# Oh, my fucking gawd does insomnia suck **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 18, 2020, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-gawd-does-insomnia-suck/918378 "2020-08-18T06:25:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![mandala](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mandala/32/95_2.png) [@mandala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandala)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-gawd-does-insomnia-suck/918378/82 "2020-09-22T12:13:03Z")
@RivkahChaya: Have you tried taking melatonin in the evening? Sometimes the brain does not make enough melatonin. Start with something like 6mg at 8 pm and see what happens, though of course you should get your doctor’s approval first. I take a 12mg tablet at 9 pm and can usually sleep by 11 pm for a few hours. Also any source of light is discouraged when you are taking melatonin - the intent is to prompt your brain to make its own melatonin, which only happens in the dark. Strictly no TV or even a smartphone during the sleepy hours. I do hope you get over this miserable condition. Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-gawd-does-insomnia-suck/918378/83 "2020-09-22T19:44:30Z")
I’ve been taking a crapload of melatonin in the evening for years. I take two kinds-- a sustained release, and an immediate release. I take the SR about 1/2 hr. before bed, and the immediate release right before I lie down. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-gawd-does-insomnia-suck/918378/84 "2020-09-22T20:08:42Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > When my now-grown daughter was an infant, I made an hour-long cassette tape of the vacuum cleaner running to get her to sleep for any length of time. Best white noise ever for her. That gives me an idea. **RivkahChaya** , how do you feel about putting your bed on top of the clothes dryer? ---
**Author:** ![slalexan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@slalexan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slalexan)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-gawd-does-insomnia-suck/918378/85 "2020-09-22T20:20:19Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > That gives me an idea. **RivkahChaya** , how do you feel about putting your bed on top of the clothes dryer? No, she’d need more than one dryer. Like 4 clothes dryers running in sync. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-gawd-does-insomnia-suck/918378/86 "2020-09-22T20:39:16Z")
> [@slalexan](#): > > > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > > > That gives me an idea. **RivkahChaya** , how do you feeI about putting your bed on top of the clothes dryer? > > No, she’d need more than one dryer. Like 4 clothes dryers running in sync. _off-topic_: Personally, I find it preferable to find a lower-case “L” or an upper-case “I” (if available), and swap one of those, rather than inserting a space. But that’s just me. Different (key)strokes, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-gawd-does-insomnia-suck/918378/87 "2020-09-22T22:00:10Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > That gives me an idea. **RivkahChaya** , how do you feel about putting your bed on top of the clothes dryer? Sounds hot. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-gawd-does-insomnia-suck/918378/88 "2020-09-23T12:09:12Z")
A new one for me last night. A semi-lucid dream about having insomnia. Fucking horrible. I knew I was dreaming, but couldn’t stop dreaming of not being able to sleep. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-gawd-does-insomnia-suck/918378/89 "2020-09-23T12:54:47Z")
That is funny. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-gawd-does-insomnia-suck/918378/90 "2020-11-07T07:27:31Z")
@elbows Not sure I’m doing this right, addressing this to a particular person without using the PM feature. I finally got desperate enough to try the weighted blanket, and it is making a difference. Thank you. It isn’t Lourdes water, but I look at everything I try, including the medications I use, and pebbles damming a river. This is a pretty nice couple of handfuls of pebbles. It somehow makes it easier to stay in bed when I’m having one of those “fits and starts” nights. I have a lot of nights when I sleep in 30-90 minute blocks with anywhere from 10-30 minutes between blocks. I usually itch to get up out of bed when I’m awake, but with the weighted blanket, it’s a lot easier and more comfortable to stay in bed in one position while I wait to fall asleep again-- and as a result, the intervals are shorter. No more 30 minute intervals, mostly 5-20 minutes. I’m having fewer nights when I get less than four hours sleep, and more nights when I get closer to six. Six is actually enough for me, as long as I’m not doing something like going on a long highway drive, so this is helping a lot. Thanks again. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-gawd-does-insomnia-suck/918378/91 "2020-11-07T07:44:35Z")
