It's not like cancer or a serious disease, to be sure, but insomnia is something that can make your life very unhappy. Maybe you can't get started in the morning, maybe you can't stay awake after lunch, it can manifest in several ways.
I have had a lot of trouble sleeping through the night for the last couple of years and it finally got inside my head so bad I went to the doctor. He sent me to a sleep specialist who had me take a "sleep study." My insurance wouldn't cover an "attended" study in the Sleep Lab at the hospital so I had to just pick up this device and bring it home and do it in my own environment. The device records brain waves and snoring events for the doctor to use to diagnose your condition, and then prescribe some form of treatment. I always knew I snore but had no idea I have 32 snoring events per hour. It may be that is what wakes me up, but that is not what keeps me awake. My brain, once awake, goes into full active mode processing the events of the day and going off on tangents on whatever odd thought train that pops up, keeping me awake until just about the time the wife's alarm goes off and it is time to get up and start my day. I am working on getting a CPAP or APAP machine, a device where you wear a mask at night and breathe pressurized air to prevent snoring from waking you up.
Man, sometimes I am so fatigued that it takes me an hour and a couple of cups of strong coffee to become functional for work. Then in the afternoon I am often overcome with fatigue and have to take a nap. I'm just lucky I work from home and can sneak some shuteye occasionally when my situation is severe. My boss knows about my condition and we keep it pretty low key, but I can't go on like this forever.
There are some of you who will think I'm just being a baby, but there are plenty of you who will understand every word I just wrote. It is a butt whooping, another nail in your coffin if you have it.
I got a CPAP many years ago and sleep like a log now. I feel SO MUCH BETTER when I get a great night’s sleep.
Note that it takes a while to get used to the CPAP, but stick it out. It’s worth it. Not only does it keep you breathing with no interruption, but it acts as a mild white noise generator and helps to keep small background noises from waking you up.
It can be very hard to get used to... but hoo-boy am I glad I have it now. I LOVE SLEEP!
what are you eating? Look there first
stop with anything out of a box or can- fresh meat and veggies and fruits.
stop eating bread and wheat !!!
Take some good vitamins
EXERCIZE - even if it is just a brisk walk around the block before bedtime
Take a shower before bed and sleep on clean sheets (comfort is very important)
Put in a TV show you like to LISTEN to or a radio show
If all this does not work, then you’re doing something wrong
I have sleep apnea, but I wasn’t so lucky at work. Being tired was interpreted as an “attitude problem”.
Same place dinged me with a drug test after I was in the hospital ER passing a kidney stone.
I have trouble falling asleep sometimes. Recently I have seen some ads for something called Somnupure that you can get at Walgreens.
I bought some about two weeks ago and for me it works.
I don’t feel groggy in the morning either like you do with other pills like Sominex.
Take one about one hour before you hit the sack.
I hope I helped you with that info.
I suffer from horrible amnesia. My record is about 3 1/2 weeks with no sleep at all. Most people would think that would be fatal. It has landed me in the whacky ward where they used industrial strength sedatives to knock me out. Several things seem to help, melatonin being one of them. I also have prescription for benzodiazipines when it gets bad. Whatever you do, don’t try to drink yourself to sleep. It doesn’t work and just turns you into a drunk. Chocolate milk seems to help some. Wish I had better advice. It is a real b^tch.
If you are a Freeper then you likely would enjoy novels where heroes kick terrorists’ butts or beat anti-American liberals. There are many such authors on fiction. The key for me shutting off my brain is fiction while lying in bed. Works every time.
Not to make light of your problem, but you’ve got it easy. I have several sleep disorders, and since I was a kid. For one thing, I sleepwalk. I have fallen and broken bones, ripped up both rotator cuffs, almost burnt down my house, etc.. I have Rem Sleep Disorder; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_eye_movement_sleep_behavior_disorder
When you go into REM and dream about a 6th grade dodge ball game, your body does not move, mine thrashes around trying to avoid the dream ball. I wake up frequently, and my mind gets going and I can’t go back to sleep. I snored a lot. I have found that wearing a simple chin strap has helped the snoring a lot! This is just some of the sleep problems that I have had for 60 years!
I have never been a morning person. Sometimes I will fall asleep in the day for a few hours then go to work until 3 or 4 am. Some days I will sleep 2 hours some days 12 hours. It’s never the same.
That’s one of the biggest reasons I stay self employed. I’m sure I could get “diagnosed” with something and get a CPAP machine and some pills.
Maybe your boss can give you a flexible schedule that works with your natural sleep cycle.
Sleep apnea is bad news in so many ways.
The CPAP machine should solve the problem.
And your wife may appreciate it, too, because you will sleep silently and soundly.
100 mg of magnesium before bed, get more iodine.....no TV or computer after 8 PM, no light in the bedroom, cover eyes with something to prevent any light
my pillow
cpap machine
900mg gabatentin + 2 ex-strength tylenol pm
nighty night
Sugar before bed keeps me awake ..ice cream, candy, icing on a cake, etc. Caffeine too, coffee, tea, etc. None of the above for me after 7pm.
Also, too much liquid before bed keeps me popping up to go to the john, so I limit liquids after supper.
Exercise close to bed time keeps my heart rate up, and me awake, so any major “efforts” are done before dinner. Walking just after dinner seems to be ok.
Damn, I hate getting old.
I’ve found that the radio keeps me awake.
But listening to a familiar CD or tape works, e.g., the BBC “Lord of the Rings.”
I did the sleep test at the hospital and they hooked up dozen of wires to my head and chest. I don't see how you could have possibly hooked up all the wires.
Secondly the test is to see if you have "Sleep Apnea" which means you quit breathing not just snoring.
If they are recommending a C-pap I would suggest you go ahead and get one and use it. My husband has used his for many, many years.
You're thinking too much. Got to stop that. Been there...
TV or talk radio will take your mind off...your mind.
If you're listening to someone else talking, you can't talk to yourself.
I get 3-4 hours at a time. That’s it.
I am a road warrior so if a 2 or 3pm nap can make its way in, I take it. 1 hour helps the catch-up.
I have a 0500 wake-up tomorrow and 2.5 hours to work-site. Should be done by noon and to the next hotel by 1500.
Sleep is a hard one to pin down for an active life.
Good Luck on fixing it.
If it’s the apnea that’s waking you up, the CPAP will work wonders.
If it’s your brain waking you up or keeping you awake, try meditation, incense, or OTC medication.
If your muscles twitch and jerk, waking you up, try skullcap. It’s an herbal muscle relaxer that has been a GODSEND for me!!!
I have both a restless brain and restless muscles. Not just restless legs, sometimes every muscle in my body starts twitching, like they’re trying to run away from each other. Technically, I also have central (AKA: non-obstructive) sleep apnea on top of that, but only if I sleep face-up.
I used to go days at a time without any sleep at all! A combination of Tylenol PM and skullcap works for me. But every person is different, so it might or might not work as well for you.
Your symptoms describe mine exactly. Can’t get to sleep to begin with, then can’t stay asleep all night due to sleep apnea—(my own snoring wakes me up.) Then can’t get back to sleep. Important to understand these are separate issues.
To get to sleep, make sure your sleeping area is pitch black. Even a little bit of light suppresses melatonin, telling your brain it’s dawn and time to get up. Shut all light out of your room. You can buy a BLACK sleep eye mask.
Several online companies sell them.
I just tie a scarf over my eyes.
Try the 4-7-8 breathing trick, also good for getting to sleep within a couple of minutes, especially combined with total darkness. This trick is amazing.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YRPh_GaiL8s
Both of the above put me to sleep quickly, and I usually sleep soundly 8 hours.
Walmart sells 3 mg melatonin in the vitamin isle. Purchase immediately.
Take one, immediately before bed, not every night, but occasionally.
Will knock you out, and you will stay asleep all night.
Personally I don’t like to rely on a pill, but these work so I pop one occasionally, along with the above 2 tricks to get a really deep sleep after a stressful day.
Hi Chuck. I have the reverse sleep disorder from you. Idiopathic hyposomnelence. (Spelling doesn’t count) I have trouble staying awake! I went through a sleep study. I slept through the night and was in level 4 sleep much of the night. They then followed that with a daytime nap study where you take 5 naps throughout the day. I could get to level 4 sleep in 2.5 minutes. That is very unusual. They tried two different classes of meds but the side effects were such that I cannot take them. My doctor then said I just had to manage it with caffeine and with knowing when I was most likely to be sleepy and plan for it! So I sleep through the night, but I am sleepy when I wake up. Then coffee. I get through until about 2:00, then have to drink more caffeine or I have to nap. I have no choice on that. I can’t just power through. My body will just stop! After that caffeine or nap, I can make it until bed time.
People who do not have a sleep disorder can understand, but they cannot feel it the same way. Good luck to you.