I just found your Substack and this was the first article that I read. Very good stuff! Like you said, my sleep has changed with age (I’m now 70), illness (myalgic encephalomyelitis) and medication (low-dose naltrexone, the dream spinner) but being more focused and thoughtful has helped a lot. Thank you for all of these suggestions and how clearly they are presented! One addition that has helped me immensely are calm sleep stories. Like my bed, they appear to cue my brain that it’s time to sleep. Very helpful when I wake up from an intense dream and need to calm myself back to sleep. Now, on to explore your other guides!
I’m so glad you found me, Gayle, and thank you for such a thoughtful comment. Sleep stories are a wonderful addition. I love the idea of them becoming another cue to your brain that it’s time to relax. I hope you find something useful in the other posts too. ❤️
This is really helpful. At last I'm getting the whole message about why my sleep at 75 is different from when I was younger! You'd think it would be simple, and thank you for making it so. Once I started doing all these suggestions - and many I started long ago - I stopped berating myself about changed sleep. Really lifesaving stuff here.
The writing, the ideas, and the way it’s all laid out is crystal clear. I will look for the guide. I might have subscribed already, in any case continue the great work. This 75 year old lady greatly appreciates it ALL!🙏🏽♥️
@Laurie Severs Sorted, Laurie — I've just emailed you the links directly. If it helps anyone else: the delivery email goes out within a minute of purchase, but it sometimes lands in spam or promotions. Look for "Your Sleeping Well After Sixty guide is ready." And if you can't find it, just email me at diana@wegetbetterwithage.com and I'll send it straight over.
I'll let you know, and I don't have a sleep doctor anymore, I don’t think that's even a thing here in Spain. Although it probably is.
I've been toying with starting on it again, but when I was diagnosed, I was heavily overweight. That's all gone now, and hubby hasn't heard me snoring or stopping breathing lately. I will have to think about it. Many years ago, it worked for the first few weeks, then I got a cold and that ended that. Tried again several times, but no go.
Interesting. I am F, 74, diagnosed with sleep apnea (not using my CPAP, I hate it). I have worn ear plugs and an eye mask for many, many years as I can't sleep with any light or noise. I fall asleep really easily, but I was going through that waking at 4-4:30am period, for a long time. It's getting better, now it can be 5-5:30am, which I can cope with. I think my biggest problem is my smart watch. I got addicted to reading my sleep results every morning and I look at my watch as soon as I wake, to check the time. Should I stop wearing it to bed and just go with the flow?
Quick addendum - I took off my watch last night. I awoke, got up and discovered it was 5:30am. I guess it will take a while to break that habit. Time will tell.
That’s interesting, and I think taking the watch off for a while is a very reasonable experiment. Sometimes checking the time and sleep score becomes part of the waking-up habit itself.
One thing I wouldn’t ignore, though, is the sleep apnea. If CPAP is a non-starter for you, it may be worth asking your sleep doctor about other options. But as for the watch, I’d be curious to see what happens after a week or two of simply not knowing what time it is when you wake up.
I just found your Substack and this was the first article that I read. Very good stuff! Like you said, my sleep has changed with age (I’m now 70), illness (myalgic encephalomyelitis) and medication (low-dose naltrexone, the dream spinner) but being more focused and thoughtful has helped a lot. Thank you for all of these suggestions and how clearly they are presented! One addition that has helped me immensely are calm sleep stories. Like my bed, they appear to cue my brain that it’s time to sleep. Very helpful when I wake up from an intense dream and need to calm myself back to sleep. Now, on to explore your other guides!
I’m so glad you found me, Gayle, and thank you for such a thoughtful comment. Sleep stories are a wonderful addition. I love the idea of them becoming another cue to your brain that it’s time to relax. I hope you find something useful in the other posts too. ❤️
This is really helpful. At last I'm getting the whole message about why my sleep at 75 is different from when I was younger! You'd think it would be simple, and thank you for making it so. Once I started doing all these suggestions - and many I started long ago - I stopped berating myself about changed sleep. Really lifesaving stuff here.
The writing, the ideas, and the way it’s all laid out is crystal clear. I will look for the guide. I might have subscribed already, in any case continue the great work. This 75 year old lady greatly appreciates it ALL!🙏🏽♥️
Thank you, I really appreciate the feedback!
As soon as I get things lined out, you’re the first one on my list! And it is a long list!
Greetings. I purchased the guide and I understand it is instantly available. Where can I find it?
@Laurie Severs Sorted, Laurie — I've just emailed you the links directly. If it helps anyone else: the delivery email goes out within a minute of purchase, but it sometimes lands in spam or promotions. Look for "Your Sleeping Well After Sixty guide is ready." And if you can't find it, just email me at diana@wegetbetterwithage.com and I'll send it straight over.
Thank you, Diana. I found it in spam and am now all squared away!
Hi Laurie, sorry for the delay in answering, I just saw your note now. You should have received an email- let me check and get back to you!
I'll let you know, and I don't have a sleep doctor anymore, I don’t think that's even a thing here in Spain. Although it probably is.
I've been toying with starting on it again, but when I was diagnosed, I was heavily overweight. That's all gone now, and hubby hasn't heard me snoring or stopping breathing lately. I will have to think about it. Many years ago, it worked for the first few weeks, then I got a cold and that ended that. Tried again several times, but no go.
Interesting. I am F, 74, diagnosed with sleep apnea (not using my CPAP, I hate it). I have worn ear plugs and an eye mask for many, many years as I can't sleep with any light or noise. I fall asleep really easily, but I was going through that waking at 4-4:30am period, for a long time. It's getting better, now it can be 5-5:30am, which I can cope with. I think my biggest problem is my smart watch. I got addicted to reading my sleep results every morning and I look at my watch as soon as I wake, to check the time. Should I stop wearing it to bed and just go with the flow?
Quick addendum - I took off my watch last night. I awoke, got up and discovered it was 5:30am. I guess it will take a while to break that habit. Time will tell.
That’s interesting, and I think taking the watch off for a while is a very reasonable experiment. Sometimes checking the time and sleep score becomes part of the waking-up habit itself.
One thing I wouldn’t ignore, though, is the sleep apnea. If CPAP is a non-starter for you, it may be worth asking your sleep doctor about other options. But as for the watch, I’d be curious to see what happens after a week or two of simply not knowing what time it is when you wake up.
Really great tips and facts for getting a better more consistent night's sleep as you age! Thank you.