Havent Been Sleeping Too Well Lately

[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 ).
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

[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