# Insomnia is getting worse.



## Sam (Mar 20, 2013)

I haven't been able to sleep for more than a two-hour stretch over the last fortnight. I bought new pillows, a new mattress, two duvets and a truckload of herbal remedies supposed to promote long and revitalising sleep. To borrow the catchphrase of a good friend, "Phooey!" As Sheldon Cooper once said to Penny, when she wanted to purchase a multi-vitamin, "What you have there are the ingredients for highly expensive urine." Might as well be popping speed. 

On the plus side, I can't complain about not having enough hours to do what I need to do. I'm writing more than ever.


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## Cran (Mar 20, 2013)

I hope it's temporary, and that your sleep patterns return to normal very soon, Sam. Although, yes, it does give more time to do things like writing, chronic insomnia is not all that healthy in the long term. It might be that with everything, especially the new challenges, going on in your life right now, your mind is not willing to switch off when you need to rest. If that is the cause, then once you _feel_ confident (rather than think) that you've got a handle on the main things, sleep will catch up with you.


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## moderan (Mar 20, 2013)

One can hope. As a lifetime chronic insomniac, I have no solutions. Only sympathy.


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## Hemlock (Mar 20, 2013)

Refrain from reading any horror stories for the meantime, stay away from caffeine, and get a blindfold in case the lights in your room are too bright. Good luck in your regaining your sleep pattern. :ghost:


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## Morkonan (Mar 20, 2013)

OK, this is definitely a problem.

Now, not everyone needs the same amount of sleep every night. I've even known someone who only slept one day out of the week. But, while these sorts of people do exist and do remain healthy, they're extremely rare cases. That you are noting this as a "problem" means that you're likely not one of them.

First of all, let's get serious, since this is serious stuff - What's your problem?

This isn't a case of where you're just not able to sleep because the sun rises and sets every day. This isn't a case of not having a comfy bed, either. This is something more than that. Are you going through some difficult problems in life? Do you have something on your mind that's eating away at you? What about problems with your social, family or work life? Are economics getting you down? You can afford a new bed, so that might not be the issue.

Next up, what has changed from the period in which you were getting what you consider to be "normal" sleep and now? What is normal sleep for you? Six to eight hours? Four? Ten? When did you notice the change and what was going on in your life, at that time, which is likely still continuing to be a problem?

Now, we're on to diet. I used to drink several liters of coffee a day. I was a coffee addict. It was great! I could work at the speed of light and was so productive I actually had free time at work! YAYZ! But, it killed me later... I found that my continued caffeine intake during the day seriously impinged upon my ability to sleep. My body would refuse to go to sleep and would then wake up, craving more caffeine.  Nasty bit, that. So, I stopped the heavy coffee consumption, reduced my intake to two cups and stopped drinking caffeinated beverages past 6pm. The result - Better sleep.

Eating - Don't eat within two hours of bed time. If you can, stretch that to three or more. When you eat, your body goes into overdrive, processing food. It's a mini-assembly line, churning away, expending loads of calories and generating lots of heat and activity. That is a bad thing if you're having trouble sleeping, so eat dinner early. Also, don't drink caffeinated beverages within a few hours of going to bed. Go out and buy decaf soda, if you have to. But, whatever you do, don't insist on waking up your body when it's really time for it to be getting ready to sleep. You'll find amazing results are possible if you just cut your caffeine intake! Also - Stay away from heavy and hard to digest meals during dinner. Avoid heavy proteins and carbs as much as possible, since your body will be greedily grinding on those for quite awhile. Instead, eat light and early dinners, when possible. No snacking, either! Don't grab that candy bar or pastry, just before bedtime. 

Temperature - One of the ways your body signals that it is time to go to sleep is that it cools down. This is very important and it's very difficult to sleep in a hot room or under blankets that make you sweat. So, make sure your room is cool and comfortable.

Light - Circadian rhythms have been talked to death, so I'm sure you're aware of them. I hope.  The point of it all is that your body is keyed to certain rhythms of light and dark and when you disturb that, you confuse your body. Things like "jet lag" are one of the results. This is such a problem in today's world that cases involving sleep problems are actually treated with "Light Therapy" using, yes, lights... These simulate sunlight and help the body retune its rhythms. Because of this, you should sleep in a dark room. As dark as you can get it. Darkness tells our body it's time for bed and light tells our body its time to get up! So, the room should be dark at night. But, when its time to wake, there should be light. For this reason, people who are having sleep problems are often instructed to do things like raise their blinds or draw aside their curtains in order to let in sunlight in the morning. If you can do this, it's a good idea. But, if you have bright lights outside your bedroom window, it may not work well for you. One of the things you can try is a "Sleep Mask." This will keep things dark enough for you at night, but will likely let in a bit of sunlight in the morning, when you most need it.

