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Sleeping Problems?

Posted by Cliff on from the unable-to-count-sheep dept.

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 ?"

3 of 253 comments (clear)

  1. Alter your diet and/or take vitamins/supplements by dacarr · · Score: 1, Redundant
    No, seriously, altering your diet will help. I've noticed if I'm surviving largely on non-nutritive junk foods for a fairly prolonged period of time and my body has depleted whatever reserve of materials it needs, I will start losing sleep - the solution oddly enough has been just an over the counter multivitamin supplement for a quick fix, and changing my diet so I'm actually eating right for a change. The big one has been fruit juices and gatorade in lieu of straight water, as I don't eat much fruit or veggies. (I only occasionally drink soda, so that's sort of moot.)

    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.
  2. Simple by Cranx · · Score: 0, Redundant

    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.

  3. Re:Solution by dimss · · Score: 0, Redundant

    That's true. No fun.