Insomnia Thread

[-AJ-]

Here I am with yet another night of possibly three hours of sleep. Awake at 4 in the morning on a workday because my body/brain decided now would be a good time to be awake, after already taking a sick day off to catch up on sleep. Might have to take two in a row, though I'll be out of sick days after that.

 

Thought I'd create a thread since I know there are others here who've had insomnia issues and they say misery loves company. Come here to discuss your sleeping woes.

[Rob Eh]

I got it all the time, it sucks. i

 

Edited October 19, 2023 by Rob Eh

[6of1_halfdozenofother]

If my wife can't sleep, then neither can I.  And there was a stretch for a lot of months where she couldn't.  So I got to be woken up by her every day (night?) for those months, causing me to nap (often involuntarily) in the evening.  Good thing we didn't have to drive anywhere, I'd hate to fall asleep involuntarily behind the wheel.

[bishopshodan]

1 hour ago, Rob Eh said:

I got it all the time, it sucks.

 

I'll have some of yours.

 

I enjoy time. 

 

[gwarrior]

I know what you're talking about. Had an issue 1 night a week for the last 2 months. And it's always Wednesday night rolling into Thursday. I have no problem getting to sleep, and I'm in bed by 9, and I'm good till between 12 and 2, then I wake up and can't get back to sleep. Then I'm a total zombie the entire day.

[Shift-4]

[The Arrogant Worms]

I have never been a good sleeper.  Now if I get 4 hours in a row I feel like I slept all night.

 

I have slept for 12 hours once in my life.  When I went to Bermuda......from Seattle to Minnesota to New York to Bermuda.  With airport waits it took almost 24 hours.

 

Saved a ton of money though.

 

Then getting to Bermuda to visit a high school friend and had a few drinks.

 

Then night night lol.

[brilac]

I get about 5-6 hours of sleep each night on the weekdays. My problem is that I'm a night owl and it is very easy for me to stay awake at night. Plus, when I am in bed, I don't fall asleep. It's also easy for me to take naps around 7pm and wake up around 9pm. That contributes to my off sleep patterns. Plus I drink coffee all day. I love coffee!

 

As for my sleep patterns overall, it became worse when I went to London in January 2020 and became more worse during the pandemic with not leaving my apartment. 

 

On the weekends I can easily sleep for hours and hours. Last Friday - Saturday, I slept for 15 hours. It started out as a nap, but turned into sleeping. I woke up at a decent time... it was sometime in the morning. I was groggy, but I drank my coffee and went couch shopping. 

[Rob Eh]

Friggin' Insomnia.

There used to be a radio show out of Van called Insomnia Tracks, anybody remember that show?

Late night Hip Hop radio show from the 90's.

[grumpyone]

got insomnia............there's a nap for that

[-AJ-]

Nice to get a whopping 5.5 hours last night. Not great, but a lot better than prior nights. Actually feels good to be at work again.

[Rob Eh]

1 hour ago, grumpyone said:

got insomnia............there's a nap for that

You can sleep when you're dead.

[gwarrior]

Nothing but garbage sleeps all week. Slept for maybe 3-4 hours, woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. Today is my day off, and I slept till noon. I haven't done that since i was in my teens. And I'm 36 now.

[-AJ-]

8 minutes ago, gwarrior said:

Nothing but garbage sleeps all week. Slept for maybe 3-4 hours, woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. Today is my day off, and I slept till noon. I haven't done that since i was in my teens. And I'm 36 now.

 

That's rough. I had not great, but better sleeps later on in this past week. Slept over 8 hours on Friday night though, so that was amazing. It does wonders for my anxiety when I don't have to get up early.

[gwarrior]

5 minutes ago, -AJ- said:

 

That's rough. I had not great, but better sleeps later on in this past week. Slept over 8 hours on Friday night though, so that was amazing. It does wonders for my anxiety when I don't have to get up early.

I hear that. I'm up at 5:15 half my week, 6:15 the other half. Only got 1 decent night sleep this week, that was Friday rolling into Saturday. And I was half dead and had to drag my ass through the day. 

[gwarrior]

I'm gonna crawl into bed and try to get some sleep.

[112]

I had it bad last night, frens--didn't get to sleep until like 4am.

[gwarrior]

Think I got maybe 2 hours sleep last night. Over the last couple months, on Wednesday night rolling into Thursday, I either get next to no sleep, or I get zero sleep. Really getting sick of it.

[-AJ-]

2 minutes ago, gwarrior said:

Think I got maybe 2 hours sleep last night. Over the last couple months, on Wednesday night rolling into Thursday, I either get next to no sleep, or I get zero sleep. Really getting sick of it.

 

Something specific that happens on those days maybe? I often find Sunday into Monday is the worst and it's the only day I take melatonin, which by no means guarantees a good sleep, but does help a bit. I'm a night owl and tend to stay up later and sleep in a bit later on the weekends and it can be hard to adjust to a little earlier during the week again.

