sleep

[Rogier]

does anyone in here have any problems with getting a good night's rest?

I think that when I was around 15 years old I got into a habit of sleeping between 5 to 6 hours a night. I've never had any problems with this (physically) and according to my parents I never got much sleep before that age as well.

The problem is that over the last few months it has been effecting me. I get up in the morning feeling tired (broken is a better description). I've tried to go to bed earlier, but that only results in my laying in bed fully awake for two hours or waking more frequently during the night.

Any tips or suggestions? The one thing that helps a bit is staying away from the pc and television and read a book instead (about 30 to 60 minutes before going to bed). Still this doesn't really help in me waking up feeling refreshed.

[Prince Loeffler]

Sounds like insommnia Rogier ! Do you consider yourself a light sleeper ? Thankfully I have been able to get a good night sleep for the last three months but for years, I could not sleep.

The factors causing my ability to sleep was:

Stress - I get restless when certain projects aren't done or deadline are approacjhing fast with my work.


House to hot - Sometimes it gets really warm here in Southern California and no matter how many windows are open, the noise from the street would keep me awake. I live close to the Refinery and Gas trucks would ramble past my house.

Caffiene prior to bed time - You guess it , Coffee and coke.



Solution:

Well since I knew what caused me not to sleep, I decided to do the opposite and it worked out well.

Earplugs at night, No caffiene and buy a bigger fan and quit and find another less stressful job. Hope this helps

[monkeyboy_ssj]

I was suffering the same thing, a couple of months ago, it turned out I was getting too much stimulants in terms of playing intense computer games (first person online shooters) getting the adreniline going and then thinking too much when going to bed.

Also do you find yourself thinking about random things and life when you go to bed instead just wanting to go to bed? could be stress if that's the case. Maybe you just need a holiday?

I only sleep a little a night and that's fine, probably 6 hours at most, but i only feel tired when i wake when i'm stressed or have been working myself too hard.

Maybe borrow one of the missus's books, that's bound to send you to sleep.

Jane Austin here Rogier comes! :p

[Brian Owens]

I can't recall if this was mentioned in the linked thread or not (and I'm getting ready to go to bed, so I'm not going to read the whole thread), but it could be related to the changes in sunlight this time of year.

Getting a lot of sun or other white light during the early day, and then shutting out as much light as possible in the evening can help. Black-out curtains or wearing a mask to bed may be needed, depending on your window treatments.

Also, levels of the "sleep hormone" (melatonin) fall in most people as they get older, resulting in lighter, less restful sleep than when we were younger (ever try to rouse a 6 year old in the middle of the night?). I don't know if melatonin supplements are available in the Neatherlands, but you might check.

HTH.

[Kawakami Gensai]

I know exactly how you feel. For a few years I didn't get to bed until two or three in the morning every day. I'd get in bed at ten and lay there for four to five hours straight, doing nothing. There is a medication called Zyprexa...I take it now and have no problems going to sleep. Ask your doctor about it.

[spartanmachine]

Hey Rogier, here's what I've learned from my experience with insomnia.

Try and get sunlight and exercise in the day at least 4 hours before you go to bed, it takes about 4 hours for your system to come down from the "rush"
of a workout and sunlight.
Go to sleep in very little light or total darkness.
Taking melatonin can help to set you up for longer hours of sleep just don't take it too long, drinking Chamomile every night before bed helps.
Stay away from caffeine and sugar at least 6 hours before bed time, and don't eat much food 2 hours before.
You need at least 7-8 hours especially if you're working out in the day.
Stay away from sleep meds, they won't help you in the long run, they'll make it worse.
Listening to this cd was helpful to me, will get you more hours of sleep.
http://www.sleep-deprivation-cd.com/?afl=15004

Just copy and paste it into your browser if the link doesn't work.
This works with binaural beats, there are a few different cd's like this available. Even listening to Pechelbel's Canon is very relaxing before you go to bed. You might want to try some classical music to get to bed earlier.
Also make sure your room is between 20 degrees (Room Temp) to 25 degrees if the room is too cold or too hot you could have trouble sleeping.
Before you go to bed get very calm, slow your breathing focusing on exhaling longer and tell yourself slowly, I want to sleep for 8 hours straight. This worked for me.
I sympathize with you, for years I worked night shift and had developed a broken sleep pattern where I could only sleep for 3-4 hours at a time, eventually you don't know if you're coming or going, I'm finally back to where I'm getting 7-8 hours and it feels great. Good luck.

