I Can't Sleep

[catinthedark]

this happens to me every sunday night. :(

it makes no sense - i love my job. there is no deep, dark angst about it. i'm not lying awake fretting. i'm just lying awake. tossing and turning. it happens whether i sleep in til noon sundays, or get up early. never happens any other night of the week. my normal going to sleep time is around 1am. i have the same routines every night of the week. there's just no explanation. i'm just totally exhausted every monday.

anyone else?

[BlackWidow]

this happens to me every sunday night. :(

it makes no sense - i love my job. there is no deep, dark angst about it. i'm not lying awake fretting. i'm just lying awake. tossing and turning. it happens whether i sleep in til noon sundays, or get up early. never happens any other night of the week. my normal going to sleep time is around 1am. i have the same routines every night of the week. there's just no explanation. i'm just totally exhausted every monday.

anyone else?

me too..I finally got up about 4 AM....so how are you otherwise???

Andre

[SuzeQuze]

Try Benadryl.

[sara1998]

I do the same thing, same exact problem. I use 1 Tylenol PM when it gets too bad. Hope you feel OK today. I hate Mondays for this exact reason.

[carrie721]

Try Benadryl.

totally. i took some last night, out like a light. :thumbsup:

[SuzeQuze]

totally. i took some last night, out like a light. :thumbsup:

Me too. My doctor recommended to take it when I am having trouble sleeping. The only issue is it wears off after about 4 hours, but I still didn't wake up until 5:00 and then was able to get back to sleep fairly quickly. I didn't want to take any meds to help me sleep but it got to the point where martyrdom really wasn't serving me.

[carrie721]

Me too. My doctor recommended to take it when I am having trouble sleeping. The only issue is it wears off after about 4 hours, but I still didn't wake up until 5:00 and then was able to get back to sleep fairly quickly. I didn't want to take any meds to help me sleep but it got to the point where martyrdom really wasn't serving me.

me too! i was really against it at first. i just started taking them a few weeks ago. stupidly, i would take 3 or 4 at a time, thinking it would knock me out faster, and it did, but i wouldn't wake up for 14 hrs. heh. in my psych classes we learned that sleeping pills don't provide the same kind of rest that natural sleep does, since you don't go into regular sleep cycles, but for me, it's just a relief to be unconscious. hope that doesn't sound too dire. :laugh:

[JazmenFlowers]

I like Ambien. :D

[SuzeQuze]

me too! i was really against it at first. i just started taking them a few weeks ago. stupidly, i would take 3 or 4 at a time, thinking it would knock me out faster, and it did, but i wouldn't wake up for 14 hrs. heh. in my psych classes we learned that sleeping pills don't provide the same kind of rest that natural sleep does, since you don't go into regular sleep cycles, but for me, it's just a relief to be unconscious. hope that doesn't sound too dire. :laugh:

It's all or nothing then, right? No I won't take any drugs to sleep. Okay, I'll take 4!

[carrie721]

It's all or nothing then, right? No I won't take any drugs to sleep. Okay, I'll take 4!

yeah. i was worried that two wouldn't be enough, but that's what i took last night, and i fell asleep around midnight. only feel a little groggy this morning, compared to drunk and dysfunctional when i would take 4. :laugh:

and isn't it fitting that even tho i got up way early, i'm still chatting on the ledge up until the last minute. off to work now. :rolleyes: :laugh: :wavey:

[catinthedark]

and isn't it fitting that even tho i got up way early, i'm still chatting on the ledge up until the last minute. off to work now. :rolleyes: :laugh: :wavey:

:laugh: :laugh: me too!

this will be a regular monday zombie day for me. i think i finally got about 4 hours or so. i think i'm going to take all the great advice here (thanks to you all!) and try a couple of tylenol next week.

PS carrie, i LOVE the dinosaur comics! part of how i passed the time at 4am was trolling through the archives at qwantz. i laughed out loud a few times!

[catinthedark]

me too..I finally got up about 4 AM....so how are you otherwise???

