Insomnia

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lindz

#DDs
1,201
63
So who else deals with this crap!?

I go through phases - a couple weeks of a few hours sleep a night, then a couple good weeks. No idea really what causes it.

Thank god for my kindle though. It's nice to be able to read in bed with the screen light on low and not wake up the husband.
 

Onoes

Trakanon Raider
1,400
1,030
I'm just a night owl. I've fought going to sleep since I was born I think. The night-time is the right-time.
 

Feien

Ploppers
456
377
I'm just a night owl. I've fought going to sleep since I was born I think. The night-time is the right-time.

My friends consider me an insomniac, though I don't know if I'd consider myself an one per se. I'm pretty much like Onoes, a night owl. I very rarely toss and turn with the desire to sleep, I just feel like I really don't need much sleep. I may go to bed at 3 am and wake up at 6 completely replenished, or wake up in the middle of the night, get some stuff done and then fall asleep again, and I function very well throughout the day.
I don't even have a need for coffee in the morning or something like that, in fact caffeine doesn't really do anything for me. I could drink 5 cups of coffee and fall asleep right after (only to wake up in the middle of the night to take a piss, but I'd argue the caffeine is not the culprit there)
 

Azrayne

Irenicus did nothing wrong
2,161
786
I'm just a night owl. I've fought going to sleep since I was born I think. The night-time is the right-time.

This is pretty much how I feel - I've always been more comfortable/energetic/relaxed at night, and for some reason I can't figure out I really hate sleeping in general, so I find myself making up reasons to put it off as long as possible, then wake up feeling like ass. The worst part is that I know with the right supplements/meds I can easily get myself to sleep as long as I've been awake for 14+ hours, so it's not a biochemical thing, just some weird psychological bock I can't figure out.
 

lindz

#DDs
1,201
63
Mixture of that for me, but there is definitely a psychological aspect as well. Can't sleep plus don't want to sleep...

I do hate feeling exhausted in the mornings though. I've tried a few medications but never found anything that works.
 

Funkor

Molten Core Raider
733
618
My brain gets running sometimes while laying in bed and keeps me awake. Not the cause for everyone, but found an interesting post on Reddit from some guy claiming to be a sleep doctor on ways to counteract this:
Sleep doctor here, including someone who has been involved in the treatment of PTSD. Lots of good advice here. The most important thing I can add however is that organizing your thoughts and recalling and digesting impactful, emotional events in your head is actually how the human mind works. Being alone with your thoughts, minimizing external stimulation to focus on the internal dialogue is an important daily activity even for as little as 15 minutes a day.

The problem with the modern lifestyle is you probably go from morning radio to podcast in car to Facebook, to work and Reddit during breaks and then back home to the TV. There are few opportunities for quiet reflection so is there any surprise that the first moment there are no distractions (once your head hits the pillow on your bed) you would start having your inner dialogue?

Your coping mechanism should not be more distraction and sleeping pills, but rather forced routine that involves that internal voice. Here are powerful coping mechanisms successful people use on a daily basis:

1) meditation 2) writing a diary 3) working out with minimal distractions 4) prayer 5) light house work with minimal distractions 6) sitting down and planning your daily agenda 7) opening your thoughts to a close friend or psychotherapist over regularly scheduled periods

These routine activities force you to confront your inner thoughts and you will have these necessary internal dialogues during appropriate times rather than moments you are trying to sleep.

People with PTSD (for example) who get in trouble are the kinds of people who ratchet up the distractions in their life because an inner thoughtful reflection on the horrors of life would be too painful. After awhile, distracting yourself becomes ineffective and sleep is often the first victim of a distracted lifestyle.

Good luck, I know this is hard!
 
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Azrayne

Irenicus did nothing wrong
2,161
786
Can't sleep plus don't want to sleep...

The two definitely feed into each other.

Strangely, I've found herbal treatments which work a hell of a lot better than prescription meds. The best I've found are capsules from a local head shop which are a mixture of celandine/blue lotus/scullcap/hops, at the very worst 1 - 2 capsules has never failed to have me asleep within 60 minutes, and for a time I got by with only half of the capsule emptied out in a glass of water every night. By comparison, at the same time I could take 15 - 20mg nitrazepam and just end up zombified staring at a laptop until 3am. Promethazine would work sometimes, but it was unreliable and the hangover was worse than the nitrazepam. Melatonin didn't do a thing.
 

Wantonsoup95

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
1,144
4,542
For most of my life I never slept for more than 4 to 5 hours a night.

Since I've been working at a feed mill doing manual labor 8 hours of sleep on work nights is not something I struggle doing at all.

The exercise more comment holds a lot of truth for me.
 

