sleepless nights

[88vmx12]

wired till 3 Am sometimes. What can I do about it without going to the doctor.

Gannon

 

[Jdk203]

Ouch, I cant offer advice but I can sort of sympathize. I have a six week old and she has me up waay too early this morning. I usually get up for work at 5:30 and know if I went back to bed now I'd be a zombie all day so instead I'll wake up at 4:00 and be tired as hell today.

If your up that late what time do you sleep until? Are you tired?

 

[naughtyG]

Honestly, without going to a doctor's, just go to a yoga class. Learn to meditate, by doing it you can stop your mind racing, relax and go to sleep.

Or get a really boring book, that never fails for me..

 

[2fear]

Beer

 

[jedi-]

Exercise, go for a run or walk after work, by the time evening comes you'll be tired.

 

[06VMAXIMUS]

Cut your caffeine intake or at least no Caffeine past Noon. Includes; coffee, pop, tea and chocolate. My wife is extra sensitive to caffeine, and if she has any at all, shes up!

 

[Redbone]

Also, check your meds if you take any. Last spring my doctor had me change and start taking my Lipitor in the evenings, it took about 3 months and I had the same problem, couldn't get to sleep, slightest thing would wake me up. The doctor had me back in, sent to a sleep specialist but they screwed up the appt twice so that was delayed about a month and a half. I talked to my doctor about the lipitor and she said to change back. Man what a difference within a month I was sleeping soundly again.
It really sucks not being able to sleep or stay asleep when you want to, hope this clears up for you.

 

[98Redlne]

I have been there and done the insomnia thing. It's no fun.

The first thing is to determine if the problem is with your body or between your ears. When I was going through my divorce and the months leading up to the separation, sleep was one of those things that eluded me. I would stare up at the ceiling or toss and turn for hours on end. Obviously that was a between the ears problem.

From the physical standpoint there is some good advise here.

1) Cut your caffeine in the early afternoon.
2) Cut the alcohol several hours before bed. (Alcohol metabolizes to sugar which is a stimulant...not good for sleep)
3)Go for a walk about an hour before bed. If you have a dog, I would bet he would love to go for a nightly walk.
4) Take a warm/hot shower just before bed.

#3 and 4 have to do with your body temperature. The walk or shower will slightly elevate your body temperature. A falling body temperature will trigger the body to want to sleep. This is the same reason why people with hypothermia are prone to falling asleep.

Give these a try and see of they they for you. I would also contact your doctor and talk to him. A physical and possibly some blood work will help rule out any physical issues. Don't be too willing to jump right on the sleep aid bandwagon. I found that while I did get sleep with things like Ambien, the side effects were nearly as bad (short term memory got hit really hard).

Good Luck

 

[4gasem]

Exercise, go for a run or walk after work, by the time evening comes you'll be tired.

BINGO! You need to exercise... Start slow and work up to it. The more I exercise the more tired I am at night.

Also, Unisom or the generic works VERY well. Take one and you'll wake up refreshed.

I drink NO caffein but still if I have a lot on me mind I can have issues falling asleep. That's when I pull out the Unisom. They're safe enough that they told my pregnant wife should could use them. Anything other than an actual sleep aid and you're taking extra drugs for nothing IMO. Try to target the issue. Don't take Nyquil or other meds to fix a sleeping issue.

Chris

 

[Nicki66]

Benydryl works very well to help induce sleep. I found that it is easier to wake up with this as opposed to a sleeping pill.
With my work schedule, I sleep and work strange hours. So when it is time to sleep I need to do it right away, cause I dont get much pillow time.

 

[EvilD]

Benedryl/diphenhydramine same thing, try 25 mg, you can increase to 50 if necessary. You can also try melatonin, don't know the dose, If you do end up going to the doctor do not under any circumstances what so ever let him/her give you a prescription for Ambien, it is bar far teh worst drug on the market, only work for a small percentage of people who take it and about 80% of those that take it have an adverse reaction to it (in my profession experience).

 

[Thevmaxrider]

One thing that ALWAYS works for me.....sex and lots of it!! Just some advice, but if you are married or have a significant other that is game you are "In like Flint" as it were. Not only do you get the workout thing happening you also have the endorphins that are released at the end which help you sleep. Just a thought:eusa_dance:

 

[RaWarrior]

Whenever I have trouble sleeping(which admittedly isn't often), I turn on AM talk radio, and try to pay attention to it. I don't think I've ever lasted more than about 5 minutes.

