Sleep is mediated via the brainstem circuits that are filled with NEURONS.

Fact: Blue light/nnEMF from your environment and act to dehydrate cells because they stop H2O production from mitochondrial TCA cycle. Why is this a big deal? Neurons absorb and release water when firing information. When H2O is MIA so is neurological your function/sleep capabilities/ https://www.nih.gov/news-events/new...-release-water-when-firing-nih-study-suggests

 

Oh, I'm sorry you're in such trouble. I understand how hard it is not to have a long sleep without waking up. Instead, I'm glad you started eating right, exercising, and handling your panic attacks well. All you have to do is quit smoking. I had severe sleep problems, and sometimes I could not sleep for a few days. I used to drink melatonin, but over time I realized that melatonin doesn't help me either. I tried a lot of remedies to get rid of this sleep problem, and until the end, what helped me was to talk to a therapist and understand what the problem of such bad sleep is. All of these problems are remnants of past problems. In my case, the problem that was and led to irregular sleep was some psychological trauma since I was a child that stressed me and brought me into a state of depression. When I discovered the problem, I went to Childhood Trauma Therapy to do EMDR Therapy, and now I can enjoy 8-9 hours of free sleep.

 

As I'm currently taking time to re-focus on health, I'm trying to make "the bedroom" a priority. Last time I'd checked, I just couldn't seem to find ready-made blackout curtains that would truly keep out all of my neighborhood's street and traffic lighting. I stacked cardboard and thin plywood up against the window, and put a red salt lamp and a small red l.e.d. lamp in the room. There's a candlestick by the bedside and a candle-sconce right at the entrance of the room -- above the never-used light-switch. I sleep prone on the floor on a cotton/wool rug covered with a thick cotton "Mexican" blanket, and I blindfold myself with navy blue or dark purple cotton bandanas. My bedroom has no electricity coming to it. The salt lamp is plugged in from an outlet out in the hallway; the l.e.d. lamp has a rechargeable battery.

Now, I've re-checked the internet for ready-made blackout window-treatment, and this looks good to me:
https://indowwindows.com/custom-storm-windows/sleep-panel/

Found some cheaper blackout window-treatments (didn't have the hundreds of dollars to make the above link at all usable):
cheaper black out window treatments:
https://www.mychemicalfreehouse.net/2021/05/non-toxic-windows-and-window-coverings.html
which leads to:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...g=mychefrehou-20&linkId=JUMDKG4LMDZXNWAO&th=1

If anyone has other good suggestions, I'm still shopping and open to suggestions and others' experiences.

MAIN QUESTION HERE, HOWEVER:
Now that winter's coming, I'm finding myself startling awake when my home's natural-gas-heater kicks on. Startling "sort of awake," that is; it really feels kind of awful... I've watched the heater's "kick" on my Trifield, and, my God the magnetic field readings are something I don't want to be near when that thing kicks on. The bedroom's far enough away that the numbers look fine there, BUT (and I admit, this is just my own imagination/musings from here on), the place had fungal/yeast issues when I first moved in back in 2019 (particularly the type of Candida that smells like "dog breath"). I'm wondering if the dank and somewhat rotted wood around the water heater and gas heater (all in the same closet) might be experiencing something like a "fungal bloom" (or other sudden change) when those magnetic field readings spike... and maybe my sleeping body somehow picks up an "alerting" change in the very air I'm breathing? A bit of a stretch perhaps? But something is waking me up. I wake before the central air starts blowing, so it's not a change in the dryness or temperature of the ambient air, for instance. Could be a vibration or particular sound-frequency? Don't know.

But just in case it is fungi of some sort, I'm thinking of keeping the house much colder at night while I sleep. However, I have cats and houseplants, and it gets below freezing here during winter.
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO SLEEP IN "COLD" AT HIGHER LATITUDES, AT WHAT TEMPERATURE DO YOU SET YOUR THERMOSTATS?
AND ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR HOW TO GET USED TO SLEEPING "COLDER," I'M INTERESTED IN READING (OR BEING DIRECTED TOWARD)??

 

Start with checking humidity.
With issues you are describing
you should not have humidify over 45% in anyplace, anytime.

You may need dehumidifier.

