Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
So, I have generally struggled with insomnia throughout most of my adult life.
Sometimes I wake up to pee and can't go back to sleep, sometimes I have trouble getting to sleep, for no particular reason, but that is pretty sporadic and mild. I generally don't have trouble on a day to day basis.
But a bigger struggle is what I consider 'event' insomnia.
If I have an interview, an event to go to, or a trip to go on, it will often be the case where I cannot sleep. When I was in my 20s, it was so bad that I could not sleep all night at times, like before a ski trip. It's a little better now, but still is a major nuisance.
OK, so if it only happens when I have an interview, the day of my marriage, the day I'm quarterbacking the superbowl, no problem I'll deal with it.
But it's more common. For instance, a few months ago, I went on a trip to the west coast, and I didn't get a 'good' night of sleep the whole 5 days. And we have a small trip planned this weekend, and I didn't sleep good last night. I got maybe 4 hours.
What happens is that I toss & turn for maybe 1-2 hours, at which point I'll either fall asleep or decide to take a sleeping pill. I'll then wake up again and maybe I'm lucky and am able to fall back asleep for several hours, or I may get another 1-2 hours and wake up again. The pills helps, but it's like 50-60% quality sleep.
I can feel my body tense and my heartbeat racing a bit faster. And it's so illogical. It's just a small trip to a place where we've been lots of times for 2 days. And the activity isn't on my mind at all when I'm sleeping. But my body just refuses to cooperate.
It's crazy but because of this, I actually hold off on committing to events until the last second. So, if I make plans with my girlfriend, I'll make them morning of instead of in advance because then I'll be able to sleep. Or I'll in my mind have a plan with a friend, but won't verbally commit until day of. Obviously, that has its drawbacks.
It's also case by case. Sometimes I plan in advance and do sleep through fine. Has anybody gone through this? I would like a way to solve this.
Or maybe you people with kids say "4 hours of sleep before a trip. Welcome to my life." Hey, those comments are welcome too, lol. Everything is relative I guess.
To me it would help to work with some calming supplements for all the anxiety issues. There is a lot posted in Alt Med and Supplement areas here and it would behoove you to learn to work with some for your issues. Insomnia is discussed here a lot and I don't have that issue but I do have a sleep combo that I probably put together in my 60's and I'm 80.
So, I have generally struggled with insomnia throughout most of my adult life.
Sometimes I wake up to pee and can't go back to sleep, sometimes I have trouble getting to sleep, for no particular reason, but that is pretty sporadic and mild. I generally don't have trouble on a day to day basis.
But a bigger struggle is what I consider 'event' insomnia.
If I have an interview, an event to go to, or a trip to go on, it will often be the case where I cannot sleep. When I was in my 20s, it was so bad that I could not sleep all night at times, like before a ski trip. It's a little better now, but still is a major nuisance.
OK, so if it only happens when I have an interview, the day of my marriage, the day I'm quarterbacking the superbowl, no problem I'll deal with it.
But it's more common. For instance, a few months ago, I went on a trip to the west coast, and I didn't get a 'good' night of sleep the whole 5 days. And we have a small trip planned this weekend, and I didn't sleep good last night. I got maybe 4 hours.
What happens is that I toss & turn for maybe 1-2 hours, at which point I'll either fall asleep or decide to take a sleeping pill. I'll then wake up again and maybe I'm lucky and am able to fall back asleep for several hours, or I may get another 1-2 hours and wake up again. The pills helps, but it's like 50-60% quality sleep.
I can feel my body tense and my heartbeat racing a bit faster. And it's so illogical. It's just a small trip to a place where we've been lots of times for 2 days. And the activity isn't on my mind at all when I'm sleeping. But my body just refuses to cooperate.
It's crazy but because of this, I actually hold off on committing to events until the last second. So, if I make plans with my girlfriend, I'll make them morning of instead of in advance because then I'll be able to sleep. Or I'll in my mind have a plan with a friend, but won't verbally commit until day of. Obviously, that has its drawbacks.
It's also case by case. Sometimes I plan in advance and do sleep through fine. Has anybody gone through this? I would like a way to solve this.
Or maybe you people with kids say "4 hours of sleep before a trip. Welcome to my life." Hey, those comments are welcome too, lol. Everything is relative I guess.
This sounds a lot more like anxiety than insomnia, especially where an event triggers it. I'm a night owl, so if I have something early morning, I get anxious that I won't fall asleep and be able to get up on time. Since you already have pills, either make up your mind to take them at a good time and spare the exhausting tossing and turning or look for ways to feel calmer.
You can find relaxing music and yoga breathing exercises to help you fall asleep on YouTube. Try them before you need them to see which ones seem most relaxing to you. Then practice them. I went to a stress management class and we would do a little yoga and then a sort of guided meditation. They would start with relaxing your body, piece by piece. Sometimes that still helps me when I realize I'm laying awake. So I think to myself concentrate on the breath, relax the top of your head, the back of your head, the sides of your head...and so on. In the beginning I found all this a little new-agey, but over time, as I found it working, I had to change my mind.
This sounds a lot more like anxiety than insomnia, especially where an event triggers it. I'm a night owl, so if I have something early morning, I get anxious that I won't fall asleep and be able to get up on time. Since you already have pills, either make up your mind to take them at a good time and spare the exhausting tossing and turning or look for ways to feel calmer.
You can find relaxing music and yoga breathing exercises to help you fall asleep on YouTube. Try them before you need them to see which ones seem most relaxing to you. Then practice them. I went to a stress management class and we would do a little yoga and then a sort of guided meditation. They would start with relaxing your body, piece by piece. Sometimes that still helps me when I realize I'm laying awake. So I think to myself concentrate on the breath, relax the top of your head, the back of your head, the sides of your head...and so on. In the beginning I found all this a little new-agey, but over time, as I found it working, I had to change my mind.
Yes, anxiety sounds more like the issue...good suggestions.
I have experienced this before. Not recently, but a lot in my early 20’s.
Magnesium is calming. Maybe you could take a bath in epsom salt (Magnesium) before bed. Drink a cup of chamomile tea. I have a friend who swears by CBD oil for insomnia but I’ve never personally tried it.
I used to do something similar, but it was "post-event" insomnia. I'd lie awake until 3-4:00 a.m. going over every detail of the day's event. To stop it, I eventually developed a "shut-down procedure" that I do every night before bed. It takes me about an hour to get sleepy from it, and once I get drowsy, I do sleep all night.
I don't do it just on post-event nights; I do it every night because it's the habit that's important, not just doing it once in a while when needed.
It's a routine that is specific to me and might not work for anyone else, but to sum it up, it involves what I call a bedtime story (I use a boring TV show that I like but which is no longer exciting because I've seen it so many times, one which has peaceful scenery in it, soft voices, and dim lighting) combined with a dark bedroom, a quiet background noise like rain or a fan, and mindful breathing (which I learned in yoga, but anyone can do it). For this shut-down procedure to work for me, it has to be exactly the same routine every night, with no changes, and no interruptions.
Basically, it's like putting a child to bed with a routine of brushing teeth, having a drink of water, and then a bedtime story.
OP, I struggle with this as well. It doesn't matter if the event is something I want to do, or something I'm dreading like a doctor's visit. If I have something out of the ordinary planned for the next day, I absolutely cannot fall and stay asleep. And come the event, I'm no good. It is a terrible experience.
"...quarterbacking the superbowl..."
really? you could do better than this forum.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
