Sunday night insomnia....

[Joe13]

So this isn't the first Sunday in the last 6 weeks that I've been at the new job that I've had insomnia on Sunday night. It may have started out as a little racing thoughts thing trying to learn a new job, but while I still have plenty to learn I am currently to the point I feel I am comfortable with the job and my place at it.

I skip naps, try and get some excersise in while still allowing recuperation time, get to bed by 8:30pm (to be up at 5am) and yet I'm up past 10pm wide awake and super tired.

Kinda sucks having to start Mondays off in a daze, but to keep this from being a vent thread - are there any tricks y'all early birds (that need a lot of sleep) use?

I woke up 1 min before my alarm on Friday which tells me that I'm getting used to 5am - I just need the early to bed part down; summer light making it doubly hard even though the bedroom is dark.

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[v0lcom13sn0w]

i know the feeling man. i go to bed around 1AM every night to wake up at 6:51AM... been doin it for 11 years. idkwtf.

i swear i counted 2k sheep one night.

not really but u know.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

I try not to be on the computer late at night.
I find that if I am , I can not get to sleep for a long while after going to bed , even if I am really tired.
I also try to think of "sleepy thoughts" ... As in thinking of my comfortable bed , how nice sleep is , the fact that I am safe and sound etc ...While avoiding stressful thoughts.
Trying not to eat just before going to bed has also helped
Andy

 

[Stomper]

It's a matter of tuning your biorhythms and discipline. On work nights I generally push myself to be in bed NLT 10-11pm. I'll read for an hour (sometimes two)
or watch TV if there's something worth watching, and oftentimes drift off during that. I usually wake up around 5am every morning (although this morning I woke at 4:30am) 7-days a week (my alarm is set to 5:45am)

I have gone on 4-5 hours of sleep per day for DECADES, and I consider 6-hours a GOOD full nights sleep (for me). I do occasionally sleep in (after waking) for a few hours. As Andy mentioned, don't eat dinner too late and think "relaxing" thoughts.

If all else fails.... you can sleep when you're dead.

 

[etrain16]

Some good points already made.

My biggest suggestion is to establish your routine and stick with it, even on the weekends. My alarm goes off at 4:15 weekdays, for that, I'm in bed by 9:00pm, usually asleep before 10:00pm. About 6 hours sleep, which for me, like for Stomper, works well. I've maintained that same schedule for years now, though I don't set an alarm on the weekends, I just sleep a bit later. I go to bed early on the weekends too, though I may stay up an hour or so later at times. Many mornings, I wake up just ahead of my alarm.

As for insomnia, I run into it from time to time, and it's very frustrating as it seems to happen on the nights where it's most important I get some sleep. And I think that's a big part of the problem - when my brain starts over thinking the next day, it screws things up. And some nights, I just can't seem to turn it off.

I learned a breathing technique from an article a while back that works, sometimes, and only takes a few moments to do. You may have to repeat it a few times to get it to work. In many cases it does work for me, if I remember to do it. In a few cases, it doesn't seem to help. What you do is take a deep breath, through the nose, to full lung capacity, and hold it for 20 seconds, then slowly release it through the mouth over 10 seconds (slow and complete exhale). Repeat this 5 times. If you do it right, you'll notice a few things: on each complete exhale, your muscles, especially in your torso, will really start to relax - to me, it feels like I'm sinking deeper into the bed - and it feels good. You'll also notice that your mind, while focusing on the breathing and counting, will sometimes release whatever thoughts are keeping things going in your head. When it works, you'll typically fall asleep right in the middle of one of the breathing cycles. This isn't a foolproof solution, but I've used it for several years and it's effective enough that I keep going back to it.

Good luck, I know how frustrating it can be.

 

[parallax]

Man, I need advice also. I do a lot of international travel, last trip was a 19 hour time difference from west coast. I try limiting caffeine intake, try massive amounts of excercise. I end up sleeping in 1 or 2 hour blocks of time and am up an down all night, I have tried just drinking coffee and forcing myself to stay awake in the hopes of sleeping due to exhaustion, nothing seems to work.I am pretty good about mentally shutting down and not staying awake due to thinking about anything. no suggestions on the internet seem to work well for me. its brutal.

