# Can't sleep ... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 17, 2006, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-sleep/384492 "2006-12-17T09:11:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-sleep/384492/1 "2006-12-17T09:11:20Z")
… clowns will eat me. Nah. Well, nah on the clowns – definitely can’t sleep, though. Woke up over an hour ago and just can’t fall asleep. Too much going on, I guess. Anyone else up when they should be sound asleep? ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-sleep/384492/2 "2006-12-17T09:17:32Z")
I should be asleep but we were at a Solstice party and I’m winding down. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-sleep/384492/3 "2006-12-17T09:18:33Z")
I woke up at midnight, been having a lot of stress in the family. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-sleep/384492/4 "2006-12-17T09:20:59Z")
Yup. I pulled an all-nighter last night, too. I wasn’t sober enough to drive home until 4:30 in the morning, and I knew if I went to sleep I would sleep through my alarm, miss work again and get fired. So I drank three Red Bulls and five cups of coffee, plus a couple more at work. I figure I’ve been up about 40 hours at this point. I still don’t really feel like going to sleep. But I don’t have to be at work until almost sundown, so I’ll be OK. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Captain\_C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_C)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-sleep/384492/5 "2006-12-17T10:04:47Z")
I’m wide awake, but only because I’m working the 10PM to 6AM shift. Yay mall security, paying me to read through the discworld series. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-sleep/384492/6 "2006-12-17T10:05:08Z")
Been up over 24 hours. Still at work! ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-sleep/384492/7 "2006-12-17T10:14:54Z")
And we enter hour three of this bullshit … I think I’m going to go back to bed, where at least I’ll be warm – I turn the heat down at night. 'Cause, yanno, I’m asleep under the down comforter then. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-sleep/384492/8 "2006-12-17T10:33:02Z")
Self hypnosis: Get comfortable and lay flat on your back, room as silent as possible. Breath regularly and then tell your toes to relax…fall asleep. Then tell your feet to relax and fall asleep. Tell your ankles to relax and then sleep. Move up to your calves, tell them to relax and sleep. Move up to your knees, do the same. Then thighs. Then groin and hips. Mid section. Then fingers, arms. Chest. Tell your heart to relax and breath regularly. Work up to your shoulders. By now, your body should be relaxed. Then, when you get to your head - just envision moving off to some place calm…tell your brain to focus on something calm - a beach, travel to some far off place - something peaceful. Pleasant dreams. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-sleep/384492/9 "2006-12-17T10:50:34Z")
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-sleep/384492/10 "2006-12-17T10:54:47Z")
Pleasant dreams? When I sleep my dreams are long, involved political parables with various animals as world leaders. Or I dream that I’m trying to explain our foreign policies and economy to someone. Or that Aleister Crowley, Kafka, and various left wing terrorists are following me around. Or that I’m reliving the less pleasant times of my childhood. When I’ve had enough of that I wake up at 2:30 am and read message boards. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-sleep/384492/11 "2006-12-17T11:02:51Z")
I’m up, worrying about studying for this round of finals. Instead of, say, actually studying. I’m just productive like that. I’ve got two that just may kill me, another that will take some effort but I’ll end up doing fairly well on, and one which will be a relative breeze. And, oh, by the way, I have to find a place to live next year. Our campus, in their infinite wisdom, lets only a small number of upperclassmen live off campus, and they give releases all at once. It’s pretty much a race. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-sleep/384492/12 "2006-12-17T11:11:45Z")
Also, I think this thread should be a long-term fixture here in MPSIMS. Gives all the night owls a place to congregate, instead of checking the other parts of the board and finding that, yep, nobody’s posting. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-sleep/384492/13 "2006-12-17T11:22:23Z")
I was hoping to sleep in till at least 7, but at 5, I was wide awake - not too surprising, since that’s when I’m normally getting ready for work. So I’ve showered, tended to the critters, and I’m getting ready to sort thru a pile of stuff that I started sorting yesterday. Yeah, I know, not as bad as some of you, but still aggravating - it’s as if I’m incapable of sleeping past 5. And I’m now officially on vacation for 2 weeks… Think I’ll make some tea. _\_ ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-sleep/384492/14 "2006-12-17T12:10:42Z")
I woke up at 4:35, Florida time. I’ve made a pot of coffee, done a load of dishes, washed 12 new wine glasses by hand, and then had to rearrange a kitchen cabinet to get enough space to put them away. I think I’ll go take a nap. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-sleep/384492/15 "2006-12-17T12:34:17Z")
Yup, I’m up too. sigh. I’m glad I’m in good company, though. Wishing you all pleasant dreams if/when you get there. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-sleep/384492/16 "2006-12-17T13:51:17Z")
Three hours sleep, then woke up from a disturbing dream. Now – I’m working in the wee small hours of the morning. Coffee helps me keep awake to finish these reports – then, hopefully, I can get back to the land of Nod. (crossed fingers) ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-sleep/384492/17 "2006-12-17T14:24:25Z")
**DMark** – I don’t usually need such an elaborate version of self-hypnosis – usually, if I’m having a problem falling asleep (which is, thank god, quite infrequent), I can just lie there and think “serene” on my exhales. That often works. If it doesn’t, I count backwards. Starting at, like, 100. I can’t believe it works, so it’s a last resort – but it always does. (FTR, BTW, I went back to sleep, had a long, weird dream about a friend’s daughter – who I’ve never met IRL [the daughter, not the friend, obviously], and slept till three hours past my usual weekday wakeup time – so I guess that makes up for the 2.5 hours I was awake in the middle of the night. Well, that and the nap I’ll no doubt take this afternoon.) ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-sleep/384492/18 "2006-12-17T15:10:26Z")
I have been awake since 5:00, when my daughter started crying for no apparent reason (she was still asleep), and stopped right after I went in her room to check on her. Usually when I can’t fall asleep I do times tables in my head. Works pretty well, but after doing 2-5 last night, I didn’t feel like doing 6-?? this morning! ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-sleep/384492/19 "2006-12-17T18:36:13Z")
Not today, but last Thursday I was up at 3 O’ @!#@$ clock. But I had a good day anyway.