Due to a few different factors, I got very little sleep last night and got up relatively early. All day today I have felt like the walking dead. And I have FILLED myself with caffeine. 1000mg altogether (5 No-Doz tablets, 200mg caffeine each). Plus I’ve been drinking mountain dew like water. And FUCK! I just want to wake up! What the fuck good is caffeine? It’s useless. It’s placebo. It’s useless whatever it is. Thank you for listening to my utterly mundane complaint.
I find a 20 min power nap very helpful.
I close my office door. Set my clock alarm.
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
I’ve never been able to take short naps. It takes me a long time to actually get to sleep so I’d be spending an hour or more just to get 20min of a nap. Even then, my naps turn into two hour naps. Alarm clocks are just annoyances in these circumstances. 
And then, I’m not able to get to sleep at night when I should.
I have chronic sleep problems, so probably don’t take any advice from me.
That said, I read a study indicating that drinking caffeine and then taking a 15-minute nap immediately afterward is the best combo for renewed energy.
I personally can’t drink caffeine because then I can’t sleep at night, and also it upsets my stomach. But… it’s pretty damned effective. I know because if I take Aleve at night or some other pain reliever with caffeine, I can’t sleep. I can’t drink soda or tea after 3pm or I can’t sleep. All the things… I can’t sleep.
Caffeine has different effects on different people. Some people can’t drink coffee past 2pm without suffering insomnia. Some people can drink coffee right before bed and have no problem. I just don’t think I’m very caffeine sensitive. I mean, the amount of caffeine I’ve consumed today would have most people bouncing off the walls and fearing a heart attack. I just feel like a zombie.
As far as naps and caffeine immediately prior, I use that strategy to wake up in the morning. I’ll take a no doz about 30min before I need to get up. It works, but usually just because it makes me have to pee urgently. 
Feeling like this makes me wish we had total drug legalization. I could use some strong stimulants about now. 
I’m the same way. The thing is, if I do nap, I usually pass out. I sleep better if I nap than I do at night, but, like you, it’s not going to happen in 20 minutes. I really hope you are able to get some rest. I know what it’s like and it bites.
I’m going to most likely get a scrip for stimulants tomorrow to treat ADHD. I’ve never been treated for it before. I’m worried about how it will impact my anxiety and my insomnia, but I’m also told it could help my anxiety, which is weird. Brains are weird.
Also, I’m tired all day but I can never sleep at night. Go figure. It would be nice if the stimulants miraculously reverse that trend somehow.
Let me know how you respond to them.
I’ve always had industrial-strength insomnia, sleeping only about two hours at a time. I’ve tried all sorts of medications, both prescription and non, and they either don’t do shit, or I’m a zombie the next day.
When I’m totally strung out from lack of sleep, caffeine is of no help; it just makes me jittery. And No-Doz is the worst. I used to be addicted to very strong coffee, but now am almost totally caffeine-free and I don’t miss it.
A couple of my doctors have suggested that I try some of the newer sleep meds. But I’m already on so many other meds for other things, I really don’t want to add another, with additional side effects.
Sorry I can’t be of any help except commiseration.
I sympathize, since I’ve got a considerable tolerance for caffeine, myself. Well, if meddling with your neurotransmitters isn’t helping, there are other tactics.
-
Eat something, preferably something crunchy/chewy. Chewing/eating can improve alertness, at least temporarily. It doesn’t take much–it’s the process more than the food. A little scrap of jerky or a few nuts is enough. (I often take them for snacks on long drives for just this reason.)
-
Increase respiration. Try deliberately breathing a little faster and more deeply. Not hyperventilating, but enough to get a little extra oxygen in your blood.
The boosts from these don’t last very long, but they might help you get through the day without feeling quite so sluggish.
Thanks for the tips! I’ll take all I can get. They make sense too.
I don’t know if smelling salts are still available. Those kind of wake the brain.
Alternatively, try Wasabi, or hot horseradish, or dab some eucalyptus under your nose.
Anything that gives a temporary sharp stimulus to your senses.
…shrug…
When you sleep, a hormone builds up in your system, and when you have enough of it, you wake up naturally. wake up before you have enough, you are short on it, but can get going. Caffeine can substitute for it to an extent, because it looks very much like it, and can lock into the same channel. It’s an imperfect fit, though, so it only works up to a point. You can’t go on, on just caffeine when the wake hormone is entirely gone. Then you must sleep.
Hot beverages make some people sleepy, and hot coffee can put some people back to sleep first thing in the morning, because the caffeine hasen’t kicked in quite yet.
Speaking from experience, crystal meth works great. But I sure as fuck wouldn’t recommend it.
Have you tried energy drinks? I always stock a few Red Bulls in the fridge for an emergency jump-start.
Ya got something ya need to be doing today, or someplace ya need to go?
Just close the curtains, crawl into bed, and take a nap for however many hours it takes!
Works for me.
IME the gym helps. Or some physical activity, like a walk. YMMV of course.
It’s suggested by doctors, I think, that you should try to set a bedtime routine that you don’t deviate from. Start getting ready for bed at the same time every night, and do all of your preparation. Brushing your teeth, taking a shower, maybe reading a book or watching a comedy series, something to help you unwind.
Anyway, if insomnia persists, see a doctor. I know from personal experience that it’s very dangerous to not get any sleep.
If organic insomnia is the problem, I’ve been treated for that for years. I take three medications, one in the morning, and one around dinnertime-- and one at bedtime. The are all off-label; one is an old ADHD med, one is a very new anticonvulsant (but it’s also prescribed for migraines and depression), and the last is a very new antipsychotic. I take small doses of all of them, smaller than I’d probably take if I were using any of them for their regular purposes. I also take 5mg melatonin.
I also have Ambien and clonazepam as PRNs, but I hardly ever use them. Mainly I use them if I get off-schedule, like after a trip, or when the time changes.
Talk to your doctor about treatment for insomnia.
Did you have a head injury when you had your SCI? A lot of people who have had head injuries have insomnia.
If you are too tired to function properly; just go to bed. The lost productivity will be easily caught up by your rested self.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk