Oh Mr. Sandman...

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DuchessAimee

Senior Member
Apr 27, 2011
3,922
129
63
#1
I think you've forgotten me again. I have insomnia or in the very least a bizarre sleeping pattern. Do any of you deal with sleeplessness? If so, do you have any tips or tricks to go back to sleep?
 

lil_christian

Senior Member
Mar 14, 2010
7,489
73
48
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#2
I think you've forgotten me again. I have insomnia or in the very least a bizarre sleeping pattern. Do any of you deal with sleeplessness? If so, do you have any tips or tricks to go back to sleep?
YES I definitely am one of those people who have never slept through the whole night. Ever since I was born I'm known as lil_insomniac :p I might take some calcium or L-Tryptophan to help me get to sleep at night. I mean, I still wake up every few hours tossing and turning, but all of this definitely keeps it to a minimum. (None of those sleep-aids for me. I've heard those give you nightmares. I'll pass on that.)
 
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iTOREtheSKY

Guest
#3
I sleep 2 -3 hours a night,and it's been this way for almost 20 yrs now. Various reasons. As long as I get my 3 hrs I'm fine.
I do miss the days when I was younger & could sleep sleep sleep. The only time now I find myself sleeping consistantly or more than a few hours a day is if I have something like the flu or some deadly ebola cold like thingy,which to be honest,I maybe get one cold or flu-esque thing every 7 yrs. Even when I was a smoker,I'd maybe get one cold per year that would last for a few days,but nothing major. I refuse to bother with any sleep-aids or drugs,because to be quite honest,I doubt they would have any effect on me (I have a strange tolerance to drugs,very high,even the doctors have witnessed this & can't figure out why)...if for some strange reason one of these sleep-aid drugs worked on me,it would be just my luck I'd get addicted to it. LOL Lord knows I don't need that.:D One thing that seems to make me sleepy is reading,especially reading the CC forums,like right now I am star...t..in....g..to..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
 
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arwen83

Guest
#4
Melatonin 5mg sublingual mint tablets- found at your local drug store in the vitamins. Helps me SO much some nights and better than taking sleeping pills. Apparently, as we get older the level of melatonin decreases in our bodies. I take it about 20 mins before I head to bed and I'm out.
 
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Hellooo

Guest
#5
When I can't sleep, I pray and I turn on background noise...I turn the radio real low on any talk station, or stream a podcast, or find a really long classical CD to play on my stereo (usually the nutcracker).

Sometimes I feel like I can't turn my mind off at bedtime, so playing something helps me clear my mind.
 

seoulsearch

OutWrite Trouble
May 23, 2009
15,190
4,697
113
#6
Hey Duchess,

Great topic!!! I found the events of my life during my divorce to be extremely traumatizing and virtually stopped sleeping during that time... I've had problems ever since. I would get up and read the Bible most of the night.

I've done tons of experiments and I still don't sleep well but here are some things that I have to work around:

1. I am EXTREMELY sensitive to caffeine and must avoid it most of the time--this includes tea, coffee, soda, and chocolate--or I know I will pay for it later. My body takes a long time to process it so a day of caffeine means about 3 jittery nights. Even decaf will affect me if I have it for a few days in a row.

2. For some reason, I HAVE to go to bed early because I only sleep for 1-3 hours at a time. A typical night for me looks like this: bed at 7... (it also takes me FOREVER to fall asleep but all I can do is lie there or my mind races all the more), sleep til 10, up around 10 and awake until 2, sleep again around 3 until I have to be up at 5 AM. If I try to go to bed later (say 10), all that happens is that I'm up at 3 and stay awake the rest of the night.

3. I have to be careful about eating--sugary things or too much food too late in the day keeps me awake at night later on.

4. Over the counter drugs only make me feel dizzy--they don't help me sleep. Melatonin only works on me for about 3 hours, which is my normal sleeping pattern anyway.

A friend stayed with me for the weekend and I warned her I'd be up at all hours... Fortunately I didn't disturb her, but she did ask if I'd been to the doctor. If I ever get married again... I hope I have an understanding husband (he might forgive me if I'm up in the middle of the night cooking him an amazing lunch.) ;)
 
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arwen83

Guest
#7
I also have a small desk fan that I have on my bed stand. It drowns out any noise and its great white noise. If anyone has an iPhone there is a neat App available- its called Sleep Cycle. It will track your movements during sleep and depending on the nature of them, it will determine where you are in your sleep cycle and the quality of sleep you had. It also serves as an alarm clock. Say if I needed to get up at 8am. It will schedule an alarm to start within a 1/2 hour of your scheduled alarm, when you are closest to being naturally awake, so that you aren't in a deep sleep when it goes off making you groggy.

I take sleep seriously :p

Here the info- Sleep Cycle alarm clock

 
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Hellooo

Guest
#8
I also have a small desk fan that I have on my bed stand. It drowns out any noise and its great white noise. If anyone has an iPhone there is a neat App available- its called Sleep Cycle. It will track your movements during sleep and depending on the nature of them, it will determine where you are in your sleep cycle and the quality of sleep you had. It also serves as an alarm clock. Say if I needed to get up at 8am. It will schedule an alarm to start within a 1/2 hour of your scheduled alarm, when you are closest to being naturally awake, so that you aren't in a deep sleep when it goes off making you groggy.