[Salacious Crumb]

Does anyone that has sleep issues consume alcohol? Do you sleep better on the nights you haven’t had any alcohol? 
 

If you’ve had sleep issues have you ramped up your exercise regimen?

[-AJ-]

Just now, Salacious Crumb said:

Does anyone that has sleep issues consume alcohol? Do you sleep better on the nights you haven’t had any alcohol? 
 

If you’ve had sleep issues have you ramped up your exercise regimen?

 

I almost never drink alcohol, so that's a non-factor for me. I started going back to the gym about 5 months ago, but as far as sleep, it hasn't changed too much. I will say that recently, after a week of not going to the gym, I had some bad sleeps and then after going back to the gym for a day, I slept super well, but that was also after two days of sleep deprivation. Also relevant is probably that I only go to the gym twice a week and only focus on weightlifting, not cardio, so I suspect it doesn't help my sleep as much as a cardio-based exercise routine would.

[Salacious Crumb]

4 minutes ago, -AJ- said:

 

I almost never drink alcohol, so that's a non-factor for me. I started going back to the gym about 5 months ago, but as far as sleep, it hasn't changed too much. I will say that recently, after a week of not going to the gym, I had some bad sleeps and then after going back to the gym for a day, I slept super well, but that was also after two days of sleep deprivation. Also relevant is probably that I only go to the gym twice a week and only focus on weightlifting, not cardio, so I suspect it doesn't help my sleep as much as a cardio-based exercise routine would.

I gave up drinking 100% and sleep has been much better. 

 

Exercise helps - I really get a great sleep after 20 minutes in a steam room. Perhaps a sauna would offer the same benefit? It’s great to get away from screen time, sweat out some toxins and meditate. Very restorative.

 

I’ve also tried puffing a joint and sex before bed. Not sure if those 2 help but they’re fun to try…

[Barnstorm]

So many factors in getting a decent sleep. 
 

A regular routine  in lifestyle will help. 
 

Get off caffeine products entirely. Hard at first and there will be withdrawal for some. Coffee ,regular  tea’s, chocolate , pop ect . Reduce sugar intake. 
 

Black out curtains can help.

Go to bed the same time every night. 
Quit smoking and eat a healthy balanced diet. Stop the highly processed foods and fast foods. 
If you wake up and can’t get back to sleep within 20 minutes get up , go to another room and do something else. 
 

Reduce screen times in the evening. 
 

I was taught a trick for getting to sleep  that I used to put to use occasionally. Close your eyes while lying in bed and try to recall every event and action you took from the moment you woke up on the day. For me it usually worked. 
 

Some teas are healthy without caffeine and well known to encourage sleep.  Chamomile is popular and there are many others. Stinging nettle tea with honey works wonders 1/2 hour before bed .  
 

Try to determine what causes stress in your life and eliminate it. 
 

Regaining good sleep is doable. It might take a lot of discipline, commitment and sacrifice. Well worth the effort as the process will improve many aspects of one’s life. 
 

Hope those struggling can find resolution as sleep deprivation is not only uncomfortable but also dangerous. 

[gwarrior]

6 hours ago, -AJ- said:

 

Something specific that happens on those days maybe? I often find Sunday into Monday is the worst and it's the only day I take melatonin, which by no means guarantees a good sleep, but does help a bit. I'm a night owl and tend to stay up later and sleep in a bit later on the weekends and it can be hard to adjust to a little earlier during the week again.

Not anything really special or different on those nights. It's my monday night rolling into my Tuesday.  And I'm usually bagged when I get home. I just cant seem to get to sleep, or I'll wake up and can't get back to sleep, just seems that I can't get my mind to shut off.

[-AJ-]

Just now, gwarrior said:

Not anything really special or different on those nights. It's my monday night rolling into my Tuesday.  And I'm usually bagged when I get home. I just cant seem to get to sleep, or I'll wake up and can't get back to sleep, just seems that I can't get my mind to shut off.

 

I definitely have an overactive mind often--sometimes due to anxiety, but I think I'm just also a very active thinker. Probably common among introverts. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a strong correlation between introverts and insomniacs. Personally, I've found that I often fall asleep while my mind is imagining some hypothetical scenarios. They often turn into dreams as I drift away. The trick is that those hypothetical scenarios can't be linked to something anxiety-inducing. Maybe come up with some sort of story in your mind where you're the main character and that might work.

 

Another thing that seems to sometimes work for me is to convince myself that I don't need to sleep, but just to lie down and rest. So often, when napping, it happens almost accidentally, because I'm so relaxed and feel no pressure to sleep. It's when I "need" to sleep at night that I'm more likely to have insomnia. This is also why I sleep far better on nights where I don't need to get up early the next day. It's a big reason why I'm an advocate of more flexible work and school schedules. My last job allowed me to start pretty late without people getting up in arms about it and it really did help me relax some nights.