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32,000 "Why I'm Tired" Emails

An anonymous reader writes "Slate has a story about the guy who registered tired.com in 1997 and put up on the home page "Are you tired? Tell us why." He's collected 32,000 emails from tired people, including an one from a Navy ship at sea that's too good to be fake."

7 of 511 comments (clear)

  1. Navy ship email by phalse+phace · · Score: 4, Informative
    "Tired of being in the navy and on a fucking ship in the middle of the god damn ocean with 400 of my not so closest friends who dont bathe as regular as normal folk should. Tired of my ugly little toe. Tired of wonderring why my bellybutton smells like cheese. Tired of masturbating into a pack of bologna. Tired of wondering what my man chowder tastes like and if I did taste it, would anyone think differently of me? Tired of you."

    Okay. Now that's just disgusting.

  2. Re:Er. what's the point ? by Bloody+Pulp · · Score: 3, Informative

    People who get more than enough sleep and are still tired should consult their doctor.

    Fatigue can be caused by wide variety of infections, nutritional deficiencies, and other physical and mental disorders.

  3. Re:Agreed, insomnia is not a joke by peterwilm · · Score: 5, Informative
    Just to make really sure: Have you tried
    • *totally* abstaining form caffeine (including coffee, tea, soft drinks)?
    • totally abstaining from alcohol
    • totally abstaining from sleeping aids(!)
    • doing some light to medium cardio activity in the morning or early afternoon (but not in the evening)
    • refraining from taking naps during the day (only one sleep interval -- at night)
    • getting up at 7 a.m. (or even earlier), no matter what
    Have you followed the above hints together and religiously for at least four weeks?
    Many insomniacs are "cured" with the above mentioned measurements.
    Additionally, has a psychiatric doctor checked you whether you suffer from clinical depression? Really severe insomnia often is a symptom of clinical depression.
  4. Re:Agreed, insomnia is not a joke by merdark · · Score: 4, Informative

    I have had the exact same problem for most of my life. Drinking is not a good solution in the long run. I tried it, and while it does work, it also causes other problems as I'm sure you've found.

    If it helps any, here is what I've done to combat it. First, I don't drink coffee or caffine in general past 12 noon. Second, I try to keep a regular schedule. Sadly that schedule is often sleeping 1 am to 10 am, or 2 am to 11 am, but it's better than the completely random schedule I had before. Most important though, is that I can't do ANYTHING that requires significant thought after dinner (or at least 2 hours before sleeping).

    Most times I can now get to sleep within an hour, sometimes I can even sleep the whole night without waking up. Of course, occasionally I am still hit with a bout of insomnia where I lie awake for 6 hours. But all in all, I'm doing better than I used to. I guess I'm lucky to have the flexability to choose my own timetable though.

    Anyways, try to get off the chemical sleep aids, and see if you can somehow restore your circadian rythem (sleeping pattern) via repatition. Just go to sleep at a fixed time each night regardless of if you're tired, and get up 8-9 hours later, regardless of if you're tired.

    Good luck. You are not alone.

  5. Re:Agreed, insomnia is not a joke by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    I have similar problems sleeping, and have had since I was about 14 (I'm 26 now).

    I've found that whilst the above can help sometimes they aren't garunteed to work every night.

    My doctors tried a number of things but option number 1 was always Prozac. What nonsense, they hand that out without thinking about it (in Britain anyway) and it really bugs me. No I won't take Prozac.

    However one thing I found really did make a difference was to eat a sugary snack 20 mins before trying to sleep - raising my blood sugar really did seem to make a big difference. The other thing that helped was making a routine of going to bed - always doing the same things in the same order (now it's feed the fish, go to bathroom for a wash etc, then go to straight to bed). If after 20-30 mins I'm not asleep then get up, read/do something (not video games that get adrenalin pumping) for a further 20 mins and then go through the entire routine again. Furthermore only sleep in your bed - don't read or take long snoozy mornings, that way you're enviromentally preconditioned that being in bed means sleeping.

    So I'm still insomniac but far less often and I've noticed it's definatley stress related, but it's still a load easier now.

    I hope some of that helps someone else too.

  6. Consult your doctor! by yet+another+coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    Sleep apnea is life threatening. Sufferers stop breathing many times while sleeping. Eventually, changes in blood gases (rising CO2 and/or falling O2) become large enough to cause breathing to resume. Sleep apnea is classified into two types, obstructive and central. Obstructive is due to airway blockage. Central is due to some loss of respiratory drive from the central nervous system. More information is here.

    I urge you to contact your doctor. You might benefit from subsequent consultation with a sleep specialist. Nobody should force you into modifying your lifestyle if you do not want, but you might benefit greatly from learning more about the various known conditions and about your own problems.

  7. Re:Agreed, insomnia is not a joke by wfberg · · Score: 4, Informative

    My doctors tried a number of things but option number 1 was always Prozac. What nonsense, they hand that out without thinking about it (in Britain anyway) and it really bugs me. No I won't take Prozac.

    Actually, Prozac is a selective serotonic re-uptake inhibitor. So taking it causes more serotonin to be present in the brain. Serotonin plays a very big role in your sleep patterns. In fact, one commonly marketed sleeping drug (which actually works) is L-tryptophan (a chemical also present in milk - momma told you, didn't she?), which is converted into serotonin in the body. Unfortunately it is now banned from over-the-counter sale, because of a tainted batch causing a nasty illness. You can still get it as a prescribed drug (Tryptan).

    The other thing that helped was making a routine of going to bed - always doing the same things in the same order (now it's feed the fish, go to bathroom for a wash etc, then go to straight to bed). If after 20-30 mins I'm not asleep then get up, read/do something (not video games that get adrenalin pumping) for a further 20 mins and then go through the entire routine again.

    DO NOT OVERFEED FISH. Thanks. ;-)

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