I take sleep seriously :p

Here the info- Sleep Cycle alarm clock

Neat!! I may have to google around for an android equivalent
 

lil_christian

Senior Member
Mar 14, 2010
7,489
73
48
27
#9
I also have a small desk fan that I have on my bed stand. It drowns out any noise and its great white noise. If anyone has an iPhone there is a neat App available- its called Sleep Cycle. It will track your movements during sleep and depending on the nature of them, it will determine where you are in your sleep cycle and the quality of sleep you had. It also serves as an alarm clock. Say if I needed to get up at 8am. It will schedule an alarm to start within a 1/2 hour of your scheduled alarm, when you are closest to being naturally awake, so that you aren't in a deep sleep when it goes off making you groggy.

I take sleep seriously :p

Here the info- Sleep Cycle alarm clock

If I had an iPhone and had that app, I'd only hope that it'd know the tendencies of a restless sleeper (I'll move ALOT during the night and I'll even wake up tossing from one side to the other and then back.) so it wouldn't wake me up at 4 in the morning. :p
 
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Powemm

Guest
#10
anyone do a sleep study ? there are Many sleep centers here in Oklahoma that conduct "paid sleep studies " might check it out I use to do referrals to sleep centers all the time .. Also, I went to a lecture over sleep (end of last year) he stated that our bodies need 8 hours of sleep for all kinds of reasons. But he said most people think they have to have 8 hrs in a row.. His research disagrees with that ..clinical studies showed that people who got 8 hrs of sleep in a row didn't function any better than people with more challenged sleeping patterns (totaling eight hours) through out the day.. So his conclusion of the study revealed as long as you get 8 hours in somewhere , other risk factors remained low..
Just a little bit of info I thought I would share
 
Aug 2, 2009
24,598
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#11
I heard a pastor talk about his battle with insomnia and he said that finding this verse in the NASB helped him overcome it because it was his worries that were keeping him awake at night.

"The fear of the LORD leads to life, So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil." - Proverbs 19:23 NASB
 
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Donkeyfish07

Guest
#12
Ha, I wish I could get paid to sleep. I would be wracking up the overtime.
 

rachelsedge

Senior Member
Oct 15, 2012
3,659
79
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#13
DuchessAimee, I don't have that much advice. Mr. Sandman loves me and I love him. Sometimes I wish he'd cut it out with the weird dreams, though. :D

I sleep with a fan on at night, for the noise. It doesn't matter if it's cold, I still have it going. Have you tried noise like that? I, personally, find it soothing and relaxing but I know some people who can't sleep unless it's silent.

Do you feel antsy, like you need to run, or you just feel exhausted but can't get to sleep?

It used to take me forever to fall asleep because my mind just would not shut up, but it's gotten better over the past year or so. If that's your problem, maybe journaling or finding some outlet for your mind a bit before bed may help?
 

DuchessAimee

Senior Member
Apr 27, 2011
3,922
129
63
#14
I can fall asleep, but I can't stay asleep.
 
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Relena7

Guest
#15
I don't have a problem staying asleep once asleep. But I have trouble forcing myself to go to bed before 2 AM because as a night owl my mind is most active then. I usually HATE mornings because it takes my brain a couple hours to wake up fully.

I find a good exercise helps though. Preferably an hour long walk. I usually get tired enough to sleep earlier, and I feel way less terrible the next morning if I exercised the day before.
 

Nautilus

Senior Member
Jun 29, 2012
6,488
53
48
#16
I have a terrible sleep schedule to the point of most times i just pass out from exhaustion around 6 or 7 am. I ork weird hours which doesnt help and I have the awkward affliction of sleep paralysis/nightmares. Mainly because of my sleep schedule my body goes instantly into REM sleep without me being completely unconscious which is hard to describe but is fairly terrifying...
 

error

Senior Member
Oct 23, 2009
1,244
10
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#17
I could sleep all day long.
 
Aug 2, 2009
24,598
4,272
113
#18
This thread really wouldn't be complete without the song ;)

[video=youtube;INBzMzW5bs4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INBzMzW5bs4[/video]
 

DuchessAimee

Senior Member
Apr 27, 2011
3,922
129
63
#19
And I'm awake... It's 1:26am here and I'm awake. Blech. I have CC emails I should return, a book to write, homework to do, and a 8:30am class which I have to get up for in T-minus 5 hours.

My first sponsor looked at me once and said, "Look girl, face it. You're just not meant to get a lot of sleep." I miss that woman.
 
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PrettyBelle

Guest
#20
I think you've forgotten me again. I have insomnia or in the very least a bizarre sleeping pattern. Do any of you deal with sleeplessness? If so, do you have any tips or tricks to go back to sleep?
I'm Bipolar. I'm always sleep deprived. The only thing that helps me is Lightning Bug. It's a thunderstorm app on my phone. It is calming to relax to before I drift off. I pray a lot too. Prayer seems to work best because it's usually depression that makes my sleep pattern wacky.