Another thing I've noticed is that on a day I don't do much, I have trouble sleeping. Like if I get to sleep in and have a boring day, it's rather difficult to sleep that night. I need to have at least a certain amount of activity. Exercise is a good suggestion, even if it's just a walk or bike(bicycle) ride before bed. I think the Vmax falls more in the "stimulant" category.
Since I finished my quasi-street legal minibike, if I can't sleep I'll get out of bed, get dressed, and go for a nice after-midnight cruise on it. The side streets around me are always totally deserted, and I find that extremely relaxing. All the streets are mine to use. Don't have to stop at redlights, I won't see a single other car, and sometimes cruising along at 40mph on a homebuilt motorcycle is just the ticket. While normally I always wear a helmet on anything, I often don't on these midnight rides. I'm confident in the bike, and there is literally zero traffic, and the wind doesn't bother me at only 40-50mph.

Energy drinks always make me crash, usually 2-3 hours after I drink it. As such, I've learned not to drink them when I need to drive for a while. I had a 4 hour drive ahead of me, and was tired from a long day in the saddle but not really sleepy. I popped a Monster, and felt great for like 2 hours, and then "hit the wall". All of a sudden I was extremely tired and could barely keep my eyes open.

Usually trouble sleeping for me is triggered by having a lot on my mind. I can't get to sleep because I'm too busy thinking about some issue I have to take care of or a problem I don't know how to solve, or something like that. Instead of tossing and turning and trying to "blank" my mind(which never seems to work), I just give in, stare at the ceiling, and think about whatever is bothering me. I work out an acceptable resolution(I'll ask this person tomorrow, fit in fixing that thing this weekend, ect), and then I feel better. If it's something small I can resolve now, I'll get my ass out of bed, get dressed, and go do it.


I'm not big on drugs and avoid taking them whenever possible. The last time I had an Rx was when my wisdom teeth(all four, plus I had two extra molars apparently) taken out. I had hydrocodone for pain and some other thing to help me sleep. It didn't hurt that bad, and the pain meds made me feel nauseous and a little bit drunk, so I didn't use them.

At least for me caffiene has no effect. I guzzle Mountain Dew like water. During the summer when I'm working, I'd have a can when I wake up/on my way to work. One in the morning, and usually a 1-liter with lunch. Then probably another can in the afternoon, a couple with dinner, and at least one at night. I fall into bed at 10 and go straight to sleep. My mother has one can and feels "jittery", so it definitely varies tremendously person to person.

 

[GREEN light BLITZ]

+1 Sex it up! My girlfriend knows every night when I finish my shower she's gettin a good shake down, still not tired? Go again... Works for me.

 

[ghostntheshell]

This is what I have done...

1.) No caffeine after dinner.

2.) No Alcohol after dinner (unless you don't wanna sleep

3.) No exercise 2 hours before bed

4.) Practice turning your mind off. Concentrate on thinking about nothing. Harder than it sounds. Active mind will keep you wide awake.

5.) DO do anything but get freaky w/ your lady in your bed - and of course sleep.
DO not watch TV in bed, or play with your laptop and what not.

6.) Wake up early - even if you only got a few hours of sleep. You will fall asleep at the proper time at night.



I work shift work and sleep is a constant battle for me - but you can win it!

 

[FREERIDER]

You could come work with me hanging drywall all day. haha, that'll make you sleep.
Come to Cali, there about to put a Marijuana bill on the ballot come Nov.:clapping: You could just smoke urself silly.:ummm: And I here it acts as a aphrodisiac.:th_SmileyBoobs::deadhorse:

:rofl_200::rofl_200::rofl_200:

 

[88vmx12]

Cut your caffeine intake or at least no Caffeine past Noon. Includes; coffee, pop, tea and chocolate. My wife is extra sensitive to caffeine, and if she has any at all, shes up!

the crazy thing is no caffeine , chocolate, surgar etc.

Gannon

 

[Jdk203]

+1 Sex it up! My girlfriend knows every night when I finish my shower she's gettin a good shake down, still not tired? Go again... Works for me.

Don't get married you'll never sleep again! :rofl_200:

 

[91max]

I have been battling the same problem for about 4 years off and on. My job was stressing me out, running the shop floor of a multi-million dollar medical device company had me staying up alot thinking about what all needed to be done. I loved my job, but when the oppurtunity came open to move into the engineering side of the business, I took it. It was better for a while, but they just keep piling on the work load and responsibilty, so here I am again, more sleepless nights.

 

[RaWarrior]

Forcing yourself to get up on time is also a good tip. I've noticed I can get in this "cycle" when I sleep in one day, then don't go to bed until 2-3am. Then I end up sleeping in again, even if I didn't intend to.

One day I set the alarm and forced myself to get up at 8am, even though I hadn't actually nodded off until about 330-4am. Once I woke up, I was fine and back on schedule.