The Black Ribbon Thread (The Sleeping Quarters)

[Draegon (Liam P Boyle)]

Sunday into Monday: 7 hours 26 minutes @ 90% efficiency 6 hours 43 minutes actual sleep.

Last night: 5 hours 48 minutes @ 89% efficiency 5 hours 13 minutes actual sleep.

Zee large bowl of zee chocolate chip ice cream before bed vas likely a bad idea.

Sent from the dragon's lair

[RedStone]

22 hours ago, ChrisWithaStick said:

Hooray for the new mattress!

 

\o/ CAN NOT wait  Also have a bath pillow coming this week!

 

22 hours ago, ChrisWithaStick said:

 

It is not so much sugar if you follow ze recipe of @sarakingdom - cocoa powder itself has no sugar, unless you buy cocoa mix or some kind of sweetened cocoa powder.  You could sweeten with honey or molasses (thrown some cinnamon and nutmeg in there, too), and get some micro nutrients, and minerals, in the case of molasses. My recipe will definitely throw some extra sugar in there, but overall not too terribly much.  As a balance, you could add in a scoop of unflavored gelatin (this works in any hot drink).    I remember reading on a bullet-proof blog last year that a little sugar with protein sometimes is a good combination, especially for active people, but it's definitely n=1 in terms testing.
 

 

Meh, I have room in my macros for a fair bit of sugar but I generally avoid them, just seems like an awful lot of work LOL

 

22 hours ago, ChrisWithaStick said:

For the food for thought - you mean you want to do all the things and deal with all the people?  That seems to be common around here   (I'm probably the token slacker in this bunch - someone has to balance out the universe).

 

I'm not sure? I guess I just mean... like with abstract anxiety manifesting in different ways - reliving or creating new interactions with people, thinking about what could have been... all just ways of dealing with inadequacy issues. All those fun things that keep us up at night. so I'm trying some sleep mantras in the vein of affirmations - you're good enough, you've done enough today, dog gone it, people like you  Will report back on it's effectiveness LOL

 

21 hours ago, ChrisWithaStick said:

While it's a little too early to make concrete statements, the curtains seem to be helping.  1) I don't have to have something over my eyes, and 2) I seem to be sleeping more soundly.  That, or the cat is being easy on me this week (he's currently monitoring my typing).   Maybe both.  Anyway, so far, so good and wow, there was more light than even I thought due to the streetlight. 

 

YAY! here's to more of the good stuff.. hope your feline overlord allows it!

[Mistr]

On 11/4/2016 at 10:02 PM, ChrisWithaStick said:

Zer is alvays a balance.  How has the lack of coffee been going?  I'd probably collapse in a heap and die, or wish I did.  Or the people around me might wish that. 

 

I haf done quite well without coffee. I made a pot of decaf on the weekend. I've been having tea at work. Mostly herbal tea, or green tea on days when I'm really tired. My energy level has been above Zombie, somewhere between Plodding and Average Human.

 

On 11/7/2016 at 8:48 PM, ChrisWithaStick said:

Hallo!  Hallo!  It is Monday, it is ze crazy Daylight Savings switch in the US (I sincerely hope the rest of the world is spared this silliness), and I haf read that parts of your brain, including individual neurons, can be asleep while you're awake, especially while fatigued.  The article doesn't go into it, but I wonder if this is part the cognitive slowdown when tired, or the sluggish, unclear thinking. 

 

Fascinating. I got up and went to early morning aikido on Monday. I never go to 6:00am class. They were very gracious and didn't give me too much grief about it.

 

I had no trouble waking up at 5:00am. I even could move reasonably well for early in the morning. However, I did not have a brain. It felt very odd to be wide awake with minimal brain function. I concentrated on using perception instead - staying connected to my partner, using muscle memory. Hopefully something sunk in.

[ChrisWithaStick]

Since ve hav been discussing ze cocoa:  Enjoy some this weekend (link to Mark's Daily Apple post about the health benefits of dark chocolate and cocoa).

