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Sleeping Problems?
hugo_pt asks: "I have had sleep problems for some years, but it always get worse in the Summer. Yesterday I slept one hour, so when I got home at 8PM I thought I'd sleep till 9AM or so. Wrong. It's 1.36AM, and I can't sleep anymore. Instead, I'm reading The Complete FreeBSD, and the urge to sleep is gone.
I was wondering how many Slashdot readers suffer from this problem, and what they do to combat it ?"
"I was wondering how many Slashdot readers suffer from this problem, and what they do to combat it ?"
Go to work. Repeat as necessary.
I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
My wife has given birth to two beautiful children in the last three years. We used to like to stay up late and sometimes I couldn't sleep. Now I go to bed at 10:30 PM if I can, and stay there as long as possible. Which is usually until 7 AM when our 2 year old wakes up and wants breakfast!
I never have a problem sleeping.
Q. What is Calvin's monster snowman called? A. The Torment Of Existence Weighed Against The Horror of Non Being
heavily
Currently, I'm cutting back, and have been on a 2 in the morning, 1 in the afternoon ration. Bit by bit, I'm going to get off it completely. Of course, when work gets busy, I'm sure I'll get back on it.
>> "What would the robut do? Frame someone!"
Perhaps if the title was "Sleeping with women problems?", you'd get alot more replys (though mostly AC I'm sure)
I can always fall asleep after a couple of beers or a glass or wine or two. I mainly have problems sleeping after playing socder/floor hockey at night after work.
"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it." Mark Twain.
Alcohol, my permanent accessory
Alcohol, a party-time necessity
Alchool, alternative to feeling like yourself
O alcohol, I still drink to your health
I love you more than I did the week before
I discovered alcohol
Forget the caffe latte, screw the raspberry iced tea
A malibu and coke for you, a g&t for me
Alcohol, your songs resolve like
My life never will
When someone else is picking up the bill
I love you more than I did the week before
I discovered alcohol
O alcohol, would you please forgive me?
For while I cannot love myself
I'll use something else
I thought that alcohol was just for those with
Nothing else to do
I thought that drinking just to get drunk
Was a waste of precious booze
But now I know that there's a time
And there's a place where I can choose
To walk the fine line between
Self-control and self-abuse
I love you more than I did the week before
I discovered alcohol
Would you please ignore that you
Found me on the floor
Trying on your camisole?
O alcohol, would you please forgive me?
For while I cannot love myself
I'll use something else.
Would you please forgive me
Would you please forgive me
I usually have the problem close to the deadline for website or during a big network job.
usually I cant sleep because I cant stop thinking about what I am going to do the next day.
So I will usually get up, take a benedryl or 2 and do some work. Then I get sleepy in an hour or 2 and then I am good till morning.
But then I am usually groggy in the morning.
Tylenol PM also works.
I only have to do this from time to time so I am not too worried about getting hooked.
Watch out for sleeping aids... had a friend get pretty hooked on them. Read the warnings... often a side effect is actually insomnia.
Boredom's not a burden anyone should bear.
Most Slashdotters probably don't notice how much caffeine they consume during a regular day - and there's even a whole bunch that think, "It has no effect on me whatsoever!"
But, it realy does. On days I'm not feeling well or have sleeping issues, I simply cut my caffeine intake for the next two or three days and my body usually cycles back to normal.
It IS possible to be "over-tired". Try doing something quiet with the lights low, like reading a light book in bed, or talking to a friend on the phone with the lights off. It may take a while, but you'll usually doze off.
I'd say insomnia is pretty well known. Did it occur to you that you are suffering from some form of it? Check it here.
And now, for a sig that's a complete copout.
For my wife, who is for some reason nocturnal by default, melatonin has been *a* solution.
But back to the altered diet thing. Talk to a doctor and make detailed notes of what you're eating. If it doesn't look like something you would feed to your own children regularly as more than a snack, why the HELL are you putting it down your own throat? Let's face it, Nestle Quik is NOT breakfast, kids.
Other things you can do are cut back on caffeine - it has a half life of six hours, so that 2L of mountain dew you chugged at your late lunch will be giving you acute insomnia. Ditto with the half gallon of coffee you drink throughout the day. Yes, caffeine is good, but there is a such thing as too much.
This sig no verb.
There should be a ton of resources all over the web about this. First, don't stay in bed or do other activities in bed other than sleep. Your body needs to know that when you are in bed you are there to sleep. Cut back on the chocolate, sweets, coffee, etc, specially late at night. Drink some warm milk before you get to bed. Do different things before you go to bed and see which one actually makes you sleep then try to get that in a routine before going to bed. Exercise!
Useless sig.
1. Halt all caffeine intake. Caffeine stays in your system a long time and interferes with natural sleep signals.
2. Stop watching TV or other "bright" displays a few hours before you wish to sleep. I forget the name of the brain chemical (and I don't feel like looking it up), but bright light (sunlight esp., computer monitors, TVs, etc.) cause the brain to generate "wake up" chemicals. Instead, try reading print material if you need intellectual stimulation in the evening.
3. Go to bed when you first feel drowsy. I have a window between 9 and 10pm where I get drowsy. If I don't go to bed then, I'll magically refresh and then stay up until 2+am.
4. Get a regular schedule. Don't nap. Get up at the same (early) time each day, and go to bed at the same time each night. Ideally, try to align your schedule with the sun. It will help.
Good luck.
.sigs are for post^Hers.
1. play sports
2. drink only on week ends (yeah drinking just a bit makes it harder to get a restful night)
3. I have sex (regularly)
4. I never have any cafeine after 3 in the afternoon.
5. try to keep my bed/eating time the same throughout the week (means week end too)
YMMV
I recently had to get thick curtains, and pin them to the wall around my bedroom window. Ambient light can be a huge problem.
Stress is another factor. If you are finding yourself responding emotionally to things you think about while falling asleep that may be another problem. This one is harder, as you cannot pin people in your life to the wall when they piss you off. All I can reccomend on this one is trying to keep things in perspective, being able to shelve your work life for example when you go home.
-- http://thegirlorthecar.com funny dating game for guys
Exercise. Do something to use up some energy. Don't eat chocolate or drink pop after 5 or 6:00pm. Don't use your bed for anything except sleeping.
You may not want to do this every night (it can get a little unexciting after a while), but 1-2 hours of sex definitely helps.
.sigs are for post^Hers.
I tend to sleep less and feel crappy as a result if all I've been doing is sitting around all day long in front of a computer. I'll feel tired, but I'll stay up anyway.
OTOH, when I'm more active, like jogging a couple of miles a few times a week, my body's much more willing to rest for 8 hours.
In short, I'm not a doctor, but I suspect the level of physical extertion could play a role in how much sleep you get.
"...today consumers have been conditioned to think of beer when they see a bullfrog..."
I like white noise, I have a aquarium bubbling in my room, a computer that is always on, 4 pet rats that scurry around at night and now wiht the heat, I have a 20 inch fan that is in use during the night. I find the whitenoise helps me sleep. When my computer was in for repairs I couldn't get any sleep at all, every little noise woke up up and it did't feel normal.
-------
Support Indy Music. Buy
Works like a champ . . . ::yawn:: ;>
I find that after I get on a regular exersize regimine, I acually sleep a little less, but I am more rested because I sleep harder.
