And not because I was partying. Where does insomnia end and mania begin? I napped for a short while between 10-11 and then was woken, and really been able to fall asleep since. Around midnight I gave up and fired up the computer, played some Civ II, and did some reading. Surfed the net. No sleepy. I’ve had no caffeine in over 30 hours, and not too much sugar.
I have an 8 AM class that I’ll probably try staying up for, but I have to go to work at 4 PM. Anyone ever experianced anything like this? I’m not talking about pulling an all-nighter because you need to, or partying all night, I’ve done both of those, but I was sleepy. Not now, I feel like it could be midday.
I keep telling people this but nobody seems to want to try it. Writing! Stream-of-consciousness writing, where you put pen to paper and write down any and all random thoughts come into your head. Especially if you’re anxious or fearful about something. Works for me. When the pen stops moving, it’s like somebody pulled the plug.
That works well for me too. Sometimes it’s really good poetry, and sometimes its a crazed rant (not at all uncommon for a sleep deprived Wonko), but it does help you relax after you get all of the bad stuff out. Let us know how your day goes Swiddles, I’m sending positive energy northwards for you!
When I can’t sleep, I set the alarm clock, and close my eyes. Unless I’m thirsty or have to go to the bathroom, I keep my eyes shut. The number one rule is: NO LOOKING AT THE CLOCK.
Otherwise, I toss, and turn, and look at the clock every five minutes. And ask myself:
Asleep yet?
No.
How about now?
No.
Asleep yet?
No.
Asleep yet?
No.
And then, I worry about why I can’t sleep. And how tired I’ll be in the morning. With all that, no wonder I couldn’t get to sleep.
This doesn’t always put me to sleep, but at least this way, I don’t have memories of what times I was awake. And by lying in bed with my eyes closed, I at least get some rest, if not sleep.
I could send you some technical standards manuals. They always put me to sleep. Especially the MPEG specification. If reading it doesn’t work, ask somebody to bop you over the head with it.
So I was up until 6 AM, and skipped my two morning classes. Not good. I woke up this morning with a sore throat, also not good. Lack of sleep makes me sick. So I just had a meal with a ton of garlic, scallion and ginger, that should help my immune system.
Feh. the wierd thing was that I just wasn’t tired at all. I get insomnia, but around 2 or 3 I usually fall asleep. I just didn’t feel like sleeping. Odd.
I just drank two cups of coffee because I was bored. I wanted to go to read a book and I went to a coffee shop and just finished drinking two cups of coffee. I’m not really jumpy or anything, but I doubt I’ll be going to bed anytime soon. Considering I have to get up at 7 tomorrow, I’ll be drinking coffee tomorrow morning as well as I try to get myself out of my stupor.
Oh well, such is life.
Oh, SwimmingRiddles, remember the first rule of college: no matter how late your first class starts, you will sleep through it.
SwimmingRiddles, when I end up staying awake all night, I find that something which helps me get through the next day is taking a 15 minute nap at some point. It’s not long enough to go into a deep sleep, but it’s enough to take the edge off of the accompanying fatigue and restore a semblance of lucidity to my thinking.
Sorry, I don’t know of a cure for insomnia, just methods of coping with it. Hope you sleep well tonight.
Oh, I also take the short nap sitting up in order not to become too comfortable. (Otherwise, I’ll end up sleeping for hours.)
Well, this only works if you’re addicted to caffeine like me, but…
If you haven’t had any in the last 30 hours, drink some coke or something, you know…that helps a lot for me. But like I said, I’m addicted. Good luck
I read. With some chill music quietly playing, propped up in my bed. Reading for pleasure helps me to sit still for a while, relax, and takes my mind off all the crap I should be doing. And it keeps you occupied for as long as it takes to get to sleep, instead of spending that time staring at the clock and despairing about when you have to be up in the morning.
I often put an extra pillow over my eyes, too, if I’m having trouble falling asleep. Don’t know if it’s the utter darkness, or the comforting weight, but it rarely fails.
Oh yeah. On Sunday night, after X-Files, I went online for about seven hours, until 5am. At that point, I turned my light off and covered my computer, so my parents wouldn’t be able to tell I was awake as they got ready for work. I must have just stayed in bed for half an hour, just staring at the ceiling, not tired one bit. When they had gone, I went right back to my computer, and stayed on until 7:30am, when I left for my 9:30 class.
I hadn’t had any caffeine, or anything that would explain why I just didn’t feel tired. I do have trouble falling asleep (takes me a good hour, typically), but never anything like that. In all, I was up for 36 hours straight.
Try this . . . put some whiskey in a glass of warm milk and . . . no wait . . . oh I remember now - drink lots of whiskey. Just kidding.
Working the third shift as I have for many years now I also battle insomnia on a pretty regular basis. Strangely, after awhile you come to enjoy the “no sleep buzz”. In some ways it is even better than those achieved during my experimental “try anything once” college days. (Yes I did too graduate . . . at least I think I rememeber a black robe and a piece of paper.) However it seems as if sleep deprivation is not as much fun to you so may I suggest . . . . melatonin ?
It was suggested to me by someone on this very MB and it works great. Melatonin is a chemical your body secrets when you go to sleep. Get a bottle at any drug store. Go for the man-made kind like “Melatonex” be very leary of any “all natural” melatonin as it can include bovine hormones and other nasty stuff which could be worse for you than no sleep at all. Take a small dose, say a half or fourth of a pill about 30 minutes before you want to crash - and do not have anywhere you need to be, cause this stuff will flat knock you out. If you feel a bit groggy when you wake the next day get into some bright light, light is the enemy of melatonin both the kind your body produces and the kind you take. Light causes the levels to rapidly go down.
All of this is merely a suggestion, could be this insomnia will simply go away on its own (stressful time for you ?).
Becareful, Nothingman. Melatonin can become addictive in the sense that your body becomes aclimated to a certain amount of it in your system before it can sleep. So after extended use, it can become VERY difficult to fall asleep without it. Neurochemicals are a tricky thing. But I might buy a bottle for situations like the above.
As for me, I was hit again on Wednesday night (the 2 nights after the OP) by insomnia and was up until 2:30 or so. I tried everything suggested, but I think the exhaustian eventually got me. The following night, assuming that sleep deprivation was part of my problem, I took a sleeping pill (perscription) and was out for 13 hours. Ahhhh…of course, now I have a horrible cold from all the lack of sleep. Feh. I now must go buy myself some Sudifed and OJ.
Good luck