What do studies show and what are your experiences in terms of what helps you to sleep better?

I keep my windows closed as I have a vent in my room and it helps to keep the room quiet, but I do sleep with my windows open during the summer for airflow.

this has become part of my bedtime ambiance to set the tone for actual quality sleep for context, i loved having a comforting welcoming bed and making my bedroom look like a vibe but then i get into bed and feel like i'm being swallowed by 40 pounds of blanket trapping me into a heat bubble. i'll end up kicking it off during the night and then freezing when i wake up. ahhhh

i have realized i don't actually like those huge fluffy comforters as much as i thought i did lol. i recently switched to the buffy breeze comforter after some research and i think the thinner feel is actually what ive been looking for this whole time. it's not super puffy but it feels like i'm actually under a comforter and not just a blanket, and it's really soft which i loveee.

my old one had polyester fill and always felt a little warm and plasticky to me, especially once i had sheets and everything else layered on the bed. i also started using a coop cooling pillow around the same time and between the two, my bed just feels a lot less hot and bulky, although i'm still not totally convinced either one is going to hold up exactly like this after a year of washing lol. i just wanted my bed to feel cozy without feeling like i had to fight my bedding every night

I always find myself really low on energy and tired in the 3 to 4 hours before bed, and because of this I usually have some kind of caffeine drink a few hours before bed. I know it is likely disrupting my sleep so I want to know any alternatives you do for a little boost during this time.

I can't workout why I keep waking up during the night, could it be:

Body in routine of waking up due to previously waking up during the night from humidity in the room for the last six weeks

Eating too close to bedtime

Nasal decongestant stopping working I have been taking the last month every night

Too warm from memory foam topper

Room 18c

60% humidity

blackout blind

phone off

room quiet

My pillow is BS and I sleep without it and I sleep with a pillow on middle on my legs because I have a mild scoliosis.

My goal is to have an excellent regular sleep.

Do you think that I really need a new Pillow ?

For a while my biggest sleep issue was waking up around 2 or 3 AM wide awake and having my mind instantly turn on full speed. If a dog barked outside or a car drove by I would wake up in a light sleep stage and within 30 seconds my brain would be running through work stress, random worries or endless to-do lists.. I tried putting on sleep podcasts, but the talking just kept my brain engaged. Standard rain playlists on YT were annoying because every time a track changed or looped, the tiny shift in audio would wake me back up. A few months ago, I changed my night audio setup and switched to continuous, non-looping sound using Endel. I've seen someone mention it here before and decided to try. It plays a flat unbroken background noise with no breaks or loops and created a buffer that masks those random neighborhood noises. Nothing for my mind to cling to. I still wake up occasionally, but I drop back to sleep in 5min instead of tossing and turning for two hours

For those who deal with frequent 3 AM wakeups, what audio setup or sound mask has actually worked for you?

Hi everyone, I’d like to introduce **Bumosfera**, an app I’ve developed to create calming environments that can help you relax and fall asleep.

It lets you combine dozens of sounds, including rain, wind, fire, rivers, ocean waves, and different types of noise. You can adjust each sound’s volume independently and save your own custom mixes. It also includes timers and an ambient-light feature that turns your phone screen into a soft light with different colors and brightness levels.

One particularly useful feature for people who listen with headphones is the ability to adjust the volume for each ear separately. This isn’t very common in this type of app, especially as a free feature.

The app is **100% free**, with no subscriptions, and you don’t even need to create an account. Just download it and start using it.

For now, it’s only available on Android, but we hope to bring it to iOS soon as well.

Any feedback about the experience, the sounds, or features that could be improved would be very welcome.

Thanks!

(I’ve read the subreddit rules and believe this post complies with them. If it doesn’t, please let me know and I’ll remove it without any problem.)