 

[Dungannon]

I've had a hard time getting to sleep all my life and, until I retired ten years ago, always had jobs that required getting up at 5 or 5:30am. While nothing worked 100% of the time, what worked best was
- go to bed at the same time every night, even weekends
- if it feels like I can't relax [tossing & turning, mind racing with thoughts] I get up and read
- when I get up to read, I sit in a overstuffed chair with only one lamp on
- don't use the computer just before bed [there was even something in the newspaper about this a few weeks ago]
- don't watch intense movies or argue with the wife just before bed
- avoid caffeine after 3 in the afternoon, as it takes 6 hours or so to get out of my system
- don't nap during the day
- if I feel like a nap, I do stretching exercises to limber aching muscles & joints

It doesn't help that my wife falls asleep in 2 minutes. On the other hand, she sleep like a cat and wakes at the slight noise.

 

[Roger65]

I had some insomnia in the late '90's. One trick that works sometimes is reverse psychology. If you are tossing and turning and trying to force sleep, it aint happening.

Instead I would get up and force myself to stay awake for half an hour. This would reset my brain and take off the "performance anxiety" of trying to sleep. Then, I would just nod off.

 

[slimmer13]

Clean the pipes

 

[Joe13]

I do dink around on my phone before bed, either reading or stupid games that require little thought. Most of the time it puts me to sleep.

I also avoid tense movies or TV before bed and usually watch a little YouTube fails or something funny/non thought provoking just before heading to bed.

The wife and I rarely argue and pretty much always resolve it before bed.

I've been keeping my bedtime fairly consistent but do sleep in some on the weekends.

Most of the time if I'm not asleep within 30 min I get up and crash on the couch for awhile and that will normally help - as was mentioned, if I'm tossing and turning or I open my eyes and am wide awake a change of scenery helps but last night I had the 'it's getting later and later and I'm loosing more and more sleep' syndrome.

Tried melatonin before and while that helps over time, it isn't a quick fix.


I was able to go in a little later this morning then normal so I got enough sleep but I've always been an 8 or 9 hour guy (I can function on less but not happily for very long).

Thanks for everyone's tips. I'm going to try a few next time I'm up, as this is an all my life thing and not just a one night abnormality.

 

[Misteramax]

Tried melatonin before and while that helps over time, it isn't a quick fix.

That stuff makes me have bad dreams. I made the mistake one night of watching an alien abduction movie and took some.

I probably need a CPAP. I still think that sounds like an ak.

 

[Joe13]

Headed for bed now and can't get things in order to get there fast enough - I is tired and sleepy tonight

 

[Stomper]

If your wife REALLY loved you.... she'd knock you out with a wood mallet so you could sleep faster.

 

[Joe13]

Lol, I'm sure she would like too at times

 

[Stomper]

Lol, I'm sure she would like too at times

Make sure to put it on YouTube if she does!!

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

whatever you do, do not take ambien!!! you will not know what you are doing, bro. when i was a teen, i had to carry my dad to bed upstairs multiple times because he was so zonked out on ambien i swear it was like taking care of a drunk
person. he doesnt remember any of it to this day. i dont remind him.

 

[Roger65]

 

[parallax]

If your wife REALLY loved you.... she'd knock you out with a wood mallet so you could sleep faster.

I figured out my insomnia, When the lights are off, I can still make out the silhouette of my wife standing over my bed staring at me, while sharpening her tai chi sword.

 

[clearconscience]

I do this too. I go to bed usually around 11pm sometimes midnight.
My mind is usially racing or thinking about all the stuff I need to do, or the squirrel I saw yesterday and if he had a squirrelfriend.
What if someone breaks in or I see a bear in the backyard.
Shet. Now I'm walking through step by step defensive situations.
What if the world ends tomorrow. Do I have enough water to shower.

Damn it's midnight.

And I'm usually up between 6am and 6:30am depending on when the kids wake up. Usually because kids hate their parents at a young age on weekends my kids wake up between 5-5:30am.

Coffee for breakfast sometimes for for lunch.
Dang forgot to eat lunch and just drank coffee.
Why is my stomach wrecked for days?!

I find (as does research) any electronics make later nights easier.

Shut off the electronics an hour before bed and pick up a book.
20mins of my ADD brain reading and I'm falling asleep.

My problem is I stay up until I start to fall asleep 11pm-12am and I'm falling asleep on the couch. Then let the dog out, put food and water in her bowl (she likes to eat at night about 2am)
Then head upstairs. Brush my teeth. Sometimes the baby wakes up, and feed him a bottle and rock him to sleep, back in bed. Dang now I'm awake.

 

[Cardoff]

What works for me is mindless tv. Something I've seen 1000 times and a comedy. Makes me smile as I drift off and I know every word so I'm not intrigued to stay awake. The Office, first 10 seasons of family guy, caddy shack, to name a few. Use my tablet and headphones so my bride isn't disturbed.