(Tried to post this last night. SDMB went down. Wasn’t sure it had posted, so I copied the text.)
Insomnia. Dammit.
Can’t make the brain shut up. I’m almost painfully tired, but I can’t fall asleep.
I’ve taken a hot bath. I’ve taken some 5-HTP (a precursor to tryptophan, the stuff in turkey that knocks you out in front of the TV- usually puts me into a coma within an hour or so). Still can’t fall asleep.
This, in a word, sucks.
I think I’m feeling a mite stressed between work and my personal life. I’ve been offered my dream job (but the guy needs to get funding before he can hire me). My birthday’s in less than a week- and I feel old, old, old; the annual “what the hell have I done with my life” anxiety’s hitting hard this year. Interpersonal relationships? Confusing, at best- the less said about that, the better.
And so now it’s morning. I finally, after taking some Nyquil, managed to sleep. Of course, now all I want to do is sleep.
I’m going to be worthless today, I just know it.
I too have been suffering from the inability to sleep for a while now. It’s just that my brain decides that as I relax to get ready for bed, that’s the time to kick into high gear and think about all those things I don’t want to think about, but I’ve discovered a solution…
Get a job that get’s you up at 4:00 a.m. every morning, and stay up all day until midnight. With only four hours of sleep a day, when your head hits that pillow, you’re out. Well, not really, it still takes me about twenty minutes to fall asleep, but that sure beats the one-and-a-half to two hours it usually used to take me.
But, that’s just what works for me, and I’m just hazarding a guess here, but I’m betting your “Dream Job” doesn’t involve waking up that early. So, maybe you should start an exercise routine. Get yourself up early, go jogging or do something active, work yourself through the day, keep yourself busy till late at night, and then get yourself the minimal amount of sleep possible to function. It sounds lame, but eventually you’ll get used to it, and it’s healthier than popping tons of pills. Plus, you’ll get exercise and lose wieght. I’ve lost about twenty pounds over the past four months, and I’ve done practically nothing but sit at work. So, if this is a persistant problem, there’s an idea.
If this was a simple rant about one evening’s unpleasantries, sorry to waste your time. But exercise and sleep deprivation do help to relieve anxiety. If you only choose one though, go with exercise.