tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29070294.post5102962151573639301..comments2024-03-22T07:20:37.601+00:00Comments on Dave MacLeod blog: Stressed about stressDave MacLeodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02442169589581067050noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29070294.post-62097946254973798672010-08-13T14:16:10.350+00:002010-08-13T14:16:10.350+00:00Dave, I'm a climber who had serious sleep prob...Dave, I'm a climber who had serious sleep problems (average 4 1/2 hours a night for the best part of 4 years)and after much reading and personal experimentation found the following helpful :<br /><br />1. A sleep routine. Do the same things in the same order an hour or so before you sleep - load the dishwasher, clean teeth, take shower - that sort of thing. Try to go to bed at the same time every night, give or take 15 minutes. Once you establish a good routine, you have more scope for occasional variation.<br />2. Don't stimulate the brain in this hour - thumb through an old well-loved climbing magazine, don't read new stuff, or watch tv/see film/work on computer, or argue with girlfriend/wife. Equally, finish any physical exercise 3 hours before your sleep hour.<br />3. If you can't get to sleep or wake up in the night for more than half an hour, get up go into a living area, put a low light on and flick through that magazine, drink a small glass of room temp. milk, eat some plain bread or nuts (these have helpful chems which make you sleepy - I do a glass of milk and peanut butter on bread), stay up for 1/2 an hour, repeat cycle until you sleep. The bed/brain association must=sleep.<br />4. When do you have the sleep problem? Work it out by keeping a diary. Raise body temperature for 20 minutes duration about 6 hours before the sleep difficulty typically strikes, via aerobic activity or a hot bath/shower. My problem was chronic waking at 3 am and being unable to get back to sleep; soaking a hot bath at 9 pm worked perfectly. If your problem is getting to sleep and you decide you go to sleep at 11 pm, go for a 20 minute+ run or climb aerobically at 5 pm that evening. I found this body temp tip a clincher - the best single thing.<br />5. Dark/no noise in bedroom - ear plugs may be necessary and putting them in has become a succesful device/routine for putting my body to sleep. Wax ones best.<br />6. If you have a bad night's sleep, avoid the natural tendency to sleep in to make up for it.<br />7. Sleep drugs didn't work for me, just left me feeling worse.<br />8. No coffee after 3 pm.<br /><br />Good luck and thanks for your excellent training book!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29070294.post-79992936784837323222010-08-13T11:27:12.426+00:002010-08-13T11:27:12.426+00:00There is a cut-off point between a level of pressu...There is a cut-off point between a level of pressure that can make you rise to a big task and a level of pressure that you perceive is overwhelming. <br /><br />This perception differs markedly between people who at one end believe they are responsible and can influence all the outcomes in their lives to the other end where people feel that everything that happens to them is outside their control.<br /><br />sharkAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29070294.post-43663046947258983882010-08-11T17:56:27.022+00:002010-08-11T17:56:27.022+00:00Re the sleep thing--I'm also not so great at s...Re the sleep thing--I'm also not so great at sleeping, so about 5 days before (but not the actual night before, to avoid grogginess) a race, I use sleeping pills to at least deal with the symptom if not the problem. I haven't noticed any reliance on them developing, since it's just for a few days once in a while. Maybe that could be a handy strategy pre-redpoint etc. attempts?Alicia Hudelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08920162593427542080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29070294.post-71002660386409634752010-08-11T08:28:43.925+00:002010-08-11T08:28:43.925+00:00like :-)like :-)markmcgowan01https://www.blogger.com/profile/01631190408080858589noreply@blogger.com