Arcanaloth

Golden Knight of the Realm
10
0
Night owl, checking in. Funkor's snippit from reddit is good advice but a bitch to put into practice. It's not fun to deal with the internal voice when you are laying in bed and staring at the ceiling at 3:30am, but it pays off over time.
 

Borzak

Bronze Baron of the Realm
24,420
31,634
Since high school I have not kept a 24 hour clock. I will stay awake close to 24 hours and then might sleep for 12 or more. Lot of work nights and such. Couldn't sleep last night and stayed up till 4am working on one of my bows. Luckily for the most part I've had work I could do at home that was real work related so I just did that when I couldn't sleep.
 

Mrs. Gravy

Quite Saucy
<QUITE SAUCY>
1,696
2,173
I have insomnia at least 4 nights a week, despite trying "clean sleep techniques"...dark room, red vs. blue lights on clocks, no screen time, white noise...Melatonin has had limited success an occasional benadryl or two when I really need to be knocked out. The insomnia varies too; sometimes I can't fall asleep, sometimes I can, sometimes even the benadryl does not work. The worst is waking up in the midst of the night and not being able to go back to sleep but also not having enough energy to get my ass out of bed (or off the couch which is where I do most of my sleeping now) to do something productive. Instead I play games in my head - like naming all off my relatives in birth order or playing food alphabet, or countries, states, cities...you get the picture. I am re-entering the world of exercise so I have hope for myself.
 
9
35
Its gonna sound silly, but buy a fan, and a nice bright lamp.

When you sleep, turn on the fan. Let the white noise kinda drown out whats in your head, and every other noise around you.

When ya wake up, turn on the light. Its better than coffee. Really, just make your eyes bleed because of the brightness...

Ive been an insomniac for 3 decades now, and while what ive said isnt proven science, it works for me.





ps..insomnia is a curse.
 

Borzak

Bronze Baron of the Realm
24,420
31,634
I've been up for about 36 hours now. Was up all night, what really sucks is now I have limited amount of shit I can do when I can't sleep. I used to go out to the shop and dick around working on something. Now all I have is the computer.
 

Frenzied Wombat

Potato del Grande
14,730
31,802
I had trouble sleeping six years ago and then I started smoking weed.

This. I have middle of the night insomnia and haven't slept more than 7 hours straight in probably 5 years. Prior to finding the weed solution, I was a mess for close to two years getting only 4-5 hours sleep a night. Without any drug I basically wake up at 3am sharp, and can never get back to sleep. Tried Ambien and Lunesta and they weren't any better at keeping me asleep, as they're meant to put you to sleep and wear off too quickly. Trazadone worked well for awhile, but after a year I had such a resistance to it the amount I had to take to get the same effect was dangerous. Weed keeps me out for 6-7 hours and I wake up with no ill effect. Total lifesaver.
 

Slaythe

<Bronze Donator>
3,389
141
I've always had troubles falling asleep before a work day and the only real explanation I have is at that moment I don't want to fall asleep. I'd rather daydream or pretty much anything than speed up getting to work in the morning. That isn't to say I hate my job or that it's stressful or anything either. I'd compare it to not being able to sleep before a flight or a road trip. Except I deal with it 5 nights a week.

It's lights out for every other situation. A quick nap on the couch. Bed time on the weekend. Zero issues whatsoever sleeping there. But if there is an alarm on for work the next morning, the last thing my body wants to do is fall asleep.
 

Kedwyn

Silver Squire
3,915
80
You can always try melatonin and maybe add a benedryl if you can't sleep or stay asleep.

I've always found going to be and removing distractions like books, TV, phone etc are key to getting to sleep as is a good routine. There are meds that can help you sleep if the above doesn't help. Sleep is pretty important for the body to recoup. Probably worth taking a pill to get your 8 hours or so vs not.
 

a_skeleton_06

<Banned>
1,923
2,410
Doesn't qualify for insomnia but I once powered through the point of total exhaustion (Playing Everquest) that when it was time to go sleep, I found out I couldn't. I was awake for four goddamn days and thank christ or buddha or cthulu I actually finally slept. It was a really surreal experience. Towards the end, I felt like I was losing my mind; sort of a Rust Cohle thing where I wasn't sure if I was seeing the truth or not.
 

Eidal

Molten Core Raider
2,001
213
Anecdotally, the two people I know who have issues with sleep never exercise and have a terrible diet. One drinks heavily and frequently, the other swears that the 2k calories of oreos consumed at 10pm wouldn't have anything to do with falling asleep.

I'm sure you've heard it a thousand times, but I'd look at general health and habits before declaring oneself an insomniac.