Insomnia. Halp.

Lexa

Lexa

Just call me Veronica Mars
Idk if this is actually insomnia or whatnot, but I've had serious trouble sleeping. I'd estimate an average of two to three hours a night at the very very most (and piss poor sleep at that; the kind where you are kiiiinda awake, but kinda not, and don't feel rested at all), if I sleep at all. It's been going on for about three weeks now, and it's starting to leave me delirious and unfocused, which is not a good feeling. I'm usually my best for about six hours of the day after I wake up from whatever little "catnap" I got that night, then I start getting woozy. If I try to take a nap, or go to bed at any hour, I don't fall asleep.

Night between Sunday and Monday I slept for almost a full six hours, and was pretty much jumping for joy when I woke up and only felt exhausted, not delirious and high, but apparently that was a one-time occurrence, since it's now 3am and I can't sleep again.

I'm pretty sure I know what's causing this, since I'm unusually stressed out these days. School obviously is the number one culprit, and I believe I've mentioned in ls chat a few times that I'm at risk of being booted the fuck out of the country, which has me all knotted up. Worrying about that, handling a massive load of school work, and other stuff. But still, this not sleeping bullshit is getting to grate on my last nerve. It's getting to the point where I'm so sleepy, I'll land face-down on the bed and think, "NOW I'll fall asleep," but then somehow, despite the exhaustion and being so sleepy I see spots in my vision, I'll lie awake for hours. I'm having issues remembering what I was doing the day before, and sometimes it feels kinda like I'm hallucinating - though I'm really not, I'm just trying to describe how shitty this feels. I'm about quarter of an inch away from seeing Tyler Durden, here.

I'd rather not get drugs to fix this, because I fucking hate drugs - not to mention my insurance here is so minimal it covers practically nada - but I'm starting to think it's pretty much my only option left.
 
I have this problem from time to time and I've never been able to fix it...

I keep a bottle of Tylenol PM here, I take two of those around 9PM-10PM and I'm out for 7-9 hours. I've been battling allergies too, so what sleep I have been getting hasn't been all that great anyway since I can't breathe half the time.

Stress also gets to me very easily and screws up my sleep... Mostly from work or just life in general, like you, I have to worry about getting booted out of the country if someone gets a stick up their ass. [not likely, but always a thought that is stuck in the back of my mind, although I'm probably more concerned about the job market atm!]

But, anyway... the active drug you are looking for in those meds is Diphenhydramine HCl (Benadryl). I take Tylenol PM because most of the time I have a headache anyway when I can't sleep, so it kills two birds with one stone.

Benadryl flat out doesn't work on some people, so ask a friend for some first or buy a small bottle to try out.

I'm no addict, so I only use it 3-5 times a month as necessary. 2 tabs for 50mg is what it comes out to dosage wise.

Good luck.
 
Have you tried exercising? A little over a year ago I became very sedentary focusing on school work, being too tired or out of time to go to the gym like I usually did and being all around fucking lazy. Anyway, tl;dr I got out of the dungeon more (the library/my apartment) to get more sunlight. If you don't know what serotonin/melatonin are, look it up. I started my workouts again and was so exhausted I had 0 problems falling asleep, and actually started falling asleep at earlier times due to being so fucking tired and would get more than enough sleep every night.

Before you go doping yourself up with PM drugs, go read about serotonin and melotonin. There are supplements you can get (like vitamins, which would also do you some good) which I still take even though I feel that I get enough sun and have no problems sleeping anymore. Disregard that it's currently 4AM...I have a test tomorrow and I'm studying. HEY SHUT UP. Good luck.
 
Like Soj said, in terms of non-drug options there are a few things you can try to improve your sleep.

1. You're probably right, the stress is most likely causing the problems. However, depression can also cause severe sleep disturbance, and is a very common medical condition that a lot of people don't get treated for one reason or another, including "hating drugs". Untreated depression can be devastating. Not trying to imply anything, just something to think about.

