Insomnia

[Asus Quickclaw]

Insomniac here. Yeah... It sucks. Not much you can do realy, but hey! You get used to it

Just don't go to sleep. Watch the sun come up. Do all kind of stuff sleeping people can't do.

-Snip-

Yeah, what he said, but minus the sex part, i'm 15.

 

[gh0ti]

I feel for you. While unemployed I had some real problems getting to sleep at night and it caused all kinds of problems emotionally - anxiety attacks, warped thoughts etc.

The only thing that (more or less) fully solved it for me was getting back to work and being so mentally exhausted at night that I couldn't help but fall asleep. Even now the prospect of a particularly stressful day can ruin my sleep.

Beyond that, these things help/helped me:

- Avoid using the computer or any other electronic devices within an hour of going to bed.

- Avoid caffeine. I mean, literally, ALL caffeine.

- If you exercise, do so in the morning rather than the evening. You think it will tire you out, but the endorphins can really give your mind a buzz.

- Meditation techniques (no, seriously!) I practised clearing my mind of all thought, along with some breathing exercises. These can be a short term fix, but I found that they didn't guarantee prolonged sleep even if I did nod off.

- Try sleeping somewhere else for a while. I took to sleeping on the sofa - the change of scenery/body posture seemed to help a little.

The only other thing I can suggest is checking out some ASMR videos on youtube. I'm not sure what escapists feel towards ASMR, but some of those vids are incredibly soothing. I can fall asleep sitting up with my headphones on. Just don't interact with the "community"!

Captcha - it will pass... how prescient!

 

[Kuroneko97]

I have a problem going to sleep at a normal hour. Then, I have a hard time getting up, even after resting well.

The former I believe is the fault of my internet addiction. But hey, the internet is fucking awesome.

 

[Flamezdudes]

My best friend has major sleeping problems and has had them all his life, the only times he can get to sleep is when he is extremely tired (rare) or when he is in company with friends (he doesn't understand why). The rest of the time he hardly sleeps at all and when he does its very late and he'll only get about 2-3 hours probably.

For me however, sleeping is fine. No problems.

 

[sinsfire]

For the past month I've had just an awful time getting to sleep. Normally I'd read a book or listen to some mellow music but that just keeps me up now. So then I tried just shutting everything off and laying there in the darkness but that didn't help because my mind seems restless. And when I finally do fall asleep it's for maybe 2 or 3 hours and I wake up and can't fall back to sleep.. arg.

Anyways topic; Have you ever suffered from insomnia and if so how do you deal with it? Cause this 24/7 tired feeling is really bringing me down.

My wife had issues with something similar where she just couldn't fall asleep due to a restless mind. I had a suggestion that seemed to work pretty well. Most of what she thought about were things that she needed to do the next day or the day after, etc. We started keeping a pen and notepad by her side of the bed. Whenever she though of something she would write it down. This had a two fold effect. It ensured that the item would be addressed and not forgotten by morning, but it also seemed to absolve her of worry now that the item had been expressed on paper and existed somewhere tangible outside of her wandering thoughts.

You can also try white noise generators or smartphone apps. Most of these have realivly calming sounds that can be put on a timer so they will automatically shut off.

I am hesitant to recommend the next bit since I don't know where you live or what your local laws are but, in California we have basically decriminalized marijuana and a good hit or two of a potent strain can knock out an elephant if you get the medicinal grades and ask the right questions at your local dispensary.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions about the above suggestions.

 

[DugMachine]

Parasomnia and night terrors here (lucid nightmares/sleep paralysis are worse than not being able to sleep :/ )

I've got hypnotic drugs but they make me a zombie for the next 48 hours, so I hate using them.

I've found working out more than usual helps, especially cardio.

Yes that's what I've been trying to describe them as. Lucid Nightmares. They're so fucking awful. I feel awake in the dream except the only things I think of are even scarier things and I try to force my eyes upon but they won't. Getting all uneasy right now just thinking about it.

I am hesitant to recommend the next bit since I don't know where you live or what your local laws are but, in California we have basically decriminalized marijuana and a good hit or two of a potent strain can knock out an elephant if you get the medicinal grades and ask the right questions at your local dispensary.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions about the above suggestions.

I've been thinking about that. I don't have to worry about the medicinal stuff since I'm a user of the stuff illegally haha. The idea of doing it every night though is bleh I tend to save it for weekends and some lounging around. I might give it a try tonight.