1) Not able to sleep - too much stress
2) Not able to wake up - nothing interesting to do
My solution is when I get into one of these two states for longer than a few days is to go find another job. If my job isn't interesting enough to get me out of bed in the morning, lets go find something interesting to do - and if my job is so stressful that I can't sleep at night, time to find something less stressful
I have mod points and I am not afraid to use them
I've dealt with sleeping problems in the past, and have made some adjustments to deal with them.
.
First, I don't drink caffeine after 5:00 PM. Second, I exercise regularly. Third, meditation of some form usually helps. Fourth, when all else fails, there's Benadryl. And finally, you can always try reading documents from www.dot.gov
It's good to use your head, but not as a battering ram.
Skip breakfast have a cup of coffee. Eat a good lunch but don't stuff yourself. Drink 4-6 beers before attempting to eat any supper. Do not drink any hardliquers or wines in place of beers. Eat a healthy supper then laydown. You will sleep well.
This will work, however it cannot be done every night you should be able to use this effectivly 2 mabe 3 times a week.
Or if you can sleep hungry skip a day of eating every now and then.
Why should your body rest itself when it hasn't been worked? At the very least you can run around the block once or twice an hour before your bedtime.
A Multiplayer Strategy Game for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux
I, for one, am getting pretty envious of all the people I know that have trouble sleeping. I wish I couldn't sleep so well, then I could more work done. I don't play sports or excerise, and do take caffiene, but I nod off easily in the day plus sleep 12h a night if I dont watch it. Thank god for alarm clocks. :p
Just saying, some people may not call what you have a 'problem' ^_-
Sleep disorders can be a symptom of medical problem. And lack of sleep can lead to them. Don't be a dork. Go to the doctor. The doctor will likely perscribe you some anti-anxiety medication or sleeping pills.
Asking medical advice from these folks is silly.
When will Windows be ready for the desktop?
John Kerry is scheduled to speak for 55 minutes tonight.
Your sleep problems are solved.
Get to bed at the same time every night, and go early, not late. Lose the Conan/Kimmel/Leno habit.
Plan for 8-10 hours of sleep, not 8 max.
Eat light in the evening, but don't go to bed hungry.
Don't drink alcohol in the evenings.
Drink a little water before bed. Blow your nose. Go to the bathroom.
Focus on something untroubling before bed, such as a crossword puzzle or memorize a list of foreign language words.
Exercise regularly, and exercise hard, but never in the evenings.
Keep your bedroom dark and quiet. Install heavy curtains to block all light and keep meowing cats, barking dogs, etc. quiet. Use earplugs if you have to.
Lots of warmth, light and oxygen in the daytime. Open all your curtains, turn on overhead lights and open windows to let fresh air in. Turn the A/C down so it's a little warmer inside during the day.
Turn down the A/C so it's cooler, around 66F or less, at night.
Be good to your loved ones.
Disclaimer: I am not a physician. This is not medical advice. If you are in need of medical advice, please consult a physician licensed to practice medicine in your state.
That said, I've had difficulties regulating my sleep for years. I've recently had success thanks to some of what I'll share below.
First off, if you have insurance, don't be afraid to see a doctor regarding this. The same advice that we're giving, if it comes from an MD, would probably carry more weight to you. As such, you're more likely to change habits.
Also, doctors can prescribe medication (such as Ambien), and posters here generally cannot.
However, medication is an aid to a solution, not the solution itself. A doctor will probably only give you a week or two worth of medication, and might not be willing to refill it. So you'll have to make other long-term adjustments.
Caffeine can do some very bad things to your system, so you might need to cut back on that. My self-imposed, physician-approved limit is two caffeinated drinks a day. I also don't allow caffeine (or other substantial eating) past 8 PM.
If you do exercise (which is a good thing), you should avoid significant physical exertion past 8 PM.
You also need to train your body so that once you lay down on your bed, one of two things will happen: sleep or sex. (/* insert joke here */) Do not read in bed, do school work or similar, or anything else besides sleep or sex.
If you do try to go to sleep, and can't fall asleep after 20-25 minutes, get up and out of bed. Do something enjoyable like reading a book or playing a computer game for half hour to an hour. Then get in bed and try again to fall asleep. If you're not asleep after 20-25 minutes, get up and divert yourself for a little longer. Repeat until you're asleep.
You have to avoid naps during the day. Naps feel great at the time, but they will screw up your sleep cycle significantly. If you're tired enough to take a nap, consider taking a shower instead to wake yourself back up.
Finally, give yourself some positive reinforcement. If I successfully get to sleep between 9 PM and 1 AM, and get up between 5 AM and 9 AM, I reward myself. I immediately buy myself a song off of iTunes and listen to it as I get ready for my day.
I hope this helps.
- Neil Wehneman
My legal education, in nifty podcast format
I am not be a normal slashdoter in the sense that I do not drink beverages with caffeine and I do take a regular vitamin suppliment. As I have gotten older I have had to stay up later to get work done. High school is a joke, college requires some serious study/homework time and then running out of time after getting off working fulltime.
I remember reading about a study where elderly folks were brought into a room that simulated sun light in order to change their biological clock to align with what is considered normal night and day. All the test candidates were going to sleep around 8pm and waking up at 4-6 am. After a few months on and off of these treatment they were going to sleep between 10pm - midnight.
I am not saying it is your biological clock per say but it is a possibility. If you just cannot sleep because of too much energy (non-caffeine and sugar related) you could try a safe over the counter sleep aid. I tried Simply Sleep which is a Tylenol product with the same effective ingredients as Tylenol PM. For me it worked really well and I was knocked out for a solid 8 hours. I tried once to wake up before the allocated sleep time and I was mentally unable to function properly will still under the influence of this drug.
Currently I sleep about 4-5 hours a night and that works fine for me but when I know I need to be well rested for the next day, I take two sleep aids at 11pm and I am out like a light before midnight. I only do that once or twice a month at most. Just an example of one way to deal with sleeping problems.
Push harder towards Open Media/Content
Diet - so cut back on the junk food and eat more fresh friuts and veggies
Caffiene - cut back on this (paradoxically, caffiene relaxes a few people)
Exercise - too little, or too much close to bedtime, can make you less likely to sleep. Regular moderate exercise helps almost anyone. Regular sex helps too! ;)
Light - Artificial light can screw up your diurnal cycle. Minimize exposure to bright lights in the early evening for a while.
Schedule: sleep runs in about a 90-minute cycle for most people. If you lay down at the right point in the sleepiness cycle, you usually doze off. If you wake up and can't get back to sleep, get out of bed and read until you start to feel sleepy and try again.
REMEDIES OF THE CHEMICAL KIND :)
Linden flower tea, taken an hour or so before you want to fall asleep.
but it may be worth trying.
Years ago, I had an extended bout with insomnia, and the only thing that cured it was a career change.
Often, sleep loss coincides with stress, and that typically is job related. Even going on vacation doesn't tend to help due to the fact that you still think about work (at least in the sub-conscious.)
At the time, I was sleeping maybe 3-4 hours a night, and I had no idea what was causing it. On the advice of a professional, I tried another industry, and found that my sleep pattern improved almost over-night (no pun intended.)
