Got the Insomnia Blues

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aquafireaquafire
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Once upon a time I could hit the sack & be lights out before I hit the pillow..



But these days I have to admit to finding it hard to go asleep at times..



Sometimes its due to too much noise..( ten dogs in nearby houses ) cars, helicopter gun-ships..well almost..



Sometimes, I just can't figure if I am too hot, too cold, too indiferent.



Sometimes I just lie there for hours thinking & thinking, knowing I ain't going to sleep & that makes it worse...



I eat lots of fresh fruit & vegetables. Drink moderately, & exercise like a banshee.



Seemingly all to no avail..



But I have noticed that my insomnia comes in patches of about a week & then my sleep will be OK..for awhile.



Never used to be like this....



Too many worries..perhaps..



Or is it Middle age creeping up ?



Would appreciate hearing from other sufferers..& of any cures that work ?\
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 45
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    count sheeps



    If I have read your posts right there should be enough in your bedroom for a couple of hours.
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  • Reply 2 of 45
    toweltowel Posts: 1,479member
    Some random thoughts:



    - try not to exercise in the evenings

    - don't snack just before bed, but don't try to sleep when your stomach's growling (i.e. go to bed 2-3 hours after dinner, or 1-2 hours after snack)

    - don't stay in bed when you're not sleeping (e.g. do bedtime reading in a chair, then get in bed when you're ready to sleep) and don't stay in bed if you can't sleep. Get upio and do something else, then go back to bed.

    - orgasms release potent sedatives - sex just before sleep usually works well, especially if it's not too strenuous (so as to comply with the first point)



    When I get insomnia from a racing mind, I usually fall back on the last one. Empties your mind and puts you to sleep. The other question is, do you feel that you don't get enough sleep? Are you tired all day? If you feel ok despite your trouble getting to sleep, you may just not need as much sleep as the rest of us. And as you age, your sleep requirements do slowly drop.
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  • Reply 3 of 45
    aquafireaquafire Posts: 2,758member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Anders the White

    count sheeps



    If I have read your posts right there should be enough in your bedroom for a couple of hours.



    Would do, but they keep jumping que..so I have to start all over again....

    Actually, reading your threads tend to put me to beddy byes
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  • Reply 4 of 45
    der kopfder kopf Posts: 2,275member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Towel

    I usually fall back on the last one. Empties your mind



    ... and your ballsack
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  • Reply 5 of 45
    aquafireaquafire Posts: 2,758member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by der Kopf

    ... and your ballsack



    Somehow, I think spanking the monkey will only make me horny..not sleepy...



    Or is this the mystery answer to the Zen Koan..

    " What is the sound of one hand clapping ? "

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  • Reply 6 of 45
    burningwheelburningwheel Posts: 1,827member
    are you depressed? an anti-depressant should help with sleeping, though in some people it cause sleep problems. i wish i got on anti-depressant years ago since i've had sleeping problems my whole life.



    i used to just lay there hoping to fall asleep, now i do something on the computer, seems to help.
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  • Reply 7 of 45
    murbotmurbot Posts: 5,262member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by aquafire

    Somehow, I think spanking the monkey will only make me horny..not sleepy...



    Middleaged, my ass. Here's proof that you've never blown your wad. (I don't mean when you spend all your quarters at the arcade in one shot)



    Do it a little longer next time.



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  • Reply 8 of 45
    enaena Posts: 667member
    IMHO you are either under a lot of stress or have an unresolved "issue" with someone or something.



    Seriously, take 1 or 2 Benadryl and knock back a beer or two. You will sleep---in some cases this can "hit your reset button" and let you unplug from what is bothering you---enough to rethink what the problem is.





    But then there is the old adage: "Why pray when you can worry?"
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  • Reply 9 of 45
    shetlineshetline Posts: 4,695member
    It'll all be better when the 970s are finally here.



    Sweet dreams.
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  • Reply 10 of 45
    709709 Posts: 2,016member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by aquafire

    ...any cures that work ?



    Jaigermeister.
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  • Reply 11 of 45
    1337_5l4xx0r1337_5l4xx0r Posts: 1,558member
    Actaully, at one point I took sleeping pills to get to sleep. Thing is, you build a tolerance to them. So first night, you get taken down like a drugged elephant. Second night, you need a double dose... third night, the double dose doesn't knock you out, but does give you stomach pains from whatever's in those little pills eating through your stomach walls. I tossed and turned all night because whichever side of me was up, the other side of my stomach would burn.



    So **** pills.



    To state what may be they totally obvious, avoid coffee/tea/ ICED TEA(!) for 4-5 hours before sleep. Coffee fuXXors me every time. I never drink it after 7 o'clock. Iced tea used to be my beverage staple in college, as the water in the building I was in was foul. Took me weeks/months to realise why I could never get to sleep...
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  • Reply 12 of 45
    randycat99randycat99 Posts: 1,919member
    You aren't sleeping-in too late in the day, are you? Doing that often can cause your entire sleeping cycle to shift. The corollary to that would be that maybe you could try getting up earlier, so you just run out of energy to stay awake later in the day. I never thought that I could ever be conking out by 9:30-10 in the evening, but having to get up at 4:30 AM for work will certainly change that around, evidently.



    You could also break the "shifting cycle" by pulling an all-nighter (playing videogames or something), and then pounding some stimulants throughout the following day (so you don't fall asleep right away; believe me, you'll want to go to sleep). Drag yourself to at least 8 or 9 PM, and then allow yourself to hit the sack. Hopefully, your body will automatically awaken in the morning. Of course, if your body is just as comfortable taking 16 hrs of sleep as it is 8 hrs of sleep, that may not work. Naturally, none of this is particularly recommended if you have to go to work tomorrow. You should just take a sick-day or something.



