Insomnia
 

What do you guys do when you can't sleep?

Ever since school has let out, I have been keeping irregular hours, and I have been having a hard time going to sleep....even at six-thirty in the morning.

I have tried everything except drugs. Mostly, however, I end up flipping channels on the tv, or bumming around on TFP.

Well, I have to 'get up' now so I can make it to the job interviews that I have today.

I had the same problem before. During school, I had no trouble sleeping, but when school ended, then the trouble started.

After a while, I realised that after school ended, I spent much more time on my computer, that's what caused my sleeping problems.

So now I spend less time on the computer and everything is back to normal...

Have you tried talking to your doctor? I had the same trouble, and it turned out to be a pretty sever case of sleep apnea. Short version is I thought I was awake the whole time, but I was actually sleeping and waking up every 50 sec.s.
The doc is the person to ask for this, not us.

Don't know what to tell you about not being able to sleep. I've had the same problem since I've come home for the summer.

... glad to see you're gonna be awake today to go look for a job though ;) !!!

It could possibly have to do with the lack of another person (ALLY) in the bed with you. Other than actual school being over that's the only real thing to change about your days, or nights!

Oh god I get the shivers just thinking about nights like that. Luckily I don't get those naturally, however some nights when I took some of my friend's Adderol to study or while going to a party, I would go through spells like this. You would go to bed and get up 7 hours later knowing that you had slept cause the 7 hours went by a little fast, but you don't feel like you were ever actually asleep. How horrid

Browse TFP, watch a DVD, or play guitar.

rub one out......well, it could work!

Exercise.

It reduces the level of energy you will have prior to sleep, thereby making it easier for one to fall asleep.

Tylenol PM...

It is awesome, puts you to sleep and it is non-habit forming....At least that is what the bottle says, but I take it every night, so I think it may be habit forming for me.

I have had trouble sleeping for over a year now. I fall asleep okay but then wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to bed....too much on the mind I think. I put on the sports channel and sometimes that helps but the best cure for insomnia....sex. Really! Tires you out and makes you feel great as well....what a great cure.
Now if I could just get it on a regular basis I'd be much better off. :p

i don't sleep if i want to.. dr. gave me Axium.. that was good but wiped me out in the AM... but the new stuff.. Nortriptyline.. it's a mild antidepressant... but in low dosages it puts you to sleep.

Take controlled substances.

Insomnia is a normal part of life that each and every one of us will suffer from. I had a severe case for about three weeks straight. I thought I was going to go crazy or die. I never really did determine what the underlying cause was, however, I can tell you that the anxiety that results when you know it's bedtime but you will not be able to sleep can make it worse. Anyway, I went to a doc, got some prescription sleeping pills (over the counter are no good), and finally I got some sleep. This helped alot, although it didn't solve my problem. Being proactive is what finally worked for me. I stopped eating chocolate, processed sugars, alcohol, soda, coffee and anything with caffeine in it. I also forced myself to go to bed at the same time each evening, and here's the important part, get up at the same time each day. After I got my body clock reset, all was well. Haven't had a problem since.

Good luck.

I used to have the same problem... then I found this wonderful blue little pill called Unisom. You can buy them at any local drugstore, grocery store, and most gas stations.

The box says that it not habit-forming, and although it is only like 50 mg (small) it knocks your ass out. If your sleeping habit is what's causing it, use them to form a habit. Take one at 11 every night, or whatever.

I am a chronic insomniac.

Sometimes it's better, sometimes it's worse. I've even come up with my own classifications of different types of my sleeplessness.

I tried all the given and usual "remedies". They never work more than once. Even if they did, building a dependency on things like that are unacceptable in my eyes.

I just kind of reached a point where I decided that insomnia is a part of who I am.

One bit of hope --

I have as of late begun rigorous physical training (martial arts). It doesn't help me sleep, but I feel more rested after my short sleep periods. I think that this has to do with changes in metabolism.

So yes, I recommend at least giving exercise a shot. It needs to be very rigorous exercise, and probably every day for a week as you don't immediately gain any benefits.

Oh, and leave several hours between when you exercise and when you go to sleep (although it is okay to exercise soon after waking).

Well, after not getting to sleep at all two nights ago, I packed up my gear and went on a backpacking trip through the linville gorge...in the pouring rain. I feel great now. I'm so sore I can barely walk, but I slept great last night (aside from a little unpleasantness involving a firefly), and I am fully awake now and I suspect I will be able to sleep soundly later tonight.
Thanks for all of your advice...esp. the people that said I needed to do stuff. And I had fun trying some of those other things too.

might think about others activities to clear your mind and allow yourself to sleep.

I am open to anything...Just need you to come and show me what those other activites may be.

Have a beer and a wank, put on some soothing music preferably something intrumental jazz or classical and then, with your eyes closed, make up emotions to go with each note that you hear, think emotions not words. Knocks me right out every time. If that doesn't work go see a doctor for sure.

Tylenol PM is just tylenol + benadryl(diphenhydramine). Give your liver a break and just take the benadryl alone, 25 to 50mg. Very safe-the only side effect is drowsiness!

Also melatonin is used by many to help get to sleep-sold in health food stores- it mimics the natural sleep hormone in the body and is also safe

Sometimes you just need to take something like this for a short time to reset the sleep/wake cycle

oh, just certain meditation techniqunes, mind calming execersises,
mind blowing sex, breathing repss, you know..

I'm such a bad insomniac. My girl claims it's been worse since I got the laptop... She's probably right. The bottom line for me is that I'm totally ADD and I just can't concentrate on sleep long enough for it to happen. I have to wait until I'm on the verge of passing out.

insomnia
 

Hello from a newbie!
Hi out there. I wanted to introduce myself to everyone. I’ve been searching the web for info about insomnia and found this board. I’ve never thought about joining a board before, but after reading through some posts, I’m happy I did. I just want to say thanks to everyone for the support you offer here

I just started on ambien and it's helped a lot.

Ambien is the best drug I've found for insomnia; no grogginess the next morning and quick results. I quit taking it for fear of dependency, though.

Small glass of milk. Doesn't have to be warmed up. Works for me nearly every time. No idea why.

stress less.. thats the key but also my problem.

i think about work allll the time.

Read. I find if I've been working late I get really wired and can't sleep. If you hunker down with a book it forces you to be still and relax. Eventually you'll feel sleepy. Channel surfing and the internet are activities that can actually agitate you further.

i agree
 

i agree with what every1 has said thus far

Thanks for the Support.
I just joined this board and have been reading through a bunch of posts. I wanted to tell you all how much I appreciate all the support you give one another. I think it will be really helpful for me to read what other people are going through. So, thanks!

I was on Ambien for a while..funny thing is, I never developed a sleep habit. Sure, when I was on the drug, I slept great and felt great, but after I got off the drug, I was back in the same rut (and still am).

I can't remember a night where I've slept more than 2 hours in the past 7 years (with the exception of the Ambien nights).

I guess it's time to go talk to the doc again. *sigh*

The Internet is the last thing I should be near when I'm trying to get to sleep. I have found that my ability to sleep or not sleep depends greatly on how chaotic my thoughts are once it comes time to go to bed. Frequently, midnight will roll around, and I will feel tired, but I will still be thinking so intensely about things, whatever they might be, that I will find myself in bed unable to sleep because my mind is still churning away. Browsing the Internet only intensifies my late night scatterbrains, so it is usually best for me to avoid it. Typically I have to do something that will help me focus my mind and clear it of extra noise. Usually drawing works well for this, but I have found that doing a short yoga routine really helps, too. Once I get the clutter out of my head I can just crawl in to bed and relax, and usually fall asleep without too much difficulty.

I admit that I abuse my sleep patterns and push them to their limit. Usually my brain starts to empty out at 2:00am if left to its natural devices, and recently 4:00am has become my bed time because I have been working on lots of interesting projects.

Well, since this thread was brought back from the dead I will weigh in again with an update.

Turns out, all I really needed was some good excercise. When I stay in shape I feel better in general and I sleep very well also. If I stop excercising for a while I feel sluggish and restless. Go figure.

Greg, aren't you recently back from Iraq? Getting physically active again, as you once were, may now be a part of your life that you can't ignore. If you think that there is more to it than that, I'm sure you know to get some help that won't be found here.

Sweet dreams,
Pen

No, sorry, I haven't recently returned from Iraq. I hope I didn't accidentally imply as much. I will check over my threads to make sure.

No need...I'm easily confused. :)

look what i found
 

Great insomnia video
I found this site called realhealth.tv which has a great video. Even though I am a new member, I think everyone here would really like watching this film b/c it was really nice hearing and watching someone talk about their difficulties and how they cope. I wanted to share this with everyone here, hoping it would help you guys too. Here's the link http://www.realhealth.tv/site.html?goto=24&vid=25&vo=0

My experience has been that the length of time on this forum has little to do with the quality of a member's post. Thanks for the great link. :thumbsup: