Slashdot Mirror
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 ?"
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.
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.
I agree with the glass of wine or beer suggestion, but don't take it as license to go nuts. From what I remember from class, alcohol inhibits the body's ability to enter the more important phases of the sleep cycle. Sleep apneas are also more prevalent. Sort of explains why you feel tired after sleeping till 2 on Saturday after going out and drinking the night before.
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.
I second (third) this. My limit is 4pm and usually getting to bed at midnight. If I drink coffee later, I stay up later, with miserable sleep.
Other thing is your monitor. It is proven that staring at a bright object will postpone your sleep cycle. (It applies to TV as well), so lay it off by 9-10pm, then you will get sleepy naturally.
Code poet, espresso fiend, starter upper.
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.
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.
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
Often, sleep loss coincides with stress
SO true...
Loss of sleep (and Oversleeping) are symptoms of Anxiety and/or Depression. I know. I suffered from it... Somedays I could sleep 14h strait... a week later, I would get 14h of sleep in 3 days... Not fun...
But simple insomnia is also a chronical problem. If it really is a problem, I suggest seeing a doctor. He can probably point to some group or clinical study.(if he doesn't just gives you pills)
I know that the University of Montreal has a kind of 'Sleep clinic' where they study big problem, but I can't find any information on them.
I live in Soviet Canuckistan you insensitive clod!
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.
Above all else, trust your own body. If you aren't feeling healthy, you aren't healthy.
I focus on the "90% fruits and veggies" part of your post because if I had to guess, this is the source of your problems. Depending on the fruits and veggies you are eating, this can leave you short of fat (good kinds) and protein (all kinds!). In fact, unless you have studied vegetarion dieting carefully it is almost certain that you are short. You need large enough quantities of fat and protein that you can't take them in pill form. (Protien supplements exist, but they are mostly targetted at body builders, and that is probably right.)
Now, personally, I find none of the reasons for vegetarianism compelling, so I say, go ahead and eat meat. Just try to eat it as unprocessed as possible, which is good advice for nearly all food. You may want to pay extra for organic. We've been eating it for millions of years, and many meats (including fish, seafood, and other such things) have a lot of good stuff in them that is difficult or impossible to get through fruits and veggies.
If you want to stay vegetarian, you must educate yourself on how to do it. There are a lot of resources, but as you may expect I can't recommend any
AFAICS, there are two things that are universally agreed on by nutritionists:
- Vegetables, esp. green leafy ones, are good for you.
- There is room in a healthy diet for all the food groups, and nobody (without an ideological agenda) supports removing fruits, veggies, and all meats (some would remove red meat, but I know of no serious nutritionist who wouldn't want you to eat fish).
Beyond that, the controversy still rages because nutrition isn't really a science right now (links to my defense of that statement, see third or fourth header); stay sharp, make sure you are getting all of your nutrients, proteins, fats (good ones, at least, probably), and other vital building blocks. The more you restrict your diet a priori ("only fruits and veggies", "low carbs", etc.), the harder that is to do. (Of course, unrestricted diets are only easy in theory, in practice we seem to do a bad job on average.)(I would be happy to hear from you if this helps.)
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
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
BS: exhaustion is not the solution. I once spent 15 hours at a contruction site, working the whole day!
Guess what, I only got 3 hours sleep that night.
I can see your attempt in trying to help, but you are way of the mark, like all the others.
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