Light therapy and chronotherapy

[Vandemolen]

Want to let you know that I started light therapy. This light lamp makes your body produce more serotonin.

I also started with chronotherapy. My sleep therapist said that I might have Delayed sleep phase disorder (DSPD). So I will stay awake 3 hours more every day. So my sleeping time and wake up will shift 3 hours every day. After a few days I will sleep in the afternoon. After a week I will stop when I reach my ideal sleeping time.

I hope that the light therapy and the chronotherapy will make my insomnia less bad. And then I hope my general health will improve. And maybe also less POIS-symptoms. I will report back about a week.

[b_jim]

Cut blue light after 8 o'clock to resynchronize circadian system.
At the ned of march, I will start to bad sleep like each year

[Vandemolen]

Yes I have got my phone and tablet in night mode 4 hours before going to sleep. I also turn the tv, tablet and phone off at least 1 hour before going to sleep. Beside light therapy and chronotherapy I wil do some relaxing breathing (mindfulness) with my sleep therapist. I believe that sleep is a major issue in my POIS symptoms.

Why is your sleep worse from the end of March? I sleep better when it is not very cold and not very hot. So spring  in The Netherlands is ideal for sleep.

[Vandemolen]

I am on day 2 of my chronotherapy. Last night, well it was not night because I slept in the afternoon and evening, I slept well. Normally I would stay awake at least 1 hour before falling in sleep. Now I was very sleepy when the bed time came. I think I fell asleep in minutes. A few minutes before I had to wake up I woke up without the alarm. The real test will come when I am at my ideal sleeping time. The next night I will not stay awake for 3 hours more. And I will wake up at the same time as the day before.

My sleep therapist said that instestinal flora is also important for a good sleep. Because there you make hormones, like neurotransmitters that gives that brain signals. I found this researches:

Chronic fatigue syndrome is in your gut, not your head
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160627160939.htm

Gut microbiota and glucometabolic alterations in response to recurrent partial sleep deprivation in normal-weight young individuals
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212877816301934?via%3Dihub

[b_jim]

Light therapy never helped me.
But dark therapy maybe yes.
We are soon in March and the lenght of day is increasing and I sleep bad :/

[Vandemolen]

My sleep improved a lot thanks to the chronotherapy. Now I feel sleepy a half hour befor my bedtime. It is a long time ago that I went to bed with sleepy eyes. Normally it takes more than 1 hour to fall in sleep. Now I think less than 15 minutes. But I wake up after 4 hours. I think it is because of the hot flushes.

I still do light therapy. And I do 1 hour walks daily. When the days become longer and the weather better I think I will not have to do light therapy. Until October maybe.