Sleeping Troubles...

[Malice]

It's been going on for the better part of two weeks now. Regardless of how early/late I go to bed I wake up at 3am on the dot and over the past couple of days, anywhere from 5-6am as well. At this point I can't get back to sleep and I spend the rest of my days exhausted, moody and with low energy.

I have a considerable amount of stress in my life, but this is nothing new. In fact things for me haven't been steadily-not-stressful in months. It's possible that things are finally catching up with me, but I doubt it. My diet hasn't changed. None of my routinely activities really have come to think of it, so I'm kind of at a loss as to what could be causing this sudden onset...

If this trend continues for another week I'll probably go in to see a doctor just to make sure I'm physically all right. (not low in iron/vitamins/whatever) I guess for now I'm just hoping things will figure themselves out, not getting a good night's sleep is pretty common. *shrugs* basically if anyone has any suggestions/remedies for sleeplessness I'd love to hear them and possibly give it a try. thanks.

 

[Halla74]

Hello Ms. Malice!

I'm a life long insomniac.
Here's what helps me go to sleep:

(1) Don't drink more than one cup of coffee per day (6 AM, that's it!)
(2) Exercise regularly
(3) Don't bottle up stress, write it down, yell it out, buy a punching bag, anything is better than bottling it up. Have you talked to a counselor/psychologist? I thought they were quackjobs up until a few years ago, and once I went to talk to one when I was stressed out, I learned alot about myself in a short amount of time, it was pretty cool actually.
(4) Confront the source of your problems, head on!
(5) Put some faith in God, let him help you, just do your best to endure the hard times, and keep looking forward positively, and DO NOT give up hope. This too shall pass.
(6) If I need sleep meds, I take either Xanax or Rozerem. I am allergic to Ambien, but I hear it works great too.

I hope some of the above is helpful to you.
Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.

Take care, kiddo!



-Alex

 

[Orangey]

If you don't want to delve into more serious sleep meds, you could try popping a couple of melatonin before bed. It doesn't really make you feel too sleepy, but once you decide to go to sleep it helps you fall into it and stay that way for the rest of the night. I've been using it to help myself get back into a normal sleep pattern.

 

[violaine]

I struggle with insomnia occasionally. Regular exercise helps me. It helps lessen anxiety and also makes me can't-keep-my-eyes-open tired. (Bike riding and swimming work wonders.)

I'm very light-sensitive. If there is even a smidgen of daylight leaking into my room, I will wake up. In those situations, I wear a sleep mask at night and I don't wake up with the dawn.

I have also read that being too mentally active at night, particularly when combined with the light source of a computer or TV can throw people's sleep off.

And be a little careful with ambien. If you are sensitive to it, you can end up doing strange things. (I took it once and didn't sleep, just felt very tripped out and I made phone calls and emails that I shouldn't have.)

 

[Sniffles]

Yeah I recently read that turning off the TV and/or computer at least an hour before bedtime helps. I've noticed this from personal experience.

 

[Ginkgo]

I struggle most with insomnia when I'm inactive. If I have a regular agenda during the day, my circadian rhythm self-corrects.

Stress puts continuous, distracting jolts to my system that if left unchecked, ruins my sleep. My mind fizzles and I just lay there brainstorming about negative thoughts, even if I'm absolutely exhausted. I've learned to meditate, use neuro linguistic programming and prayer in these situations to clear the air.

Lately, imagining that I'm slowly falling facing up, like into a body of water or sand, puts me to rest very effectively. I'm not sure why.

 

[Patches]

I was having problems waking up like that for awhile. I tried sleep meds and they did nothing. Went on for months. I also had a couple weird situations where I would wake up with injuries. A couple times I woke up with a dislocated shoulder. Did a sleep lab, and as it turns out... I was tossing and turning so violently in my sleep that I was giving myself concussions and dislocating my shoulder WHILE I WAS ASLEEP. Honestly, the employees at the sleep lab were freaked out. One of them joked that they were ready to call an exorcist.

Started taking muscle relaxers before bed, and I have never slept so well in my life.

I would highly recommend going to one of those sleep labs if you have the time.

 

[figsfiggyfigs]

Come over and spend it with us on vent. At least we'll entertain you... maybe...

 

[Zoom]

Halla and others have offered many viable strategies.

I'm a big fan of working out in the evening due to the fact that it means I'm stretched, relaxed, and tired - the longest I went without sleeping was six days, and I'd rather never repeat that.

Perhaps physical activity in the evening - not the kind that wakes you up (like a long walk), but the kind that tires ye out (weight lifting, strenuous activity of any kind) - could help. As you are waking up in the early morning hours, though... for some reason changing where I was sleeping has helped me before. Bed, then couch, then the roof (kidding on the last). These are oddball tactics which could help.

 

[Orangey]

the longest I went without sleeping was six days, and I'd rather never repeat that.

Seriously? My maximum is three days, and that was while continuously taking adderall and Red Bull. How in the hell did you pull off six days? I think I might really die if I tried that shit.

 

[Thalassa]

Seriously? My maximum is three days, and that was while continuously taking adderall and Red Bull. How in the hell did you pull off six days? I think I might really die if I tried that shit.

You could die, or you could simply lose your mind. I think going without sleep for too long will make you insane. I have no idea why people *want* to do this.

 

[Orangey]

You could die, or you could simply lose your mind. I think going without sleep for too long will make you insane. I have no idea why people *want* to do this.

Yeah, probably. I was having some pretty serious hallucinations on the third day (to the point where I no longer felt safe driving), so I imagine it would be THAT much worse after six days.

 

[Thalassa]

Yeah, probably. I was having some pretty serious hallucinations on the third day (to the point where I no longer felt safe driving), so I imagine it would be THAT much worse after six days.

My ex used to say that that was what was really wrong with tweakers, it wasn't just that they did crystal meth, it was that they didn't sleep.

They seem to be some of the most insane people alive.

Although, on the other hand, they could just have holes in their brain from melted carpet.

 

[Malice]

Thank you (all of you) for your wonderful suggestions and advice!
I'll update this in a week's time with my progress and let you know how I'm doing sleepwise.
*yawn* I think it's about that time though.

Goodnight Typology Central <3
Sweet dreams.

 

[Malice]

Last night - chronically up at 3am again, though the night before I actually did manage to get my first night of full wonderful sleep in weeks.
This time though I did take notice that there were a lot of things running through my mind before I ultimately drifted off. Mostly to do with the fact that I graduate college today/reflecting on my life up to this point/etc. I think I also might try turning off MSN an hour or so before I sleep instead of just passing out with the computer on beside me. If nothing else it'll save energy. LOL <3

 

[Zoom]

Seriously? My maximum is three days, and that was while continuously taking adderall and Red Bull. How in the hell did you pull off six days? I think I might really die if I tried that shit.

It was entirely mental - I simply... didn't sleep. No adderall or Red Bully involved, though I'm sure I drank tea. It was a few years ago. It was my way of coping with certain thoughts - being too tired to think meant I didn't have to deal with what was in my head. I did it a few weeks in a row - not sleeping Monday-Saturday, then crashing for about a day. Not something I would suggest. I didn't hallucinate, though; the effects on me were a bit different.

 

[Minute_Maid]

the bodies internal clock is so amazing, how accurate it can be... that combined with the power of suggestion can be tricky to overcome.

 

[Malice]

Whatever it saw seems to have finally passed for me. I've had a few blips here and there, but overall it's been pretty good and last night I managed to sleep from 6-10pm and then again from 12-7am. yay progress!