Noise - Noise is bad. But, not all noise has to be bad. Besides being cool and dark, your bedroom should be very quiet. If you have problems with noise at night, then use disposable foam earplugs. I never go anywhere without a set as I am very sensitive to sounds. I wear them anytime I think that there might be normal ambient noises that will keep me awake. They're light enough to not be noticed during sleep and they will still let loud noises alert me to potential problems. (Buy the light foam ones meant for sleep, not the ones meant for loud environments or for swimming.)

White Noise - This is "Good Noise." It masks light, irritating, noises like "bumps in the night", yet doesn't mask important noises, like alarm clocks or breaking glass... There are plenty of "White Noise Generators" out there, but the best one is a simple electric fan. Not only does it provide a comforting hum of white noise, it helps keep the room cool. Buy one. I use one wherever I can.

Exercise - Exercise is good, but it's not good close before bedtime. Exercise is good, during the day, because your body just goes all googly-eyed when it gets exercised. All sorts of good things happen, including the body screaming at you, late at night, to get some sleep so it can do its maintenance routines. If you're not doing it already, start exercising during the day for at least fifteen minutes. It's good for you and will help you sleep, later that night. Do not exercise within a couple of hours before bedtime, though. That's ungood and will put your body in a higher alert state that takes awhile to come down from. 

Timing - You have to let your body set its clock. That means that you need to start being regular about your sleeping habits. Start going to bed at the same time, each night, and rising at the same time, each day. Try to do this. I know it's hard, but you're having a problem and need to get it fixed. One of the most important ways you're going to accomplish that is by trying to reset your body's clock by adopting a regular sleep schedule.

Your Bedroom - Your bedroom is for sleep and, occasionally, sex. It is not for reading, eating, watching television or playing on the computer. You must stop doing anything but sleeping in your bed, aside from the previously noted exception... which is fine. That means, no reading in bed, no munching on snacks, no watching television in bed, no playing on the computer in your bedroom, yada, yada, yada... It's for sleep and we want your body to know it's for sleep. We don't want your brain thinking that all sorts of things are possible, here. We want it realizing "Hey, this is the bedroom! That must mean it's time for sleep." If you can't sleep, get up and go somewhere else.

When you can't sleep - Get out of bed. There is no use torturing yourself by tossing and turning - Get up. Go into another room and grab a book or watch television. Don't grab the most exciting book ever written and don't watch the most action packed, dramatic, howitzer blow-up horror movie ever shown! Watch a documentary or something that is fairly neutral and read a book that is interesting, yet not riveting. If you wish, you can browse the net, just don't jump on to your favorite game or, worse, start working on particularly difficult pieces of writing! We want your brain to be winding down, not winding up! Don't feel guilty about getting out of bed and doing something like this - You have to do it in order to help fix your problem.

The worry - Not sleeping causes us many problems, the most common being that you will worry about not being able to get enough sleep for tomorrow or that you won't wake on time. That happens and there's not much you can do about it. Instead, you just have to accept the fact that you're having problems sleeping. But, you have something that will make you feel much better about that - You have tools that you can use to help yourself, so you're not completely doomed forever! In fact, the act of using those tools like getting up out of bed and going into another room when you can't sleep, reducing your caffeine intake, daily exercise, white noise, etc.. will help alleviate some of your stress. After all, you're working towards a solution and there is salvation within reach!

Let's review:

Diet - Avoid eating late, avoid caffeine consumption, avoid heavy evening meals where possible.

Your room - Cool, quiet, comfortably dark with good opportunity for sunlight in the morning.

Exercise - A good fifteen minute routine in the early afternoon or mid-morning, but never within two hours of going to bed. (NOT first thing in the morning! Never! That's the time that most heart-attacks occur...)

A schedule - Go to bed at around the same time, each night, and rise around the same time, each day. Do it. Make yourself do it. If work or other things make this difficult, do your best to try to establish a solid schedule.

