How can I optimize conditions for the best sleep?

What is the best way to get the best quality sleep? 15, male obviously still in puberty and I would really love to get up without a half-dead drag...

I'm following a low carb diet (<60) as of today, what else should I do before sleeping?

The diet will Be mainly grass-fed beef, organic eggs, whole milk, occasional salmon, dark green vegetables, POSSIBLY a nice nutritious fruit post-workout.

My workouts are 3 days of sprints and weight training if that helps. I know at least 8+ hours of sleep, but how can I wake up with ease instead of with a drag?

Some good, sound advice is much appreciated. Would a completely dark room help( besides alarm clock)?

Going very low carb often disturbs sleep, so try to eat as many of your carbs as you can in the evening. If you work out within a couple hours of bedtime, that can also disturb sleep.

Yes, having a very dark room helps. Turn off or cover those little blue/green/red/orange lights on your electronic gadgets. Also, avoid using your computer or watching TV a couple hours before bedtime. The blue light emitted by computer monitors, TVs, electronic devices, suppresses the generation of melatonin in your brain (this is a daily cycle, the melatonin makes you sleepy).

You can get a free software called f.lux that will automatically change the color tone of your computer monitor when the sun sets, so if you want to continue using your computer after dark, that helps. (Google it.)

If noise is an issue, use something that generates white noise to mask disturbing sounds. I have an app called "White Noise" on my iPhone that has a variety of white noises to mask other sounds. I think I paid $1.99 for it!

Teens often need more than 8 hours of sleep each night... and for many teens, the natural circadian rhythm of awake/asleep is often not in alignment with day/night, so you have that to screw up your sleep, too! (I think it's hormone related.) Try to go to bed and get up at the same time every day, even on weekends, especially if you make an effort to get enough sleep on school nights.

I've read that short naps can help if you're sleep deprived (most of what I've read says "less than 30 minutes"), but I've done my n=1 for napping, and unless I'm sick, a nap either makes me groggy or too awake to fall asleep at bedtime. Your mileage may vary!

If you have problems sleeping when you're VLC, you might want to up the carbs just a bit. Your growth hormones are highest when you're asleep, and that's what builds muscle. You're still growing, and I don't know if VLC would be worth the chance of possibly messing up those growth hormone levels.

[QUOTE=Goldie;981525]Going very low carb often disturbs sleep, so try to eat as many of your carbs as you can in the evening. If you work out within a couple hours of bedtime, that can also disturb sleep.

Yes, having a very dark room helps. Turn off or cover those little blue/green/red/orange lights on your electronic gadgets. Also, avoid using your computer or watching TV a couple hours before bedtime. The blue light emitted by computer monitors, TVs, electronic devices, suppresses the generation of melatonin in your brain (this is a daily cycle, the melatonin makes you sleepy).

You can get a free software called f.lux that will automatically change the color tone of your computer monitor when the sun sets, so if you want to continue using your computer after dark, that helps. (Google it.)

If noise is an issue, use something that generates white noise to mask disturbing sounds. I have an app called "White Noise" on my iPhone that has a variety of white noises to mask other sounds. I think I paid $1.99 for it!

Teens often need more than 8 hours of sleep each night... and for many teens, the natural circadian rhythm of awake/asleep is often not in alignment with day/night, so you have that to screw up your sleep, too! (I think it's hormone related.) Try to go to bed and get up at the same time every day, even on weekends, especially if you make an effort to get enough sleep on school nights.

I've read that short naps can help if you're sleep deprived (most of what I've read says "less than 30 minutes"), but I've done my n=1 for napping, and unless I'm sick, a nap either makes me groggy or too awake to fall asleep at bedtime. Your mileage may vary!

If you have problems sleeping when you're VLC, you might want to up the carbs just a bit. Your growth hormones are highest when you're asleep, and that's what builds muscle. You're still growing, and I don't know if VLC would be worth the chance of possibly messing up those growth hormone levels.[/QUOTE]

I've tried VLC before as "trial", and sleep quality was much better. Carbs screw my sleep up more then do good. I don't know what it is like that for me, pretty much always woke up groggy and deprived until I tried VLC :(

Thanks for your other advice though.

High carb works better for me than VLC. It opens up more options food-wise and it gives me a noticeable gain in energy levels. High or low carb is the epitome of YMMV around here!