 

In other news - vhat a veek.  Tuesday I ended up being in bed late for no really good reason (yes, I know there was an election, no, that wasn't a good reason for me to be up late reading).  Wednesday I got to baby sit security camera installers at one of the bakeries - they got started at 7 pm, and went till just past midnight.  I was home about 1ish. 

 

Last night was bad choices due to being damn tired, and wanting to finish the book from Tuesday.  Bugger. 

 

I shall get back on track! 

[RedStone]

On 11/11/2016 at 11:25 AM, ChrisWithaStick said:

Wednesday I got to baby sit security camera installers at one of the bakeries

 

Wait wut wut? Bakeries you say? What is this business about these bakeries of which you speak...?

 

 

Also... ugh... hope this week is a bit better for you!!

[ChrisWithaStick]

1 hour ago, ~RedStone~ said:

Wait wut wut? Bakeries you say? What is this business about these bakeries of which you speak...?

My brother in law is a pastry chef and world class baker, and he and my sister own one of the premier bakeries in Seattle (which is blessed with a large handful of "Oh my goodness" good bakeries..God only know how much butter this town uses, but it's a lot).  We have two locations, will be opening a third (and final, if my sister has anything to say about it) location next spring.  I'm a manager, will be in an operations role for the next year or so, and then may continue or may move into chocolate production (as in, actual chocolate production, not just bon bons, although I can do that, too).

 

1 hour ago, ~RedStone~ said:

Also... ugh... hope this week is a bit better for you!!

It should.  These next few weeks will have a handful of late nights due to work (hello, holidays!), but overall I know what I need to do. 

 

On 11/9/2016 at 10:33 AM, Mistr said:

I haf done quite well without coffee. I made a pot of decaf on the weekend. I've been having tea at work. Mostly herbal tea, or green tea on days when I'm really tired. My energy level has been above Zombie, somewhere between Plodding and Average Human.

From experience, I know that if I cut out leaded coffee my energy level lays between zombie and 'grumpy bastard'.  I salute you. 

 

On 11/9/2016 at 10:33 AM, Mistr said:

I had no trouble waking up at 5:00am. I even could move reasonably well for early in the morning. However, I did not have a brain. It felt very odd to be wide awake with minimal brain function. I concentrated on using perception instead - staying connected to my partner, using muscle memory. Hopefully something sunk in.

Interesting.  Any further thoughts or commentary?  How well did your muscle memory serve you?

[Draegon (Liam P Boyle)]

I had only gotten about 5 hours of sleep Thurs into Fri, about 12 hours Fri into Sat, 8ish hours Sat into Sun, and then just over 5 hours last night.  SWMBO, SquirrelKing, and I have all been debating if we're coming down with some illness or just have been feeling out of sorts for other reasons.  All of us have been having headaches, body aches, fatigue, sinus irritations, queasy stomachs, and just general bleh feelings.  If I am coming down with something, let me just get flipping sick and get it the hell over with, rather than this I might be, I might not be BS.

[RedStone]

13 hours ago, ChrisWithaStick said:

My brother in law is a pastry chef and world class baker, and he and my sister own one of the premier bakeries in Seattle (which is blessed with a large handful of "Oh my goodness" good bakeries..God only know how much butter this town uses, but it's a lot).  We have two locations, will be opening a third (and final, if my sister has anything to say about it) location next spring.  I'm a manager, will be in an operations role for the next year or so, and then may continue or may move into chocolate production (as in, actual chocolate production, not just bon bons, although I can do that, too).

 

!!!!!! Oh my glob what a fun everything!!!! (I may or may not be enamoured with lovely photos of sweets pls....)

 

_____

 

Last night after coming home from epic weekend: hot epsom salt soak with bubbles appropriately times before bed. New mattress - not 100% dead sleep, but very comfortable. Back felt good this morning. 9 Hours  So no complaints! YAY!