...as a result of a few health issues I have basically eliminated sugar and caffine from my diet, eat probably 90% fruits and veggies now, only drink water, little to no beef, and take a million (it seems) pills for vitimins and such a day. Well I can't get enough sleep now...I fall asleep at 9:30-10:00 if i can manage to stay awake that long. I still have to wake up at 6:30 for work, but always wake up still exhausted now...I feel tired most of the day and basically can't wait to get home and just go to bed...so much for a healthy life stly being good for you...but hey if ya wanna sleep.
Power Corrupts,Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely, leaving one person(group)in charge is absolutely corrupt.
Do something that is physically challenging for an hour some time prior to going to sleep. You will get longer and better sleep if you are actually tired and not just sleepy.
My advice is to ignore what non-chronic insomniacs have to say about the subject. It's not about things 'running through your head', it's not about how much light there is, it's not about caffeine, it's not about alcohol or warm milk, or schedule, etc, etc. If you have a real sleep problem (and it sounds on first gloss like you do), then just go fix it: talk to a doctor.
It's either something like Apnea (where you stop breathing - sometimes you'll wake yourself up out-of-breath), or it's not. If you're like me, no apnea, then the answer is drugs.
The first thing to try is melatonin, but for me, that stopped being any help real quick. It's touchy, but my directions for Ambien below apply to this too.
Anyway, if you get fed up with that, go see your doctor for Ambien (I've tried a couple, and Ambien works great). ~8-9 hours before you have to get up, take one Ambien (5mg to start, up it to 10mg the next night if you don't have the following effect), read for 20 minutes, turn off the light, get into your sleeping position and wait. 7.5 hours later, you will awaken feeling better than you have felt in years (it doesn't always happen, but certainly the first couple of doses did for me) and will bounce out of bed. Stifle the urge to roar like a lion on waking.
(FYI, the pills are tiny, so make sure they don't get caught in your esophagus - this happened to me once and, on top of a bad night's sleep, really messed me up the next day when I finally did swallow it)
If you tend to go through 'bad periods' but can get okay sleep after that, then follow the doctor's advice: take Ambien for a week or two and then stop for a long time.
If, however, you really are a chronic, then follow my advice (with the consent of your doctor, IANAD): take 5mg after having one or two days of bad sleep, and don't take it weekends. 5mg will stop working 'great' after a while, but it continues to work okay.
Beware addiction: if you take ambien every few nights after a couple of weeks you will feel like you can't get to sleep without it. It's not true - ride it out. Drop it for a couple of weeks and then pick it up again.
I just went to the Dr a couple of weeks ago for this very problem. Turns out, my insomnia was being caused by a very serious medical problem. A medical problem that I didn't know about, and would have likely killed me (eventually) had it not been discovered.
So my advice is, go see your Dr.
I find that it's much easier for me to get to sleep if I do some light reading for a few minutes immediately before turning off the lights. This helps me wind-down and distract my mind from the events of the day. A couple pages of a book or magazine (not work related!) is all that's necessary.
One of my biggest problems is that I'm so busy during the day, I rarely get a moment to sort through my thoughts and start doing some deep thinking. A significant portion of my job requires long-term thinking and planning, as do a lot of my own personal projects. Since I can't really ponder them on my own time, I start doing it the second my mind gets a break. In other words, when I start to go to sleep. I would lie in bed for hours at a time, just churning away until I finally exhausted the queue.
Now I make sure I get plenty of time to think to myself during the day. Sometimes I just take a walk during work, other times I make sure I haven't overscheduled myself.
If you find yourself lying awake at night because that's when you do your deepest thinking, try what I did. Make some time for that during the day.
No comment.
First move is exercising. Do some. If you're working insane hours (12+) at work then you'll likely have no problems sleeping, simply through exhaustion. Otherwise exercise will use up some energy so that you don't feel twitchy.
I know people say "don't exercise after 8pm/10pm/whatever", but it's not a big deal. It may take you an hour or so to stretch, shower, chill out, etc after you've been running, but you'll sleep much better after that. Being a little later to bed is no big deal if you get a better quality of sleep.
Second move is to be relaxed before you go to bed. Do something that doesn't take serious mental effort. Play a game, play a musical instrument, read, whatever. *Don't* spend hours hacking immediately before bed, otherwise your brain will still be racing.
And if you can't sleep, get up and do one of the above for a bit until you *do* feel sleepy. Sometimes all your body needs is a change of scene - go to the bathroom, have a drink of water, and your body will get into "sleep mode".
Grab.
- There are some medical - i.e. conditions other than insomnia - that can cause sleeplessness. If this is a new thing, you might ask your doctor although he's unlikely to be very interested.
- Are you depressed? (Doesn't sound like.)
- I find that often my schedule just gets out of wack. In such cases, I find that melatonin - available over the counter as a "diet suppliment" helps most. Melatonin is allegedly the compound your body makes at night and is why you tend to get sleepy at night - don't know if this is true or supplement "hype". However, it is as effective for me as prescription sleeping pills, but without some of the side effects. It DOES, however, have other side effects, particularly if you're hypertensive or have an Autoimmune problem. Read up first.
- There are several kinds of sleeping pills available. The most common is diphenhydramine, i.e. benadryl. Available over the counter, don't take a big dose because a big dose can make you hyper. Doxylamine Succinate is also readily available otc, works much better for me than benadryl. It is usually found under the brand name "unisom", but not everything with a unisom label is doxylamine succinate. Buyer beware! Last, the doctor has many, many options, ranging from valium-like drugs (ambien, ativan, etc.) to anti-depressants (Remoron, one other whose name escapes), to blood pressure meds (clonidine.) However, I find that Doctors tend to be cavalier about side effects, so would try prescription meds last.
- Most of all, exercise will help, especially first thing in the morning. It helps set your cycle.
- "Sleep Hygiene" is important as well. When you go to bed, don't read: go to sleep. (If you're hitched, have sex - this is also a good sleep aid.) Don't do anything in bed but sleep and have sex. Put the clock where you can't see it - looking at the clock just gets you worried and keeps you up. Go to sleep at the same time every night, get up at the same time every day.
That's all that comes to mind."He who would learn astronomy, and other recondite arts, let him go elsewhere. " -- John Calvin, commenting on Genesis 1
I also can't sleep because I'm stare at the ceiling thinking about network cables or parsing perl... code dreams are the worst.
My doctor gave me the following advise: Get the generic brand of Benadryl and save money.
If you can't sleep because of stress, don't take Tylenol PM just for sleeping because it also contains a painkiller, acetaminophen, which may upset your stomach.
If two Benadryl makes you groggy in the morning, try taking just one.
Benadryl and Tylenol PM both contain the same active sleeping ingredient: "Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride".
I picked up some generic Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride tablets at Costco yesterday for almost 20 times less then the cost of Benadryl ($0.02 per tablet instead of $0.30 for Benadryl).
In response to the other poster: Benadryl doesn't require a perscription because it is non-addictive. Perscription-grade sleeping pills are sometimes addictive (and EXPENSIVE).
"Can of worms? The can is open... the worms are everywhere."
5 is *right out!*
Oh, and have sex, which is usually good for helping me get to sleep.