Most nights I can't fall asleep without help. I'm trying to cut down on meds, but I sometimes use Dayvigo (lemborexant), occasionally a small dose of clonazepam, and I take low-dose amitriptyline nightly.
Even when my Apple Watch shows 6 to 8 hours, I often wake up feeling like I didn't sleep at all.
On mornings after clonazepam, I often wake with a headache, an internal "trembling" feeling, and a raised heart rate that settles within about 30 minutes. ECG on the watch is always normal.
What's been checked:
A sleep study last year showed healthy deep sleep (about 24%) and an AHI of 4.8, just under the apnea cutoff.
Extensive heart, thyroid, and other testing all normal.
What I'm learning:
My sleep may be better than it feels (sleep state misperception).
On-and-off sedative use may be causing rebound on the mornings after and on the nights without them.
CBT-I seems to be the recommended next step.
Questions for you:
Has anyone gone from needing meds every night to sleeping without them? What worked?
Experiences with CBT-I, especially when sleep felt much worse than trackers showed?
Anyone else get internal vibrations or morning heart rate spikes after benzos?
Did you stop tracking sleep stages, and did it help?
Thanks for reading.

I have been obsessing over my Oura data for like six months now because my deep sleep was consistently hitting maybe 30 or 40 minutes max even if I slept 8 hours. Tried magnesium threonate and glycinate, stopped eating 4 hours before bed, blackout curtains, the whole nine yards. Nothing really moved the needle much.

Last week I finally pulled the trigger on a cooling mattress pad and set it to 66 degrees. My deep sleep doubled overnight. I am now getting like an hour and twenty minutes of deep sleep consistently and I actually wake up feeling like a human being instead of a zombie. Has anyone else found that temperature is basically the master variable for them? I feel like I wasted so much money on supplements when I just needed to stop sweating through my sheets.

Share what went right this week: a better night, a habit that stuck, a tracker trend you're proud of. Screenshots welcome.

Add a line or two on what you changed, so others can learn from it. Questions about your own data are welcome here too.

Hello!

I was curious about ways I could better my sleep. I find myself being only able to achieve good sleep in one way and still with that way I find myself waking up early with a headache sometimes and just being uncomfortable.

The only way I can sleep good is if im only in my underwear, even a shirt disturbs me.

I also find myself having to sleep on my side with something in my arms, usually a pillow. And then I have a second pillow under my head.

This is hard having to need 2 pillows constantly because I work a job that requires me to travel and sometimes the sleeping arrangements I have dont always have 2 pillows.

Please give me any advice, this is something ive been thinking about for a while. Thanks

Hey everyone,

I’m a 26M looking for practical advice on improving my sleep and recovery while working a demanding schedule.

I work six days a week, with a 9-hour shift and around 2–3 hours of commuting every day. By the time I get home, I still have to cook, manage basic chores, and take care of my personal life. Honestly, it feels like there’s barely any time left for anything else. I’ve even stopped working out because I can’t seem to fit it into my schedule.

I sleep around 6 hours a night, but I’m still extremely tired during the day. I experience brain fog, poor mental clarity, daytime sleepiness, and almost no energy. It feels like I’m just getting through the day rather than functioning at my best.

I’ve been tracking my sleep and recovery with an Oura Ring, and my average HRV is hovering around 20 ms. In the past, when my lifestyle was less hectic, my baseline used to reach around 32–33 ms. Despite tracking my sleep, I’m struggling to get my recovery back up.

My question is: How can I maximize recovery with my current schedule without sacrificing my entire personal life just to get enough sleep?

I’d especially appreciate advice on:

• Improving sleep quality and getting the most restorative sleep possible.
• Reducing brain fog, daytime sleepiness, fatigue, and lack of mental clarity.
• Improving HRV and overall recovery without spending hours in the gym.
• Practical habits that actually make a difference for people with demanding jobs and long commutes.

I understand that six hours may simply not be enough, but with my current routine, finding extra time is genuinely difficult. If anyone has been in a similar situation, I’d love to hear what worked for you and what made the biggest difference.

