Anyone else have insomnia?

Just wondering b/c I've been up since 6am and its 3:30 now and sad thing is I'm wide awake. At least I don't have class tomorrow but my circadian sleep rhythym is gonna be way...off.

I've read about this and it seems like a pretty common disorder typical in a very large percentage of people. No major stressors atm and not tons of stuff on my mind. I get in bed to go to sleep and end up laying there for an hour or so. ???

 

Well I doubt it's insomnia because you'd be tired but can't fall asleep night after night.

I'd say take a day you have free and go run like 10 miles, bike like 40 miles, eat something healthy for 3 meals, and use as much energy as you possibly can. The next day you should sleep in for a long time as you'll have used like most of your energy stored and burn more fats/sugars while you're sleeping! Then when you do get up, have a hearty yet healthy breakfast with lots of protein to insure you muscles that you built stay around for a while...then go show them off to the girlies.

Hope I helped some!

 

Everything helps right now. I went running today and the temp started dropping and we started having wind gust up to 25mph so I quit pretty fast with that one. Can't wait to get back home and of course for summer so I can go out and play more though.

While it may not be a clinical disorder I do believe I have some major traits such as...trouble falling asleep on regular basis, trouble staying asleep, and/or waking up long before time for me to wake up. Even if I stay up late I rarely sleep past 6:30 am. My normal wake time is about 6am and even though I have alarm clocks I actually haven't heard one go off in months. I always wake up long before the clock goes off.

 

Insomnia can be caused by many different things.....

I tend to be a very 'hyper' kinda person, although the older I get the more relaxed I've become. I don't like to sit still - that can be a hinderance or a benefit when it comes time to sleep.

Medications & certain health conditions can cause you to stay awake. I was taking Allegra D for 15 years because of my post-nasal-drip would give me slight sleep apnea. The Allegra D allowed me to sleep deeper but less hours (but I felt better when I woke up). I got off of that.....and taking other types of sinus meds to help. It's an adjustment.

Indirectly - you could be under stress....but you don't think you are.

My work schedule sucks too. I rotate shifts every month and that alone doesn't allow me to get into a rythm. When I'm finally adjusted, I'm changing shifts again. It sucks.

So - do you stay awake often? Or is this something that occurs once in a while?

 

Have you tried any homeopathic sleep aids such as melatonin?

I can stay awake for about 36 hours and not feel tired the entire time, I do this 1-2 times a month when I go riding in the sand dunes after work, but I fall right asleep when I go to bed.

 

Well I could say join the crowd, not being a smart A^*, but alot of people suffer from this.

For myself I go though a time period of being so tired but can't sleep. Some time can be 2 or 3 days with no sleep. When I do fall asleep it's for about an hour then I am wide awake ready to go again.

Other times I fall asleep, but get up 15 to 20 times a night. The doctor states my patterns have gotten messed up, due to stress, or other factors in my life I have no control of. I tend to "think" to much, playing out every situation.

I tried the diet, exercise, coming down time with no luck. I finally was put on med's for a short time. The pattern got back into place, and as of now I am on medicine for the same thing. Sometime when all else fails it's best to see a doctor.

 

I've been an insomniac my entire life. Way back at 14 years old I'd sneak out my bedroom window and go walking until just before my parents got up, then I'd sneak back in. I'll get into a vicious circle, one night I'll be awake till midnight, the next 1am, next 2am...until eventually I don't sleep an entire night. That's when I'll take a sleeping pill and straighten myself out.

My problem (with that anyways) is my body says sleep, but my mind will not quit jumping from one subject to another. I build stuff in my head, my ex wife said I would sleep talk and describe how I'm figuring a problem out.

Just last night I went down to my girlfriends, we were up until 1, got up again at 5:30 and drove an hour home. Have too much to do today to take a nap so it'll be the start of another vicious circle.

 

I can soooo relate to that!! And what Hernameislucy said....actively jumping from subject to subject in my mind etc.

As I've gotten older - I've learned to prioritize the importance of what I was thinking about - and in most cases, it just doesn't matter. The things I was sooo thinking about just weren't important. So - I'd *let them go* In a sense, because I was *thinking* too much, that ended up being *worrying* about how/what I was thinking about. I just don't worry as much anymore. Even at work, I see people running around trying to make their best efforts for something that really isn't all that important. *It can wait* Don't get me wrong - all this is hard to explain. I'm definately not a slacker at work and I get things done ASAP. I was spending too much time thinking/worrying about other things that really didn't matter.

During 1st shift - I sleep the most and the best (be tired by 9pm and wake up at 6am). During 2nd shift, I need a lot of *wind down* time. I'll get home at 12:30am and need help getting my ass to bed by 3am and I'd wake up anywhere between 8-9am. During 3rd shift....this is the worst and I often have to use many things to help me fall asleep by 10am (melatonin, beer, sleep aides, etc).