I also find forcing myself to yawn tells my body that I'm trying to sleep, and usually helps put me out within 10-15 minutes, although I could finally just get tired.
reduce caffine intake
exercise
change in diet
regular schedule
A regular sleep schedule is deffinately the most important. However if making those changes do not help then you should book time with a doctor. Some people suffer from hard core insomnia and will require a little help to get back on track. Some times insomnia is a symtom of a larger problem. At any rate lack of sleep will cause many other health problems.
There have been some posts suggesting various "home brew" remedies. I caution against taking any of those. Some, like alcohol, are dentremental to proper sleep. Others, such as many of the herbals, do work, but if your insomina is only a symptom of a larger problem the home brew remedy could complicate the problem. Especially if the problem is a hermone or chemical imbalance. Generally once insomniacs get their sleep patterns under control they only have to take a sleeping pill (or similar) infrequently. If a person has to take something every night to sleep then they deffinately need to see a doctor. Preferably a sleep specialist.
The Internet is packed full of information on sleeping disorders. Good information can be found from several respected organizations. If you go to a doctor it is always good to research what they are telling you.
If work a rotating shift schedule, get off and get stable working hours.
If you consume caffeine 8 hours or less before your bedtime, stop. Even if you used to get away with this, the body's metabolic rate changes as we grow older.
If you stuff a lot of sugar into your body, don't. The last thing you want when you're trying to fall asleep is a brain that's on a sugar buzz.
If these suggestions don't work, or don't apply, get your doctor to send you to a specialist. Sleep disorders are real and wicked problems that can be diagnosed and treated.
Finally, don't devalue sleep. We all get stupid if we don't sleep.
-- Slashdot: When Public Access TV Says "No"
1) Now if you don't exercise. Start. If you eat like crap, work you way out of it. Hey, I still eat bad at times, but little changes make a big difference. For example, I do not ever have pepperoni on my pizza anymore.
2) Reduce caffeine. Tough, but it make a difference, it takes time to wean off.
3) Visit your doctor. Blood work will find any problems.
Fear Is the Only God
No!, Really I used to have the very same problem, having sex almost every day took it off. and I mean it, no joke
I'm positive, don't belive me look at my karma
And they didn't work for me. I've been having trouble sleeping for years. But I haven't tried number two. I don't think I could stop reading before bed, but I will at least turn down the brightness on my LCD. I'm not sure it will help, because my problems started shortly after I learned to read print material. Enough rambling... will just turning down the brightness and turning of the lights help?
Simon's Rock College
Early waking, eh? Have you read Insomnia by Stephen King? The protagonist had the same problem. Careful, don't let the wrong Little Bald Doctor get you!
If you've been having sleeping problems for several years, there's probably something seriously wrong. Dpression is one psychological possibility, but there are a multitude of physiological problems which cause insomnia.
I had similar promblem - 4-5 hours of sleep and as a result - terrible morning, terrible day. But since I moved to Canada and started to smoke every night I finally could fall asleep before 4am (and this is not mentioning the quality of the sleeping time).
I just got back from an overnight sleep test at the Stanford Sleep Clinic.
There's a lot of misunderstandings about sleep. Many "pop" books regarding sleep, and a number of physicians, have plenty of misconceptions about sleep and sleep problems.
I highly recommend the book The Promise of Sleep . It's written by Dr. Dement, one of the foremost sleep researchers. It helped me understand healthy sleep and sleep disorders, and lead to my discovery that I have a potentially life-threatening sleep disorder (which has just been diagnosed, and I'm about to begin treatment).
Sleep problems can lead to lots of problems in your physical and mental well-being. In my case, over the last several months, my productivity at work is shot. I can't concentrate on my code. I also don't have the energy to go out and have fun with my friends like I used to.
It's also difficult to recognize the results of sleep problems as such. You might not feel tired, even when your body is desperately needing more restful sleep-- but it still interferes with your daytime activities. You might think that they're related to other problems. I thought that my problems were the result of problems with diet, exercise, etc. In my case, these were contributing factors, but the sleep thing seems to be the biggest cause.
I highly recommend you-- and anybody else who has the slightest inkling that they may not be sleeping as well as they could-- read Dr. Dement's book.
You know how much most geeks (including myself) would pay to be able to do what comes naturally to you?
If you're not tired, you probably don't need the sleep.
Even with megadoses of caffeine, I either get the shakes and am jumpy, or nothing happens and I'm still tired... I'd LOVE to be able to reduce my sleep down to a few hours - I'd have SO much more time for research, learning, working on my computers, etc.
As it is, if I get more than 8-1/2 hours of sleep, I'm groggy as hell and my muscles are all stiff and sore.
If I sleep less than 6 hours, I'm tired unless something very interesting has my attention (or I'm up and moving about).
If I get less than 4-1/2, I'm only about 60% there all day.
Man, I'm jealous!
- Preferences: Solaris 10 (servers), Ubuntu (desktops), Solaris 11 (personal servers) -
Coming from a guy named "Bishop", I'll take it with a large grain of salt. Or should that be a glass or two of wine?
Either way, I'll knock a couple back for ya next time I'm at the pub.
It is worth noting that caffeine has a half life of 12 to 24 hours in the body (depending on the person) so even a cup of tea / coffee / coke in the morning can affect your sleep for that coming night, and perhaps even the ones after that.
You can get caffeine dependant though, so probably best to wean off the caffeine gradually, until you are on a level where you are satisfied with your sleep.
For my wife, who is for some reason nocturnal by default, melatonin has been *a* solution.
I'm glad that it's helping your wife, but I would like to add a caution about melatonin.
Given what the archetypical /.er's diet, stressful job, caffiene consumption, etc, I wouldn't be surprised if many have prehypertension (defined as BP at or over 120/80). Since melatonin can constrict blood vessels, there's some concern that it may pose a danger for those
Now, in the Jan. 20, 2004, rapid-access issue of Hypertension, there was a report that suggested that melatonin may be good for your blood pressure. The media picked up on that study, and so of course it's overpublicised. It's important to realize that this was a small test, and more research is required before conclusions can be drawn.
Personally, I suspect that the melatonin helped the subjects sleep, and better sleep helped with the blood pressure. There are unquestioned links between sleep apnea and high blood pressure, but whether sleep problems (in general or apnea in particular) is a contributory factor to high blood pressure is still undetermined. So my idea is just a hypothesis.
Anyway, back to the point: I would recommend that anybody with cardiovascular issues ask their physician before taking melatonin.
Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor, and I have absolutely no medical training. I do have prehypertension (common) and sleep apnea (less common).
My wife had our child 2 months ago, and it forced us to be more aware of the sleep we need to get to be available for our son. Screaming babies at 3 am require someone to at least be alseep for 3-4 hours at a time... Have a child... it will require you to be more responsible to be rested.
text from ancient sleep manual :)
1:go have sex with someone/something.
2:wait for nature to kick in.
3:repeat cycle if needed
Physical exercise during the day/evening:
If I have been physically busy all day I just cannot sleep. I feel cosy and tired, but cannot sleep. I need lots of mental activity during the day to be able to sleep.
Less caffeine:
I barely drink coffee during the week-end, but drink lots during weekdays. No effect whatsoever on sleeping patterns.
Need 8 hours/day:
I get by with 4-5 hours. If I sleep longer than that, my sleep gets completely disturbed after a few days, and I need to stay up really late for a few days to get things in order.
Take a bath/shower before going to sleep:
That only wakes me up even more. A sure way of having a restless night.