As for darkness; it's probably the most crucial step. It doesn't matter how well you eat or how often you exercise if you don't 'control' the light levels in your room (and to an extent, around the whole house) every day. Pick a time you want to go to sleep (let's say 10pm), and then make a deliberate effort to wind down two hours beforehand (one doesn't seem enough unless you're genuinely exhausted and conk out). This means exactly what Goldie was saying about turning off the computer, mobile phones, handheld consoles and covering up any other devices blinking lights with a cloth or simply turning them off if possible.

I grew up falling asleep with the TV on a lot of the time but I always naturally winded down at about 7-8pm every night; I think that the main reason why TV isn't as bad as every other artificial light source is because:

1. TV's tend to be a large distance away compared to every other electronic device which is merely a couple of feet away from your face during use.
2. Watching TV is a relatively passive activity. You don't interact with it in any way whatsoever barring changing the channel or volume.

Reading a book (physical or Kindle) beforehand is by far one of the best things you can do, though. Also make sure that you get as much daylight as possible as early as you can when you wake up. Either go outside or just have some natural light stream through your window; it doesn't take much, but just get that initial 5-10 minutes of light to keep your circadian rhythm on track.

Dark room. No electronics. Put your phone/iPod way out of reach, trust me, I know the temptation but the light will really disturb you and disrupt your sleep cycle. Having a slightly colder room will also help.

[QUOTE=Damiana;981651]Dark room. No electronics. Put your phone/iPod way out of reach, trust me, I know the temptation but the light will really disturb you and disrupt your sleep cycle. Having a slightly colder room will also help.[/QUOTE]

Thanks, I'll try to my phone away then.

[QUOTE=KG;981646]High carb works better for me than VLC. It opens up more options food-wise and it gives me a noticeable gain in energy levels. High or low carb is the epitome of YMMV around here!

As for darkness; it's probably the most crucial step. It doesn't matter how well you eat or how often you exercise if you don't 'control' the light levels in your room (and to an extent, around the whole house) every day. Pick a time you want to go to sleep (let's say 10pm), and then make a deliberate effort to wind down two hours beforehand (one doesn't seem enough unless you're genuinely exhausted and conk out). This means exactly what Goldie was saying about turning off the computer, mobile phones, handheld consoles and covering up any other devices blinking lights with a cloth or simply turning them off if possible.

I grew up falling asleep with the TV on a lot of the time but I always naturally winded down at about 7-8pm every night; I think that the main reason why TV isn't as bad as every other artificial light source is because:

1. TV's tend to be a large distance away compared to every other electronic device which is merely a couple of feet away from your face during use.
2. Watching TV is a relatively passive activity. You don't interact with it in any way whatsoever barring changing the channel or volume.

Reading a book (physical or Kindle) beforehand is by far one of the best things you can do, though. Also make sure that you get as much daylight as possible as early as you can when you wake up. Either go outside or just have some natural light stream through your window; it doesn't take much, but just get that initial 5-10 minutes of light to keep your circadian rhythm on track.[/QUOTE]

Yeh thank the phone is a big one for me

[url=http://www.marksdailyapple.com/17-ways-to-improve-your-sleep/#axzz29eSOt9Pz]17 Ways to Improve Your Sleep | Mark&#039;s Daily Apple[/url]

mark did a post on 17 ways to improve your sleep, and it has some pretty good tips.

what time are you normally going to bed? this is the hard part for me...getting to bed at a time that will allow me enough sleep. i get about two hours extra on weekend days, so you would think that i could just go to bed two hours earlier during the week since i have to get up at a specific time, but i like being awake at night. one thing that helps me get asleep, though, is just to have some kind of night routine. mine involves a lot of petting the animals, but you can figure out what works to get you in a mental state for sleeping.

[QUOTE=Loneketo;981544]I've tried VLC before as "trial", and sleep quality was much better. Carbs screw my sleep up more then do good. I don't know what it is like that for me, pretty much always woke up groggy and deprived until I tried VLC :(

Thanks for your other advice though.[/QUOTE]

I eat VLC naturally, mostly because the fruit and veg I like the best ARE low carb--and I'm small, so I don't need large amounts of any food. When I get below about 50g of carbs a day, I have a very hard time sleeping.

I'm glad that VLC doesn't affect your sleep! I wish it didn't affect mine!

My sleep improved once I went from a mattress to the floor (and now a raised floor / table thing). My sleep isn't the best, but it's better than it was. The rest of my sleep will have to wait until I can improve my health, it seems.