 

 

[ChrisWithaStick]

9 hours ago, Draegon (Liam P Boyle) said:

I had only gotten about 5 hours of sleep Thurs into Fri, about 12 hours Fri into Sat, 8ish hours Sat into Sun, and then just over 5 hours last night.  SWMBO, SquirrelKing, and I have all been debating if we're coming down with some illness or just have been feeling out of sorts for other reasons.  All of us have been having headaches, body aches, fatigue, sinus irritations, queasy stomachs, and just general bleh feelings.  If I am coming down with something, let me just get flipping sick and get it the hell over with, rather than this I might be, I might not be BS.

Ugh on the 'sick but not sick enough to be sick' blech.  You're sleep hours are kind of all over the map though - I know that can mess with my head and my stomach.  Any way to get a little more consistency in the coming week

 

8 hours ago, RedStone said:

Last night after coming home from epic weekend: hot epsom salt soak with bubbles appropriately times before bed. New mattress - not 100% dead sleep, but very comfortable. Back felt good this morning. 9 Hours  So no complaints! YAY!

Hooray for the new mattress!  When I upgraded mine a couple of years ago I had an adjustment period from the old one

 

Today's entry in the chronicles of sleep comes from Mark's Daily Apple:  Mitigating the effects of not enough sleep.  I am someone that craves carbs after bad sleep, and I wonder how much my previous poor sleeping habits contributed to my mild hypertension (I still have a goal of getting of the meds in the near future).  It's also interesting to see a little more about how all the systems interact, and how lack of sleep exacerbates things that can disrupt your sleep further.  

 

Moral of the story - keep working on sleep.

 

My goal this week is to get back on the wagon of proper bed time and reduced screen time.  Anyone have any goals for this week? 

[Draegon (Liam P Boyle)]

5-6 is normal during the week. Weekends are trying to catch up on what was missed, if life allows.

Sent from the dragon's lair

[RedStone]

12 hours ago, ChrisWithaStick said:

 Anyone have any goals for this week? 

 

All the sleep!!!  So far so good, so I guess keep on keeping on! Not too much booze, hot bath once in a while, in bed between 10:30-11:30, try to get 8+ as often as possible.

[sarakingdom]

Hello, my brothers and sister of the night!  I haff been much in absence lately.  I haff no vay of knowing if I haff been on zer vagon lately.  I haff been going to bed on time, I think, but I haff not been sleeping vell.  (Zer bronchitis has had me in its grip.)  Last night I had zer relatively good sleep, und I haff high hopes that there vill be sleep in my future, if I remember to bring zer cough medicine und spoon to zer bedside.  I need ALL ZER SLEEP.  I had eight hours, und it vas not enough.

 

I am looking forward to sleeping again.  Und attending zer Black Ribbon meetings again.

[Draegon (Liam P Boyle)]

5 hours 26 minutes last night.

Sent from the dragon's lair

[Draegon (Liam P Boyle)]

Unfortunately, several off zee periods off "light sleep" vere actually bouts of vakefulness brought on by zee coughing and zee sneezing. Zee veather in zis area is not conductif to zee health. Below freezing one day und completely summerish zee next day.

Sent from the dragon's lair

[ChrisWithaStick]

17 hours ago, Draegon (Liam P Boyle) said:

Unfortunately, several off zee periods off "light sleep" vere actually bouts of vakefulness brought on by zee coughing and zee sneezing. Zee veather in zis area is not conductif to zee health. Below freezing one day und completely summerish zee next day.

Sent from the dragon's lair

I remember that weather.  Sorry to see there might be a cold passing through the house though. 

 

On 11/15/2016 at 11:24 AM, sarakingdom said:

Hello, my brothers and sister of the night!  I haff been much in absence lately.  I haff no vay of knowing if I haff been on zer vagon lately.  I haff been going to bed on time, I think, but I haff not been sleeping vell.  (Zer bronchitis has had me in its grip.)  Last night I had zer relatively good sleep, und I haff high hopes that there vill be sleep in my future, if I remember to bring zer cough medicine und spoon to zer bedside.  I need ALL ZER SLEEP.  I had eight hours, und it vas not enough.

