Havent Been Sleeping Too Well Lately

[Infested Cats]

Suggestions on how to get a better nights sleep? I'm just going to bed now... around 4AM... And dont suggest medication.

[ScotchGuy]

Exercise.

[MagicNakor]

Depends what you're suffering from. I could suggest a better matress, but if you're not uncomfortable, it won't do much good. I'm usually coming home around 4 am, so turning in before 6 is still early for me. ;) But, then again, I'm an insomniac.

:ninja:

[chalice]

Sex. Tried and tested.
Sometimes I even nod off during it.

[Skweeky]

hmmm, I'm having trouble sleeping lately too. If you can get yourself to calm down and don't be nervous, selfhypnosis works great. :)

[brotherdoobie]

Originally posted by Infested Cats@12 July 2003 - 02:43
Suggestions on how to get a better nights sleep? I'm just going to bed now... around 4AM... And dont suggest medication.
If you figure out anything let me know Infested Cats let me know
I have the same problem. ;)

I get about 3-4 hours sleep a night :(
I was working 60 hours a week plus trying to get a business of the ground.

Now I am layed off from the job....still cant sleep :angry:


Peace brotherdoobie

[monkfi5h]

Originally posted by Infested Cats@12 July 2003 - 07:43
And dont suggest medication.
Does that include all types of medication?

Like...Marijuana

Helps me sleep like a baby

[DarthInsinuate]

i stayed up for 26 hours once it was odd because i didn't feel tired - depression you see

lots of strenuous exercise and comfort food, like ice-cream did the job

[ezyryder]

On average you need 15 hours Wake-Time aday, so let's say you rise at 10am - on an average day - your energy usage will cause you to tire down sufficiently till arround 1am - 2am. However, if for the whole day your eating snacks and drinking coffee/tea and not excersicing this adds another variable to the thing.

Try the following:

1) After 8pm don't drink fizzy, and take small ammounts of food.
2) Before sleeping, if eating, have cereal or a glass of milk. something soft.
3) Make sure your mind has been giving AT LEAST 30 minutes to unwind after using your pc, don't just jump into bed after using the internet, it leaves your mind hanging on what it's last done thus causes sleeping problems.
4) Where possible take a little walk down the street (perhaps walk dogs to the park for the toilet, if you have them) or have a bath and or read afterwards, this uses energy and the latter sets a new slow-pace for your mind, causing it to be ready to sleep.

Now you have to be realisitc, if like most teenagers/students in the summer and you wake at 1pm, using the sleep equation of wake-time you won't really be properly tired until 4-5am (but likely later if been lazying arround, stuffing face with junk).

Now if you desperatley want to fix this sleep solution do what I suggested in my 4 steps, but also do this. Wake up arround 9am everyday for a week. DONT go back to sleep and aim to go to bed arround 1am. This stretches your limits and builds up a slight ammount of sleep-tollerance, but also after a week (one day wont correct anything) your body should be accepting its new internal-clock for sleep paterns. You see once you have a 4am sleep configured in your body, then if used to it your body will give you a second wind arround 10pm - 1am causing it very hard to "unwind" so do the four steps of unwinding before sleep and for a week torture yourself with an early rise and I can almost gaurantee you that the problem will go. However if it doesn't go to the Dr and explain this to them, as otherwise it's quite likely you have something such as a chemical unbalance in your brain (a form of depression) which is treatable (symptomatically) but generaly not cureable, but also you will be prescribed roughly 7-14 days of sleeping pills, more than likely Zolpidem Tartrate 10mg which will do the same thing but easier (the waking at good times etc) for you.

I hope that rather long but breif guide will help, good luck.

[MetroStars]

c your Doctor.. and u could try sum herbal stuff... my crazy girlfriend swears by it...

[ezyryder]

herbal remedies don't tackle sleep problems, only some symptom leading to it: Anxiety, stress which it calms. But if the problem is bad enough, there will be no real fix in herbal remedies.

[MetroStars]

my GF went to this Chinese herbal shop the dude gave her sum powder type shit, and she had drink like a half hour b4 she went 2 sleep and it knocked her out good..

But i agree herbal stuff is not a gr8 solution

[Lilmiss]

herbal? :huh: eh?
/me wakes up. hello everyone!

lavender oil is really good for helping you sleep/relax. long hot baths, and milky tea usually works for me too.
if that doesnt work, ask your girlfriend to hit you over the head with a mallet....works every time. ;)

[ezyryder]

Originally posted by lilmiss@12 July 2003 - 15:17
herbal? :huh: eh?

Very well put, yes Herbal can make you sleep actually I wasn't thinking along the lines of the sort of Amsterdam coffee-shop business. There's something about mixing tobacco with strange green bits and putting them in a paper sleeping bag which makes most tired. oh well.

[Lilmiss]

hell no!
that wakes me up! :D

i have a hundred things that send me to sleep, but its different for everyone.
i guess exercise and fresh air are good answers, but not feasible in the middle of the night really. a nice baileys helps me along the way, but then you have to be careful not to do it every night for routines sake.

[shn]

Another victim of the internet.

[Assultsniper]

put a pillow over your head and one between your arm works for me everytime.

[Infested Cats]

Wow, I actually had forgotten that I posted this thread. Thanks for all the replies thus far. But if you can tell, I'm still not getting sleep...

I plan on trying (just about) all your suggestions, and I'll let you know how it goes.

I'm especially intrigued by yours ezyryder, but that will take a considerable amount of will power to break my already broken body-clock. I'll start on yours eventually.

ScotchGuy, you were the first person to reccomend excercise... which happens to be something that it tend to neglect regularly. But, I thought that if you excercise right before bed, it was harder to get to sleep.

chalice: agreed.

Skweeky, please tell me more about self-hypnosis. Is it like meditation? I don't know if i have the patience for that. I barely have patience for school work!

MetroStars, my girlfriend also loves tea and herbal remedies. I have "Sleepy-Time tea" sitting in my cubbard... perhaps I'll try a cup before bed sometime.

lilmiss, I want to sleep, not get a concussion! As for fresh air, my house always has windows open, so no worry there.

Again, I'm a naturalist, so I tend to stay away from medication, even for a headache or a cold. So, perscription drugs are out of the question.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll let you know how things turn out for me. For the meantime, please continue to post suggestions!

[Z]

Originally posted by ezyryder@12 July 2003 - 10:01
Now you have to be realisitc, if like most teenagers/students in the summer and you wake at 1pm, using the sleep equation of wake-time you won't really be properly tired until 4-5am (but likely later if been lazying arround, stuffing face with junk).


^^me. :P

[MagicNakor]

Years ago, my doctor told me a way to "reset" your internal clock. Basically, you stay up for 24 hours, and then go to bed when your target time comes around. So, if you want to generally sleep at 10 pm, you'd stay awake for those 24 hours and then hit the bed when 10 pm comes around. I think I still have the pamphlets, if that's not a really good explanation. ;)

:ninja:

[Skweeky]

Selfhypnosis is a bit like meditating, but you don't need the patience for it, all you need to do is focus.
This is how they taught me to do it:

Lie flat on your back and make sure you are as comfortable as possible. Then think of any bodypart you want to start with (I always start with my toes :D ).
Focus on that bodypart and think about it,after a while it should start to feel a bit 'numb'. The go up, eg to your feet, lower legs, knees, etc...
I'm ususally asleep by the time I reach my thighs :) .

Doesn't work for everyone though. As I said, you need to calm down before you do this. It doesn't work if you're nervous.

[oldmancan]

IC, are you still not sleeping? That sux!

I do shift work, my regular shift is from midnight to noon. I work seven days a week for 28 days straight. So I have to turn my "clock" around everytime I go to work and come home. I have also worked rotating shifts at another job, changed sleep pattern about 5-6 times a month. So from experience I offer the following.

Vigorous exercise is good, but not close to sleep time. Better done in the first 2/3's of your day. Relaxation exercises are really beneficial, and should be done just prior to boing to bed. Some can be done in bed.

Skweeky's idea is one relaxation exercise that I have used with good results. Further to the focusing...you want to feel the body part (with your mind - not your hand) and then tell it to relax. Say you start with your feet, try to feel each toe before you go on to the rest of the foot. Try to imagine that your body is slowly being "scanned", externally and internally, kinda like a MRI or CAT scan. Try to feel the whole body part not just the surface, i.e. skin.

Things to avoid, like stress or tension. Can't always remove these negative stimuli from our lives but possibly we can manage a schedule. Pick your fights in the morning, not at bedtime.

I find that the biggest problem when my sleep gets messed up is usually that my mind is not willing to shut off, when the clock says its time to sleep. If I do the Skweeky routine and complete the whole body without getting to sleep then I go to work on the mind. The thing is to not think. Meditation in twenty words or less, beyond me. You'd want to develop those skills, working with someone in person.

If things are bad and I'm really having trouble getting my sleep pattern swung around, or stress is really rampant I will take some Valerian Root tablets. They do work, but I feel a bit of a hangover for a few hours after waking up.

Good Luck. Btw...someone did mention having sex, right?

[oldmancan]

Double post, sorry. Took about 20 tries to reply, then two post...hmm.

[thewizeard]

Originally posted by Infested Cats@12 July 2003 - 07:43
Suggestions on how to get a better nights sleep? I'm just going to bed now... around 4AM... And dont suggest medication.

.....Download Ultra Meditation 111, the delta experience by Zygon; headphones on and off you go zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
:sleeping:

[MetroStars]

IC

r u getting any sleep or just a few hours

[Infested Cats]

Originally posted by MetroStars@15 July 2003 - 15:14
IC

r u getting any sleep or just a few hours
Just a few hours per night, then I'm up by 7:30.