What does work:
Mental activity during the day and evening, staying up really late and reading in bed for 1/2 - 1 hour until I start reading the same paragraph over and over again. I put the book away, and fall fast asleep.
Flourescent (adj): smelling like ground wheat.
I usually read The Complete FreeBSD.
(An aside,she takes it infrequently - I only slightly more often.)
As far as the peanut gallery, remember too that your doctor can (and should) tell you more about your blood pressure. If you don't know what that number means, DON'T ASSUME.
This sig no verb.
Try drinking a few glasses of plain water during the day. I've found that doing this greatly helps me during the day in terms of fatigue and just feeling better.
Damien
All the old sleep therapy techniques apply to geeks too:
1) don't eat food/drink caffeine close to bedtime
2) don't put TV/'puter in bedroom, bedroom is for sleeping
3) excercise daily
4) always go to bed at the same time every night regardless of tiredness
Do any of us actually follow this though? I don't heh.
-Christopher Wu
http://www.christopherwu.net/
This is gonna sound weird but water might help. I noticed that the last few years my sleep schedule was getting erratic, I was dead tired around 3-7pm and wide awake most of the evening to the point where I couldn't get too sleep easily until 3am.
:)
I was also gaining weight and getting some bad headaches regularly.
After someone mentioned to me that it might be dehydration I started drinking water all the time. Drinking two glasses when I get up, taking two liters to work every day to drink and a few more when I come home. Just doing this has made a major change in my health.
Suddenly I am never tired during the day, I have tons of energy and can go to sleep at normal hours (unless I stay up late trying to fight my way through "The Confusion"). My headaches are gone and I am beginning to lose weight.
I attribute the weight loss to either the excess of energy I get, the fact that drinking all that water makes me less hungry, or that until your body gets used to the additional water you will be walking to the bathroom every hour
This may not help you at all, but hey it is worth a shot. It is free and certainly couldn't hurt.
Finkployd
Several people have posted about caffeine, I'll add to that. I didn't think I had a problem with it either, never drank coffee, but did drink soda during the day and I like my chocolate. I decided to eliminate it due to some odd headaches I seemed to have whenever I didn't have any caffiene for a while. The headaches were horrible for about 3 days and I went from 5-6 hours of uneasy sleep to about 11-12 hours of dead-to-the-world deep sleep for several weeks. After that I eased into a normal, restful 7-8 hours a night and the headaches were gone unless I happend to drink a soda with caffeine. The slightest amount brought the headaches back, so I finally just gave it up for good. After months of avoiding it, I can now drink the occasional caffeine drink without any problems. So, even if you don't think you have a problem, clean out your system and you may be in for a surprise (and lots of quality sleep).
I had problems sleeping for a long long time. I could be dead tired, lay down, then be wide awake for 2, 3, 4 hours+. Cutting back on caffeine, exercise, etc all didn't seem to do the trick. Doctor referred me to a psyche, and the psyche said I had sleep deprivation and prescribed me Trazodone. Trazodone is one of the early Anti-depressants, but isn't used much to treat depression anymore because of a side-effect. That side effect is drowsiness. Let me tell you, it it's wonderful to be able to sleep 6-7 hours and wake up fully refreshed and ready to go. I'd ask your doctor about it - it's very inexpensive (Something like $20 (Before insurance) for a month's supply) - unlike prescription sleeping pills. There's also no addiction factor, so you're safe there too.
Looking for hardware (Currently need: Large Etch-a-Sketch) Have one? See my journal!
Drink valerian tea 2-3 hours before you want to be asleep. It won't knock you out, but it will give you a deep, restful sleep once you get there. There's also no grogginess the next day.
If you want the knock-out formula, just take two benedryl and a big glass of water about an hour before bed. This will make you a little groggy the next day. Also, it's guaranteed to mess with your bowels if you try it more than two days in a row...
1. Always piss before you sleep, and never drink a lot right before bed. You might wake up to piss.
2. Eat something with dairy (milk, yogurt.) It has some chemical that helps your body sleep.
3. Drink lots of water during the day (about half a gallon) so you don't wake up from dehydration.
4. Make sure the room is completely dark. Cover up windows and eletronic lights. A good test is hold your hand in front of you before you sleep. If you see it, the room's too bright.
5. Take a hot shower/bath.
6. Set the room temperature to cold (around 72-78C.)
7. Exercise to get rid of excess energy.
8. Set lights to dim a few hours before you sleep.
9. Read on your bed before you sleep.
10. Make the room completely silent. Put your computer to sleep, or use ear plugs.
11. Stop drinking coffee or anything with lots of fat, caffeine, salt, or sugar.
12. Stop napping. This messes up your sleep cycle.
13. Sleep at regular times and for 7-8 hours- no more, no less.
Running to your doctor before doing obvious Life 101 things like...
... before running to your mommy ^H^H^H^H doctor/drugpusher.
1) Exercise daily
2) Eat right
3) Avoid a constant stream of chemcial stimulant
4) Reduce TV
is so typical... and stupid.
Insomnia wasn't my particular problem, but I had another serious circadium rhythm problem. THE solution for me was to take a 5-10 minute walk immediately (givertake a few minutes) upon awakening.
Boy howdy, did that fix me.
It helps to look at the sky. There are thingies in our eyes that respond to sunlight by reducing melatonin -- and getting your melatonin levels reduced in the morning 1) wakes you up, 2) gets your body's rhythm ready primed to go back to sleep in about 16 hours.
Deep rhymthic breathing while walking does WAY more than coffee.
If you're not doing the Life 101 things mentioned above, I hope you will start
The only way I've found to develop a normal sleeping pattern is cutting out caffeine and exercise regularly. The exercise will allow you to sleep normally and surprisingly will leave you feeling refreshed and alert the next day.
Cut out all caffine
Cut out all alcohol
Physical exercise
See your doctor
Ambien
Librium
Valium
Seriously, if you go the medication route, do it as a temporary thing while you change your lifestyle.
While the caffine thing is obvious, the alcohol will also disturb your sleep cycle.
No beers before bedtime!
You saw Fight Club, right? Start going to group meetings and start crying and then you will be all set.
Well, I'd say that you'd come a long way by exercising as long as you're not having a sleep problem caused by medicine. I can feel it in the evenings, if I haven't had my 30-60 mins of exercising that day. So go ride your bike and pump some iron - it'll look good on you too :)
Also, try not to eat too much in the evening - yes you do get more tired when the stomach's digesting but afterwards you will just have even more energy to go use killing your sleep.
Sleep on a schedule, eg. go to sleep at the same time every night.
Good luck
*first* try the common sense things:
.. have a healthy diet low in processed food, simple carbohydrates, and hard-to-digest fats. Eat fewer calories.
:-)
;-).
.. they had a *pill* for it! Christ, this is for the same people that run to the emergency room when they have the flu.
don't drink caffeine
exercise 30 minutes a day in the afternoon
try as to go to bed when it's dark and get up when the sun comes up.
don't try and "catch up" on sleep. just try and stick to your usual schedule.
don't be afraid to take *short* naps during the day (if you're not self-employed this can be tough
have an active sex life (this includes "solo sex" not a problem for the average slashdotter i'm sure
THEN you can go to the doctor and get the chemicals from the big drug companies who would love nothing less than the keep you "addicted" to their products.
