Setting out on the NoFap journey is exciting.
This is because of the numerous benefits it offers. And you’ve probably got your eye on a few that’d impact your life positively.
One of the benefits discussed a lot is improved sleep quality.
Today, we’ll delve into an intriguing question:
Does NoFap improve sleep quality?
Join us on our quest to uncover the science behind NoFap and sleep. It’s also beneficial to hear from members of the NoFap community regarding their personal experiences — so we’ll share some stories as well.
Of course, our guides are incomplete without practical tips for you. So we’ll give you a rundown on how to sleep better on NoFap.
And lastly, we’ll look at the consequences of poor sleep.
The Mechanisms Behind Sleep
Before we discuss the link between NoFap and sleep, we need to understand how sleep works.
First, you enter non-REM sleep. This transition from wakefulness to sleep can take a few minutes and you can be easily awoken.
Once you fall asleep, your heart rate slows down and body temperature decreases. After this, you’ll enter slow-wave sleep. It’s when your body repairs tissues and boosts the immune system.
After going through the stages of non-REM sleep, you’ll enter REM sleep.
It’s a time when your brain is active which is similar to being awake — but your muscles are paralyzed which prevents you from acting out dreams.
The Science of Sleep and NoFap
Studies suggest that roughly one-third of the U.S. population doesn’t get enough sleep. This is defined as less than seven hours.
Good sleep improves brain performance, mood, and overall health. Poor sleep increases the risk of many disorders such as obesity, dementia, and stroke.
Here are a few scientific processes that’ll help you understand sleep better:
Brain activity: Brain activity varies based on the stage of sleep you’re in. As mentioned earlier, the brain is active in REM sleep.
Hormones: Melatonin is released by the pineal gland. This happens when your environment is dark which promotes sleep. Cortisol lowers and this allows the body to shift into a relaxed state.
Homeostasis: A neurotransmitter called adenosine that promotes sleepiness builds during the day. While you sleep, adenosine decreases.
Circadian Rhythm: Your internal body clock is responsible for timing sleep. Early, low solar angle, natural light exposure helps synchronize your circadian rhythm.
Neurotransmitters: Neurotransmitters such as serotonin and norepinephrine help you transition between sleep stages.
Memory consolidation: Information you learn during the day is processed during sleep. This helps memory and cognitive function.
Sleep is a dynamic process that’s essential for your wellness. The processes mentioned above work in harmony to make sure you’re restored when you wake up.
The Relationship Between NoFap and Sleep
Now that you understand how sleep works, let’s establish its link with NoFap.
You may be surprised to hear that there isn’t a direct scientific correlation between sleep and NoFap. But how can that be? So many guys report positive changes in their sleep patterns when starting NoFap.
Consider this: NoFap increases energy levels. This added energy may cause a person to be more active during the day. This activity will wear them out and make them tired when bedtime rolls around.
On the other hand, some guys may use porn to help them sleep. Ejaculation releases prolactin which helps the body produce serotonin. This can help people fall asleep. So if you’ve depended on fapping to fall asleep, don’t be discouraged when you go through “prolactin withdrawals”.
Power through this stage and you’re likely to have a good night’s rest soon.
It’s important to note that experiences may vary. There isn’t much science out there on the relationship between sleep and NoFap. And sleep can be affected by many things such as stress, lifestyle, and health.
Listen to your body and consult with your doctor before making drastic changes.
Personal Experiences
A 27-year-old NoFapper from the “your brain on porn” website started NoFap because he had low testosterone and wanted to fix it. The 7-day peak testosterone study is what motivated him.
He completed 90 days of NoFap after 2 years. Among the many benefits he experienced, waking up became easier. He also noted that waking up was automatic without an alarm. He reported his sleep quality was best on NoFap and he had higher energy and yawned less.
Read more about his story by clicking here.
Another user of the NoFap.com site pointed out how poor sleep can negatively affect your NoFap journey.
He’d stay up all night to play games, and only slept for a few hours. His brain was active during the night. And with nothing to do, he’d usually relapse.
He says putting in the effort to improve his sleep helped him in numerous ways. It gave him a sense of control of his life. Also, he became better socially, improved his diet, and had a positive outlook on life.
You can read his story here.
Side Effects of Poor Sleep on NoFap
If you neglect to repair poor sleep, it can have a negative effect on NoFap. Here are a few things one user noticed:
- Increased brain fog and lack of focus. This can cloud the decision-making process. You’re more likely to make poorer decisions with brain fog. Some of which can be relapses.
- It can lower your sex drive, which makes the flatline worse.
- Fatigue and headaches, both of which can lead to relapse.
- Sleepiness during the day.
- A spike in impulsive tendencies. This may cause you to choose dopaminergic activities such as junk food or porn.
Basically, poor sleep gives you less control. And less control isn’t conducive to a good run on NoFap. One of the aims of NoFap is to reclaim control over your habits.
How to Sleep Better on NoFap
To improve your sleep, you want to have better sleep hygiene. This is the practice of aligning your environment with the goal of getting high-quality sleep.
Simply starting NoFap may not be enough to clean up your sleep hygiene. Sure, it may improve a couple of aspects of your sleep hygiene. But for the ones that aren’t automatic, you’ll need to put in some work.
Here are some practical tips you can follow.
- A consistent sleep schedule: Our body loves regularity, even more so when it comes to sleep. Wake up and go to sleep around the same time every day. Your circadian rhythm will be affected positively by consistency in this area.
- Wind down: Get relaxed before bed. Indulge in calming activities such as reading or taking a warm bath.
- Limit screen time: The blue light from screens such as TVs, computers, and phones can interfere with melatonin production. Reduce exposure from screens at least thirty minutes before bedtime.
- Diet: Avoid heavy meals, caffeine, and alcohol before bed. Also, check out this list of foods that help sleep.
- Exercise: Moderate aerobic exercise is known to increase the amount of slow-wave sleep you get. This is a deep sleep that restores the brain and body. Exercise also has a stabilizing effect on mood which helps you fall asleep faster.
- Stress management: Meditation, deep breathing, and progressive muscle relaxation are excellent techniques that may help you sleep better.
- Sleep environment: Try to use your bed only for sleep or sex. Watching TV or browsing on your phone may cause your brain to associate that environment with entertainment.
You can use NoFap to make it easier to follow these habits. For example, if you’d normally watch porn before bed — the blue light from your phone will signal your brain to stay awake.
Since you’re not watching porn anymore, it leads to less screen time which means better sleep hygiene.
See where you can use NoFap to clean up other areas of your sleep hygiene.
Conclusion
You can leverage NoFap to get better sleep.
But the opposite is true as well.
Better sleep will help you resist impulsive urges. Being tired or sleepy can be a trigger for some guys.
It’s worth mentioning that more research is needed on this subject. With such an overwhelming amount of anecdotal evidence, the scientific and NoFap communities stand to benefit tremendously.
Our takeaway advice: Don’t view NoFap or sleep in a vacuum. Rather, use each aspect of your life to improve another one. If you’re struggling with sleep, get a professional diagnosis.
It may turn out that you simply need to exercise more so that you’re sleepy at night. You can add to this by purchasing blackout curtains and avoiding devices before bed.
Better sleep, more exercise, a better diet, and solid NoFap streaks all work together to create an ecosystem of positive habits. And over time, those habits will be the foundation of your life.
We believe this is the goal of NoFap. To fix other areas of your life and use them as a springboard to achieve greatness.
Sweet dreams!
