Any insomniacs out there? (1 Viewer)

[Clinton McClure]

I've been up since 8:15 yesterday morning and I'm still wide awake. I got home from work at 11:30 last night and tried to go to sleep but gave up after lying in bed for over two hours staring at the ceiling. Anyone else have trouble sleeping and what do you do about it?

 

[Robert_Z]

I got home from work at 11:30 last night and tried to go to sleep but gave up after lying in bed for over two hours staring at the ceiling. Anyone else have trouble sleeping and what do you do about it?

Lying in bed for two hours staring at the ceiling is a nightly ritual for me. If it only lasts two hours, I consider myself lucky.

Is this something new for you? Maybe it is stress (that is what everyone used to tell me). The "treatment" I remember was to take everything out of the bedroom except your bed. No TV, no radio, no nothing. That way, you can condition your body and mind to accept the fact that the bedroom is only for sleeping (and sex :b ). The only time you go into your bedroom is at night, when it is time to go to bed.

I tried this strategy. Didn't work. Maybe it will work for you?

 

[Mick Wright]

I used to go for days without sleep. The only "cure" I've found is to workout every day. If I don't hit the gym the insomnia comes right back. YMMV.

 

[Carl Miller]

Lying in bed for two hours staring at the ceiling is a nightly ritual for me. If it only lasts two hours, I consider myself lucky.

Robert, I had the same problem my entire adult life until about 2 years ago when I tried something called 'counting meditation'.

All it entails is visualizing the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 in your mind as if they're on a sign, and counting silently over and over while you're lying down with your eyes closed trying to fall asleep....1,2,3,4....1,2,3,4...and so on.

I know it sounds absolutely stupid and New Age, but it's an approach recommended by sleep clinics, doctors and researchers who deal with the subject.

It was passed along to me by a cousin of mine who for years never got more than 3 hours of sleep or so because it normally took him 4-5 hours to fall asleep. He got this approach from a sleep clinic he went to in New York, and has had much success with it.

I use this every night, and now usually take only between 20-30 minutes to fall asleep instead of what used to be 2-3 hours on average.

The idea behind it is to force you to stop thinking when you're trying to fall asleep, as thinking is apparently one of the most common reasons why it takes some people hours to finally fall asleep.

It takes some practice, because at the beginning it's not as easy to keep counting like that over and over and visualizing only the numbers as it may seem. Any little distraction will break your 'meditation' at first, but if you stick with it, it becomes easier.

Just wanted to pass this along as you may find it useful.

 

[Tim Hoover]

Anyone else have trouble sleeping and what do you do about it?

This is how I find the time to clean house, play video games, etc...

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Insomnia is a symptom of depression. Perhaps it is the MOST common symptom of depression. Any treatment for depression may help. In my own personal experience, with a very mild case of depression, the over-the-counter pills with Saint John's Wort worked very well. After taking a few of them, I slept through the night with no problems.

 

[Max Leung]

A few of the prescription sleeping pills are also prescribed as anti-depressants, so there is truth to what Dennis says.

You may wish to see a doctor, and perhaps visit the library and borrow the book "The Promise of Sleep" and other similar books that make use of the latest sleep research.

You may also wish to search this forum on other insomnia threads. I think I posted a few solutions nearly a year ago on the subject. Currently I don't have major insomnia problems...I just have to be careful not to sleep in too late on weekends like I just did today. :b

 

[Dave Poehlman]

Perhaps I should loan you my wife. Her talking to me puts me right to sleep.

Wife: "Didn't you hear a word I said!?! Are you asleep!?!"

Me: "Huh!? What? Um.. yes, dear, whatever you say. Zzz.."

 

[James T]

Sometimes I go through days without sleeping. Sleeping pills don't work and could be dangerous. I usually turn on my computer and read whatever I could find(the longer the pages the better). For some reason, reading stuff on my computer screen fatigues me. Books and magazines for some reason don't work.

I also try to listen to my CD player as I lay in bed. I like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Lifehouse, but they always seem to relax me and put me to sleep.

 

[DaveGTP]

I don't get insomnia very often, but, I cannot force myself to go to bed earlier than 2am-ish (I work 3p-11p, 2nd shift, 5 days a week). And I rarely fall right asleep (about 30 minutes for me). Often, when I can't get to sleep (I am gonna get some funny looks here) I mentally play old-school Street Fighter 2, Ryu vs Ken. Does the job. Kind of like a violent version of sheep-counting Perhaps it's because I played SF2 a lot as a kid? Or maybe because a Ryu vs Ken match turns into REALLY boring HADUKEN HADUKEN HADUKEN HADUKEN over and over again match? I don't understand why, but it works.

 

[Gregg Shiu]

I used to- err... well, I still kinda suffer from this occasionally but I find if you try to study or read complex stuff it can be very sleep-inducing. For me, it'd have to be my Life and Health insurance notes. I'm also with Mick in that working out during the day can help with getting to sleep, and since you'll sorely need it, you tend to have a much deeper sleep.

 

[David Preston]

I sometimes have trouble falling asleep because of my crazy work schedule. If I want to go to sleep I take a Tylenol P.M. and it helps me rest better.

 

[Max Leung]

Half a tablet of gravol works for me too, especially when I already feel nauseous.

 

[Jagan Seshadri]

Can't sleep?
Try my "Dissociative Thinking" method!

In this technique, you actively try and dissociate your thoughts so that you don't lock onto ideas that otherwise would keep you awake.

For example, if I am up I might be thinking
"Today I worked on this so tomorrow I should work on that, but then there's that other matter..."

Instead of doing that, I force my brain into noise mode where I now will think, "Juniper happy fox lighthouse up that now where ..." and so on until the good old nonsense dream state kicks in, by which time I'm asleep. The key is not to force the randomness (as this introduced a structured thought 'I'm not being random enough so I will never get to sleep'), but to just calmly create a distraction to the internal dialogue that otherwise keeps you awake.

Yes it is weird, but I find it works better than counting (since counting is structured).

-JNS

 

[Max Leung]

Jagan, I used to do that too...works pretty well if I'm not under too much stress.

I usually imagine I am sitting on a park bench in a sunny warm day and look up. And then let the stream of consciousness effect kick in.

 

[Robert_Z]

Some interesting strategies out there. Clinton, James, others and I may have to try some of those techniques. I know I will. Thanks.

 

[Clinton McClure]

Just got home from work and I'm headed to bed in a minute. I spent all week with my girlfriend so I didn't get a chance to come back home and get online. I slept good at her house (always do because her bed is sooooooooooooooooooooooo soft and relaxing). Anywho, I have a job interview tomorrow morning at 10 so I'm gonna give some of the suggestions (disassociative thinking, counting, etc...) a shot. Thanks.

 

[Rob Lutter]

Jez, am I the only one who falls asleep 10 seconds after he hits the mattress?

I have a 3-9AM sleeping schedule right now... although that is gonna have to change once I start college up again (7:30 CS class *shiver*). I think the most important thing is to stay on a schedule every night and keep to it (don't switch around times)... and also, don't get TOO MUCH sleep. If I get too much sleep I wake up tired and grumpy

 

[David Preston]

What are you doing up this time of morning? Don't you guys ever sleep?