To you and everyone else, thank you for the suggestions. I'll definitely try them until I work this out.

 

[DugMachine]

- Meditation techniques (no, seriously!) I practised clearing my mind of all thought, along with some breathing exercises. These can be a short term fix, but I found that they didn't guarantee prolonged sleep even if I did nod off.

That worked for me awhile back when I went through a short bout of sleeplessness. I studied up on some modern meditation and it really does relax your mind. I try to get some meditation in a few times a week but have only ever done it at bed time that one week or two.

 

[Yopaz]

I have had a few incidents. Once I was awake for about 50 hours where I didn't feel sleepy at all and I just went to bed because I knew things would turn ugly if I didn't go soon. I managed to fall asleep quite quickly after that. Weird thing was that I was incredibly focused and managed to study through the entire night without ever feeling sleepy or tired.

A few months ago I slept 18 hours in the span of a week. Things got really weird on that last day. I started having mild hallucinations (buildings moving and I thought a man who got on the bus was holding a gun) which freaked me out. I managed to fall asleep and I felt all better after a solid night of sleep.

I have had a lot less problems sleeping since I started listening to audio books.

I have a problem going to sleep at a normal hour. Then, I have a hard time getting up, even after resting well.

The former I believe is the fault of my internet addiction. But hey, the internet is fucking awesome.

Sounds like you might have a disturbance with your pineal gland. It is supposed to regulate your sleeping patterns. If you have what I have you might feel sleepy during the day until you perk up when it's getting late. It's something that adjusts itself to your habits so you're probably right about this being caused by internet addiction.

 

[Rascarin]

I get it occasionally. I can lie for 3-4 hours in bed, not falling asleep. I tend to sleep better during the day when I'm like that.

Sleeping pills help.

 

[Senor Smoke21]

I had it for about 6 months last year. I was sleeping maybe an hour a night if I was lucky.
Went to the doctor, he gave me some kind of tranquillizer and that sure fixed it =D

 

[Nickolai77]

I've only once had a proper bout of insomnia- but sometimes i have difficulty sleeping, so i'll give a few pointers as to what i think helps.

1)Drink plenty of water- a lot of the time i can't sleep it's simply because you are dehydrated. Also make sure you ate enough during the day- going asleep on an empty stomach is hard.

2)Exercise: Make sure your body is physically tired before going to bed.

3)Masturbation: Tires your body out and helps men sleep- i don't know how but it works. Sex would work as well, it would be more effective because it tires you out more and de-stresses you more.

4) Get into a rountine- having a routine get's your body into the habit of falling asleep at a certain time.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Last time I had one of those was the night before my driving time or when I was away from home for this interview however the cause of those was mainly stress which are easily to cure.

Have you try sleeping from the side instead of facing up as it help to relax your body more. As for trying to shut down you mind, have you try like focusing on a perticular spot in your blackness when you sleep (I mean you see darkness when you shut you eyes)? I read that help to get you to sleep sooner sometime.

 

[Zyxx]

Family recipe for sleeping potion:
A glass of milk, warmed up for about 30 seconds in the microwave, with a dash of vanilla extract and just enough sugar to make it palatable.

If you have a handheld gaming system, I find very repetitive turn-based games (like Dragon Quest) are great sleep aids. That's not a slam on DQ, just an observation that when I play it for a little while before going to bed I tend to get sleepy, and it's easy to just close the DS, put it by the bed and go to sleep.

 

[Scrustle]

I don't have insomnia, but I've been having trouble sleeping recently. Well, not "trouble" exactly. I just don't sleep as much as usual, and I tend to go to bed at around 1AM.

To OP: Insomnia is often indicative of some other issue. I think it would be more effective for you, not just just your insomnia, to try and work out what that is. Deal with the cause of the insomnia instead of just trying to deal with the insomnia itself.

 

[Kuroneko97]

I have a problem going to sleep at a normal hour. Then, I have a hard time getting up, even after resting well.

The former I believe is the fault of my internet addiction. But hey, the internet is fucking awesome.

Sounds like you might have a disturbance with your pineal gland. It is supposed to regulate your sleeping patterns. If you have what I have you might feel sleepy during the day until you perk up when it's getting late. It's something that adjusts itself to your habits so you're probably right about this being caused by internet addiction.

Yeah, that's how it is often.