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Basically a lot of nights I can't sleep, and I wonder, is it even worth laying there trying, or should I just give up after an hour or two and just do something with my time, like clean, watch movies, or whatever. Is it worth keep on trying only to be really frustrated you wasted a whole night trying to sleep when you couldn't?
Sometimes before bed I will be texting my friend, and she will not text back so I figured she went to sleep. She will then text me the next day, and say 'sorry, I fell asleep last night when we were chatting'.
And I wish I could do that. How does a person just fall asleep uncontrollably like that? That almost never happens to me but maybe once every few years, and other than that, I have to actually try to make an effort to fall into a sleep. But how does a person just fall asleep like that, outside of their intentions?
Or is it not even with trying to sleep and I should just get up and go do other things, and not let it bother me?
well the texting might be the culprit for the sleepless night. when this happens to me I just turn the light on and read, otherwise my mind will wander to so many places and i will start to worry.
I use Books On Tape/Books On CD, personal CD player, Apple earbuds. I'm out in 5 minutes, because random thoughts can't get through.
If I listen to a book on an external device like my mother used to (tape player), it doesn't work.
It helps if it's not a book on war or adrenaline-kicking stuff like that, and the reader is somewhat important because a steady soothing voice is helpful.
I used to read a book at bedtime. Usually within 30 minutes I'd get sleepy. But the CD works far better and is about 98% effective.
Even though I don't tend to have trouble getting to sleep, one thing that helps if I do is to work on a mental novel that's been in my head for years. It has nothing to do with any of those day-to-day topics like work, relationships, stuff I need to do around the house, finances, little ordinary worries (like how much sleep I'm NOT getting at that moment), nothing. In fact, it's an imaginary planet with imaginary characters in imaginary circumstances. It is completely mine right down to the color of a character's socks. It relaxes me, gets my mind off the ordinary stuff, requires no props or lighting, and the next thing I know, it's morning.
I was going to point in the direction of some over the counter drugs, and not for sleeping as such, but it's not my place to do so. I will say, that you could take a look at side effects of common medicines, and give some a go.
I joined a group that meets monthly and it gets me home about 2 hours after my normal bedtime. Despite being tired, I'm usually too wound up to go to sleep right away and I wake up the next morning at the same time anyway. So last night, I took a dose of the liquid diphenhydramine (aka Benadryl or ZzzQuil) that I bought at the Dollar store. It knocked me out right away and I slept in an hour past my normal time. I feel amazingly good today. I did notice that the dosage is 50mg compared to the 25mg tablets I was buying. If you haven't tried it, I'd start off with a half dose first - you can always take more if that doesn't do it. It generally wears off after 4-6 hours, so as long as you try for 7-8 hours of sleep, it shouldn't have any side effects the next day.
Sometimes I do not sleep that well, or cannot sleep. I will lay in bed anyways, it is somewhat restorative......not as good as sleep, but better than nothing.
Basically a lot of nights I can't sleep, and I wonder, is it even worth laying there trying, or should I just give up after an hour or two and just do something with my time, like clean, watch movies, or whatever. Is it worth keep on trying only to be really frustrated you wasted a whole night trying to sleep when you couldn't?
Sometimes before bed I will be texting my friend, and she will not text back so I figured she went to sleep. She will then text me the next day, and say 'sorry, I fell asleep last night when we were chatting'.
And I wish I could do that. How does a person just fall asleep uncontrollably like that? That almost never happens to me but maybe once every few years, and other than that, I have to actually try to make an effort to fall into a sleep. But how does a person just fall asleep like that, outside of their intentions?
Or is it not even with trying to sleep and I should just get up and go do other things, and not let it bother me?
Unless I have something particular bothering me, I am one who can fall asleep quickly and stay asleep, and wake up automatically in the morning, ready to go. Not that I'm energetic. I'm just refreshed & ready to start the day. But first: coffee.
What puts me to sleep? Under normal circumstances, I'll be playing a card game on my laptop (the tv is ALWAYS on, but not loud), and it's not unusual that my eyes start to close, so I have to stop in the middle of a game, and go to sleep.
Something else that puts me to sleep is reading a book. Again, my eyes start getting really heavy, and I might nod off just for a few moments before I realize that I can't read anymore and have to go to sleep.
Something else that puts me to sleep is to watch on tv one of the old tv shows, like Murder She Wrote, that's not too heavy on plot, and which I've probably seen before, & that I like. So I like to watch it, but it doesn't grab me so much that it keeps me awake to see the end. It's also somewhat comforting to watch an old series that I've always liked.
NOTE: I walk a bit almost every day. I think that helps with sleep habits.
If something is really bothering me, I may get a bout of insomnia. Solitaire may or may not put me to sleep. Reading a book might, but my mind can't focus on that, because I'm worried about something else. I usually end up making myself a particular alcoholic drink....a low-calorie Grasshopper. I first tasted that drink decades ago, and I love it. It has green creme de minthe, which I shake with really cold skim milk. Both alcohol and milk help put me to sleep (milk has melatonin). This usu. does the trick. I don't normally drink, so I'm sensitive to the effects of alcohol.
Okay thanks. Well I don't do sugar or caffienne much and don't even drink coffee ever. I think I need to try a solution that will put me to sleep NO MATTER WHAT emotional mood I am in. I could go back to melatonin or try what was recommended to me here:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moonlady
I joined a group that meets monthly and it gets me home about 2 hours after my normal bedtime. Despite being tired, I'm usually too wound up to go to sleep right away and I wake up the next morning at the same time anyway. So last night, I took a dose of the liquid diphenhydramine (aka Benadryl or ZzzQuil) that I bought at the Dollar store. It knocked me out right away and I slept in an hour past my normal time. I feel amazingly good today. I did notice that the dosage is 50mg compared to the 25mg tablets I was buying. If you haven't tried it, I'd start off with a half dose first - you can always take more if that doesn't do it. It generally wears off after 4-6 hours, so as long as you try for 7-8 hours of sleep, it shouldn't have any side effects the next day.
However, having done melatonin before, it makes me super tired during the day, even if I slept like a baby because of it. So is that worse on the body, if you are supertired because of the medication?
Even though I don't tend to have trouble getting to sleep, one thing that helps if I do is to work on a mental novel that's been in my head for years. It has nothing to do with any of those day-to-day topics like work, relationships, stuff I need to do around the house, finances, little ordinary worries (like how much sleep I'm NOT getting at that moment), nothing. In fact, it's an imaginary planet with imaginary characters in imaginary circumstances. It is completely mine right down to the color of a character's socks. It relaxes me, gets my mind off the ordinary stuff, requires no props or lighting, and the next thing I know, it's morning.
I do this too! Problem is, the plot never moves past a certain point, because I fall asleep.
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because random thoughts can't get through.
