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1. No caffeine 24 hours before your flight
2. Invest in a very solid neck pillow
3. Bring a hoodie, an eye mask, a light layer and earplugs.
4. Sit in the window
5. Moisturize
6. Optional: red wine at the gate and a melatonin in your seat
7. Read until you can’t and you’ll be asleep by takeoff.
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For those who never feel fully rested in the morning:
Apparently, there’s a lot of ways to breathe wrong and you’re doing them all while you sleep. Sometimes it’s because of you and other times it’s because of your environment or maybe it’s both but if you’re not getting enough air you will get low quality sleep☹️.
If you wake up feeling congested, a couple of things that really help me are a humidifier (love this one for travel also) and an air purifier (super quiet).
For those who have a hard time falling asleep:
- It feels like you either love melatonin or you hate it, I happen to love it. Finding your dosage is key tho and that might take some experimenting. I started too big and slept like a rock but felt super groggy waking up!!
- this is annoying but going to bed at the same time every night is so helpful. I’m sorry!! I want to be too cool for school also but having a strict bedtime will change your life for the better
For brains that won’t shut off:
Ok here is my trick to falling asleep when my brain is too loud (patent pending):
Step one: play a podcast or anything where people are speaking but set the volume low enough that you can’t quite hear what they’re saying
Step two: make overthinking work in your favor by focusing on your train of thought and tuning out the podcast noise. I think this works because tuning out external sounds is something that happens naturally as you fall asleep.
Ok hope that helps, sweet dreams! 💋
Apr 20, 2024
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I had this same problem a few months ago. It was so bad I only had 1-2 hours of sleep for weeks. I had to completely reassess my “sleeping hygiene”. Below are things I tried and some you’ve probably heard before.
Avoid being on your phone like 1-2 hours before bed. Something with the blue light or stimulation keeps you awake.
Avoid caffeine before bed (would say like 4 hours before).
Don’t eat a huge meal before bed.
Create a relaxing bedroom environment. Make sure your pillow and bed is comfy. Turn off all the lights.
Sleep with a humidifier and nose strip, helps with avoiding mouth breathing and gives me a good DEEP sleep.
Wear a sleep mask, the total darkness helped lull me to sleep immediately.
Comfortable sleeping clothes (if applicable) I usually wear cotton clothes to sleep or satin.
A weighted blanket can also help.
Magnesium drink/tea instead of melatonin can relax your muscles and put you to sleep.
Jan 13, 2025
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Ok here are some things that work ok for me, but they have not fixed my overall fatigue so ymmv:
-if I wake up anytime after 5.45am or so, I do my best to stay awake. If I fall back asleep I feel way groggier and worse when my alarm does go off and wake me up.
-anxiety meds, allergy meds, mouthguard have all helped me stay asleep instead of waking up in a panic or in pain. Use as appropriate to you.
-no evening naps!!! If I’m really tired I just have to make it to 8pm and then I can sleep.
-reading or journaling before bed would keep my brain a little too wired to shut off easily. I have had way more luck listening to a silly podcast with white noise on in the background and playing solitaire (such a low brain-engagement game) on my phone. It’s like a scalp massage but for my mind.
-my old neighborhood could be very loud at night, I hadn’t thought before abt using earplugs but now I don’t hesitate. I recommend the weird wax ones that you can shape to fit your ear.
-make sure you’re the right temperature. I have lain awake many nights for too long without realizing I was simply too cold to fall asleep. somehow my brain wasn’t registering that fully. now I keep a sweatshirt next to the bed so I can add a layer if needed.
-sorry to say but being well hydrated and truly tired from your day (esp if you’ve exercised) does help falling asleep a lot.
EDIT TO ADD also I quit coffee for unrelated health stuff but that also seems to have helped falling asleep so much, i wish it weren’t true bc i miss it but don’t think i can go back
Nov 13, 2024
Top Recs from @Serra_Coldwater
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No more being shy about it. even randos want a reason to celebrate. Give them one!
Mar 1, 2025
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I have the tiniest apartment in NYC and I love her. The kitchen is nothing more than the fridge sink oven and a small square of counter space but you know what we make it WORK. I never have all the necessary equipment to cook something but it forces me to get creative. I didn’t have a lid to my saucepan so guess what we threw a baking sheet on there and called it a day. All I really needed was something to keep the heat (mostly) in. Don’t have vinegar? Put in a lemon, that’s also an acid. Don’t have a trussing needle? We’re dousing a safety pin in alcohol and sewing that chicken UP.
Restriction makes you think about why you’re doing something instead of going through the motions. Don‘t let your kitchen for ants hold you back!
Feb 24, 2025
A few years ago, I asked my brother for an annoyingly involved Christmas gift: a playlist of 100 songs that mean something to him + brief album notes. In true Jared fashion, he returned the playlist a year late and with 40 pages of single spaced commentary. His taste is impeccable so of course the music is bomb but I am eternally grateful for this window into his mind over the course of 15ish years. It put some things into context, explained some mysteries about him, and made me cry. I love it so much. One day I will rip multiple CDs or vinyls or whatever is cool vintage physical media by then and make a book of it. Today it lives in my email. It’s only fitting he is my first post. It will forever be my #1 recommendation. Including a link to one of the songs here.
Feb 24, 2025