I actually saw a commercial on TV for something called something like "chronic fatigue syndrome"
Try the other stuff *first* for at least 6 months, then head to the doc if your life is still negatively affected.
That's odd, because I'm left with the impression that 120/80 is actually an optimal BP.
It used to be, but they changed the standard.
In November 1997, the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC) issued the report that classified 120/80 and below as "optimal", which is a standard that many are familiar with.
However, after further research, the JNC concluded that the risks are greater than previously realized. On May 21, 2003, they published an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that set new standards. This article is commonly called JNC7.
The new standards classify anything below 120/80 as normal, but at or above that as prehypertension. Hypertension is still at 140/90 and above.
References:
Personally, I generally would tend to question a standard which classifies 22% of the American adult population as diseased. Still, given how many deaths are attributable to heart disease (29% in 2001, according to the CDC), I'll go with the more conservative figures.
play a musical instrument
I guess you're not a trumpet player.
Ha...
Spoon not. Fork, or fork not. There is no spoon.
I have a 20 inch fan that is in use during the night
Your fan reference made me think of something - I sleep much better in the cold.
If it is warm, I will wake up constantly, even though I might not feel very warm or sweaty...
so try some AC
Spoon not. Fork, or fork not. There is no spoon.
When I'm suffering from sleep problems, which is rare, but they happen every so often. I just work like 40-60 hours straight, and when I hit the sack, I'm out for like 2 days.
I'm serious, it works.
-- Jinsaku
I just crank up my favorite divx player and turn on the p0rn. Yank away and before ya know it im really tired.
We've had some hot weather lately, which puts all sorts of funky particles into the air (more wet/cold weather they stay down more). This has caused my allergies to go berserk, leaving me tired on a regular basis. Some things I've found though, is that:
a) I get congested when I sleep, with fluids draining towards my chest which makes breathing laboured (bad sleep)
b) Sleepin on my side, and taking an allergy pill, relieves (a), better sleep.
Alternately, I can nap after work and feel 100% again, but then I can't sleep later at night and thus suffer from similar problems. Better to find why you're not sleeping well, rather than napping and throwing off your clock.
Well you must be like the rest of us nerds , no wife , no job and no money and oh yeah if you are hungry or malnuturished that causes sleep problems. So eat right , exercise ( ride a bike outside ) and stay away from the computer after eating supper ( no night computer or your grounded ). So that was easy now if you have the willpower to do it.
at least until MyDoom becomes less prevalent.
The sleep chemical would be melatonin.
.2mg tablets for exactly the same price, about $6/100.
It's not clear from the grandparent post, but melatonin is present during sleepiness and is reduced during wakefulness.
When I was having similar problems I found the following studies helpful:
Melatonin in patients with reduced REM sleep duration: two randomized controlled trials.
Melatonin administration to blind people: phase advances and entrainment.
Entrainment of free-running circadian rhythms by melatonin in blind people.
The neat thing about studies on blind people is they isolate any light-to-the-optic-nerve variables. Skin-light exposure may still be uncontrolled. If you're not blind it's obviously not directly applicable to you.
Interestingly, at WalMart you can get 1mg and
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Careful on the benadryl. Took them for a while and developed a pain in the groin. Went into the doctor for it and had him stumped. Out of the blue, he asked me if I was taking benaryl. Told me to stop. It can do bad things to guys if you take it for prolonged periods of time. Pain went away in about a week.
Anyway, I would ignore most of the advice here on taking drugs or drinking, etc. Talk to your doctor. That's what they are for.
Even though most people will disregard that - check what moon phase you sleep the worst... For me, its a very strict pattern - can't sleep 3 days before and 2 days after the full moon...l +moon+accident+statistics&btnG=Google+Search
Other cultures have known this for thousands of years - maybe its time to rediscover things... I've changed my sleeping habits to going to bed as soon as I come home during the full moon period and sleep until the moon wakes me up.
Enjoy google about this subject http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=ful
Peter.
--
http://www.dealrover.com
You'll sleep like a baby.
http://www.kozykomfy.com/ http://www.warmthwear.com/ http://www.cubatheart.com/
Quite seriously: when I'm working on my computer I tend to go to sleep late, usually around 2 or 3 AM -- I am focused, the music keeps me going, etc. Recently my gf started on an early schedule in the morning and thus now typically goes To bed around 10 or 11 PM -- clearly too early for me.
But I finally found a solution: read the news (Slashdot and OSNews) in bed on the PDA in the dark. It works wonder for me (generally takes me about an hour to fall asleep) and it doesn't prevent her from sleeping.
I have had problems sleeping since I was a child. I have taken prescription drugs to help me sleep.(Under Doctors Orders) I have been tested for sleep apnia, nothing really helped. After some therapy I realized that trouble sleeping equated with stress. The thing to do is get out of bed and start writing. No not writing out my feelings per se. Just kind of a stream of conciousness thing. Usually in about 15 mins I have a plan of attack and start to get tired. Aside from that sex really works well, but generally only with another person. :)
Try moving your body two hours a day at least :)
/. yet this happens to be one of the best ways to solve sleeping problems.
:)
It may seem like an alien concept for anybody on
I used to have sleeping problems but since then I started kickboxing and weight training (2 hours a day) which has helped me get to sleep without any problems, solved the problem I was having with my back and shoulders and as a unexpected side effect put some decent muscles on.
Remember that humans were not built to deal with so much radiation coming off monitors
Havin' it large, livin' the life, Welcome to the land of the rising sun.
I've tried a lot of things to deal with sleep problems. One of the most effective has been QiGong and T'ai Chi. (The other most effective was seeing a doctor; I had an undiagnosed disorder. But I've harped on that elsewhere in this thread.)
T'ai Chi and Qi Gong have many different benefits regarding sleep. Two aspects in particulr really helped me. First, the meditative aspect helps settle your mind and body in preparation for sleep. Second, they really promote self-awareness in many ways. This can help you realize what's keeping you from sleeping.
Number three caught me. I usually get REALLY tired around 3PM and again at about 7, but I always stay awake through it and end up wide-awake until 1 or 2 AM. What's the physiology behind this? Is it some sort of 'fight-or-flight' response?
The worst is that I fight it all week but occasionally can sleep through my alarm clock until 9 or 10 am, I have to wake at 5am to be at work on-time.
For the past few months I've just been battling it harder, but there's only so hard you can fight when you're straight passed-out and the alarm doesn't wake you. Sometimes it seems like I should hit the sack at 7PM, but then it comes and bites me the next day when I can't sleep until 3AM.
"Sometimes, I think Trent just needs a cup of hot chocolate and a blankie." -Tori Amos on Nine Inch Nails
works great.
;-)
allow 6 hrs to wear off, and you'll have no after-effects.
the hardest part is disciplining yourself to take it, even though you're not feeling ready to sleep at [$x]pm.
not addictive.
BUT go to bed IMMEDIATELY. It IS POSSIBLE to stay awake, but your behavior will be very erratic, and your judgement will be worthless.
btw, if "Essential BSD" makes you LESS sleepy, you have bigger problems than WE can help.
besides, everyone knows that "*BSD IS DEAD DEAD DEAD!"
Cut back on caffiene and late night snacks and exercise 4-5 times a week. The more the better. Since doing this I have found I sleep better and sleep less while I wake up more refreshed in the mornings. Also I am drugs for depression and anxiety. These have helped in my quest for a better healthier life.