2. Exercise in the early afternoon/morning. It'll actually make you feel more energized during the day as well as help you fall asleep easier at night. Exercise also helps relieve stress. DON'T exercise in the evening or at night. It'll keep you up.

3. No caffeine after lunch. Caffeine's effects can last hours, even if you don't feel it. Also, don't eat any late meals.

4. After two weeks of NOT sleeping when you're in your bed, your body/mind is probably starting to associate the bed with NOT sleeping. Don't let it: if you're not asleep within 30-60 minutes of going to bed, get up and do something else, like sit in a chair and read a book for thirty minutes. Then try to go back to bed. This also means no TV or reading in your bed itself.

5. If nothing seems to help, sleep aids are a good TEMPORARY measure to get back into a good sleep cycle. Talk to your doctor if you decide you need some help. You can typically start with Benadryl... it's over the counter and cheap (generic = Diphenhydramine). Take it like 30 minutes before you go to bed. Benadryl is non-habit forming so no worries there. More powerful stuff includes things like Ambien, which can be addictive if used over a long period of time. If used for just a week or so, those risks are negligible. There's a big stigma surrounding sleep aids that I think is unwarranted. Their role is in helping people's bodies get back on a normal sleep schedule schedule over the course of something like a week. They should never be taken for longer than that.

If you're finding that your lack of sleep is interfering with your school, I strongly suggest you go see your doctor (so they can tell you pretty much exactly what I just typed here. :p However, I'm not your doctor so this is for your information, not medical advice of any kind.)
 
On a scale of 1 to 10, my stress level on a given day is usually around an 8 or above with work, economic situation, and some other real life issues. However, I destroy my stress, drug free, and sleep rather well most nights.
First part is my mattress. I work in the furniture industry and deal a lot with mattresses, sleeping, and just being comfortable.

A good mattress is the key to a good nights sleep. If your mattress is over 5 yrs old, it's time for a new one, unless you're sleeping on a tempurpedic/comfortpedic/visco foam composite. If you have a mattress pad on it, you can squeeze out some extra time. The way to tell if it's time for a new one is look at the indentation from where you sleep on it. If it's deeper than 3/4" ( on a basic coil support system, akk serta, sealy, simmons), you're bed is done. If you don't know what a mattress pad is or don't have one, you're mattress is BEYOND finished. I could get into the gory details, but since I just ate breakfast, I'd rather not.

Now price range can be large. In a good better best, you're looking at spending $500 for good, $1200 for better $3000+ for best. I put most people in the "better" range, which is generally a level 2 mattress ( in a 1-3 scale), because that's where the best value for your dolloar comes.

I can't stress enough how a good mattress is a critical component to a good nights sleep.

And on to point 2. Exercise. I mean real exercise. Going for a walk for 30 min, or hitting the stair climber on lvl 1 isn't what I'm talking about. I'm talking about exercise that makes you down right so fucking tired you don't know how you're going to walk out of the gym. A real strong work out obliterates stress. You can tell on ventrilo when I haven't worked out and when I have.

So in a nutshell, Hard exercise + good mattress = you never wanting to wake up because you're so relaxed/comfortable
 
I rarely have coffee anymore (and never any other caffeinated drinks) since I'm one of these fancy-drink people, and fancy drinks don't sit well with my diet.

I remember reading years ago that if you can't fall asleep, it's better to go up and do something else for a while, then try again later, so if I don't sleep within 30 minutes or so, I get up again.

The mattress I can't do too much about, since (if I'm allowed to stay) I'm only here until spring 2011, and I already bought a bed. Moving around as a student without storage space or any real place to call home in this country, is not awesome. XD I'll definitely look into scraping together the cash to get one of those mattress pads to see if it helps.

