Insomnia

[Diggin It]

Or at least randomly odd and disconnected hours of sleep. Some nights several straight hours. Other nights an hour or two here and there. Sometimes a few daytime naps. No consistent pattern from one to the next.

Oh well.

 

[Have tractor did travel]

Oh well.

Diggin, You didn't ask, but I'll tell you what I've learned.
1. No alcohol. Not just sometimes, None - no more.
2. Drink 64 oz. water a day. Finish your drinking by 6 PM. Soda and coffee don't count.
3. No sweet food, no hard to digest (nuts, cheese, etc) after 6 PM
4. Spend time 9 -10 winding down. No exercise, no arguments, nothing exciting.
5. Go to bed at 10 PM. Don't read, no TV, just bed
6. Room to be cold. Open the windows and turn off the heat in the bedroom. 20 Degrees outside ? - open the windows. Wear warm PJ's, long sleeves, long legs. No more skivvies.
7. Heavy blankets. Use a skull cap if your head is cold
8. Think of the word "nothing" in all it's permutations.

Try it for 2 weeks and report back.

 

[RSR]

After another sleepless night, I woke up to this thread. How appropriate.

My father has a notoriously difficult time sleeping at night, and I'm afraid I've inherited it. For me, I think it's correlated with stress. I have NO problem falling asleep at night (usually out in 5 minutes). The problem is I wake up at night after 2-4 hours of sleep, and then have slept enough that I'm somewhat rested/awake and then it takes me 2-3 hours to fall back asleep. Usually the problem is I can't turn my brain off. I get thinking about things I need to do for work, etc. and it snowballs from there.

Counterintuitive to some of the other suggestions, I find watching a show actually help, as it distracts my mind enough to where my body starts to relax and I can get back to sleep.

Regardless the reason, it's no fun. I know that about once every 2-3 months, I'll get a solid 8 hours of sleep without waking up once at night. It's absolutely amazing how much better I feel after those nights of sleep.

 

[tradosaurus]

Since I have been studying and practicing mixology I have no problem getting to sleep.

 

[dodge man]

Part of that might be getting older. I don’t sleep as well as I used to. I do usually get at least 7 hours a night, it’s just a matter of when, if I’m awake an hour in the middle of the night I sleep an hour latter.

Do you have any kind of medical condition that is a problem? I don’t mean anything serious but something like allergies, leg pain, sore back etc.

 

[RogerDL]

Or at least randomly odd and disconnected hours of sleep. Some nights several straight hours. Other nights an hour or two here and there. Sometimes a few daytime naps. No consistent pattern from one to the next.

Oh well.

I have trouble sleeping also. I take two 3mg melatonin pills and one 25mg delta 8 gummy every night. I also have a weighted blanket, and keep the heat register shut in my room so it gets nice and cool. I read an article recently that said wearing socks to bed helps also, so I started doing that a couple weeks ago too. According to my Fitbit that I always wear I have gotten a good nights sleep ever since I started wearing socks. Before that it was usually a mix between fair and good, so there must be something to that.

 

[9973720wb19]

I strongly recommend (if you're not) doing exercise. I'm not talking about walking for 15-20 minutes. I mean a daily AM ritual of serous exercise for at least one hour. I do some form of exercise every day. Mon. Wed Fri. 1.5 hours of intense weight lifting - my 31 year old son has a hard time keeping up with me. Tue. and Thru. either indoor or outside (depending on the weather) bike ride 1.5- 2.0 hours. Then group bike rides (or sometimes solo) on average 3.0 hours both Sat and Sun. I don't know you or how old you are. My guess is you'll have to build up to this...but do something everyday. I do this at 5:30 each morning during the week...8am on weekends. If you try and do it anytime later in the day...it will not last long. Frist thing in the morning, no one has emailed me, no one has called, there are no distractions yet that early. Join a gym, buy gym equipment for your house, go for a run. I'm 60 years old. If you want a pill to a good long life it's exercise, and eating well. If you're not doing this and you do...it will change your life.

 

[MossRoad]

It might not be insomnia at all. It really is best to talk to your doctor about it, as there are so many things that can contribute to a poor night's sleep.

Insomnia - Symptoms and causes

www.mayoclinic.org

 

[oosik]

Diggin It - those are my exact sleep patterns. JMHO - a part of growing old.

 

[Oaktree]

6. Room to be cold. Open the windows and turn off the heat in the bedroom. 20 Degrees outside ? - open the windows. Wear warm PJ's, long sleeves, long legs. No more skivvies.

Uhh, yeah...maybe if you're single but I don't know of many women who'd go along with a room that cold. Certainly none who have ever been a part of my life.
I learned long ago that I sleep best dressed the way I came into this world.

Part of that might be getting older. I don’t sleep as well as I used to. I do usually get at least 7 hours a night, it’s just a matter of when, if I’m awake an hour in the middle of the night I sleep an hour latter.

Do you have any kind of medical condition that is a problem? I don’t mean anything serious but something like allergies, leg pain, sore back etc.

I rarely have trouble sleeping, but I have found as I've gotten older that I toss & turn a bit more...usually due to joints (knees in particular) getting stiff and needing to be moved. A few aspirin at bedtime helps.