Hey Greg!

Okay so, we’ve been over lots of different sleep-related topics in our main articles on our Sleep Stream (here for anyone who has yet to see them: https://projectupriver.com/category/sleep/) but to be honest, there is one little thing that I learned about years ago and has seriously been a godsend… it is… *drumroll*….

an acupuncture mat!

This bad boy has been around for a long time and has been used for many years in Chinese and Indian wellness circles, among others. Essentially, this is a mat with little plastic prongs on it and is about the size of a conventional yoga mat. If you were to stand atop the mat barefoot, it would feel sort of like you were standing on gravel, I suppose. But what you are supposed to do, is 20ish minutes before your desired sleep time, lie down on the mat. At first with a shirt on, then you work your way up to shirtless.

Yes, at first it is very uncomfortable. But this is totally part of the process!

Long story short, when you lie atop the mat, your body will begin to release endorphins. After 10 minutes, however, the body begins to tire as it requires a lot from your CNS to release these chemicals.

You won’t feel tired when you’re on the mat, but the contrast of going from something that is uncomfortable and endorphin-releasing, to your bed – which is serotonin and melatonin releasing – allows your body to fall asleep more rapidly than you’d expect. Anyone who has ever gone through hours of tattooing, for example, will tell you that releasing endorphins is damn tiring. This is basically the same idea… except without nearly the same amount of pain or penetrating the skin.

Anyway dude, these things cost roughly $20-$50 online and have become an essential for me on days I don’t take cold showers before bed and find myself restless.

Pro Tip: Read your daily affirmations, do some meditation, listen to a relaxing song/podcast, or make tomorrow’s to-do list while putting in your time on the acupuncture mat.

Best of luck my brother and keep moving UpRiver!!! 😀

I think what’s been working well for me is to plan out my days thoroughly and decide what I will and won’t do for the day, then setting a time to stop work at. After that time, I disconnect from work things and just try to tune into how I’m doing and relax and reflect. This way, when it comes time for bed, I don’t have anything left on my mind to bother me, and if I do, it gets put into my schedule during work hours.

I’ve also been taking a cold shower and doing 3 rounds of Wim Hoff style deep breathing, then journalling right before bed to get any thoughts out. I also cut out cannabis recently, and I think I’ve noticed I’m less anxious and more ready to tackle my day. I also find not eating within 3 hours of bed works well for me. A lot of a good night’s sleep seems to be made in the whole day before that night’s sleep.