I've had sleeping problems for several years. Surprisingly law school has seemed to make it worse. Fortunately I have found that if I block out every bit of light, sound, and memories, and choose a night when I'm already really tired and don't have anything going on the next day, I can get myself to fall asleep sometime near the witching hour. Unfortunately, those stars rarely seem to align. Thank heavens for sleeping medicine. I think.
I recently started trying new things to deal with my Insomnia, which has been great for my "get to the end of 'Crime and Punishment' by 2025" goal. In fact, three nights ago I pulled the book out at 2:00AM and read four whole pages. I'm now a little over half-way done. Who knew when I picked up that little piece of heaven five years ago that I would ever make it this far. (By the way, for those of you who were wondering, I'm on the part where Raskolnikolinolifof is talking to Raskolnofitofikofinonof about his friend Sonya Rolinoloninof and her friend Rockstockitockitof and their relation to Rimolinolitof; it's getting pretty juicy).
Back to the drugs: I've gotten my hands on several kinds of medications, herbs, and various other therapeutic witch-doctor remedies that my drug-loving-family-members and hippie-save-the-planet friends could convince me to take and the only thing that seems to have an affect on me is Ambien. Oh blessed Ambien. Last month I took one and woke up the next morning only to find I had inadvertently done my taxes (good think I'm not a huge audit risk as I only made 12 cents last year). Last week after taking an Ambien, I ate half a bag of ginger-snap pees while doing Yoga stretches and telling my roommates that their faces were fuzzy. While that experience wasn't quite as productive as filing my taxes was, it did make for a few good stories (which is what my family lives for).
Mostly I'm writing this post as an desperate plea for help. Is there anyone out there who has overcome Insomnia through means other than drugs that can share their wisdom with me? I would prefer to never take a sleeping pill again but I've got to get my sleep as I'm starting to really age (I look well over 21 now).
~It Just Gets Stranger
When I was in high school I had serious insomnia. I once went 96 hours without a wink of sleep. Yikes!
ReplyDeleteI realize there are probably many reasons for insomnia, but mine was caused because I couldn't turn off my mind at night. So, at the suggestion of my counselor, I kept a notebook by my bed at night. Everytime a thought would run through my head that made it hard for me to sleep, I would write it down in my notebook. It made it so I could put that worry aside for a few hours, and because I had written it down, I could easily start worrying about it again when I woke up.
It sounds a little ridiculous, but it really did help me. Those first few nights were the worst. I filled page after page, but eventually got some sleep.
Good luck! Hope sleep finds you soon!
Given that I'm reading this post at 2:35 a.m. after my kids stupid electronic pet toys woke me up out of a fitful sleep (see my FB status for questions on that one) I'm not the best person to ask advice. But, I'd sure like to find the answers myself! Not only do I have significant trouble falling asleep, I can't stay asleep once I do.
ReplyDeleteEli: Sleep doctors will tell you, avoid caffine drinks after 3pm, only use your bedroom for sleep (don't read, watch TV, etc. in bed), go to bed and get up at the same time each day (routine). I have also heard a warm shower or bath at night might help. Don't exercise within a couple of hours before bed. Hope some of these suggestions help. What is it that is keeping you up? Is it a racing mind? If so I think the advise of a book to record your thoughts was very good advice. Dad
ReplyDeleteOh eli. Just be thankfull that while on Ambien you weren't making Jello in your underwear while talking to some people you hardly know all night long...
ReplyDeleteBut yes, I have heard from several different people the writing down your thoughts idea and they all say it seems to work pretty well. Hopefully it will help you. Have you thought about checkign out WebMD or something like that for suggestions. They usually have pretty good articles about things like this.
I have a suggestion for you. Shane has trouble sleeping too, I just bought him a white noise machine, and he says it's definitely helped. It muffles out any other outside noises - such as a clock ticking, traffic noises , wild raucous parties.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I like absolute silence when I sleep, so I don't know what I was thinking when I bought this for him! I'm hoping eventually I will equate the machine noise to instantaneous sleep. Here's hopin'.
If you are interested in the machine here is a link to where I bought it, and a youtube video where you can see what it sounds like.
Good Luck!
http://www.sleepwellbaby.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-TS3UMnnkY
Eil, you could always buy some of the Johnson and Johnson bedtime lotion and rub it all over - works for the babies! Also Benedryl and Dimetap works wonders for kids anyways, not that I would know about anything like that! :) j/k
ReplyDeleteHope you can find some solution!
Bahaha! I'm so glad I found your blog. We can commiserate about insomnia together!
ReplyDeleteLately, I've tried taking melatonin every once in a while. Don't know if you've tried it. It's the same stuff you get from...a suntan. Well, that and Vitamin D. It's helped as much as Simply Sleep, if not more (that's basically Tylenol PM minus the Tylenol). Still, I'm never a fan of taking something habitually, so I'm stuck being up now. At 2 a.m. With no end in sight. Sigh.
