Sleep advice

[Silenka]

My sleep schedule is similarly fucked, if I don't have an obligation to wake up before noon (say for classes) I will stay up til 5-10am and sleep til 4-8pm, like I'm doing now lol. I agree that it sucks but my body doesn't seem to have the same 'natural' rhythm as everyone else because I automagically switch to backwards if I have even a slight chance to. When I have to revert I usually do what others have suggested, stay up until a normal sleeping time (which sucks).

As far as getting tired enough to actually go to sleep, watching some really boring shit on TV will put me to sleep faster than anything. But if you can't sleep with any noise I guess that would be a problem (I can sleep on the floor in the middle of a bright crowded room so I'm not very helpful when it comes to that kind of stuff). My roommate is a little bit like you where she cannot sleep with any light or noise, she uses a sleep mask over her eyes which creates the illusion of blackness and sometimes she listens to white noise on headphones. Not sure if those would help you any.

Honestly some people are just more comfortable as night owls and sleeping during the day, day-sleep strangely feels more natural to me.

[Ivaden]

i'm not friends with pot. it made me have a mental breakdown when i smoked this past weekend.


haven't slept right since. it really fucked me up.

Try to forget that it's illegal, take just a hit like 30 minutes before you're ready to go to bed. You probably just had a shitty high because you were anxious.

Then, once you're high, take what everyone else has said, and sex/masturbate high. Enjoy your sleep.

[Gorki]

I can't help but stress the wanking off comments.

[Jefe]

Honestly some people are just more comfortable as night owls and sleeping during the day, day-sleep strangely feels more natural to me.

But it ain't. Living w/ a fucked up Circadian rhythm has many detrimental effects, both mentally and physically. Having a messed up homeostasis ain't no good, no good at all (fucks up your hormone production) . Anyway, people working the night shift tend to suffer more physical/mental illnesses and die earlier than those living a normal life.

My only problem is... I have to sleep on my bed w/ 2 pillows, else I'll be rollin' all night. Rooooooooooooo, rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin', is that a song?

[Sira]

I personally like Simply sleep which is just diphenhydramine. 2~3 of them works fine for me. Try not to take too many since you'll sleep like a damn brick if you do.


Also backing up wanking right before bed.

[rog]

I usually just sleep 2-4 times per day for 30-60 minutes at a time, totaling 2-3 hours or so per day, like a boss.

Honestly, i'm less tired doing that than i am when i sleep 5-7 hours all at once. There's no serious consequences either, at least not for a few weeks, though i will admit i'm never at 100%. Could definitely keep up sleeping 30 mins every 6 hours indefinitely, though it's probably not a great idea, especially if you have any kind of serious responsibilities (as if that wouldn't prevent you from sleeping every 6 hours), or ever have to drive, etc.

edit: also, boredom doesn't work on 2 hours of sleep. As long as i've got something to keep me busy, i'm generally not tired at all, but the minute i just sit around doing nothing, is the minute i fall asleep. Previously when i used to sleep 4-7 hours consecutively, it took an average of 30 mins for me to fall asleep. Now it takes me ~2 minutes, and never more than 5 to fall asleep, which although is clearly a problem if i don't have anything to do, it's great when going to sleep, because less time wasted, etc.

[winterwinter]

I personally like Simply sleep which is just diphenhydramine. 2~3 of them works fine for me. Try not to take too many since you'll sleep like a damn brick if you do.


Also backing up wanking right before bed.

that's might be great.

[Eratosthenes]

My only problem is... I have to sleep on my bed w/ 2 pillows, else I'll be rollin' all night. Rooooooooooooo, rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin', is that a song?

[Vandole]

my only problem is... I have to sleep on my bed w/ 2 pillows, else I'll be rollin' all night. Rooooooooooooo, rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin', is that a song?

O RLY NOW? MAY I INTRODUCE YOU TO MY OMEGAPILLOW, CONCEIVED BY SATAN HERSELF IN THE FIERY PITS OF HELL TO RAPE YOUR FACE EVER SO SOFTLY WHILST YOU PONDER YOUR EVER SO PEACEFULLY MUNDANE FUTURE FOR 1-12 HOURS NIGHTLY

http://i54.tinypic.com/903w3k.jpg

Spoiler: show

kidding, it's the boomerang pillow. was free shipping from AUS, they just threw it to my house.

[miokomioko]

I feel like you've tried everything or would have a reason this might not work for you, but I would recommend doing your running right before you want to sleep... wait until after dinner and what not, and if you can, do your running, ending with some sprinting to tire you exhaust you and try to crash into bed before that wears off. I'd recommend doing as much of the bed preparation before hand, as I always had the issues of: I'm finally tired > take a whiz > brush teeth > wash face > great, that stuff woke me up. Not to mention exerting yourself right before and right after sleeping has its metabolism benefits I believe.

[Guitarman]

do you read, play games or watch tv from your bed?

[Weeks]

Ignore pretty much everything said here except to exercise, look up and follow "sleep hygiene," and then go see your doctor because the treatment for insomnia is to treat whatever is causing it.

As for melatonin, it's entirely up in the air when to take it. Our bodies produce it when the light dims, but we are not wired to respond to it and go to sleep for a few hours afterward. I've heard suggestions of taking it as much as 6 hours before bedtime.