Andre

otherwise, i'm good - thanks for asking. :xoxo: i had a crazy, ridiculous cold for the past 3 weeks (waaaay too much snot and phlegm for one small person to produce), but i think i'm on the mend! (fingers crossed!)

you? were you up all night, too? it sucks.

[gldstwmn]

I have the same problem. I usually watch a movie and fall asleep or take an Excedrin PM. I watched The Black Dahlia last night and fell asleep.

[ontheEdgeof17]

:I'm the same way the night before I head back to work. My work days are random, though. I work 3, 12hr shifts a week, so I work whatever day they need me. Anyway, I can sleep like a fiddle knowing I don't have to wake up, but on nights I know I have to be up at 6am, I can't seem to fall asleep until 1 or 2 am. Like Suze said, try Benadryl. I've used it so much that it doesn't affect me now. I'm on to Phenergan. It's for nausea and vomiting, but it sure does knock me out.

[gldstwmn]

: I'm on to Phenergan. It's for nausea and vomiting, but it sure does knock me out.

Phenergan is a wonder drug. My doc gave me a prescription with refills a while back after I had surgery. Anytime I felt sick to my stomach I'd take a half of one and boom- no nausea. the other pleasant side effect was that it would put you to sleep and you wouldn't wake up feeling sick.

[michelle2677]

I never sleep on sundays. It could be a mixture of being lazy all weekend, wondering if i forgot to do anything the friday before-or-the worst...i try too hard to go to sleep then i'm screwed lol. Come tues im out like a light by 8 pm though:laugh: i used to take benedryl like candy because i had allergy probs. If i were to take one now i'd be out for 3 days :lol:

[carrie721]

:laugh: :laugh: me too!

this will be a regular monday zombie day for me. i think i finally got about 4 hours or so. i think i'm going to take all the great advice here (thanks to you all!) and try a couple of tylenol next week.

PS carrie, i LOVE the dinosaur comics! part of how i passed the time at 4am was trolling through the archives at qwantz. i laughed out loud a few times!

dinosaur comics are the best!! i haven't read it regularly in months, but i still pop in occasionally and check out the archives. another favorite when i can't sleep is toothpastefordinner.com - great stuff.

[seeker007nmss]

I find when I can't sleep, adjusting the temperature by only a few degrees seems to help for some reason. :shrug: That and finding a comfortable spot.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a88/Dreamtimezzz/ollie_hangs.jpg

[goldie]

Try and get up a few hours earlier on Sunday morning .... that usually helps me. That way, I am tired at bedtime and get a somewhat full night's sleep and not falling asleep at my desk on Monday.

[catinthedark]

dinosaur comics are the best!! i haven't read it regularly in months, but i still pop in occasionally and check out the archives. another favorite when i can't sleep is toothpastefordinner.com - great stuff.

i'm going to check it out. but seriously, i'm in love with the dinosaurs.

[BTFLCHLD]

I've come to accept this. It is the whole doing back to work bit when I would much rather be playing. I've resolved it is a pattern that I can't beat so I just let it happen and catch up with sleep at another time. Mondays are much better on 3 hours sleep anyway...great day for catnaps.

[Hawkeye]

Excedrin PM is my drug of choice for sleeping problems. The have 38 mg of diphenhydramine citrate compared to 25 mg in Tylenol PM. I've been known to have 4 or 5 on extreme occasions :(

[Sorceress]

Have you tried progressive relaxation? Lie still and quiet on your back, in your bed. Begin by focusing on your head. Focus all of your attention on imagining all of the energy and worry flowing out of your forehead, then your cheeks, then jaw area, then neck, then shoulders, etc. etc. until you reach your toes. Focus on each area until you feel it relax and get heavy, feeling like it is melting into the bed.
If you find that imagining the energy isn't working well enough, you can tense the muscle in the area you are focusing on, hold it for a breath or two, and then release, imagining the energy leaving that area as you exhale and let go of the tension.
Usually my attention wanders at first and I have to make myself refocus. Then I usually fall asleep way before I get all the way down to my feet. If my mind can quiet enough to do it, it usually works. If it doesn't, I'll turn on the light and read a book until I can't keep my eyes open.