PS: Crime and Punishment is the best book known to mankind. LOVED it my senior year of high school. I think it transformed every kid in my English class.
Follow-up: I have gotten accustomed to the white noise machine and now it totally puts me to sleep, so I'm a big fan of that.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Rica-Melatonin is fantastic!
Your blog is hilarious. I'm not even sure how I came across it, but I hope you don't mind that I'm a fan.
ReplyDeletelaughing. out. loud. thank you.
p.s. sorry about the sleeping situation... that's rough.
Eli! I am super into alternative medicine...some kinds of it, at least. I really like this energy stuff---where a practitioner taps into your body's energy field and your body basically tells them how to fix your problems. Woot! Crazy? Kind of. But it totally goes along with physics and spiritual truths. So, if you're interested, let me know--and I'll give you this woman's info who works on Center Street in Provo. Bonus, her office is above Einstein's Bagels, so it always smells good when you walk up there.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that puts me to sleep is the sound of snoring and the freeway, Totally get a white noise machine. The other thing that helps, is spending endless hours on Facebook, to the point that when you attempt to get on it, it bores you to sleep.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was about thirteen, I had a difficult time sleeping. After reading some helpful books, my mom made some helpful suggestions. No caffeine (that was easy since I've never had any). Read a few pages from a book. Start a journal. The last one helped immensely!!!! I am now finished with my seventh volume! I'm twenty now. The purple bags under my eyes are gone and I have a STRICT bedtime ritual. I can't get to sleep without writing in my journal. Also. As a side note, for some reason computers make it harder to sleep. I cannot go on the computer within two hours of going to sleep. My phone stays on vibrate too and I make a point of not looking at it after 8:00pm unless it's my husband or family. Otherwise, I have to write in my journal about text messages. So boring
ReplyDeleteWhen I was about thirteen, I had a difficult time sleeping. After reading some helpful books, my mom made some helpful suggestions. No caffeine (that was easy since I've never had any). Read a few pages from a book. Start a journal. The last one helped immensely!!!! I am now finished with my seventh volume! I'm twenty now. The purple bags under my eyes are gone and I have a STRICT bedtime ritual. I can't get to sleep without writing in my journal. Also. As a side note, for some reason computers make it harder to sleep. I cannot go on the computer within two hours of going to sleep. My phone stays on vibrate too and I make a point of not looking at it after 8:00pm unless it's my husband or family. Otherwise, I have to write in my journal about text messages. So boring
ReplyDeletea fan or cool mist vaporizer works like a white noise machine(whatever that is) my husband has insomnia and uses one of the above to tune out other noises. Benadryl is the same things as whats in tylenol pm and simply sleep but cheaper. Another one to try is valerian root.
ReplyDeleteYou may never see this, as this post is way old, but I recently figured out that my allergy medication was causing me to wake up about once an hour every night. I hadn't made the connection before because I'd been waking up to feed a baby every 3 hours for several months before I started the allergy meds, so the sudden onset of interrupted sleep seemed totally normal. So maybe you should look at all the meds you are already taking . . . maybe one of them is the culprit.
ReplyDeleteTalk on the phone at night with someone you like for like 30minutes to an hour.. trust me it works!
ReplyDeleteDear Eli,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Dr. Clawson, and I was part of the research referee board that contributed to a recent publication in "Psychology Today" about a new insomnia treatment.
Subjects stayed awake on the first night (no prob for insomniacs) and then did the following exercise on the second night (or third night, or whenever you're tired enough to fall asleep):
A.) As you fall asleep, have a friend or family member wake you up within 1-4 minutes, and always before you enter a R.E.M. cycle.
B.) Once your partner wakes you, have them do the same thing again as you fall asleep the next time. Repeat this process a minimum of 20 times, if you can. (Don't worry; if you only do five or six repetitions, it's still pretty effective.)
C.) Wait until bed time the following night to sleep. (After denying yourself a R.E.M. cycle the previous night, in lieu of falling asleep and getting woken up repeatedly, you should be tired. If you aren't, lighten up on the meth for a few days.)
D.) Go to sleep as you typically would, and enjoy falling asleep and staying asleep naturally all night!
What this exercise does: it conditions your body to fall asleep faster and faster as you stress your system by waking up right after dozing off. Your body will train itself to fall asleep as quickly as possible as you desperately try to reach a R.E.M. stage. By practicing falling asleep fast 15-20 times in one night, your body relearns how to fall asleep properly and forms a new physiological habit.
Whenever a bout of insomnia hits in the future, repeat the exercise one night to reteach your stupid body how to fall asleep. Piece of cake!
Best,
Dr. Clawson, M.D.
Institute for Sleep Study and Psychology, Colombia
Eli,
ReplyDeleteOh, hi--it's me, Dr. Clawson, again! I forgot to mention that I'm also an energy healer. If you would like for me to examine your energy field, I would be happy to offer you a free consultation.
Best,
Dr. Clawson