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Insomnia getting ridiculous
Raziel078
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So for the past two months my insomnia has gone from barely managable to out of control. I used to be able to force my self into bed by like 2 or 3 in the morning but now I'm not even the tiniest bit sleepy till 6am I have class at 9am. I talked to my dad and uncle about this and they said that almost all the men in my family are like this. Staying up till 5-6 am and then sleeping till about 1-2. Its insane and must stop. I've missed 2 1/2 weeks of class during summer semester. Any ideas? Good sleeping pills? anything?
I would like to put something clever and about me but I fear my company will find it
Raziel078 on
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Doesn't sound like insomnia to me, insomnia is not being able to sleep for long periods of time, sounds like you just have a weird sleep pattern. That kind of thing is usually temporary, but from what your familiy have told you, is probably at least somewhat genetic. I would go see a doctor for some advice.
Also the following sometimes work for me during bouts of insomnia;
-wearing myself out, as in physically, go for a run/long walk/ go to the gym/whatever
-slow calm music, but make sure its music you know well else you'll concentrate to hard on it.
-sleeping pills can be a temporary fix but not something you want to rely on
One thing that I would recommend is avoid all artificial light during the hours leading up to sleep. It seems to inhibit the onset of neurochemicals that work to make you sleepy. There was a clinical study on this in 2003.
The way I feel about it is, there are two stages of exhaustion. There's a mental one triggered by neurochemicals, and then a second one that hits the body itself. For some of us, we just don't get that first signal. We're not tired, not tired, not tired, then all of a sudden we're exhausted and feel a little short of breath (yawning a lot) and collapse into sleep quickly. I have tried to learn to be more sensitive to indications of that first signal. If I find my mind wandering, or just a reduced level of energy -- it may not feel like sleepy -- I take the cue to go to bed at that point. I don't have trouble falling asleep.
What do you do in the hours leading up to sleep, then? I'm curious because I have this same problem.
Or at least thats what was said last time I saw one of these threads.
Read. I think having a lamp on is ok. It's things like TV and computer monitors, where the light is interactive is what can keep your brain from getting sleepy. So I sleep at 12, I try to read from 11-12. Maybe do some art stuff. Knit, beading, I dunno, paper airplanes?
use task lamps, instead of full-room illumination. If you have a relatively bright light focused on a single area, your peripheral vision will be in darkness. It will be more obviously "night" and your brain will emphasize those signals of "hey it's dark that means I can sleep easily."
It also means don't stay up late, but go to bed early. If you have trouble going to sleep if you're around a lot of artificial light, it may mean you fall asleep very easily when the sun sets, around 8-10, and wake up very early in the morning. You'll actually sleep, though, and you can still do a lot of things in the morning if it's before your regular work/school schedule.
So far, though, the thread is assuming that the OP has a healthy diet and maintains some regular exercise. If home remedy style things, like "eat some slices of turkey about an hour before bedtime" don't sound appealing, you should be able to mention things like this to a doc. You may only need a very light dose of a sleeping drug in order to fall asleep normally.
I use to have really bad insomnia and tried main stream drugs like trazodone and lunesta, nothing worked but somehow, melatonin did.
I take 1-2 like 4-5 hours before I want to sleep and I'm asleep in 20-30 mins as soon as I hit the bed.
Also, it would arguably, be better for you than any sleeping pill/drug.
What's the dosage on yours? I've seen some wildly varying dosages in the OTC stuff.
Don't try melatonin if you've ever had depression or bi-polar disorder or anything like that, as it will give you awful mood-swings and bring back/increase any symptoms.
Edit: Oddly enough, the diphenhydramine chemical I mentioned earlier has the opposite effect, and actually paved the road for modern anti-depressants.
Add Rozarem to the lists of drugs I was put on for Insomnia, to no avail
Huh, I have some 300 mcg ones right now. No wonder they're not working very well.
Second up - cardio. A half hour to 45 mins worth at any point in the day brings sleep like teh baby. My body chemistry turns most sleeping aids into stimulants, discovering cardio was a godsend.
a) Forcing a sleep time through medication. I mean Ambien, too, though it's highly addictive and hallucinogenic...but it works.
b) Melatonin
c) anti-depressants (specifically Welbutrin)
d) not smoking (which is a side effect of Welbutrin, incidentally. It's also marketed as the anti-smoking drug Zyban)
e) lowering stress levels
Talk to a doctor, tell them you have genuine delayed sleep phase issues, and that you have a family history, and see if he can prescribe correct dosages for the 1st 3. Melatonin is OTC, but you should get a doctor's opinion first. If there's a school psychologist/psychiatrist, try talking to them too.
I started Tivo'ing late night shows I like (Adult Swim, Colbert, etc) to watch when I'm not supposed to be going to bed. I ended up just never getting around to watching them, so it's probably for the best. I try to avoid the computer after a certain time (but many nights I fail ...).
Safe activities would be like any housework, homework or reading you have to do. Listen to some podcasts, maybe. I think the goal is just to avoid staring into a monitor or television. It's tough. Believe me, all I ever want to do is have fun on the web until I pass out every night.
Maybe I could turn on some kind of "child protection" timer feature on my router to switch off internet access during certain hours.
I suffer from DSPS as well. I'm constantly trying to explain to friends and family that going to bed early and maintaining that sleep pattern is just something I can NOT do. I am, most definitely and without a doubt, the nightiest night owl type you can imagine. As I said, I've managed to sort of change my sleep patterns to wake up early in the morning but I always.. ALWAYS end up going back to bed between 3:30 to 5:00 in the morning. It's hard to fight.
My parents wonder how I'll make it in the military but I usually sleep maybe 4 hours a night on average anyway. I hate sleeping so that doesn't help matters. I just can't stand to be in bed if I don't have to be (ie, passed out from exhaustion).
Lot of relief to know exactly what I was suffering from.
so much explained in one thread. Thanks, guys.
Oh, and when I HAVE to go to sleep, melatonin has worked for me in the past. Other OTCs, however, have not. When I took up running every night, that really helped.
I completely identify with the whole "my body just doesn't recognize that it's tired" thing. I'll stay up insanely late, like tonight, when I have to work at 7:30 am. It doesn't help that I work irregular hours...