Falling asleep at night is really hard for me, sometime I stay up till 2-3 AM staring at the ceiling. But Since Sunday I have started to plug in earphones and play something on it, and I have been falling asleep like I’m on drugs.
So I want to know how harmful is it for my ears, I keep the music at around 20%-30%, and I know for sure the earphones fall out of my ears after 1-2 hours, so atleast they are not playing whole night. I had an ear infection recently and had to see a doctor to get it cleaned. So I don’t want to risk getting an ear infection again.
But seems like for now this is the easiest way for me to fall asleep. Can anyone suggest anything that I can do to not get ear infection. And if anyone else is going through the hardship of falling asleep?
I think you should ask an ear doctor about this if nothing works but first you should try magnesium supplement and chamomile tea before sleep. Also if possible play chill music on your phone and put it close to you instead of something directly in your ears like earphones. My brother has problem sleeping and playing soothing background music helps him sleep.
I can try playing music on my phone, and maybe set a timer to turn it off after 1-2 hours
I have tried white noises and soothing sounds before they don’t seem to be working for me.
Now I’m just playing one song on repeat and that gets the job done.
If you want to use earphones use iPhone with official >> earpods << not airpods. Airpods are bad because they create tight seal in ear.
Not only you can limit loud sounds on iPhone, it also shows you your headphone level over period of time in health app and tells if it is within the safe levels.
It is basically monitoring your earphone volume continously.
Try white/pink noise over speakers not earphones in your room once. I just sleep fine with it.
In-ear buds especially those with silicone tips make the ear canal damp and hot. This can lead to ear infections. Don’t use them for extended periods whether it’s during the day or while sleeping.
Now for sleep, nothing beats getting into a routine. For a few weeks keep going to bed and wake up at the same time. Do this even if you get less/poor sleep initially.
+1 for Chamomile tea. It’s very mild but helps.
Eliminate all sources of light at bedtime. Especially flashing lights like LEDs on devices. Get a smart bulb which you can change to warm light in the evenings and reduce brightness progressively until your designated bed time.
I used to use Michael Sealey sleep hypnosis videos on YT a while ago. It did help me sleep but over time it lost effectiveness. It still makes me fall asleep but I have chaotic vivid dreams and do not feel rested. Same happens when I fall asleep with music playing. So try this but don’t rely on this too often.
Magnesium helps relax and I did use it at some point but improper supplementation risks creating an imbalance of other trace minerals. Would not recommend.
If you spend a lot of time indoors and need help resetting your circadian rhythm, you can get a daylight therapy lamp. The ones available in India use poor quality LEDS which may be harsh and insufficiently bright. Try to get it from the US/UK if possible (Like this one). Use it in the mornings at your desk for 20-30 mins.
Also, get Vitamin D levels checked. If deficient, supplement with 60000 IU D3 weekly dose softgel capsules for 2-3 months. After that, you can switch to a lower maintenance dose if you have trouble keeping optimal levels of Vitamin D naturally.
I was terribly deficient and after supplementation, I noticed I can fall asleep within minutes after turning off the light. Take the capsules in the morning after a meal.
I have an android, but I’m looking for a cheap iPhone as I need to use it as webcam. Will try it when I get one.
My sleep cycle has been a mess, i came home from office around 6-7Pm. and by 8Pm i start working on videos or play game or anything else, I’m on my pc till 12Pm then I get on my bed, all the light are turned off in my room, the only light visible is the one in AC.
after the dinner, I have a glass of milk usually warm at around 10-10:30Pm. which is like a habit. But maybe I can give this a try for a week.
it’s not insomnia, I do fall asleep but it takes 1-2 hours. when I feel tired I used to go sleep in afternoon too.
Maybe I should, my work and schedule keeps me indoor all day. the only time I feel sun on my skin is when I’m on my way to office.
Now that’s relieving. Don’t over complicate if it is that you work odd hours or lifestyle induced.
