I'm sick of being useless at sleeping. I either don't get a full 7-8 hours sleep because a. I can't seem to settle or b. my sleep pattern is patchy. What do you do to make sure you rest for hours on end? What is a good trick? Help please...

getting some physical activity seems to be very important for me & sleep.

I like to read a few pages of a boring book, maybe not BORING but definitely not rivetting, I LOVE to fall asleep with the light on and the book still in my hand for some reason

The only thing that does the trick is at least an hour of excercise.


Else, I'm tense and nervous, and just a wreck.
After an hour of strenuous exercise, I just don't care anymore.

I've found that if I wear a soft long sleeve cotton shirt that is maybe one size too small to walk around in but not too tight that it helps me sleep. I guess it depends how hot/cold it is where you are but being snugly wrapped has definitely helped me and I used to have terrible sleeping patterns.

The ideas of being more busy or active are true. I never slept so good as when I was going to the gym, and having a regular work out. Doesn't mean I was dog tired, but I had a routine of being UP while awake and being DOWN for sleep.

Also, don't watch TV, play on your computer, work, do homework, etc in the bedroom. Your brain will associate the bedroom with busy work or activity other than sleep, so you become restless while in there. I've never had a television in my bedroom in the past 20 years. The few times I tried it, my slept definitely suffered.

The idea of reading in bed is a bit weird, because your brain will associate reading w/ sleep, and you can become unduly tired at other times while reading, when you shouldn't be. I used to listen to music to go to sleep in the Navy. But it took MONTHS after I got out to 1) fall asleep without music, and 2) not feel tired while listening to music otherwise.

Keep the bedroom for sleeping, and sex. Make it your escape. That happens with a good pillow, a body pillow if needed, your favorite blanket...whatever makes you feel comfy and settled. Don't take your laptop, books, prime time TV, etc to bed with you.

And remember, you can't change anything in the world while you sleep to don't sweat anything, but if you let yourself get well rested, you can be the change you want to see in the world, the next day.

There are no real tricks, just better habits to have. We don't get rid of bad habits, we replace them with better ones.

ernestsewell said:

If I read while sitting up I can read for hours, as soon as I lie down I get sleepy. It works for me!

Insomnia sucks!

*types this at 2 am*

BklynBabe said:

its not that bad...

Some people like fine wine, I prefer da good kine...

nyse said:

it's bad when I am supposed to get up at 5:54 am and I have to work tomorrow and being uber tired puts me in a bad mood, and I will need a ton of coffee to try to make it thru the day but not too much or my heart will start racing and it will give me stomach cramps.....

It kinda sucks. Plus I took my Ambien!

BklynBabe said:

Im in the same boat...I can never get a good night sleep. so i rely on tons of coffey in the morn and end up with cramps also...

I am hella cranky and tired by the time i get 2 work...you should take a day off and dedicate it to your rest babe
[Edited 10/27/09 23:31pm]

Drink

I would like to know the trick too I generally get a shits night sleep!

I recently took part in study where I found out I am only REALLY sleeping for 50% of the time I am asleep.

I was not happy. I have no help JD i am in the same boat, feeling tired all the time and not being able to sleep is a major bummer.

Anything bothering you in your life?

Any fears?

Any unresolved resentments?

Something you want to get off your chest to someone?

Might be affecting your ability to relax.

i used to have a wank just to try to help me sleep. haven't done that in a long time, though.

whistle said:

Me too. The bottle of scotch before bed is helping though.

I used to be an insomniac

I am still afraid that I'll go through another episode (I found them distressing and lonely )

My failsafes:

one alcoholic drink (if necessary)
hot shower
my 5 pillows arranged in the shipping position
boring book

and voila!

A few things I do from time to time that work--not necessarily all together!

1. get out of bed for a while & watch TV or something. It'll distract you from the frustration of just lying there being pissed & in your thoughts about not sleeping.

2. Sit up in bed & meditate for a while

3. Lie in bed with your eyes open & the lights still off, try to keep them open, don't shut them until you are really tired, which usually will happen pretty quickly

4. lie in bed with your eyes closed, try to focus on what you "see" in an attempt to take your focus away from what noises you hear (which keeps me up a lot). Seeing with closed eyes is a quick transition to dreaming for me.

5. I always sleep on my side, so sometimes if I can't sleep I will lie on my back until I feel physically tired from the effort. Once I am ready, I roll on my side & often fall asleep.

the common thread is to not just lie there with insomnia but to change your activity, even if you don't get out of bed. Insomnia is usually a mental thing for me so I need to stop thinking about whatever is keeping me awake/alert/worked up/nervous/anxious/angry.

my insomnia is totally related to my stress level
and my stress is crazy!

hopefully after this chat at work tomorrow with the bosses I will either be relaxed about having my job and they fix shit or not having a job and finding something better. My life feels so miserable and dull and I am just so irate all the time.

I just want to have fun, be good at my job, have regular hot monkey sex, get paid what I am worth, be respected, and be around folk with some common sense.

And I love to sleep so that's what makes it worse.