately i sleep on my stomach and it’s kind of hard when it’s up against the pillow.
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Excellent point…and fresh air if possible. I usually get great sleep if my window is open and it is in the 50’s outside.
I envy you!!
I think this should probably be the highlighted statement in this thread.
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When you say a sleep mask, for eyes or mouth lol!?
I’ve been listening a lot to the oxygen advantage, a lot about taping the mouth when asleep to promote nose breathing
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Ambien is no joke, and calling it “Vitamin A” is inappropriate
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sleep mask for covering the eyes.
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we also bought THE best blackout blinds - not just good material but they pull down in runners along the inside of the window so they block 100% of the light around the top, edges and bottom of the blind. Literally makes the room pitch black even in midday sunshine. You literally cant see your hand in front of your face.
Dark room and silence from ear plugs = drug free brilliant sleep every night 
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melatonin isn’t good long term
Dr. Andrew Huberman’s Sleep Cocktail
- Magnesium Threonate – Doublewood Magnesium Threonate – 300-400mg
- Theanine – Suntheanine – 200-400mg
- Apigenin – Swanson Apigenin – 50mg
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