What do you do when you can't sleep?
 

It doesn't help that by nature I'm a nightbird, but my job calls for early rising. I don't get much sleep on weeknights, and for years I've counted on weekends to catch up on sleep. These days I'm usually out early on weekend mornings, but when I do try to sleep in, I can't sleep. I know they say to keep the same sleep schedule seven days a week, but that's not going to happen for me.
Anyway, when I wake up prematurely I'll go into the other room and read, or I'll even...clean. Neither puts me back to sleep, but at least I've got something to show for my time.
What do you do when you need to sleep but can't?
(And BTW, warm milk is going nowhere near these lips.)

- Jake

When I can't sleep but really really need to I usually take a nighttime allergy pill lol...

It's (fortunately) a rarity that I have problems sleeping though...:)

OTher than a pill..cause I don't really like to take chemical help in sleeping I will read or just lie there and let my mind wander.

Pills scare me. I take them only when I must, and often the reaction is delayed anyway.
When I let my mind wander, sleep is harder. Often my mind wanders to To-Do lists or worries.

- Jake

Well, I listen to some slow music with the volume turned down. But it dosen't work for everybody :shocked:

Any music will keep me awake, no question. I've had plenty of problems with roommates over this over the years.

- Jake

umm geesh should I say this. Umm when I can't sleep I usually do something that um well... The Rattlesnake Shake.

ingredients:

1. a nice joint.
2. a small glass of red wine.
3. a tv set to either national geographic, adventure 1, or the history channel.

a combination of those 3 factors guarentees you sleep within 30 minutes max. never fails, i know what i'm talking about. :rolleyes:

I usually read and make some chamomile tea. This tea is great if you can't sleep - very relaxing.

If I can't sleep...
 

I play games online or read articles online until I am bored beyond consciousness...Then it's "nighty-nite".

I started sleeping with ear plugs in my ears because I absolutely can't sleep with noise and I have the rudest neighbors ever...so that doesn't work for me either...

My ex-bf though, he had to have a low radio on all night or he couldn't sleep well....strange...

I try not to take pills too...but once in a great while...I just resort to that..mostly because I'm no used to having problems sleeping...so I know I'll only do it every now and again...I'm lucky I guess...I've known many an insomniac over the years, but have been fortunate enough to never know insomnia :)

If I can't sleep, I usually bust out the portable CD player (Beth Gibbons/Portishead always works, but Dido has worked recently) and after a short while I'm out. I usually end up with the headphones off and wake up not remembering taking them off. :laugh:

I used to do something that I read in my Health textbook in 6th grade to "help you relax." Lie on your back with your eyes closed. Think of a pleasant place, a field, the sea, whatever. Take deep breaths, making sure the exhale is a little longer than the inhale. That used to knock me out, but not so much anymore.

I've also found that I can't fall asleep unless I'm on my side. I'm weird.

And I don't think I answered the question. :shrug:

I forgot! I do go online sometimes too when I can't fall asleep.

If I can't sleep I usually will either read, watch TV or go online. I find taking pills doesn't really help me.

Well, I did ask.

- Jake

1) I don't smoke.
2) Drinking anything will make me get up to pee before long.
3) I have no cable & don't even keep a TV in my bedroom.

Thanks for the suugestions, though.

- Jake

I've never cared much for the flavor of chamomile or any flavored tea, for that matter. Plain tea tastes justs fine to me.

- Jake

Well, I've been known to come here.
What online games do you play?

- Jake

I haven't used earplugs in awhile. I sleep on my stomach, so I'd probably knock one out anyway. And if there's any noise I can hear the discomfort won't be worth wearing them. And if they do work, I'll worry all night that I won't hear my alarm. I know, sad case here.

- Jake

I think you answered the question. Thanks. As I've said, music doesn't help me. My sleep patterns have changed a lot in the last couple of years. All my life I never used a pillow & now I sometimes do. Also, I'm sleeping on my side occasionally, which I never used to do. When I was younger I could not fall asleep unless the back of my head was covered by the blanket (Moster protection, I suppose :shrug: ), but no longer.

- Jake

Which reminds me, they need to start airing a new batch of infomercials already.

- Jake

Yeah, my need for quiet in the night led me to go out and buy the loudest alarm clock I could find...so hearing it is not a problem..and I'm also a stomach sleeper..and do sometimes knock one out...very rarely though lol..

Most people can't sleep with them in, it really took me some getting used to but I did it...and now I enjoy the quiet I get with them in :)

What kind do you use? I tried the foam kind years ago & hated them: uncomfortable & entirely ineffective. I just bought the silicone kind weeks ago but haven't used them yet.

-Jake

Well, I usually do one of a number of things:

1. Freak out because I can't sleep and am scared that I'll be too tired to be productive the next day (I don't recommend this, lol!).

2. Pop an additional dose of Xanax. Knocks me right out, but I doubt you have access to that, so let's move on.

3. What really works for me sometimes is deep breathing. Honestly, deep breathing is something you HAVE to practice for it to be effective, so don't expect it to be right away. But you breathe in slow and count to 7, then you exhale slow and count to 10, and repeat. Not only will it relax you, but since you are concentrating on counting the breathing seconds, your mind will go off of whatever is bothering you.

4. I do puzzles out of a book. Another good way to take your mind off other things, as well as working your mind a little so it gets too exhausted to think about things.

As an anxiety disorder case, I find one of the chief factors behind my anxiety is worrying that I won't sleep or that I will slip out of my sleeping pattern. I notice these days that any time I have to wake up before 10 AM, I have a harder time sleeping. So sleep is an act that I have been "studying" and "refining" for years. First, you have to determind what's keeping you awake. If it's something on your mind, you have to exhaust your mind. If you find it's something more physical, like you have too much energy, you need to take a walk or something about an hour before you want to go to bed. Whatever is keeping you awake you have to exhaust.

This is my remedy...Chamomile tea may not sound tasty, but there is a tea that Celestial Seasonings puts out "Honey Vanilla Chamomile"...sweeten it to your liking and it really is very sweet tasting and veeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrry soothing...this works like a charm for me. Half an hour later, i'm back in dreamland.

I found that the worst thing you could do when you have trouble sleeping is TRYING to hard to go back to sleep...it never works. What you can try, if you need to clear your mind a bit (and I've done this exercise a few times on the suggestion of a friend) is go through the alphabet...pick a subject (movie titles, famous musicans, places to visit...you get the idea) and name as many as you can while doing deep breathing exercises...the breathing relaxes you and the 'task' at hand keeps your mind off whatever go it all wound up.

Good luck and sweet dreams, Jake.

Heh. If there's an infomerical on that I know has a FM clip in it, I have to watch it until I see the clip. Then I can go to bed. ;) So far I've seen one with Dreams and another with Don't Stop, both from Rosebud (at least I think it's Rosebud, I've never seen the whole thing aside from Rhiannon).

I'm an idiot!!!
 

Yeah, I wanted to suggest this but couldn't find a polite way (see my boy/girls thread). BUT... How could I forget this expression? Now I think I'm not a true mac fan!!! :distress:

By the way, I wanted to suggest it because I always heard it's a good idea, but it doesn't work on me. No regrets because at the end is a pleasant way to spend time when you can't sleep (and you are alone, of course..) :laugh:

These three things are probably why you can't sleep....

:lol:

Another "anxiety-case" here. :laugh:
Unfortunately though, none of my "remedies" will work for you, Jake, as you've already stated.
Putzing on the internet is one. Watching HGTV, Food Network, TV Land, or Nick-At-Nite is another. Reading is still another. And putting on my headphones and listening to "comfort" music is yet another.

Everyone's going to laugh at what a dork I am, but when I was a teenager, one of the things I used to do when I couldn't sleep... in the same vein as counting sheep... was to lay in bed and list in my head, every single Stevie Nicks song released up until that time, in chronological order. If I made a mistake, I'd start over. :o
I know it sounds very obsessive-compulsive, but it helped me relax, and took my mind off of the things that were keeping me awake. So for that, it was very effective. :nod: :)

Well, Jake....these are the things that I do.

(I am a world league insomniac and nightowl. And I have to do almost all of these things every night to go to sleep.)


1. Hot Bath

2. Double Dose (2 bags) of Sleepytime Tea

3. Eat a chunk of turkey (tryptophan)

4. The 'Hawkeye' Shake always helps. Ask any straight woman. Nothing like an orgasm to make a guy instantly pass out.

5. I always sleep with earplugs. The 35 decibel foam jobbies. I usually put em through the washer and dryer once first to break them in - otherwise they hurt my ears.

6. Also, swimming or a good workout everyday does wonders to exhaust me, and that is part of almost every day too.

Sounds like these things won't work for ya. But they work for me.

I used to take these organic sleeping pills called Calms Forte - and they worked great with no hangover (unlike cold medicine or wine).

That's the sparky sleep guide !

Jake, have you tried counting your signature thingie? LOL

I rarely have problems sleeping - only when I'm extremely stressed out over something. I'm one of those people who can NOT sleep in total silence. I habitually fall asleep on the couch while watching TV; and always have to have the radio on low in the bedroom. :nod:

Since I was a kid....
 

My mind won't rest and I don't sleep...

...seriously...I suppose i've always been a bit of an insomniac but in the past few years it's gotten progressively worse. I'm to the point where I work a ten hour day, come home, talk to Meredith or my friend Vanessa about nothing for several hours, mess around on here and finally at like, 3 in the morning i'll fall asleep and have to wake up and then go back to work again.

When I do have trouble falling asleep i'll:
-listen to music (VH1's insomniac music theater)
-drink my Sleepytime Tea (I need to buy stock in that stuff)
-write
-read Jake's posts (i'm so kidding :laugh:)
-put on a foreign film (if you have to read subtitles and you have your lights off, you're going to fall asleep for sure)
-watch the Proactiv infomercial for the 40th time.

This is very rarely a problem for me, fortunately. However, my boyfriend has terrible problems with insomnia, and it can be really awful and taxing. If your problem is too much quiet, soft TV or radio can help, but I find you should definitely listen to something you are not familiar with. Don't watch a movie where you have every line memorized or listen to music you know every lyric to. It keeps your brain too active to fall asleep, IME. Also, it is recommended that you do not do anything else in your bedroom but sleep (well, with one exception ;) ), especially stressful activities like paperwork, etc. This is because you want your brain to associate that room solely with relaxation. You should not get into bed until you are tired enough to go to sleep so that your brain also does not associate the bedroom with tossing and turning (even if this means nodding off on the couch and moving to bed later). Repeating a word or phrase over and over can help too. It might seem torturous, and there is a bit of a "panic phase" where it's just driving you crazy, but if you persist and get through it it can really work. Do not have loud colors in your bedroom, and if you are able to see your bedding with the lights off, it should not have a crazy pattern and should be a "cool" color. There are also natural supplements that really work. Melatonin is a natural chemical in your brain that triggers relaxation and sleep, so taking a supplement to provide what you may be lacking can work wonders. Other supplements to try are Valerian Root or Formula #16 by Ness (which is calcium and enzymes, and may only be available if prescribed by a Naturopath). Make sure they are quality brand and strength...herbs, etc do not yet have government guidelines, so any old idiot can sell any old crappy product. Look for Standardized products, and liquid-caps or powder-filled caps may be much more easily absorbed by the body than tablets (Melatonin is also often "chewable", which is fine). Most Fred Meyer stores even have a "health/natural" section now, with a knowledgeable employee working the section, so you don't even have to go anywhere "weird" to get the stuff. These all provide really natural-feeling sleep, but be careful to not abuse them even though they are natural. If you use a sleep remedy nightly, it is best to rotate what you are using every week or so because your body begins to get used to it. Also avoid caffiene altogether, if possible, or at least don't have it after 3pm or so (remember, chocolate and some pain relievers have caffiene too). Sugar can also be a major, major culprit. My boyfriend even has problems with Splenda. Try Xylitol or Stevia ( :) ) as sugar substitutes, and do not eat a carb-laden dinner.
Now that I've filled you with this absolute mountain of information, I will end by saying that you could just be a nightbird who is unfortunately stuck adhering to the ways of this evil world like the rest of us! :thumbsup: :woohoo: :)
*Disclaimer: I am no kind of professional, I just believe wholeheartedly in natural medicine and have done a lot of reading and research about it. :D*

The aforementioned Rattlesnake Shake (and the female equivalent...I won't share any code expressions for it, out of respect for those who might be offended :D ), is the most natural wonder cure, of course. (But I know it's still taboo for some...) :angel:

This is what I do. :o

- Jake

Hopefully not during. ;)

- Jake

Thanks, Mama Laurie. (Dream a little dream...)

- Jake

I do this too. It's like not turning off The Dance or Red Rocks when it airs even when you own the damn things.

- Jake

Yes, usually the nice airlines don't go for this, I imagine.

- Jake

I'd rather sleep with the sinners than lie awake as a saint, eh?

- Jake

If I tried this, I'd finish doing that list and then come up with ten other lists to obsess over.

- Jake