jaxson50 Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 I'm amazed (and confused) at the amount of "yeah, I beat insomnia by going to sleep" posts here. Clearly a lot of you haven't dealt with insomnia or even know what it means. Insomnia is an actual physical inability to sleep or difficulty with falling asleep and/or staying asleep. It can be caused by many things, and can't be dealt with simply by "going to sleep," because you can't cure a disorder by doing that which the disorder leaves you incapable of doing. That suggestion is, if I may be so blunt, idiotic. I have encountered insomnia as a result of PTSD (after getting hit by a car when I was fourteen,) as a secondary condition associated with my clinical depression (also something that's widely misunderstood and is often met with the advice that one should just "get over it,") as a secondary condition associated with my anxiety disorder (also widely misunderstood and met with similar advice to "get over it,") and as a free-standing primary condition seemingly unrelated to other physiological or psychological conditions. It's not easy, it's typically a manifestation of a neurochemical disorder (as are most disorders of the type that are typically misunderstood as "nonsense" conditions,) and what makes it worse is sanctimonious "advice" from uninformed groundlings who aren't as smart as they think they are. OP, if you're struggling with insomnia, get help. A guitar forum, especially one like this, isn't going to give you the treatment you need. Sounds like somebody needs a nap.....just kidding.... I have dealt with insomnia for decades and have as you may remember I have also been dealing with tinnitus for many years, sounds like a bee hive in my left ear which is one factor in my insomnia. I have a scripts to help but sometimes they just are worthless and though I occasionally joke about alcohol, other then a few sips from my wife's margaritas I never drink (I do like B-52's but only have a few around Christmas and New Years) and I do not smoke anything. I go in spells, sometimes I will go for weeks on three or four hours of sleep each day...getting old ain't for sissy's.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrosurfer1959 Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Sleep depravation and insomnia are very common in todays complex world where physical exhaustion from work is almost gone. I had a sleep specialist tell me that almost everybody has issues sleeping sometimes how often it occurs and how long it lasts is what determines if it's a problem or not. The doctor told me that only kids and idiots never have trouble sleeping. So for those that said they never have problems well let's just hope your young 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
57classic Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Sleep depravation and insomnia are very common in todays complex world where physical exhaustion from work is almost gone. I had a sleep specialist tell me that almost everybody has issues sleeping sometimes how often it occurs and how long it lasts is what determines if it's a problem or not. The doctor told me that only kids and idiots never have trouble sleeping. So for those that said they never have problems well let's just hope your young well put, some solace knowing I'm not an idiot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Another thing to try..... this worked for me a few weeks back. Turn the computer off a few hours before you go to bed. The light from the monitor goes directly into your eyes and tells your brain it's daylight. It's the same principle as those SAD lights, which trigger circadian rhythms. Before you go to bed keep the house darker (no bright lights) and stay away from the computer. It worked for me. And I also have a piece of paper beside the bed and will write things down if I find they're sticking to my mind and preventing sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 First, establish a regular sleep schedule. Do not deviate from this on the weekends. Avoid caffeinated drinks like the plague, coffee, tea, most sodas, and those gawd awful 'energy' drinks, chocolate in any form. Once you've allowed your body to purge the caffeine from your system, approx one week, re-introduce it slowly. No caffeine/chocolate after 5:00 pm. Most brown sodas have caffeine, except most root beers, including diet. Read the label. If it is caffeine free, then you're good. Most clear sodas are de-caff as well. Mountain Dew is one of the highest sources of caffeine, second only to Jolt... is that still on the market? Do not eat any closer than 3 hours before bed time. Avoid fried foods after lunch. Sometimes a small glass of warm milk just before retiring can actually help induce sleep, but nothing else. Do not play video games within one hour of retiring. NO COMPUTERS OR TELEVISIONS in the bedroom. Reading after I am in bed helps make me sleepy. If you are yawning, your body is in need of sleep, so go to bed. I've found that if I begin to yawn, but ignore my body and stay up. After about an hour I quit yawning. At this point, I find it harder to go to sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxson50 Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 I drink two cups of coffee each morning, never any caffine after noon....and I still have a heck of a time sleeping... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shnate McDuanus Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 First, establish a regular sleep schedule. Do not deviate from this on the weekends. Avoid caffeinated drinks like the plague, coffee, tea, most sodas, and those gawd awful 'energy' drinks, chocolate in any form. Once you've allowed your body to purge the caffeine from your system, approx one week, re-introduce it slowly. No caffeine/chocolate after 5:00 pm. Most brown sodas have caffeine, except most root beers, including diet. Read the label. If it is caffeine free, then you're good. Most clear sodas are de-caff as well. Mountain Dew is one of the highest sources of caffeine, second only to Jolt... is that still on the market? Do not eat any closer than 3 hours before bed time. Avoid fried foods after lunch. Sometimes a small glass of warm milk just before retiring can actually help induce sleep, but nothing else. Do not play video games within one hour of retiring. NO COMPUTERS OR TELEVISIONS in the bedroom. Reading after I am in bed helps make me sleepy. If you are yawning, your body is in need of sleep, so go to bed. I've found that if I begin to yawn, but ignore my body and stay up. After about an hour I quit yawning. At this point, I find it harder to go to sleep. This is all excellent practical advice. I will say that a lot of this stuff has really helped me, not with more severe bouts of insomnia, but just with general, non-pathological restlessness. I've basically cut caffeine out of my diet completely over the past few months, and it's helped me tremendously. Also, try turning on a box fan or something else that generates ambient noise while you're in bed--that always helps me, just to have something running and making white noise in the background. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Natural Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Several factors to consider.... Overly warm sleeping area Eating too late Too much caffeine etc Alcohol Working too late Good Luck !! V The best advice, by far, so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WahKeen Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 For me, Benadryl works. If I take 2, I'll zombie out all day afterward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrosurfer1959 Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 My wife is like that a Benadryle or Excedrin pm. and she's out. I can take Ambien CR a prescription muscle relaxer and a painkiller and not even feel it. Guess I might of had a few too many controlled substances in me over the years. Probably a good side to it though just like everything in life - just think I don't need to donate blood anymore, now my blood has street value 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harpo Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Xanax & Merlot!-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnastynebr Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 For me, Benadryl works. If I take 2, I'll zombie out all day afterward. I cant take that stuff. Ill be numb for 4 hours after I get up. -I Switched to half decaf coffee, and only 2 cups a day. Some people don't realize how much caffeine is in a premium cup of coffee. Energy drinks are packed with caffeine and sugar which makes them even worse. -I try to get up at the same time every day. If you put your body in a routine, it will try to get sleep if it knows that it has to get up soon. -Walking at night helps, too. The weather has been nicer, and the exercise helps. It gives your mind a chance to think, too. That way its not racing when I lay down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB Cooper Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Ambien...every. single. night...for the past 3-4 years. Sometimes I get away with only taking a half-pill before bed. But if I wake up before 3am, I have to take another 1/2 to fall back asleep. If I wake up after 3am, I just lay there until I have to get up at 6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy R Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Try sleeping in a different location, coach, chair, bed, extra bed if you have one. Fans definitely help. If you can't sleep don't just lay in bed going crazy. Turn on a boring documentary at low volume so your brain stops chewing on whatever it is chewing on... I've taken all the sleep aides prescription and non. Melatonin can help and is natural just have to watch out how much you take as it can cause nightmares. Or just find one of my long blathering posts. That should knock you right out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy R Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Just because I can't resist. Yes I beat Insomnia... but it took me all night to do it!!!!! Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Hi Andy... Yeah, I'm still at work. By the way guys, I do an average of around 3 1/2 pots of coffee a day and some folks claim they need a knife and fork to consume my coffee. I wasn't kidding at all about the peanutbutter toast and the relaxation of facial muscles. It's kinda a zen thing in a sense 'cuz you unclench your teeth and you'd be surprised how much tightening of facial muscles affect everything from breathing to sinuses. Meanwhile the toast puts more blood to the tummy 'stedda the brain. m 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Sometimes the stress of needing sleep and not being able to keeps me awake. For me, reading helps. Either the bible, or technical stuff. As opposed to magazines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumrnmuzik Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Illegal natural green stuff used to be the best when I was a kid, but now that I'm a responsible citizen, and that the God given medicinal herb is still illegal where I live, I use prescription crap when night 3 comes along without sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dora Posted September 27, 2020 Share Posted September 27, 2020 Insomnia can occur independently or as a result of another problem. Not only is insomnia a night-time problem, it also causes significant daytime deficits. Sleep hygiene and lifestyle changes are typically the first treatment for insomnia. Treatment for insomnia may involve nonmedical therapy, such as developing better sleep habits or psychotherapy, and sometimes medications. Personally, I have found a solution to this problem. I actively spend my day: swimming, fitness, massage. Also, before going to bed I take light sedatives. I order at a Canadian Pharmacy. They are not addictive and help you sleep well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted September 27, 2020 Share Posted September 27, 2020 Melatonin. The natural hormone (responsible for the circadian rhythm, or sleep cycle) dropped by the pineal gland in the brain. As we get older, our body produces less and less of it, and we fall off of our normal sleep cycle. Take 3 or 5 mg of a natural melatonin supplement, a half hour before bed, and all will be well. It's not a sleep aid or drug. It's just replacing the hormone that you body no longer produces in sufficient quantity. 😐 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted September 27, 2020 Share Posted September 27, 2020 Those not troubled by it typically don't understand the seriousness of it. I have chronic insomnia. Its been lifelong. I've been desperate enough to try everything. I've not beaten insomnia. It's beaten me. Every year it gets slightly worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted September 27, 2020 Share Posted September 27, 2020 I've never been troubled by it. Up until a month or so ago. I'm convinced it has to do with my pre-occupation with the myriad of political, social, medical, violent weather and moral issues that seem to have sprung up. Anxiety, fear, confusion - promoted by the media... I wonder if it affects me at 73, what is it doing to our grandchildren. Back in my salad days - I would occasionally have a bad night - always due to deadlines and problems at work. But none ever rose to the level of 'anxiety attacks'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dora Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 (edited) Nowadays, there are many methods to overcome insomnia anxiety. Lifestyle changes, including good sleep habits, often help relieve insomnia. These changes might make it easier for you to fall asleep and stay asleep. If your insomnia is the symptom or side effect of another problem, it's important to treat that problem (if possible). When I have insomnia, I take light sedatives, which I order at a Canada Pharmacy. They suit me and I can sleep peacefully. Edited December 28, 2020 by Dora Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 (edited) Well this thread has insomnia. Thankyou Dora, I'm not in Canada or the USA. Take your pills and go back to sleep. Edited December 28, 2020 by jdgm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 I avoid caffeine after two pm. Eat a light supper NLT 7:00 pm. Alcohol yes, but nothing serious. Some beers. I take 10mg Melatonin along with 1 Zyrtec a half hour before bed time. I sleep hard from 9 pm until around 4 am, every night. Sometimes I'm up at 3:00 or 3:30. Seven days a week. I'll take it. 😐 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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