For the past week, I've been pretty sick and take Nyquil every night to kick the sickness. For the past month, I've been on 1st shift and I feel refreshed. I start 2nd shift Monday....and have to try and re-adjust myself all over again.

 

maybe at night you can put a movie in that you don't even like and possibly fall asleep to it...that works for me

 

I have it a smidge, but it's a side effect of chantix.

 

Maybe a new bed might help you out a little too. A friend of mine who works different shifts at a jail thought he was an insomniac. For a couple of years he was too stubborn to go see a doctor so he self medicated to sleep. Then he brought a new bed......Now he sleeps all the time. So maybe you just need to find your sleep number.

 

^^
Not a sleep number... you'll stay awake all night trying to find your sleep number

well, that's what happened to me... lol

 

It's fairly often...at least 3 times a week I can't fall asleep or I wake up wide awake in the middle of the night. My gf thinks I'm crazy cause sometimes we'll go out and stay up to odd hours in the morning and I'll still on sleep a few hours and I'm back up ready to go. I tend to think some of this is results of deployments and long hours being under tons of stress during them.

Nope only thing I've used is Benadryl for my allergies. It tends to make me sleepy but my allergies don't act up all the time.

I do tend to go over things in my mind trying to play out how things will happen or how to solve something or fix something or things I have to do etc... so I guess when I say I don't have tons of things on my mind I do have lots of things but is it really alot. Just common things like fixing this or that around the house or upgrades and things like that.

I did this when I was younger but now the tv being on doesn't help a bit. In fact I'll watch some of the cheesiest old shows just because I can't sleep.

I'm thinking the bed might have something to do with it considering I've been in a Hotel for the past 3.5 months other than the holidays. I do get to go home next week. Hopefully for at least a year this time. I've been gone now 9 out of the past 15 months.

 

Give the DOC a yell, see if he can give you Ambien CR, knocks your butt out and keeps it out.
I use it to get me back on track.......works for me.

 

Man, as soon as I hit the hay I am out like a light, although usually a light sleeper. I have a hard time getting a sound sleep if someone else is in the bed though.

I think the key is to get into a schedule. I wake up at 3:30am. Work all day, come home, go to the the gym, then some down time on the computer at night. Around 10:00-10:30 I go to bed even if I am not that tired. Soon as the lights are out the alarm is ringing to get up for work again. I don't get a lot of sleep, but it works for me. Exercise is good because your body will crazy the sleep naturally.

 

I havent slept more than 4 or 5 hours a night in 30 years, doctors have givin me all kinds of reasons.But the one they keep pointing at is PTSD, you might want to check into that..

 

I need to ask for a prescription of that for when I'm on 3rd shift.....

 

Is it too hot or too cold in your room? I don't sleep very well when it's hot. Is it too quiet? Try turning on a fan for some white noise -- it helps.

I read about this years ago and this is going to sound wierd, but it works for me. Start at your toes and "feel" all the stress flowing out, then work up to your feet, then ankles, etc. I'm usually asleep before I get to my ankles. All you are basically doing is teaching your body to relax.

Good luck on finding something to help you get some decent sleep.

 

i "feel" the stress outa my peepee. Im sleeping like a baby after

 

prepare for a long post....

I have always had sleep issues ever since i was a kid. i would have an 8:00 bedtime and i'd be up at 11:00 asking for water. so i started medicating myself back in high school with melatonin. the problem is that your brain naturally makes it, so if you start taking it regularly your brains stops making it and eventually when you get off of it you wont sleep for about 3 days, which is what happened to me. then i used, tylonol PM, simply sleep, niquil... whatever i could to help me sleep. then in college i turned to booze. now that i'm insured i have ambien, lunesta, and valium, all just for my sleep issues. those all have some side effects, but its better than not sleeping. if i try to go to sleep naturally, i will lay down at 11, and just lay there until i fall asleep at 2 or 3. even if i'm not stressed. one thing that helps is playing music really low, or turning down the tv until i can barely here it. its like if my brain is focussed, i can drift off. but as soon as the distractions are gone and the room is dark my mind starts to race. not about anything particular just everything under the sun starts running through my mind

On top of that i seem to catch my "second wind" at around 11:00pm. i can be up since 5, dog tired, aching and miserable. then as soon as the clock hits 11:00 its like i got a shot of adrenaline in my arm and i'm wide awake and chipper. My natural sleep rhythms are opposite of most peoples. if i dont have a job, my natural sleep pattern is to fall asleep round 7 in the morning, sleep till around 4, then wake up and be wired all night. thats what i do when i have a significant amount of time off. i recommend a sleep clinic.

anyway, i definitely understand the frustration from not being able to sleep, and have been dealing with it for my whole life. so feel free to send any questions you have my way, i'll be happy to help out a fellow vampire