I got up on Tuesday morning and I’ve had about two one hour naps since then and that’s it. I was very tired today at work, but whenever I try to sleep I just lie awake. I haven’t taken any pharmaceuticals. What the hell is going on?
Matt, me too. Why else would I be reading these messages at this ridiculous hour?
Chances are you’re actually sleeping when you lie down, but you’re just not aware of it. I know, that sounds goofy, but I’ve got experience on my side; I’ve been an insomniac since I was 4 years old.
What’s going on is that you lie down, sleep for a very short period of time, and then wake up-- not realizing that you fell asleep. You feel rotten, but you actually are getting some rest.
For some reason you’re not sleeping well. (hmm. Is Montreal in the middle of a heat wave?) The reasons are legion, but I wouldn’t really worry about it. About the only thing guaranteed to make sure you will stay awake is trying to get to sleep 
You can always check out the Natl Sleep organization ( I think that’s what they’re called). They have a good website.
Stress will do it to me every time matt. Have Dairy Queen created the abomination to rival the Pecan Mud Slide and made it this month’s special?
A 2 hour nap can make a world of difference. When I discuss periods I have stayed awake for a long time, I don’t count it if it was interrupted by a 2 hour nap.
I used to think I needed 8 hours of sleep every night, but I’ve found that to not be the case. For the last couple of weeks I have been sleeping 3 to 5 hours a day since we took my stepdaughter out of day-care. I work nights so I stay up when I get home until a couple of hours before my wife gets home from work, put on a movie for the kid, and go get some sleep. I usually get up for dinner, and then will sometimes snag another nap before I have to leave for work at 9:30.
I haven’t noticed any ill effects at all now that I have adapted.
Go buy some Melatonin. It is a hormone produced by the human body that aids in sleep. Get it at your local grocery store vitamin counter. Works for me. Cheap, too.
My guess is the weather. It’s been very hot and humid, and that can give you insomnia even after you come inside to an air conditioned place. I’ve had some trouble sleeping lately, too, and it always connects to heat.
Could be stress, too. Got any stressful-type problems afoot? And we should discuss ALL your sleeping habits to get a full picture of the situation. How do you sleep and when?
Bosda:
You can’t buy melatonin off the shelf in Canada, and I don’t think they prescribe it. He’d need to get it in the States.
Fatal familial insomnia. (http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010615.html)
Frightened now?
I’ve been something of an insomniac my entire life, but this fatal familial insomnia has scared the bejeezus out of me!
I’ve tried valerian and melatonin in the past and neither of them did a bit of good for me.
Are you well or sick? The only time I spent 40+ hours awake was when I was so sick(congested) I couldn’t breath lying down, and my body refused to believe the notion that one can sleep sitting. The woe of one’s first serious illness in college, far from one’s helpful mom!
Once I became less congested, I slept for about 14 hours straight.
Other than that, I’d guess you really are sleeping a little like Barbarian supposes. I too have always been an insomnic, and while my problem is mostly staying asleep, there are nights I’ll think I didn’t sleep at all, but since there are 30 minute to hour blocks of time I can’t account for by the clock, I assume I must have slept a bit.
IMHO melatonin doesn’t work unless you take it consistantly for a few weeks, and then it might work. A quicker fix is two/the adult dosage of benadryl or other decongestants that causes sleepiness in large numbers of people. (most people are made sleepy by at least one type, be it sutifed, tavist d or contact etc). In fact, benadryl is the “pm” part of most pm versions of asprin or non-asprin pain relievers.
Does your mind race while your’re trying to sleep? Are you having unusually creative or insightful thoughts?
You may be nuts!
Sleeplessness often accompanies a manic attack.
Not that I’d know anything about such things.
There’s a chance that what’s actually going on isn’t as important as what your plan of action should be. There’s a cycle going on in your life that you need to break. It probably involves work, chores at home, things you’re interested in and want to do but don’t have time to except at odd and excessive hours, etc. Break the cycle! If you have any vacation time see if you can endure one more day at work and put in a request for maybe even as much as a week of vacation. Then stay in the house and do whatever and let your body do what it needs to do.
I don’t know why you haven’t slept, but I have some ideas to help
I often have trouble falling asleep, and a good portion of the time is because I can’t seem to turn my brain off. I’m not stressing in particular about anything, but my tiny little brain is going a mile a minute. So I have to distract myself.
One way that works great for me is books on tape. Not the good ones mind you, David Sedaris or a mystery, but something long and drawn out. Jane Austen,Dickens, and Melville knock me out like a light. 'Course so does Stephan King, so go figure. I don’t know what it is, the droning of a voice but it works a hell of a lot better than warm milk.
The other (and I KNOW how New Age-y and silly this sounds)
is deep breathing exercises in conjuction with counting backwords from 100. I always get to 70 something, lose my place and start all over again. Works pretty well.
Sex is always helpful, but not always an option. How do you feel about 30 mile bike rides?
And last but not least, curl up with a warm, four legged, furry creature of your choice (I use a 12lb Minature Pinscher, but cats also work very well) Actually, just watching cats sleep makes me sleepy. Grab your creature of choice, snuggle it up in bed, and let out a huge sigh of contentment. Even if you can’t fall asleep, they make great living hot water bottles.
good luck
One word: Ambien.