Choosing the lesser of two evils is a choice for evil.
A little joint before go to bed and you will sleep as a little baby, sure!
When school is around, I get ~5-6 hours of sleep a night, with caffeine to keep me awake (bad thing).
During the summer, it all goes to hell...
I'll get my 7-10 hours in w/o any caffeine (good thing) but usually between the hours of 3am-noon (not so good thing).
Verdict:
use copius amounts of alarm clocks to get self up after 5 hours or so, then crash ~ midnight to reset the clock.
so far, i've killed all of said alarm clocks and rolled over to catch a few more Z's.
Next step is to set my computer to crank some music, i may smash and break alarm clocks, but doing the same to my box is another thing entirely...
Logistical Chaos Officer http://www.slagg.org - LAN Gaming in Sarasota FL,USA
I've also had a sleep problem for years. For me the cause it pretty well defined, but there seems almost nothing that can be done about it. I suffer from house dust mite allergy, which causes me to have a stuffy nose, particularily at night. While I'm awake I breath through my mouth and it is no big deal. When I do fall asleep though, I naturaly begin to breath through my nose. Often I wake up, feeling like I am suffocating. Even when I dont wake up fully Im sure it prevents me from getting enough deep sleep - since I always feel crappy in the morning, often with a headache.
Its interesting the OP said the problem got worse in the summer. Perhaps he has a touch of hayfever. But even house dust mite get a little worse in the summer, due to the increase in humidity.
If any readers have any tips for getting rid of house dust mite, post them! According to google I have to rip up the carpets, wrap my bed in plastic, buy a de-humidifier and pour liquid nitrogen on the furniture.
Going to a sleep specialist is a very good idea for someone who has sleep problems. Getting medicated to be more "normal" is not a good thing. Mood altering drugs or sleeping pills should be the last resort for chronic sleep problems. If I went to a sleep clinic and the first thing that the doctor wanted to try was medication, I would be finding a different doctor -- real fast. Some things, like strep throat, need medication; some things may be better treated with less invasive methods. Western medical doctors and western patients have developed an expectation that any ailment requires a prescription medication, and in the worst cases, an _operation_. Western medications have their uses; meditation, stress reducing techniques, proper nutrition, and other traditional techniques also have their uses; the trick is to find a doctor who knows when to use each of these tools.
I have been a chronic insomniac for most of my life and have tried practically everything. The only thing that consistantly worked* for me was a big joint at bedtime.
I know it wasn't legal but I was desperate and unlike the pharmacutical crap they kept prescribing me it was 100% effective, had no major side effects and did not screw up my head.
I'm not recommending this as a solution for anyone else, just saying it worked for me.
* past tense used for legal reasons.
~ Better a freak than a sheep. ~
My wife told me that I often seemed to stop breathing (a sign of apnea) and that generally woke me up. We thought it generally happened about once a hour or two. The sleep clinic was able to find that I was having choking episodes on the average of every 10-15 seconds! It's a wonder I was functioning at all for the 8-10 years it took me to get help. I now use a machine (CPAP) that blows just enought air (about 10% of a normal breath) down my airway all the time. It prevents some flap of skin in my throat from falling and causing me to choke. Losing weight (like I hope to , some day, getting in shape, etc.) is all good, but if you snore, which I have from day one, you may have a sleep apnea problem, which will not go away without help of some kind. Good luck.
I have had excellent results taking valerian when I can't fall asleep - should be available at any health food store, drug store herb section (or even your local MegaMart). It has been used in Europe for years and is fairly free of side effects. I find that, unlike sleeping pills, I wake up feeling refreshed and not groggy. Of course, this is only my advice and by no means am I a medical authority!
Sig? We don't need no steenking SIG!
Try listening to soft classical music, pref. piano. Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata is a good one.
Turn off every light, and I mean every light. I have gone as far as to black out the LEDs on my surge protector... I'm not sure if others have the same problem, but just ONE green led will light the whole room up enough for me to read a book once my eyes adjust.
White noise is a good thing too, get a cheap fan and turn it on the lowest setting.
It might also be your matress. When I visit my parents I can't sleep nearly as well on my old bed as I can on my new bed at my apartment.
Dude. This is Slashdot. For the vast majority of us here, 1-2 hours of sex/night would be beyond exciting. It would be a record.
;-]
If I was getting 1-2 hours/night I wouldn't care if I was sleeping -- I'd be in a continuously dreamy/happy state.
[ if there are any female geeks in Ottawa that would like to see if we'd eventually get tired of it, lemme know. I'm always up for a little scientific experiment.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
I have had sleeping problems for as long as I can remember. I have *never* been able to get up early (6-8am) and feel rested and make it through the day without nodding off. It was a problem all throughout my school days from elementary through college. I simply could not stay awake and alert before noon or so, no matter how much sleep I get the night before.
Of course there are the odd exceptions, like the "hell day" where I get only a few odd hours of sleep and then for some inconceivable reason I feel great the next day. But I can never repeat it.
Also, I cannot eat breakfast until a few hours after waking up early or I will get severe stomach problems (which require an unpleasant visit to the restroom, after which I am fine for the rest of the day).
Now, if I sleep till around 9 or 10 PM I am fine, pretty much no matter when I went to sleep (12pm to 5am). I also pretty much nod off around 5 pm no matter what, 30 to 60 minute nap does me fine here.
Unfortunately this type of scheduling is completely incompatible with having a family and a normal job...
-- Senior Software Engineer, Attorney appearance services, locallawyerapp.com.
I'm in a bit of the opposite boat. No matter what time I went to bed, no matter how tired I was, I usually wouldn't fall asleep until 2am or so. And, of course, a 7am alarm had no chance in hell of waking me up.
Hence, my situation is fairly different, but some of the same things may help you as well as others here.
A) Shower and eat earlier in the evening, not just before bedtime. I never wake up early enough to shower in the morning, so I've always done it at night before bed.
B) Read before you go to sleep. Not tech manuals--that will probably make you think if work too much--even if you enjoy work, it's still not good. Read something along the lines of fantasy, or something humorous--Scott Adams books, Dilbert and User Friendly comic prints, something like that. Something that relaxes you and takes your mind off other things.
C) Lose weight! This was probably the biggest thing for me, of course. I was on the road to being labeled morbidly obese. I had tried many things, but finally went on a low-carb diet. I dropped 75lbs in a few months. My guess is that I was a good candidate for sleep apnea, and this probably stopped it. I still have another 60lbs or so to lose to get to a reasonable weight, but it has already made an amazing difference. I also no longer go into work and just about fall asleep until lunchtime.
No, you don't want to do low-carb forever, as no matter what people say, it isn't something your body is meant to do. But for the short-term to lose weight and stave off needing bypass surgery before you're 30, it's a good deal.
Drink the strongest liquor that you can stomach and watch the history channel. You'll wake up smarter than ever! I try to drink till she's pretty!
I think we should all give Greg a big hand for being able to write a book on something like FreeBSD administration and make it so compelling!
Relax, relax, relax! Often times I find myself NOT able to sleep after a busy day or before a big trip. Why? I'm excited or nervous! I can't stop thinking about whatever past or upcoming event is going on. Surprise surprise, if your mind is active, it can't go to sleep!
