HawthorneVillager.com

Anyone here suffer/have suffered from insomnia? What tips/tricks do you have to offer? I suffer from middle insomnia, so I usually get 4 hours good sleep, wake up and then roll around for the remaining hours on a fairly regular basis. looking for some suggestions to try.

_________________
Attempting to GIVE A DAMN ... 40% complete.. ERROR! Hmm, looks like my GIVE A DAMN is broken!

if you have an iphone download the sleep machine lite (free) and pick one of the sounds that put you to sleep. I use it every night or when i wake up and cant get back to sleep... Heavy rain rules!

Thanks, will try that today so I can be ready for tonight

_________________
Attempting to GIVE A DAMN ... 40% complete.. ERROR! Hmm, looks like my GIVE A DAMN is broken!

I get the same, though luckily for the most part unless the cats are there to keep me awake Im able to roll over and fall back quickly, but its still a broken sleep. I've found the more exhausted I am the better I sleep so I try being a bit more active just before Im going to start to get ready for bed.

I got my best sleep ever while on morphine for pain but I don't think any doctor will prescribe that though.

I usually wake up around 3am but then I fall back asleep until my alarm scares the sh*t outta me at 5am.

Insomnia sucks.

_________________
Some people are like slinkies. They're really good for nothing but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs.

Maybe we should start and early morning club as I am usually awake around 2:30am...lol I have always been a frequent night wakener, however it is the 'not being able to fall back asleep' part that is just running me ragged these days. I wanna nap as soon as I get home from work, but usually don't because I know it'll impact my sleep later on

_________________
Attempting to GIVE A DAMN ... 40% complete.. ERROR! Hmm, looks like my GIVE A DAMN is broken!

My Dr perscribes me Clonazepam for anxiety and to pop when I wake up and can't get back to sleep. I am self medicated and take maybe 3 or 4 a year.

Now, I am by no means and expert on sleeping but I downloaded an app on my playbook called WakeUp Time. Basically the theory around this app is that it takes appx 90 minutes to have a full stage of REM sleep cycle. You ever wake up at 4am wide awake and finally get back to sleep to wake up later and feel like crap? That is what this app tries to avoid. If you wake up at the end of your 90 Minute REM cycle, you are refreshed. So what I do is I go to bed at a certain time to wake up at a certain time or I set my alarm based on what time I happen to go to bed at based on the 90 minute cycle. The app calculates this for you. I do notice a big difference. might be worth looking into if you have access to it. To me that helps explain why after 4 hours of sleep you are wide awake. Maybe it was closer to 4.5 hours (3 cycles)?? Maybe adjusting the time you go to sleep at will help?

Like I mentioned, I am not an expert, just passing on what I have recently found.

Good luck
Matt

Thanks Matt, I am starting to think that the time itself is a trigger somehow for me because no matter what time I go to sleep, even if it's a weekend I am always awake at about the same time, usually between 2:19am and 2:24 am. Any other time during the night I can roll over and go back to sleep. Maybe I will keep a journal of what I am thinking or dreaming when I awaken. All I know is that if I ever sleep through the night with no known awakenings, I am doing the happy dance the next morning and that does not happen often enough

_________________
Attempting to GIVE A DAMN ... 40% complete.. ERROR! Hmm, looks like my GIVE A DAMN is broken!

Hey, me too. Have you ever been screened for sleep apnoea?

Aside from not having late caffeine and not eating too close to bed, I've read articles where watching TV, going on the cpu or using our SmartPhones before bed emits blue light that can trick our circadian rhythms, so maybe you could leave the last hour or two of your day cpu-free. I've tried it and it has not worked for me personally, though it's not a factor for most people I know.

If I have to be alert the next day, like Matt - we have the same doc, I will pop a sleeping pill.

_________________
What is the difference between ignorance and apathy? I don't know and I don't care.

I do have sleep apnea and it is not currently an issue and I have already eliminated blue light from my bedroom and surrounding areas. My alarm clock light gets shut off as well. I drone on to my son about how he can't sleep at because his brain is too active from playing xbox so late, so I don't stay up with the computer or tv either. I actually don't really watch tv often. Caffeine is a morning only addiction for me and I drink drink pop so I don't get it that way either. I don't take meds for sleeping or really any kind of meds before bedtime because they usually have a paradoxical affect on me I am sure it is more of a mind of matter thingy for me, but I wish my mind would get over it...lol

_________________
Attempting to GIVE A DAMN ... 40% complete.. ERROR! Hmm, looks like my GIVE A DAMN is broken!

Do you use a CPAP machine at night?

Sounds similar to what I do... sometimes I just get up and go do something for an hour and then go back to sleep... check this out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segmented_sleep

Nope...my O2 sats did not drop below 97% so my doc said it was not necessary. I have lost weight since then and don't appear to gasp for air at night anymore either

_________________
Attempting to GIVE A DAMN ... 40% complete.. ERROR! Hmm, looks like my GIVE A DAMN is broken!

So then if I interpreted this correctly, we are the 'natural' sleepers (although I think I need to nap in the afternoon) and everybody else who sleeps for a long stretch of time are sleeping unnaturally....lol

_________________
Attempting to GIVE A DAMN ... 40% complete.. ERROR! Hmm, looks like my GIVE A DAMN is broken!

Who the hell sites Wikipedia when trying to provide useful information?

_________________
Some people are like slinkies. They're really good for nothing but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs.