Sleep, or lack thereof

[betterdeal]

Seriously, just try staying awake. See how long you can.

 

I find lying down in a dark, cool, quiet place with my eyes closed is what I need a lot of the time. If I fall asleep, so be it, but the relaxing all the muscles, deepening the breath and closing the eyes and looking for my third eye by going cross eyed with my eyelids closed is beneficial.

 

The state of being semi-comatose with accompanying vivid hallucinations is not all that sleeping is about.

[Els]

BD, did you miss an earlier post where I addressed that bit of advice?

[betterdeal]

Yeah, I've not been reading the thread fully

 

Pay me no heed.

[Els]

Aww, it's fine. Very much appreciated the help, anyway.

[D-Lish]

I never have developed a tolerance. I also take Clonozopam which is also supposed to be a drug that people get addicted to and develop a tolerance for.... I only use it when I need it.

 

My doctor gave me a 3 month prescription for it to start, and then after he saw I wasn't abusing it, he extended it and gave me a 6 month prescription. Now I just call in when I am out and they refill it over the phone.

[whichwayisup]

Have you tried melatonin? it's natural and not addictive. or try some other herbal and natural meds..

[zengirl]

Have you tried melatonin? it's natural and not addictive. or try some other herbal and natural meds..

 

I was just going to say this. I am not a great sleeper, personally. (I'm fine once I get to sleep.) I usually take a melatonin before going to bed---every few months, I do without them just to show I can; they're not addictive---which signals to me, "it's time for sleep." I still take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to fall asleep, depending on what time I go to bed (sometimes I go early on purpose to watch a show and wind down or something).

 

Also, I allow myself at least 8 hours "in bed" each night, but probably get closer to 6 hours of sleep. If you need to wind down, I don't see any reason why you can't pad the 6 hour time to reflect that. For me, my in bed/not sleeping time is a mental health saver. I think 8 hours of actual sleep would feel excessive. In fact, when I fall asleep right away, I often wake up before my alarm and get up earlier.

 

I also find that exercising before bed (particularly yoga) is a good wind-down if my mind is too busy to sleep. Sex works too, at times.

 

I could never fall asleep if I were reading a decent book, so I'm like you in that way---reading keeps me awake, not puts me to sleep. What I do when I want to fall asleep right away is put on a TV show I already have seen but still like. That makes me engaged a little (so I'm not in my head) but not so interested I can't pass out. The melatonin helps.

[Els]

I was just going to say this. I am not a great sleeper, personally. (I'm fine once I get to sleep.) I usually take a melatonin before going to bed---every few months, I do without them just to show I can; they're not addictive---which signals to me, "it's time for sleep." I still take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to fall asleep, depending on what time I go to bed (sometimes I go early on purpose to watch a show and wind down or something).

 

Also, I allow myself at least 8 hours "in bed" each night, but probably get closer to 6 hours of sleep. If you need to wind down, I don't see any reason why you can't pad the 6 hour time to reflect that. For me, my in bed/not sleeping time is a mental health saver. I think 8 hours of actual sleep would feel excessive. In fact, when I fall asleep right away, I often wake up before my alarm and get up earlier.

 

I also find that exercising before bed (particularly yoga) is a good wind-down if my mind is too busy to sleep. Sex works too, at times.

 

I could never fall asleep if I were reading a decent book, so I'm like you in that way---reading keeps me awake, not puts me to sleep. What I do when I want to fall asleep right away is put on a TV show I already have seen but still like. That makes me engaged a little (so I'm not in my head) but not so interested I can't pass out. The melatonin helps.

 

Sounds like a plan. Going to check out the melatonin at the pharmacy soon.

[spiderowl]

I am in my 50s and have had this problem all my life. If you find a solution, let me know!

 

I did read recently that artificial lights can interfere with the production of hormones that help with sleep. Light bulbs, TVs and particularly computer screens send out light in sufficient intensity to perk us up again. I haven't tried reducing the brightness of artificial light towards the end of the day yet to see if it helps. I may try reducing the brightness of the computer screen, for example. I guess it's worth a try.

[gary2411]

Last night I fell asleep putting my Rachel to sleep at about 8 pm. I didn’t wake up again until around 10ish when Thomas needed to nurse. I promptly fell asleep next to him. After a later noshing session (around 2:30 a.m.), I found myself wide awake. A random ticker tape of thoughts traveled through my mind. I wish I could say I was dreaming up the perfect plot to that novel I’m going to write one of these days or that the Holy Spirit was moving me and I’d discovered some profound, spiritual truth to take with me during my Lenten journey.

[hotloader]

I've suffered with insomnia for years. It all started when I stopped getting high at the age of 27. I used to smoke pot everyday. I was one of those potheads that kept it in the closet, and it never affected my motivation or anything like that. I was a much more mellow and pleasant person to be around back then.

 

I'm 34 now, and I'm always stressed out. I have anxiety attacks and migraine headaches as well, and I take Xanax when my stress levels get too out of control. Weed was such a great regulator for me, and I'm really thinking about getting back into it. I don't think I've had a good night's sleep since the last time I went to bed baked. Damn......I wish I was ripped right now.