[Amelya]

I don't know your living situation, but I think it helps to have your bed/bedroom as a sleep only kind of place. Don't play video games in bed, use your laptop, watch DVDs, things like that. I'm a very light sleeper as well, so I play the same dvd every night on really low volume to mute out any small noises that might wake me up. One thing that helps me fall asleep/stay asleep is a glass of wine before bed, but I'm sure it doesn't work for everyone.

[Guitarman]

I don't know your living situation, but I think it helps to have your bed/bedroom as a sleep only kind of place. Don't play video games in bed, use your laptop, watch DVDs, things like that. I'm a very light sleeper as well, so I play the same dvd every night on really low volume to mute out any small noises that might wake me up. One thing that helps me fall asleep/stay asleep is a glass of wine before bed, but I'm sure it doesn't work for everyone.

this is what i was hitting on with my question. My computer is next to my bed, so i spend alot of hours (as sad as it is to admit) next to the bed in my room. Doctors will tell you your bed should be for two things; sleep and sex. don't watch movies, play games or anything besides those two in your bed. I HAVE to sleep with a fan on, even if it's -15 outside ill have the fan on. the white noise is a necessity for me to sleep now, but it works.

[Siniroth]

If you haven't already stopped with the melatonin, pick a day you have something to do all night and the rest of the next day and most of that night, if you have the same reaction I did, when I stopped taking it I didn't sleep (or feel sleepy at all) for about 55 hours after when I intended to sleep

[clobetasol]

already been said, but have sex/masturbate and smoke some weed.

[Olo401]

OK since I have some experience with my own sleep-related problems, here's a few questions I didn't see mentioned yet..

- Do you snore, toss/turn a LOT and/or grind your teeth while sleeping?
- Do you often wake up multiple times each night?
- Do you constantly wake up in the morning feeling still tired, even after a good 8-10 hours?
- Do you sometimes wake up with a mild-to-severe migraine that lasts about 4 hours?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, it's possible you have sleep apnea - your airways are closing off while you sleep so you can't breathe. Mention any of these symptoms to your doctor and have him recommend you for a sleep study. I've had one done - you go to a lab and sleep there for a night while doctors monitor your actions & brain patterns. Usually a firm diagnosis of apnea can lead to treatments ranging from medication to using a breathing mask/CPAP machine while you sleep to surgery on your nose/sinuses.

[Marihoki]

I have sleeping problems myself, I push my sleeping cycle back about 1-2 hours every day and have a hard time falling asleep at certain times of the day, even if I didn't get any sleep the night before, but I will sleep perfectly well during the time I do sleep though. Currently sleeping from 8am~ 12-2pm, and need to re-adjust my sleeping back to a normal time again which is a pain.

Like I have seen other people posting, My doctor suggested Just having my bedroom be a sleep only place. Also having an 30 min - hour wind down routine every night is supposed to help. I have totally failed at doing both those things so I can't say it works.

[zoobernut]

OK since I have some experience with my own sleep-related problems, here's a few questions I didn't see mentioned yet..

- Do you snore, toss/turn a LOT and/or grind your teeth while sleeping?
- Do you often wake up multiple times each night?
- Do you constantly wake up in the morning feeling still tired, even after a good 8-10 hours?
- Do you sometimes wake up with a mild-to-severe migraine that lasts about 4 hours?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, it's possible you have sleep apnea - your airways are closing off while you sleep so you can't breathe. Mention any of these symptoms to your doctor and have him recommend you for a sleep study. I've had one done - you go to a lab and sleep there for a night while doctors monitor your actions & brain patterns. Usually a firm diagnosis of apnea can lead to treatments ranging from medication to using a breathing mask/CPAP machine while you sleep to surgery on your nose/sinuses.

This is exactly what I was going to say. Also believe it or not if you are narcoleptic you could also experience what you feel like is insomnia during the night and then extreme tiredness during the day. Since my wife was diagnosed narcoleptic last year I have been reading a lot and I came across several interesting posts about some people who have to take stimulants during the day to stay awake and then take well GHB the date rape drug (I forget the actual medicines name) during the night to be able to sleep. I suggest going to a sleep center to see a specialist and then doing a sleep study. You will be able to find out what is making it difficult for you to sleep.

[Caiyuo]

I don't know your living situation, but I think it helps to have your bed/bedroom as a sleep only kind of place. Don't play video games in bed, use your laptop, watch DVDs, things like that. I'm a very light sleeper as well, so I play the same dvd every night on really low volume to mute out any small noises that might wake me up. One thing that helps me fall asleep/stay asleep is a glass of wine before bed, but I'm sure it doesn't work for everyone.

Think there was a lot of similar advice in this thread: http://www.bluegartr.com/threads/78842-Insomnia Not using your bed for anything other than sleep seems to what comes up most commonly.

Aside from that, some vitamin shops carry 300mcg Melatonin that might be a better idea. When this last came up on the forum and melatonin was thrown around, all I could find was the 3mg at the time and while it's worked, it's been unpredictable so I'd try taking some time off of it and if you feel you still need it, try the lower dose. I know they also sell a melatonin/valerian root blend, and it honestly sounds pretty relaxing, but from what I've seen they only sell them in the higher doses.