Get your vitamin levels tested. While everyone suggesting here means well, you don’t need to self diagnose and get on the multi vitamin regimen. 7 of 10 urban Indians will be deficient in vitamin D. I was on injections for the same. Look up vitamin D toxicity. People with existing medical conditions specially shouldn’t do this.
Most products on sale are grossly overhyped and overpriced. The safety and efficacy is questionable too. There’s a reason you see them prominently displayed in pharmacies and everyone is launching a new brand online.
Things you can try to get sleep quick without “drugging yourself with music”:
Stop using any electronic screens at least an hour before you go to sleep.
Don’t go to sleep on the present day too early compared to the previous day. If you wish to start going to sleep early, do it slowly, such as a change of 15 min to half an hour per day.
Do exercise everyday. You will sleep quicker and better if you are tired.
Read a book while going to sleep. You will sleep quicker.
Don’t sleep during the day even if you are tired. You will get sleep quickly at night.
You will physically hurt yourself. Ears are not meant to hold stuff for long. Even if you wish to do it, it is better to have over ear open back headphones than earphones. But, I would recommend doing without music. Stop worrying about stuff. It will take a couple of days, but you will definitely feel better.
I’m trying, But it gets annoying juggling between job and my freelance agency. I can’t do much of my personal work in office, So I work after 8Pm when I get home, have been missing Gym a lot since I can not wake up before 7Am now because of messed up sleep cycle.
and daytime naps are rare for me, usually on Sundays.
I do the weirdest possible thing known to man kind. Play some scary videos/boring made up horror stories on my phone(like lighthouse horror on yt) the narrations is so slow and boring it makes me fall asleep. And other thing is making myself tired by doing physical activities like walking I feel like this is way better.
If you have to skip gym or sleep, always skip gym. I know it is counterintuitive, but sleep is most important for good health followed by eating followed by exercise.
Health is more, much more, much much more important than money. So, if you have to make a choice, choose health. No amount of money can buy you health and if you have bad health, you cannot even drink a cup of coffee what will you enjoy?
These things are not a problem until they suddenly are. I actually typed a lot first but it seemed like I was oversharing. So I’ll just leave it at a hard disagree. I just wish I paid more attention almost a decade ago when I first came to know about it.
We can disagree and it wouldn’t harm any of us. I wish I did that too.
I have had to visit the hospital on many occasions for my family and have seen immunocompromised patients. If it is someone who needs medical care then they should seek such care from the professionals.
If an otherwise healthy individual with no comorbidity wants to get on what’s trending on the latest podcast and start dosing with T, ketamine or the multivitamin gummies or whatever the podcaster or their sponsor is selling - it’s their choice for all I care. I just shared what I know from my limited experience. Their bodies, their wallets and their choices.
Alright, but lets not assume things here. I spent the last year bouncing between different doctors for a chronic condition I developed seemingly out of the blue. One of the symptoms included clinical insomnia. Most doctors weren’t able to figure out the cause and their treatments only made things worse.
It took a while to find the right doctors who actually listened and worked with them to gradually resolve my issues. It involved fixing my habits, diet, nutritional imbalances, gut issues and weaning off the cocktail of prescribed medicines that never worked but had side effects.
At my lowest, when people were telling me the doctors would know better and that I am fine in spite of all my issues didn’t make me feel great to put it mildly. Thankfully those days are behind me.
Limited time might the biggest issue for me, since I’m trying to fit 2 jobs and personal Yt channel in the time I have, I end up spending a lot of time working on my PC, and stressing maybe.
After I’m sure my base is strong as an agency and I have some long term clients, I will quit my job first, as I’m spending 8 hours here and there is no scope for future.
In past few years I made a lot of bad financial decisions, started losing a lot of hair, and my beard have started to turn grey on one side. I’m just 27 and it’s been 6 months since I had any good conversation with a love interest.
I will try not to stress for now, and get some tests done to make sure nothing is wrong. Then I will start going out more, and hopefully my schedule and sleep will get better.