Thus, try to relax before bed. My dad cooks. I like to read. Watching TV just doesn't do it (and as has been already stated, it can PREVENT sleep!). One /.er put it well: Read before bed. Sometimes I just read a strip comic book (Garfield, Foxtrot, Calvin and Hobbes). More often, I read whatever book I am reading. I have found though that the more "benign" the better. Read: Try not to read deep, philosophical books before bed. Reading a fiction book can help you relax, think about something else.
Key here is just to find what helps you relax. Amongst other things (Cutting caffeine, seeing a doctor, eating right, exercise) try to relax after a long day. Walk on the beach? Read? Listen to music? You decide!
Xhentil Do'ana
Start biking after work every other day or so, even visit the gym twice a week. It is amazing how much better you end up feeling the whole week (and how much easier it is to fall asleep). If you still have issues, then buy a bottle of melatonin. You can find it in practically any grocery store by the vitamins or just go to wal-mart. Get a bottle that has lower doses per tablet. This way you can take 4 around 9pm and you'll be out by 11pm at the latest. Or if you're still wide awake around 1am and need to get to sleep, then pop 1 to knock yourself out and not be extra tired in the morning.
I've been taking melatonin off and on since college and it works very well. And it's all natural and non-addictive, blah, blah, blah...
-my other sig is your mom
I haven't had many good nights of sleep ever since I got divorced. It doesn't matter if I try to sleep on a bed, recliner, or anything else. To make matter worse, I was assigned to a big project at about the same time that required a lot of late nights, often with the help desk staff calling me at home. It seemed that if I ever tried to go to sleep before midnight, I would get a call not long after I went to sleep. This lasted for most of a year. So, I kept staying up later and later to the point that it's rare that I go to sleep before 3 or 4am - staying awake until I can't stand it any longer and just zonk out for 3-4 hours until I have to start getting up for work.
A nice side effect of this is that I can easily drive to see a band during the week in a city 200 miles away and not be dragging into work the next day. I need to find other good uses for this time. Or at least better than arguing with jerkoffs on various messageboards.
At any rate, I'll have to put up with it to write child support checks for another 93 months. Then, my purpose in life will be finished and I won't care what happens after that.
the good ground has been paved over by suicidal maniacs
Careful with using alcohol as a sleep aid. While it can help you fall asleep, it can wake you up later when as your body processes it.
Underloved Movies and Pub Quiz: donotquestionme.org
I'm not overweight (making apnea unlikely), I exercise plenty (I run around 15 miles/week and work out at the gym), I don't use caffeine, my alcohol intake is pretty low and I don't usually suffer from stress (if another doctor tells me I have a stress related illness I will start suffering from stress and probably hit them). And yet I can go months living like a zombie with hardly any sleep. Even worse, the standard drug Ambien (Zolpidem) does nothing for me (in fact, I think it makes my insomnia worse). I tried warm baths, acupuncture, chinese herbs - all had no effect.
I've found one or two things that help. The drug Clonazepam works for me. I found I could take half a pill and get two nights sleep (it stays in the body a long time but I had no problems in the intervening day). I tried to keep the dose low so I wouldn't become tolerant - but after 2 or 3 months it stopped working. Luckily my last bout of insomnia came to an end a week or two after that. Thank God!
Bizarrely, one thing that currently helps me is completely contrary to standard advice not to clockwatch. I wear a watch that lights up in the dark (Casio Illuminator). If I wake up I check the time. The fact is, even if you think you're such a bad insomniac that you can't sleep at all you probably do sleep. When you're expectations are so low that you expect to have zero hours sleep it's actually a pretty pleasant experience to look at your watch, see it says 2am and what seems like a few seconds later look again and see that it now says 3am.
Incidentally, I had a sleep study recently. Let me warn you - these are often a scam. It's a collusion between surgeons who get a nice flow of cash from customers looking for surgery to fix apnea and sketchy companies who provide the surgeons with the justification the insurance company needs. Sleep studies are often run as a franchise like McDonald's. I wish I could remember the name of the company that did mine. They had a web site promoting franchises basically discussing how this business was easy money. The worst thing for me was that my study was 6 hours. I was kicked out of the hospital at 4am to drive home on the freeway. (I thought I had a hospital bed for the night. No. What had actually happened was that the sleep study company had rented the room from the hospital for a fixed number of hours.) The entire environment of my study seemed to be geared to me not sleeping. When I arrived at the ward the TV was on and the administrator of the study left it running while preparing me. I had no down-time between lights on and lights out - I wasn't allowed to read for example (because they only had 6 hours) my usual way to wind down. So be warned. I did actually sleep 30 minutes that night - but that's not really enough for any kind of conclusive results. (I haven't even touched on how ridiculous it is to expect someone to sleep who is that wired up.)
Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
You're really pissing me off royally. Is there no end to your stupid boring anecdotes? I give a shit about this why exactly, McGonigle? Did the "parent" poster happen to ask you about this topic? No, he/she did not query you for advice on your inane stories about Wal*Mart vitamin supplements. In any event, go fuck yourself, McGonigle. Your dumb little factoids about barely-related topics will get the best of you one of these days. Maybe, like all boring annoying pricks, you'll be telling your stupid stories to some half-dead old broad on the bus really loudly and some big black guy will tire of your dorky prattle and smack you around like a prostitute. You are a worthless slag, McGonigle.
There are 224 comments and only one(!) mentions the word excercise!
If you eat crap and drink crap and dont get excercise, your life will be hell regardless of pay check size.
Yeah, given the pathological nature of American culture (which I live in), I'd say that's incredibly low.
Many replies so far have focused on your daily caffiene intake. That can be a reason for lack of sleep, but as I've recently found out in my life, it's only the tip of the iceburg.
Insomia (chronic or not) can be caused from stimulants in the system. That's kinda obvious...Don't drink coffee right before bed, yadda yadda yadda.
I was recently diagnosed with a sleep disorder, which turned out to be anxiety-based. I didn't consider myself to be very anxious in my day-to-day life, but I would be up all night, and I usually ended up surfing the web (hey, it sure beat just lying in bed). I was eventually prescribed an anti-anxiety medication for 2 weeks, which I'd take about 20 minutes before I wanted to fall asleep, and I'd be able to fall asleep (normal bedtime hours, that is). It wasn't a sleeping pill, which I've found to cause grogginess in the past, but rather it just cleared my mind and let my body take over when it came time to sleep.
Beyond avoiding caffienated beverages within 4 hours of your projected bedtime, avoid cigarettes at night (if you smoke...I used to "need" a smoke before sleep..found out it was keeping me up, due to what it did to my body!), try exercising about an hour before bed (even a 15-20 minute walk with do, at a brisk pace), and avoid foods that could potentially upset your stomach (I'm big on spicy foods...a number of time I haven't been able to sleep due to stomach discomfort).
If basic, common-knowledge solutions don't work for you, consider making an appointment with a local psychiatrist/psychologist that speicializes in sleep disorders. Even if you don't have a specialist in your area, a general psychologist can diagnose a sleeping disorder, and reccomend a specialist to deal with your case. At the very least, they can usually prescribe a sleep-aide or anti-anxiety medication to get your sleep-cycle back on track until you can confront the problem head on, and face it.
Good luck!