[superblaat]

I'm sorry to hear this...
But you IC have the tell tale signs of Ketchupitis.
You're in gods hands now...

[Everose]

Infested cats.....my first instinct was to answer 'EARPLUGS'......but this is no laughing matter. You need some help with this. You don't get the good REM sleep......you don't get the enzymes needed to restore muscle, connective tissue. You don't get that and you get something like FMS.

I am having to use drugs to get that REM sleep for awhile here. But before, I used imagery some. Don't laugh. ;-)

I pictured myself sitting smack dab in the center of my brain. With a broom in my hands. I slowly turned in a circle and everytime a thought came to my mind I would WHISK it right out of there. Eventually I would get dizzy from all the spinning and whisking and nod off. lol!!!!

[Twigboy]

Do you drink coffee,soda or anything with caffeine?
Some say you should stop your intake 6 hours before you go to sleep.
I pretty much am a coffee attic myself.I'm just guessing,I know how much it sucks not being able to sleep.

[MetroStars]

Dude --- U should go your Doctor seriously

[DarthInsinuate]

how long have you been going with out decent sleep?

have you seen Fight Club? - you better fix this soon or you might end up blowing up a few skyscrapers and shooting half your head off

[Infested Cats]

I think the problem here is that I don't feel the urge to get into bed. Basically, I don't feel like it. I dont understand it. (it's 3:47am EST)

[MediaSlayer]

I'll suggest a song that is surely to help you fall asleep. Butthole Surfers-22goingon23 album-locust abortion technician

[DarthInsinuate]

Originally posted by Infested Cats@18 July 2003 - 08:47
I think the problem here is that I don't feel the urge to get into bed. Basically, I don't feel like it. I dont understand it. (it's 3:47am EST)
what i find helps is a nice sense of achievment - when i haven't done anything near important i find it hard to sleep

maybe take up carpentry (check speeling) and make a cabinet or something

i haven't been to sleep too good recently - after a hour of trying to sleep i just give up and watch 24 hour news

[Infested Cats]

How annoying. 2:40 in the AM here.

I'm bumping this thread mainly because... I CAN'T SLEEP!!! Haven't been the past few days.

Any other insomniacs wondering about?

[imnotanaddict]

Getting a very relaxing atmosphere is important. Some people have trouble sleeping with music playing some it helps relax. If our a night worker and sleep during the day like I have off and on for yrs I had to get black blinds and or thick cutains so I could fool my body into thinking it was night. I too have had trouble off and on over the yrs. One thing that seems about as consistent more so actually is getting in as comfortable position as possible and slow your breathing down as much as possible with long inhalations and exhalations. Ralaxing your body from your toes up is a system that works well with this. Hope it helps, luck.

[kurtsl0an]

Originally posted by Infested Cats@31 December 2003 - 02:39
How annoying. 2:40 in the AM here.

I'm bumping this thread mainly because... I CAN'T SLEEP!!! Haven't been the past few days.

Any other insomniacs wondering about?
i can't sleep either - but i don't care...i'll get plenty-o-sleep when i'm dead. :D

[MagicNakor]

Yeah, but I'm nocturnal anyway...so I sleep all day.

Currently my solution to not being able to sleep is just to stay up until exhaustion takes over.

Probably not recommended.

:ninja:

[bigboab]

Originally posted by kurtsl0an+31 December 2003 - 09:39--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (kurtsl0an @ 31 December 2003 - 09:39)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Infested Cats@31 December 2003 - 02:39
How annoying. 2:40 in the AM here.

I&#39;m bumping this thread mainly because... I CAN&#39;T SLEEP&#33;&#33;&#33; Haven&#39;t been the past few days.

Any other insomniacs wondering about?
i can&#39;t sleep either - but i don&#39;t care...i&#39;ll get plenty-o-sleep when i&#39;m dead. :D [/b][/quote]
OH no you wont&#33; Fires to stoke and all that. :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Billy_Dean]

I had that problem for many years, so much so that I thought it was normal, I tried everything, without success, until ......... I GAVE UP DRINKING COFFEE.

Now my sleep pattern is normal.


:)

[silent VI]

Currently my solution to not being able to sleep is just to stay up until exhaustion takes over.


same here but these do help

http://www.shef.ac.uk/drugs/images/barbpic.jpg
http://www.potseeds.co.uk/images/serious/chronic.gif

[MagicNakor]

Not really.

:ninja:

[imnotanaddict]

Originally posted by DrunkeNStylE@31 December 2003 - 11:48

Currently my solution to not being able to sleep is just to stay up until exhaustion takes over.


same here but these do help

http://www.shef.ac.uk/drugs/images/barbpic.jpg
http://www.potseeds.co.uk/images/serious/chronic.gif
I&#39;m not sure if sleep is the right word......comatose may be better. :P :music1:

[silent VI]

its all godd as long as you wake up