Sister Sarah!  It is good to hear from you at the meeting!  As with Draegon, I'm sorry to read of the demons of illness visiting.  As it is, I would say you have stayed on the wagon - maintaining the habit as well as possible, even if the actual sleep is suffering, is still working on form. 

 

On 11/15/2016 at 7:07 AM, RedStone said:

All the sleep!!!  So far so good, so I guess keep on keeping on! Not too much booze, hot bath once in a while, in bed between 10:30-11:30, try to get 8+ as often as possible.

Way to monk it! Any further reports on the new mattress? 

 

I'm doing better about bed time this week, finally getting back on track.  It's finally decided to be Seattle's version of winter, so cooling off (40s), which is nice for me as I sleep better in cooler temperatures. 

[Draegon (Liam P Boyle)]

@ChrisWithaStick no "might" about it, there's a batch of crud that hit. 3 hours and 22 minutes last night thanks to this crap, although I am feeling better this morning.

Sent from the dragon's lair

[Mistr]

On 11/13/2016 at 9:51 PM, ChrisWithaStick said:

Interesting.  Any further thoughts or commentary?  How well did your muscle memory serve you?

 

My muscle memory will take care of things I've learned before. Getting new things to work is another matter. I don't remember what we worked on. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised to be able to do it if someone shows those moves again.

 

16 hours ago, ChrisWithaStick said:

I'm doing better about bed time this week, finally getting back on track.  It's finally decided to be Seattle's version of winter, so cooling off (40s), which is nice for me as I sleep better in cooler temperatures. 

 

Yay for getting back on track! I know what you mean about cool weather. We just had our first hard frost last week. In November. Normally we get a hard frost in early October. September is not unusual. We have had September weather for most of the week. It's going to be a rude shock when it gets back to seasonal weather. I put extra blankets on the bed on the one cold night. We've been throwing them off for the last few days.

[sarakingdom]

Pratchetteers and not-yet-Pratchetteers, we have a reading club starting next challenge:

 

[RedStone]

On 11/17/2016 at 1:37 AM, ChrisWithaStick said:

Way to monk it! Any further reports on the new mattress? 

 

Mattress continues to be awesome, my left arm doesn't fall asleep anymore! And (whether related or not), my back issues that started last week seem to be ironed out. Sleep started awesome at the beginning of the week but is a bit off the last 3 night. Hoping to do a little stress relief today and get some in this weekend.

[Luciana Valerosa Culming]

I slept really irregular the last few weeks and realised the same as @ChrisWithaStick, I crave for a lot of carbs, when I didn't get enough rest. So I'm trying to drink less coffeine and eat less sweets for a few weeks. Hopefully this will help me to adjust my sleeping habits again.

[ChrisWithaStick]

Happy Monday, everyone! 

 

I had some experience wi' ze v-word this weekend, but it didn't trigger a major relapse - Midnightish on Friday/Saturday, 11 last night.  I'm going to try to get some extra in tonight, since I will probably be up late tomorrow to help with packaging and set-up for Wednesday (bakery will be very busy due to Thanksgiving on Thursday).  Wednesday should be ok for getting to bed on time, and hopefully the rest of the week will finish out strong.

 

Does anyone have any new goals or experiments for the week, or just continuing with the habit building?

[Draegon (Liam P Boyle)]

Ok, still here, still struggling to get more sleep than I average.  Been running about 5hrs on average since my last check in.

[ChrisWithaStick]

9 hours ago, Draegon (Liam P Boyle) said:

Ok, still here, still struggling to get more sleep than I average.  Been running about 5hrs on average since my last check in.

Have they at least been 5 decent to good hours?  Did the cold run its course? 

[Draegon (Liam P Boyle)]

Have they at least been 5 decent to good hours?  Did the cold run its course? 

Cold did run it's course finally - I feel much better now. And sleep has been the usual - meh quality.

Sent from the dragon's lair

[Draegon (Liam P Boyle)]

11/25 5 hr 50 min

11/26 10 hr 59 min

11/27 6 hr 52 min

Sent from the dragon's lair