**Rivkah** , we do have the “Non-Sleeper Cell” thread, for those of us who like to chat at night, when we cannot or choose not to sleep: > [@Non-Sleeper cell -- for those who want to ramble at night, not bright and early](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sleeper-cell-for-those-who-want-to-ramble-at-night-not-bright-and-early/919990): > > The Monday Morning Post topics (né threads) are popular. But they are so… morning. Where is the place for insomniacs and others who are up late with the SDMB? Beckdawrek suggested it might be nice to have an omnibus topic for people to ramble in late at night. If it catches on, maybe we can add it to the FAQ and everything. But anyway, here’s the first NSC topic. Ramble away. And now I think I will shuffle off to bed… ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-gawd-does-insomnia-suck/918378/92 "2020-11-07T07:51:02Z")
I try to go to bed early-- like 7pm. That way, if I get lucky, I can get 6 or 7 hours in, because I’ll manage to mostly sleep until 3am. Usually not, but going to bed early is my best chance of getting some sleep. My worst time for being awake (or “best” depending on how you look at it) is midnight to 4am. If I don’t have to work, I can go back to bed around 5 or 6am, and sometimes sleep until 7, or even 9am, depending on whether I take medication (which in turn depends on how high-functioning I’m feeling). ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-gawd-does-insomnia-suck/918378/93 "2020-11-07T08:00:32Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > I’m having fewer nights when I get less than four hours sleep, and more nights when I get closer to six. I’m not sure I saw this thread before, but I read the OP and I’m super happy that the weighted blanket is helping. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-gawd-does-insomnia-suck/918378/94 "2020-11-07T08:03:09Z")
Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-gawd-does-insomnia-suck/918378/95 "2020-11-07T11:33:01Z")
Real question: How is it insomnia will keep you awake at night yet you can fall asleep while driving? ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-gawd-does-insomnia-suck/918378/96 "2020-11-07T11:37:26Z")
Driving hypnotizes me. I will drive home from some place for 10 minutes, after a night when I slept 3 & 1/2 hrs., and be fighting sleep like it’s the hydra, and think “I’ll go to bed as soon as I get home,” and I do-- and I’ll even take melatonin and Klonapin-- and then lie awake for 30 minutes, finally fall asleep, and sleep for an hour. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-gawd-does-insomnia-suck/918378/97 "2020-11-07T11:41:03Z")
Seems to me there has to be a clue to sleeping in there somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-gawd-does-insomnia-suck/918378/98 "2020-11-07T11:44:27Z")
My experience is I cannot fall asleep when my mind is awhirl on some issue (can be a lot of things). Falling asleep requires me to quiet my mind. A little relaxation technique (think about relaxing muscles one at a time) usually rounds it out. For quieting my mind I just try to daydream. Anything but thinking about real life. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-gawd-does-insomnia-suck/918378/99 "2020-11-07T12:43:29Z")
If it were that easy, I would have done it already. I think the actual problem is that my brain just doesn’t like me and enjoys fucking with me. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-gawd-does-insomnia-suck/918378/100 "2020-11-07T12:51:01Z")
I’m so glad it’s bringing you some relief! Disturbed sleep is a terrible thing indeed! The weighted blanket was an eye opener for me, and I added more weight when the effect appeared to diminish, don’t hesitate if it happens for you! My problem was not falling back into restive sleep, the weight changes that, so I’m not getting tons more sleep, 45-90 mins, but as I’m getting back into actual restive sleep, it means I feel way better. Something I picked up here, from such a discussion, can’t remember who said it, but basically they pointed out that when waking and feeling you can’t go back to sleep, your perception is quite possibly incorrect. This seemed unlikely to me but I gave it a shot. Get back into bed, NO ‘To do’ listing or day planning! Get back into bed with the intention of just resting, clear your mind and just relax for a few minutes. And it REALLY did work! I found I could, in fact, get another stretch of restive sleep! Between the weighted blanket, and this technique, I have successfully shifted my sleep pattern to something much healthier, more restive! My doctor also impressed upon me that ‘sleep is a pattern!’ This is important, do not focus on the individual nights, work on a pattern. She was right! It shifted my thinking and I was able to build a pattern instead of nightly success/fails! Wishing you good luck, just keep trying! ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-gawd-does-insomnia-suck/918378/101 "2020-11-07T13:34:35Z")
This helped me - I’m not in London so I didn’t go to the clinic, but applying it to myself worked quite well - > **[Finally, a cure for insomnia?](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/sep/14/finally-a-cure-for-insomnia)** > > We are living through an epidemic of sleeplessness, but the medical establishment has largely ignored the problem. Can a radical new therapy help you get some sleep? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-gawd-does-insomnia-suck/918378.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-my-fucking-gawd-does-insomnia-suck/918378.md?page=6)