What your bedroom is for - Your bedroom is for sleep and sex, that's it. Don't read, play games, watch television or eat there. Tune your body and brain to recognize the bedroom as a place that you're supposed to sleep in.

When you can't sleep - Get up. Do mundane things that aren't too stimulating, but keep you occupied while you're trying to wind down.

The Worry - You can't escape it, completely. But, you can take heart in the fact that you are _actively_ working to solve the problem.


Lastly - Let's return to "your problem." What is it? Are there any important issues going on in your life that you're dwelling on or that could be causing you distress? Cough 'em up or just give a general synopsis without specifics and I'll try to help.

PS - NEVER think drugs are the answer for sleep. Your body will wake as soon as they wear off, guarranteed. If you're taking medication or "herbal supplements" in order to sleep, than this could easily be your entire problem. In fact, any sort of artificial depressant is going to have that effect. Alcohol is notoriously bad for a good night's sleep. As the effects wear off, the body becomes more alert. Similarly, taking a stimulant like certain vitamins could cause all sorts of issues. Drugs are a bad idea, altogether, unless you have certain critical issues that require sleeping pills to provide a temporary solution while you work on more natural means, like I have described.


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## Gumby (Mar 20, 2013)

After such a wonderful and detailed discussion as the above, there's nothing left to say that could possibly be helpful, Morkonan covered everything.  

I, too, sympathize as I go through spells of this, also. Luckily, these spells are followed by an equally long spell of being able to sleep great. I think mine may stem from working nights for over 20 years and being a real life walking dead.  It really screwed up my sleep patterns. Hope it ends soon, Sam.


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## Staff Deployment (Mar 20, 2013)

My patented strategy:
Liquor.

Just like, all the liquor.
disclaimer: do not actually do this


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## squidtender (Mar 20, 2013)

Man . . . I really HATE to be this guy, but I know it works great for me . . . and don't laugh :redface2:

A half hour of yoga and a little meditation at the end of a day is a great way to find your center again

Wish you the best, boss :love_heart:


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## Lewdog (Mar 20, 2013)

squidtender said:


> Man . . . I really HATE to be this guy, but I know it works great for me . . . and don't laugh :redface2:
> 
> A half hour of yoga and a little meditation at the end of a day is a great way to find your center again
> 
> Wish you the best, boss :love_heart:



Do you know the dirty dog...err I mean downward dog?

Melatonin works good, just make sure to get the ones that dissolve in your mouth.


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## Staff Deployment (Mar 21, 2013)

Squidtender

I already know where my center is

It's about a half-hour bus ride from my house

Lots of like, shops and things
K-Mart
Myer's
Woolworth's
The lot of 'em, big place, lots of buildings


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## Morkonan (Mar 21, 2013)

Gumby said:


> After such a wonderful and detailed discussion as the above, there's nothing left to say that could possibly be helpful, Morkonan covered everything.



Absolutely not! There's plenty of things you could probably offer, including good lessons from personal experience. But, there's one thing you can certainly offer that I can not - Your sympathy and the extension of personal support and good wishes for the afflicted. Sometimes, that counts for more than ten bottles of internet ink. Sometimes, even more than twelve!


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## Sam (Mar 21, 2013)

I haven't touched alcohol in over a decade. I don't smoke either. And I'm not stressed about anything at the moment. I've had insomnia since I was a teenager. There are times when it's insufferable and other times when I sleep like a baby.

I don't have a regular time for going to bed. Last night it was just after midnight. The night before, 1 a.m..


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## Rustgold (Mar 21, 2013)

What work do you do?  I've found hard physical work (or similar) to be my best cure.

Btw: Most claimed cures are bogus wife's tales.


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## Morkonan (Mar 22, 2013)

Sam said:


> I haven't touched alcohol in over a decade. I don't smoke either. And I'm not stressed about anything at the moment. I've had insomnia since I was a teenager. There are times when it's insufferable and other times when I sleep like a baby.
> 
> I don't have a regular time for going to bed. Last night it was just after midnight. The night before, 1 a.m..



(I'm not a physician nor am I a licensed professional therapist. I have to acknowledge that, even anonymously.)

Do you have any chronic medical conditions you'd be willing to offer, here, as a possible contributor to the problem? (Aside from chronic insomnia.) Any problems with anxiety or anything?