    This doesn't cover the earlier mentioned situations about being depressed or suffering extreme anxiety due to unresolved traumas, of course. If that is the case, you really need to find some comfort ground on the issue. Maybe you can't "solve" it right away, but maybe you can come up with a transitional status for the meantime which makes the "uncertainty" factor much, much less disconcerting. You could always try talking it out with friends and/or fellow AI'ers, too. Don't be afraid to vent.
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  • Reply 13 of 45
    burningwheelburningwheel Posts: 1,827member
    oh another thing that works sometimes...



    sleep on the floor, seriously
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  • Reply 14 of 45
    randycat99randycat99 Posts: 1,919member
    Have sex on the floor, then sleep on it! How's that for a double-whammy?
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  • Reply 15 of 45
    burningwheelburningwheel Posts: 1,827member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Randycat99

    Have sex on the floor, then sleep on it! How's that for a double-whammy?



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  • Reply 16 of 45
    aquafireaquafire Posts: 2,758member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by burningwheel





    Thanx for the concern folks..No I am not depressed..but then again do you actually feel happy ?



    The floor thing is not an option as there are some seriously nasty spiders in this neck of the woods..Redbacks ( Black widow cousins ), Tarantulas, Fiddlebacks & white tailed spiders whose bite can actually rot flesh ( causing necrosis around the area of bite...)

    That's why I keep a bat beside the bed..ha ha.



    Yes I have been under stress, but nothing uncommon or out of the ordinary for someone who has lost their partner, their house, their job & then got hit by a car..These events all happened in the space of 3 years ending in 1996.



    I know you guys will think I am busllshitting, but If you knew me, you'd know I got busted up pretty good..But I'm alive so I reckon to be ahead of the dice roll.



    Even so, I maybe suffering the latter effects of Post trauma...( all the court case stuff took the stuffing out of me )..so maybe it's all catching up with me..



    Yeah, I have had some bad rolls of the dice.But who hasn't ?

    I'm not feeling sorry for myself..I just want to win the lottery..and kill some of these damm Rats n Roaches.

    Then I'll be happy
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  • Reply 17 of 45
    randycat99randycat99 Posts: 1,919member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by aquafire

    Yes I have been under stress, but nothing uncommon or out of the ordinary for someone who has lost their partner, their house, their job & then got hit by a car..These events all happened in the space of 3 years ending in 1996.



    JESUS, dude! I don't think "under stress" even begins to describe what you've been through.



    So has this insomnia just popped-up recently, or has it been for a long while and you just decided to post about it recently? Have you been feeling panic attacks or prolonged anxiety lately?
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  • Reply 18 of 45
    pfflampfflam Posts: 5,053member
    I too had serious insomnia ending just two weeks ago.



    I was under major life change stress



    I took ambien and that helped some

    so did nightime pain killer



    but I suppose the drug way is not good in the long run



    probably the best is to try and do some kind of meditative exercise and mind focus activity like yoga (not the whimpy kind for Volvo moms, real yoga) and guided meditation with a real reason for being: like something like Zen . . . you don't have to be Buddhist but their structure of serious thinking keeps it from becoming merely wishy washy 'feel good thoughts' stuff



    but then again good thoughts aren't bad either



    and that's where these boards should be taken into consideration: they create bad feelings and devisiveness . . . I know it can be fun but it can also be destructive

    it seems almost trendy these days; how much people like to hate each other for stupid ideas, but to wollow in it can go beyond the time spent on the computer and make you feel bad . . . and that can also effect your sleep
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  • Reply 19 of 45
    liquidrliquidr Posts: 884member
    Have you considered counseling. It sounds like the extraordinary traumas has compounded with your everyday worries, that can f-up your sleep cycle. Just talking with someone like a therapist might help.



    Also, a natural alternative to sleeping pills would be Melatonin. I can cause a few weird dreams and you can build a tolerance, but not as harsh as those sleeping pills. You can pick some at any nutrition store, like GNC.



    I once had insomnia for 2 1/2 months, slept 15-30 minutes, tops. My percetion of reality got real twisted, once while sitting on the quad waiting for a friend everything in front of my eyes turned into a Monet. Kinda cool, but i wouldn't want to go through that hell again to get a repeat experience.



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  • Reply 20 of 45
    aquafireaquafire Posts: 2,758member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Randycat99

    JESUS, dude! I don't think "under stress" even begins to describe what you've been through.



    So has this insomnia just popped-up recently, or has it been for a long while and you just decided to post about it recently? Have you been feeling panic attacks or prolonged anxiety lately?



    Every bit of it is absolutely true. Slleep stuff is recent though..



    Nothing like seeing you life being wiped out & all you can do is watch...really bad trip.



    I am ashamed to say, I I almost lost it for awhile..I guess I knew I had " crossed the border " when I started to blame myself for all the things that went wrong: sort of self- punishment stuff..

    Like I was saying "

    "OK God : You think this crap you've given me is tough..just watch how low I can beat myself "

    A kind of F*ck you God / test thing.



    Since then I have had nothing but real compassion for the street dregs, who mostly have Psych problems..Poor bastards..



    Been through it all..been to " shrinks" ( I should be nice and call them Psychs ...actually am a retired Ed-psych myself ) so I have a reasonabe handle on things...or maybe not\I don't think it is going to be a long term problem..



    I don't do drugs or take sleep inducers of any sort..

    Am a bit of a hard dude, preferring to do it all this stuff the natural way..

    So it is mainly camomile & essential oils.



    Mostly it is OK, but I think that five years of legal battles wore me out & this is the backwash..



    If anything, all this has taught me to be a survivor.



    May take longer doing it the " natural way ",but hopefully will be for the best.\
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