======

 

Thank you! I'm also thinking of sticking these inside the intake ductwork: https://microbalancehealthproducts.com/products/ec3-air-purification-candle.html
and getting some of this powder up my nose (and maybe the cats' noses, too?) : https://lantohealth.com/products/lanto-sinus-probiotic-15g

 

I don't set the temperature to anything, the heating is never on, although to be fair in winter although the air temp outside regularly falls below zero, its not to temps you might be getting, and its a small apartment. The "alert" that you experience even before the heating goes on, may be a natural response, because if your body "knows" a stress is going to happen at say 6 a.m. there is a survival advantage to responding with an increase in stress hormones beforehand. I've tried various hacks trying to sleep colder by using minimal blankets etc trying to boost mitochondria, but after a bit of experimentation that doesn't necessarily equal better sleep. So in winter I now keep a window open enough to provide ventilation and use enough covers to feel warm and snuggly. I also have a grounding mat connected to the outside earth, to mimic as best I can the sleeping conditions of a hibernating bear. I fall asleep faster. If they get too hot, a sleeping child will stick a leg out of the covers for a time to release excess heat, so I think its an inbuilt design to help an animal drop body and/or maintain body temperature in line with circadian rhythm, and where it places its face and nose may be helping it to recycle its outbreath to maintain the correct humidity in the lungs, and possibly humans do it by snuggling under the covers for periods of time. If your cat has something to snuggle into, it may be a healthier option than maintaining a minimum constant ambient temperature overnight. I've found that as long as I feel safe and that what is "out there" can't hurt me I can tune it out and sleep soundly, so winter storms, thunder and lightning ... traffic or unthreatening neighbourhood noise ....In a new environment it might take a day or so to adjust, but I think the principle is the same. When I moved to my current ground floor apartment the issue was light pollution from security lights at ground level which are far more intrusive than street lights, which meant the original horizontal blinds didn't cut it, and I had to add blackout blinds and blackout curtains to the bedroom windows and have a blackout blind over the glass in the front door and the kitchen so that if the bedroom door is opened I don't get a flash of bright light.

For humans in the modern world, long periods of cold and dry air are a risk, particularly after exposure to viruses, so during the day this winter I'll be aiming for humidity levels between 40 and 60 max and try and make sure that it doesn't fall below 40. Hasn't dropped under 40 yet but if it does I'll be experimenting with evaporating water using candle heat, for example aromatherapy oil burners. There's some quite interesting hospital data on humidity here

 

To black out windows I use 2 layers of fabric/blankets.
I have glued and screwed in few screws at the top of the window to hook the blankets directly on the window so it is flush and leaves no gaps. The second layer is two blankets draped over the pre-existing curtain fixture. It is pitch black in my room this way.



In terms of heating, humidity and mold/fungus.

Do you have manual control of the heater? You could just heat a little more before going to bed then switch it off until morning.

Because what you want to do. Is open all windows or at least at the opposing ends of the home to get a breeze, or use a cooling/box fan if there is no breeze so the air is replaced faster. Then close the windows and quickly heat the air back up.

This will reduce the humidity substantially and prevent moisture buildup and condensation from gathering in places and leading to mold/fungus.

You want to do this once or twice a day, airing out for a few minutes then heating the air back up. Specially important to do this after cooking, showering or when the clothes are drying. Since all of these release tons of water into the air.

Also if you have uninsulated external walls. You want to make room between external walls and furniture since condensation can gather behind them without enough circulation and lead to mold.

 

Great post

 

dark and somewhat rotted wood around the water heater
============================
Inspect again and think:
is that rotten wood from previously leaking water heater, that leaks no more
or
it is current leak, say from your neighbor on the floor above or leaky roof.

 

Enjoy some darkness this winter
Longer exposure to darkness leads to the increase of serum melatonin.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/.../pii/S2319417016000238

@Sue-UK made a very important point above - "I've found that as long as I feel safe and that what is "out there" can't hurt me I can tune it out and sleep soundly, so winter storms, thunder and lightning ... traffic or unthreatening neighbourhood noise ...."

Our emotional security influences our biological ability to sleep -> the time when we are most vulnerable. Finding ways to provide our psyche with the mental state of safety is paramount. Obviously, we seem to focus on the biology of sleep "hacks", but I appreciate @Sue-UK bringing this into the dialog.

 

Thank you! I'm listening to the webinar right now.
How do you check indoor humidity levels? I live in Oklahoma, and it's way too humid here... and it's way too dry... way too hot... way too cold... way too stifling... way too windy... way too many tornadoes... As one mother at a city park said to me, "It does not snow enough to justify how cold it gets here." It's a great place for humans to train for "being more present and appropriately accepting and responsive."

 

Thank you! I love this simpler idea of covering the bedroom window!
I hadn't thought of actually airing the whole house after cooking/showering/clothes-drying. I have used fans, and I've even burned incense within closer spaces (frankincense, myrrh, cedar... the natural/expensive stuff that has traditionally antifungal associations). Salt lamps and beeswax candles are regularly used around here, and I do air the place every morning (habit from Grandma). Now I have one more option when I'm noticing extra humidity in the house. Thanks again!

 

The water heater leak has been fixed. There's no "new" moisture building up in there. But this duplex must've had even more problems once upon a time. Found a spot behind the toilet that is bleached nearly pure white (obviously used to be patterned vinyl flooring). Just behind that is a hole in the wallboard that leads to soil! Seriously, I can dig and dig with a spoon as if I'm digging into the ground, but it's the bottom of the wall! (my 7-month-old cat found this; she was born for gopher/mole-hunting). I've never seen anything like that in a home before. Stains on the ceiling (roof has been fixed). Also fixed a leaky drain-pipe behind the washing machine. Working on getting the property-manager to clean out the lint-duct for the dryer (he admitted it's been "more years than he knows" since that was done). Thank you (to you and everyone who responded) for keeping me calm and thinking and continuing on! Cheers!

 

Our emotional security influences our biological ability to sleep -> the time when we are most vulnerable. Finding ways to provide our psyche with the mental state of safety is paramount. Obviously, we seem to focus on the biology of sleep "hacks", but I appreciate @Sue-UK bringing this into the dialog.[/QUOTE]

I sincerely appreciate it, too! The last thing I want to do when I'm really tired is work!

When my back went out on me last summer, I crawled up into my spare bedroom's "conventional" queen-sized bed, just because I wanted "snuggly," "soft," "cuddled" feelings. And I took a hot water bottle with me. The magnetic field reading is not as healthy in that room. RF goes up and down in that room. The window is only covered with the cheap blinds that came with the place (although that's the back of the building and street/traffic-lighting aren't as much of an issue). I just didn't care. I felt hurt and lonely and cold (even though it was a crazy-hot/humid August night), and "soft and snuggly" is what I wanted, and it is what worked for sleeping with minimal pain.
Now that room doesn't attract me at all. Waking as the heater kicks on was worse when I experimented to see if that room might be better.

 

On the subject of supporting our psyche - Have you checked out -> https://www.brain.fm/ Their relax protocol entrains the brain's frequencies to calm down.

https://www.brain.fm/science

Note: brain.fm is not ‘binaural beats’​

​

https://www.brain.fm/pdfs/white-paper.pdf

​

 

If you search ebay or amazon you can pick up a cheap humidity meter/hydrometer. I got a battery operated one that does humidity and temperature for under £10 delivered. I live 100 yards from the sea on an area of coastline that is battered by winter storms, so with the sea spray from that and having had large amounts of rain in the last couple of days, I've just come back from 3 days away and the humidity indoors is 73 per cent (74 outside) but risk of mould is less because the indoor temp is 15.5C. and will drop overnight. The previous owner had new patio doors installed but the door open to ventilate the room would catch in the wind, which are sometimes gale force, and there was no opening window. Even though it was new, we replaced it with one with a window we could open fully when no high winds or at least have on a ventilation position when there is one. When I was a child and stayed with my grandmother in winter, she had one small open fire to heat a massive house, and you could see your breath when you went upstairs to the bedroom and got into an icy cold bed ....and as for the toilet seat .... She wore summer clothes year round. Stayed really healthy and mentally sharp until she moved to a place with constant heating in winter set to "same." It would depend on who you share your home with, and the temps you are dealing with, but one thing you could try is setting the heater to come on later if what you are doing now is shortening your sleep. I deffo feel better and sleep better in winter living in the cold lane.

 

Amazon.com : humidity meter

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=humidity...fix=humidity,aps,80&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_2_8

 

Sue-UK and JanSz,
Again, many thanks. I so appreciate having people with whom I can dialog on this stuff, and not just chat, but actually get a chance to consider concrete actionable options!

 

but actually get a chance to consider concrete actionable options!
-------

Happy Thanksgiving!!