Sunday night insomnia....

[woody06]

One of the benefits of retirement is the fact that it usually isn't a big deal if you can't go to sleep when you want to. I just get up, play on the computer until I'm sleepy, and nap during the day if needed.

 

[partsed]

I am usually in bed by 10pm and I have no problem falling asleep. My wife on the other hand is a night owl and when she finally goes to bed she sleeps like the dead.

 

[EPS]

This might sound funny coming from me but avoid drinking alcohol some people say one drink help 's them sleep but it doesn't .

 

[Joe13]

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.

Dang man!

That makes my issues seem small .

 

[Joe13]

This might sound funny coming from me but avoid drinking alcohol some people say one drink help 's them sleep but it doesn't .

Used to be a big drinker but gave it up a decade ago.

 

[EPS]

I drink but I always sleep better when I don't lol

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

This might sound funny coming from me but avoid drinking alcohol some people say one drink help 's them sleep but it doesn't .

exactly... 4-5 will help you sleep.

 

[parallax]

This might sound funny coming from me but avoid drinking alcohol some people say one drink help 's them sleep but it doesn't .

So true for me... 2 beers and I feel like i drank a cup of coffee.

 

[Caveman Jim]

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.

In 2004 I injured my lower back ending my working career. Since then I have had insomnia. It sucks bad especially when I have to do something important the next day. Melatonin works sometimes but not always, even if 10mm mg dosage & taken 2-3 hours before bedtime.
I have found that long hours on the computer is a bad thing as my mind is racing and I'm dog tired & CANNOT SLEEP!!!! So now I try & limit my PM computing entertainment to a minimum. I blame it on all you guys here... I love it here but if any of you have noticed that I have not been here much lately it's because I'm sleeping somewhat mo better..

 

[etrain16]

In 2004 I injured my lower back ending my working career. Since then I have had insomnia. It sucks bad especially when I have to do something important the next day. Melatonin works sometimes but not always, even if 10mm mg dosage & taken 2-3 hours before bedtime.
I have found that long hours on the computer is a bad thing as my mind is racing and I'm dog tired & CANNOT SLEEP!!!! So now I try & limit my PM computing entertainment to a minimum. I blame it on all you guys here... I love it here but if any of you have noticed that I have not been here much lately it's because I'm sleeping somewhat mo better..

Glad to hear you're sleeping better. Not getting good sleep really can mess a person up. I haven't been around quite as much lately myself, but mostly because I've been busier than usual. Glad your reason is better sleep

 

[Caveman Jim]

Glad to hear you're sleeping better. Not getting good sleep really can mess a person up. I haven't been around quite as much lately myself, but mostly because I've been busier than usual. Glad your reason is better sleep

Agreed, being busy & doing some physical activity might be helping caveman with his mo betta sleep....

 

[Joe13]

Well...

I followed a lot of advice but just hitting the pillow at 930pm so will see.

I fell asleep with my phone in my hand last night, I was mentally drained from a 2 day class (only person in the class to get 100%) and fell asleep waiting for a 60 sec process on a game I play to relax.

Woke up 45 min later still holding the phone lol.

Even with sleeping in a bit I still fell asleep on the couch for an hour, but don't think I'll have issues tonight.

Looking forward to work tomorrow and all ready for the week, so no stressors tonight.