Aside from medical issues, which should be treated by your physician, there are things that you can do to help. I've outlined some of them, above. One of the most important is trying to get yourself on a regular sleep schedule. An hour difference, here and there, isn't that big of a deal. But, as you know, insomnia can knock that all to heck and back... Still, try to make yourself stick to a schedule, even if it's not working. Just get up, if you can't sleep, and follow some of the tips I listed.

For myself, I'm a terrible sleeper. I can't sleep "purposefully." In other words, I have no sleep schedule worth considering. I go to sleep when I'm exhausted and have never, ever, been able to go to sleep "because I have something important to do the next day." That's never happened with me unless I plan it several days in advance... Sleeping can be problematic for me in other ways, as well. Just had to offer that.

It might be worth trying to get in to a Sleep Clinic. They're all over the place, in the United States. They do some very good work and I've known several people who have benefited from them. Just be sure its accredited and isn't full of unlicensed witchdoctors. Licensed ones are fine, just watch out for the bone necklaces and chicken feet.

Because this is a chronic condition, you may also benefit from a few sessions with a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist. CBT can help you train yourself how to handle the problem in the most effective ways. You wouldn't need any sort of long-term therapy unless there are other issues, by the way. You might have several sessions where the therapist teaches you various proven techniques, perhaps with a few aids, in order for you to continue to use them throughout your life. Many will be ones that I've discussed above, some may be more advanced. (Relaxation techniques and the like, which I didn't cover, would be some of those.) I don't think you'd need more than a handful of sessions and then some followups, where the therapist discusses any problems you have encountered and helps you gauge your progress.

I'm glad to hear you're not going through any especially difficult problems that could be causing this. But, at the same time, that's the easiest sort of thing to look for.  So, it makes things a bit more difficult. 

Sleep is important. Problems with irregular sleeping, insomnia and other difficulties sleeping have been shown to be connected to several more serious issues, like diabetes and heart disease. No foolin'. This isn't a constant problem for you, which is good. But, in my humble opinion, you should seek some help, either with a Sleep Clinic, CBT therapist or start with your physician, who's privy to all your medical issues.


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## Lewdog (Mar 22, 2013)

Seeing a chiropractor can help with your sleep.  Taking Valerian Root can help put you to sleep, smelling Valerian Root can wake you up.  Now that's a contradiction!


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## Sam (Mar 22, 2013)

I've taken Valerian root. God, it stinks! Smells like dirty socks. 

Morkonan: Sorry I didn't reply to your first post. It was brilliant. I will fully in due time. 

I have Addison's, but it wouldn't account for insomnia.


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## moderan (Mar 29, 2013)

How's your blood pressure, mister Sam? Often that is at the root of insomnia. Valerian root is nasty. I had good luck for a while with Ativan until my body adjusted...and my doc added lisinopril to my diet. The pair will knock you out for awhile.
Otherwise, I have no answers. I suspect the savella won't be the right door either.


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## Lewdog (Mar 29, 2013)

I did a drug study for Ambien once.  I made $1,500 being a guinea pig.  It was a completely blind study so you never knew what you were getting.  One day I took a dose and I started seeing lights separate into different colors.  I had to wear one of those electrode skullcaps.  They would wake you up as soon as you fell asleep.  The day I was having hallucinations as soon as they turned off the lights and shut the door, I swear they were coming right back in to wake me up.  I later found out it was a 15 mg dose.  I don't think they even have that dose now.  That stuff works!


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## Olly Buckle (Mar 29, 2013)

My male gay friends tell me even homosexual men go to sleep after sex, the female ones tell me they still like to stay awake and chat like their straight counterparts, so it is no solution for the ladies, but it seems to be pretty universal for the guys, it is all over and within five mins. she has loads to say and a snoring hulk to chat to. Even if it doesn't work it could be fun trying it


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## Lewdog (Mar 29, 2013)

Olly Buckle said:


> My male gay friends tell me even homosexual men go to sleep after sex, the female ones tell me they still like to stay awake and chat like their straight counterparts, so it is no solution for the ladies, but it seems to be pretty universal for the guys, it is all over and within five mins. she has loads to say and a snoring hulk to chat to. Even if it doesn't work it could be fun trying it




Haha Olly I like you, but this post totally lost me.


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## moderan (Mar 29, 2013)

He says the solution is sex.


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## Lewdog (Mar 29, 2013)

moderan said:


> He says the solution is sex.




I got lost when it came to gay friends and pillow talk.