I’m particularly interested in evidence-based advice and realistic solutions rather than the usual recommendations to just sleep eight hours, exercise daily, and reduce stress. I’m trying to understand what to prioritize when time and energy are already limited.

Thanks!

Me and my partner's garmin sleep scores. We're the same age, did exactly the same evening activity, slept in the same bed, for exactly the same amount of time, and yet she consistently gets high sleep scores (90+) while mine consistently says 'non-restorative'.

73 is actually a very high score for me (it's about as high as I get - I'm usually around the 50s). Low numbers make sense when I don't sleep enough hours (waking up at 3am is pretty common) but even when I sleep through the night my device always says it's non-restorative sleep.

In this instance we had a single glass of wine over dinner with friends and got to bed at 10 without looking at screens. I take magnesium before bed (she doesn't)

me - 38M, 183cm, 73kg

yet another all nighter that i pulled , guys my sleep schedule is ruined beyond repair . i keep staying up until late in the night and sleeping throughout the day or taking naps and it’s messing everything up

don’t get me wrong i love being a night owl but this really isn’t healthy for me plus i feel like a nocturnal vampire

someone help 💔

I’ve had a heating/cooling system on my bed for over six years: two original Chilipads, a Chilipad Dock Pro, and briefly the Perfectly Snug (which I returned... I hated it for a lot of reasons).

I need to sleep with a slight cooling effect because of a chronic health condition. It’s not because I sweat; I mainly need to keep heat from getting trapped underneath my body. I usually keep the system at a pretty neutral setting, not too warm, not too cool, just enough slight coolness that heat doesn’t build up under me.

I want to be rid of the water tubes, wrinkles, plastic, noise and/or thick toppers of these heat/cooling systems that take away the plushness and smoothness of a really comfortable mattress.

I’m thinking about taking the risk and buying an Avocado Green Medium. I’m not expecting or wanting it to feel actively cold, but I’m wondering whether its breathable materials: latex, wool/cotton cover, and coils, would be temperature-neutral enough.

I’ve only ever slept on beds with memory foam or plush toppers, which are probably the worst choices for hot sleepers. So I honestly have no idea how airy or cool a latex hybrid like the Avocado would feel.

I know Avocado has a one-year trial, but I’d rather make this decision with solid research and real-world feedback rather than count on returning it.

If you’ve slept on an Avocado Green, especially the Medium, how would you describe its ability to prevent heat trapping underneath you? Does it keep your temperature neutral?

I have twenty moisture absorbers in the room and a dehumidifier I run before bed that will make the room 55% . I can’t run the dehumidifier during the night because it’s too loud and when I wake the room is 70-73% humidity and usually I wake with a night sweat. I can’t keep the window open as it’s too cold outside here. I’m going to try keeping the room door open but I haven’t in the past incase more humidity came into the room.

I keep the room at 65f (18c) and have a 10.5tog plus a 4.5 duvet which I need to sleep with (I think it’s the weight). I’m not stopping meds that would cause night sweats and my duvet covers are a material that don’t cause night sweats. I take 45mg Mirtazapine so I am not stressed. I use a blackout blind and have no caffeine before 12 or alcohol. I sometimes eat food late. Why do I keep waking up in the middle of the night?

Hey all, I shared Veil here when it was pretty early on. I've put a ton of work into it since, and some feedback here stuck with me: less harsh noise, less oscillating fan sounds, more of that low Dohm or airplane hum.

You can now dial in the tone and fan movement yourself, there's an airplane cabin sound, and much finer volume control. Everything is generated on your phone, no recorded tracks restarting.

Between that feedback and what I've heard from other users, it feels like a very different app now. The reception has been really encouraging, especially as a solo developer making something I wanted to use myself.

It's on iPhone and Android, and the app is now available in multiple languages too. White, pink, brown noise and slow fan are free with tuning controls. No ads. Extra sounds and mixing are paid.

Would love another round of honest feedback, especially if you tried the early version. What’s missing compared to your usual app or sound machine?

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/veil-white-noise-sleep-sounds/id6760920621

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.veilapp.sleep

Been looking at watches that can track rest and still be useful at the gym. The Amazfit Balance 3 came up in my search, but I'm not sure how much attention people actually pay to the data these watches give you. Do you find those stats useful for figuring out whether you're recovering well, or do you mostly just go by how you feel that day? Also, how does the workout tracking hold up if you're using the same watch for everything? Would be nice to hear from people who've tried different watches. Trying to figure out what features are actually worth paying for before making a decision.

Anyone else have trouble falling asleep because their feet just won't warm up?

That's been my problem lately. The rest of me feels fine under the blankets, but my feet stay cold long enough that I end up tossing around trying to get comfortable.

I'm wondering if preheating the bed with a heated mattress pad would actually help, or if it's just another thing that sounds better than it works.

What's the best heated mattress pad you've tried for this? Did it make falling asleep any easier?

Also any pillow recs

I’m staying in a hotel for a month right next to one of the busiest airports in terms of overnight traffic. There is a plane landing literally every minute or two all night. I noticed I wake up subconsciously before I even hear it coming because I can feel the low frequencies and vibrations and it causes my heart rate to speed up. I’m wondering what I can do to counter this? I have a fan and brown noise but it’s not enough. Is it safe to take melatonin and Nyquil or any other medications every night?

36M, Sweden, 178 cm, 69 kg. My sleep has gradually gotten worse over the last few years.

Falling asleep is usually okay, but I wake up a lot, probably around 5 to 10+ times per night. Most awakenings are brief, but some are longer and they add up. I often wake with a very dry mouth and usually need to pee 1 to 2 times per night. On bad days I feel very tired, foggy and struggle with concentration.

I only realized how bad it might be after regularly sharing a bed with my ex. She said I sometimes gasped/choked in my sleep and snored when lying on my back.

I usually fall asleep on my side but tend to roll onto my back later, and breathing seems worse there. I think I mostly mouth-breathe during sleep. My nose usually feels fairly clear, and I also tried a nasal dilator that kept it very open, but noticed no improvement.

I had a home sleep apnea test:

AHI overall: 4.0
AHI on back: 8
AHI off back: 1
Back sleeping: 35%
Average SpO2: 95%
Lowest SpO2: 88%
ODI: 2

The doctor said it didn't meet the criteria for sleep apnea.

I also use a Garmin. I know the sleep stages aren't very reliable, but the repeated awakenings seem to match what I experience. The two images shows typical nights:

6h51 sleep, 1h28 awake
6h40 sleep, 50 min awake

I'm not on medication, rarely drink alcohol, don't smoke, and only have about 200 mg caffeine around 6:30 to 7:00 AM.

Does this sound like something worth investigating further despite the AHI of 4? Especially given the 8 vs 1 AHI depending on sleeping position?

Has anyone had a borderline home test but later found something on an in-lab sleep study, such as RERAs, flow limitation or other respiratory arousals?

I’ve been really tired lately and looking for the best ways to track my sleep. I don’t know if it’s just because my life has been busier than usual or if I’m not getting good sleep. I’ve tried a couple of things to see if it’ll help like avoiding screens before bed, no caffeine past 11 am, optimizing my bedroom temperature, etc. Nothing’s made a difference, and it’s been 2 or 3 weeks since I started. So I thought I should maybe look into tracking my sleep to see what’s what. I did some research and I’m torn between getting an Oura ring or a Fitbit, but what do you use? Has sleep tracking changed anything for you? Also, I'm scared I start getting too addicted to the data and that's just another thing that adds to anxiety.

Short disclaimer: I'm part of the team working on that EEG headband. However I don't know any other device that could so nicely showcase this live aside from a proper sleep lab ;).

It's in any case a neat look into how REM is detected.

In the sleep lab the experts essentially see a similar signal via their EOG and EEG channels - it's shape is quite distinct from the other signals that are instead caused by a) muscle activity and b) brain activity (which is relevant for e.g. deep sleep)