[PwarYuex]

does anyone in here have any problems with getting a good night's rest?

I think that when I was around 15 years old I got into a habit of sleeping between 5 to 6 hours a night. I've never had any problems with this (physically) and according to my parents I never got much sleep before that age as well.

The problem is that over the last few months it has been effecting me. I get up in the morning feeling tired (broken is a better description). I've tried to go to bed earlier, but that only results in my laying in bed fully awake for two hours or waking more frequently during the night.

Any tips or suggestions? The one thing that helps a bit is staying away from the pc and television and read a book instead (about 30 to 60 minutes before going to bed). Still this doesn't really help in me waking up feeling refreshed.

I've had terrible sleep for about 3 years. A good night's sleep for me is around 4-5 hours.

A course of sleeping tablets can, apparently, help you to get into a "good routine", some doctors say, but it just made me used to the tablets.

No other suggestions other than try to exercise early in the morning rather than at night. If that doesn't work, try exercise an hour before bed, and have a warm shower. None of this has helped me, but I'm just here to pass on the wife-tales.

[Duff]

When I was having problems sleeping my Doctor recommended a Light Therapy alarm clock (http://www.biobrite.com/products.php?category=SunRise%20Clocks). I didn't have that brand but I found one at a place that was focused on new age healing. It worked pretty good until I hurled it at what I thought to be an intruder(a tree brach broke and fell through my window during a storm).

Basically they create an artificial dusk and dawn which can help trick your internal clock into thinking it's time to sleep and get up. I also know people who move back and forth between the US and Japan every couple of months and they say it helps them readjust their internal clock.

I also found some stretching before going to bed helped.

[jest]

does anyone in here have any problems with getting a good night's rest?

I think that when I was around 15 years old I got into a habit of sleeping between 5 to 6 hours a night. I've never had any problems with this (physically) and according to my parents I never got much sleep before that age as well.

The problem is that over the last few months it has been effecting me. I get up in the morning feeling tired (broken is a better description). I've tried to go to bed earlier, but that only results in my laying in bed fully awake for two hours or waking more frequently during the night.

Any tips or suggestions? The one thing that helps a bit is staying away from the pc and television and read a book instead (about 30 to 60 minutes before going to bed). Still this doesn't really help in me waking up feeling refreshed.

I've had sleeping problems ever since I was 5 or so. Back then my parents would find me in sleeping in corners of rooms all over the house. Later came a phase (from age 14-17 or so) where I only slept about 4 hours a night. This is also when the nightmares started; they've never stopped, but my sleeping patters show a lot more variation then they did when I was a teen: there are weeks when I barely need any sleep at all and weeks when I find I can barely function on less than 8 hours a night.

My mother sleeps roughly 4 hours a night and has done so for as long as I can remember. She takes Rohypnol (aka "roofies") to help her sleep.
Her mother had serious sleeping issues too.

My main problem is the fact that 99% of my dreams are nightmares, usually involving a lot of violence and horrible images. Even if I sleep 8 hours or more, after a night of bad dreams it feels like I've barely slept at all.

Often it will also take me an hour or more to fall asleep and I tend to wake up from the slightest sound. My girlfriend's an enthusiastic bruxist (teeth gnasher) so that wakes me up a handful of times a night as well.

Edit to add tips/suggestions: I've tried just about everything there is to try, from no exercise to serious exercise, stretching, meditation, sex, abstinence, fasting, feeding, reading, herbal and homeopathic remedies, pretty heavy mainstream sleeping pills, therapy and everything in between...

Nothing works all the time for me but I find about half an hour or more of slow stretching in a room, as quiet and dark as possible, and then when I sleep, after a shower, a good supply of fresh air and clean sheets on a very hard mattress with no pillow normally gives me the best sleep.

I'll often sleep better than normal when camping or sleeping outside too.

[Rogier]

I'll try some of the things suggested above.

What I forgot to mention is that lately I seem to wake up a lot just about 30 to 60 minutes after falling asleep. This is probably in a part of the sleep cycle where my brain hasn't shut down my full range of motion.

At this point what I mostly experience are dreams that are usually about slipping and falling or something like that. I'll flail my arms, hit the wood bedpost and wake up. The most irritating part about this is that it gets my heart racing as well, as I'm probably not fully asleep the dream seems extremely real.