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## Kevin (Mar 29, 2013)

He's saying things would be a lot easier if you were gay. I agree, but alas...some of us are cursed.


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## Olly Buckle (Mar 30, 2013)

Kevin said:


> He's saying things would be a lot easier if you were gay. I agree, but alas...some of us are cursed.


Not so, simply that this is one area of maleness that seems to affect all men of all types.


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## moderan (Mar 30, 2013)

Pattern insomnia? Because of balled-ness!


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## Lewdog (Mar 30, 2013)

This thread might be putting Sam to sleep.


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## moderan (Mar 30, 2013)

Lucky him.


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## Sam (Mar 30, 2013)

I've never had issues with blood pressure, Mod. I'm starting to think my sleep problems are in part related to a back problem. I have no pain during the day, but whenever I do manage to sleep, I wake up with localised pain in the small of my back. If I happen to wake at two in the morning, I won't get back to sleep. 

That's only part of the problem. Even when I'm pain-free, sleep doesn't want to come.


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## Lewdog (Mar 30, 2013)

Sounds like it is time for that pillow they show on tv that you sleep with between your legs.  It's supposed to help keep your legs in a natural position that doesn't put extra torque on your spine.


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## moderan (Mar 30, 2013)

The localized pain is your mattress, I think. I had it for years. Maybe some spinal curvature issue or a misaligned disc. I have a slipped disc that occasionally breaks into spasms.
I've taken to sleeping (when it happens) in my recliner. I have the same problem with waking up...whether to use the facilities or because the cats/rabbits/birds are making noise. If I get up, I'm not going back to sleep.
My meds worked for exactly one dose. It's 4:30 am here. I haven't been to sleep. I'll just keep going til I pass out.
On the plus side, I wrote another short story and my first new song in a month. Que sera sera.


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## Lewdog (Mar 30, 2013)

Haha I didn't fall asleep until 4 am here because the neighbors were having WWIII, then woke up at 5:30 because my tooth was killing me again.  Put on another dose of Ambisol, ate something, took my morning meds, now I am going to try to go back to sleep.

Honestly Sam, the thing I found that messed up my sleeping the most is not having a set schedule.  I always thought that internal clock stuff was a bunch of bull, until I traveled over seas and got major jet lag.  Then when I got back it took me about a week to get back on my regular sleeping times.


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## moderan (Mar 30, 2013)

Circadian rhythm is a lot, but it's not everything. It takes a while to get back on-schedule if one falls off. Sometimes it takes me months.


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## Sam (Mar 30, 2013)

I try to keep a schedule, Lew. It doesn't work for me. If I go to bed at 11 p.m. every night for a week, chances are I won't get to sleep until midnight for four or five or them. My body clock is set to initiate REM sleep when I'm flat-out exhausted. So I'll be working on a story at 1 a.m. and I'll feel my eyelids drooping. That's my sign that it's time to hit the hay. Sometimes I'll sit there and try to finish a scene. I usually wake up five hours later with my head on the keyboard and the laptop in hibernation mode. 

It's been that way since I was a teenager. I doubt there's much chance of changing it now.


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## Bloggsworth (Mar 30, 2013)

By far the biggest obstacle to falling asleep is the fear of not falling asleep - I've always found Raquel Welch a great help in that regard. Would that she had ben my distaff side, but no such luck, but I recall her in her prime and like most young men lusted for her mightily and still do for the memory of her, so I pre-sleep dream, imagining I was seducing her and, inevitably, before I can have my wicked way with her, I am asleep. The young Jacqueline Bissett can serve much the same purpose. I sometimes imagine what it would be like to have the use of a 250F Maserati and Silverstone for a day, or what I could have achieved had I not been such an idle bastard; the one thing I avoid, is thinking about why I am not yet asleep...


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## Olly Buckle (Mar 30, 2013)

> I wrote another short story and my first new song in a month. Que sera sera.


Surely that is an old song?

sorry


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## moderan (Mar 30, 2013)

Mmm. Hoist on my own petard.


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## Olly Buckle (Mar 30, 2013)

> I sometimes imagine what it would be like to have the use of a 250F Maserati and Silverstone for a day


Like I said, sex, even imaginary sex it seems, for me it would be my old GS 750 on public roads and imunity from prosecution, dream on.


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## Morkonan (Mar 31, 2013)

moderan said:


> Mmm. Hoist on my own petard.



Petards... Funny things, petards. Medieval warfare had its humorous side.


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