I usually exercise a few times a week (for real exercise, not "hitting the stair climber on level 1"), also as part of my weight loss ambitions. :) Thankfully, the student rec center is free. :D

Haven't tried Tylenol PM or Benadryl. Nyquil did jack and shizzle. I'm just not a fan of drugs in general, for a whole ton of reasons, so will avoid them whenever possible. But now that I know a little bit more about what could help, they're somewhat less scary and on my list of possible solutions. :)

...I am guilty of eating at odd hours.

Thanks a bunch for all the tips and suggestions!

PS. No, this isn't caused by my diet, as I've been working on losing weight since late October, and this only started recently.
 
I agree with the Melatonin suggestions.
nyquil is shit imo. Another thing I've suggested to people is going to them natural stores that sell "natural supplements" and fruit stuff, they have sleeping aids with eucalyptus or whatever it is that helps ya sleep. Short-term means to the end, of course, as Nekio said.

btw Nekio your post sounded like a drug commercial on TV.

Exercise is a good idea and maybe try stretching for longer than 5-10 minutes to really relax. It helps me to just sit and stretch a while, I end up reviewing through my day and getting up not feeling pressed for time.

Part of sleep is so your mind can sort out your problems for you. So, once you're able to sleep through a few nights you'll feel a lot better about all the stuff that's piling up on you.

I have sleeping problems too, but it only gets really bad when I stop exercising for a while, generally. Gotta really tire yourself out. I haven't really said much different from what others have already suggested, it's all good advice.
 
You should try a double dose of Ketamine every night about 2 hours before you are ready to sleep. Also, during this time you should try driving or operating heavy machinery as it helps to calm your mind as you prepare for your night's sleep. Finally, if you are still having trouble sleeping after a couple weeks, you can mix it with some diacetylmorphine hydrochloride and take it intravenously.
 
Ashmus said:
You should try a double dose of Ketamine every night about 2 hours before you are ready to sleep. Also, during this time you should try driving or operating heavy machinery as it helps to calm your mind as you prepare for your night's sleep. Finally, if you are still having trouble sleeping after a couple weeks, you can mix it with some diacetylmorphine hydrochloride and take it intravenously.
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lol....
 
Definitely try hardcore exercise. And I mean, get a good breakfast, put on some jogging pants and a sweatshirt and hat, and then run 1/2 a mile out, 1/2 a mile back. Try to do it in under 15 minutes. Then, in the evening, try a strength training program. This means pushing your muscles to maximum capacity. Do that for 30 minutes, if you are able to go for longer than an hour and are just starting you probably aren't doing it fight. There are a slew of guides online to follow, or you could ask here for some basic exercises.

I can attest to these helping, especially when I threw in a decent meal plan and plenty of water. I worked seasonal jobs in college years, and during my off-time, would literally have headaches and massive body cramps from doing nothing. So many sleepless nights where I was tired, but not tired... If that makes any sense. When I started pushing myself hard, they not only went away, but I fell right asleep once I went to bed each night. And people noticed I wasn't such a prick.

So maybe they were wrong about the last part, and it had nothing to do with my exercise. Hope it works for you.
 
You know, I read somewhere that sex has as much of a sedative effect as valium... and good for those stress levels too. Get some right before you're supposed to go to bed... might work? <.< ... >.>.


/goes back to forum lurking
 
Zeri said:
You know, I read somewhere that sex has as much of a sedative effect as valium... and good for those stress levels too. Get some right before you're supposed to go to bed... might work? <.< ... >.>.
Click to expand...

Oh please, that was like the first thing I tried.
 
Lexa have you ever tried Sleepytime tea? I think it tastes really good and knocks me out fast. I don't like to take sleeping pills because they make me feel grogy the next day.
 
Sleepytime tea makes me think of some sort of daterape thing in britain. CHEERY-O
 
Oh hey Onorok. How do I use my Korg DS-10 synthesizer? I know absolutely nothing about music, and I mean zilch, and for some reason whenever I look at this synthesizer on my screen and pull out my stylus, the sound coming from the speakers sounds like a crappy attempt at porn. Help? Any good site you know of? Thanks.

-Omar
 
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