Anyone else have trouble sleeping?

amberthe bobcat

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I was just wondering if anyone else has trouble sleeping at times and what do you do, to help yourself fall asleep (Besides taking any sleep medication). There are many times, when I go to bed and I just lie there wide awake, unable to sleep. These past 2 days were just like that. I go to bed, happy that I should at last, be able to get a full 8 hours of sleep. This is something I rarely get. Well, no such luck. I do work all shifts here at work and that can have an influence at times, but most of the time, it does not. I can be sitting there at home watching TV and be pretty tired. I go to bed and I am wide awake
Last night I got up, spent some time on TCS, played a few video games, drank 2 beers and went back to bed. I fell to sleep finally, but it was close to 3am. Thankfully, I didn't have to be at work until 3 pm today. Anyone else like this? It can be really aggravating. My wife is sound to sleep and so are all my cats, but there I am, wide awake
 

lunasmom

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I had problems sleeping through out the night. I recently solved that by buying a $5 sleep mask.

B goes to bed later than I will leave a lite on for him...well if he's not going to bed until 4 am, then the light is left on most of the night, which turns me into a light sleeper.

for the last 2 weeks I've been sleeping through the majority of the night.

Getting to sleep, well I have no problem with that. I just tend to unwind a bit by reading a book.
 

glitch

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Oh thats me all over! I was still up at 6:30 this morning! I tried to lay down earlier than that, and I was wide awake and I got up for a while, and just couldn't get tired! I had to get back up at 8am to take the cats for their nuetering so now Im running off of 1 1/2 hours of sleep and Im exhausted...
I normally try to think about something thats really boring! I even try counting sheep some nights, after you hit a couple thousand it gets old though and your brain can't help but to think of something else! So I say~ Sleeping pills would be nice at this point!
 

swampwitch

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Have you had your progesterone and estrogen levels tested? I was tested (saliva test, gag) and found out I had low progesterone. When I started taking Prometrium I was sleeping like a dream... I take it two weeks out of the month and really look forward to those weeks because I sleep so well!

Good luck, I hope you get it figured out.
 
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amberthe bobcat

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I normally try to think about something thats really boring! I even try counting sheep some nights, after you hit a couple thousand it gets old though and your brain can't help but to think of something else! So I say~ Sleeping pills would be nice at this point!
Maybe I should try counting cougars, but then again, that wouldn't be so boring. Seeing all those cute cougars may make me to excited to sleep
I have tried sleeping pills, but felt drowsy the next morning, so it was no better than not sleeping.
 

addiebee

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Yes, I have insomnia sometimes. Sooo tired and can't fall asleep and then keep waking up. But I am a woman in the early stages of menopause, so my problem - both fatigue and insomnia - can be linked my fluctuating hormones. I also have a much more difficult time sleeping when I am stressed out, as I am now.

Shift work really messes with my bio clock, so that I also understand.

Go talk to your doctor. Maybe you need Melatonin, which I believe is a sleep hormone the body makes naturally.
 

709juggalette

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I do.

Actually...I used to have BAD insomnia.I started taking sleeping pills after months of not getting proper sleep (if any at all).Then I started to sleep normally on my own.

Then I have been sleeping really well for months,till recently! The past few days I have barely gotten any sleep.I try and just cannot sleep.I am wondering if I need sleeping pills...again!
 

lunasmom

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hmmm..more thoughts...

Do you exercise regularly? If not, start taking walks in the evening. I do find that regular exercise helps me sleep.

I also find that after laying down, taking 3 long deep breaths helps a lot. e.g, slowly inhale for 10 seconds...hold for 3 seconds and then slowly exhale. Repeat.
 

stormchickx

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I can't seem to sleep at night anymore. When I do go to sleep it's around 6 am now and I don't get up until 4 or 5 pm.
 

taterbug

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I hav e alwayshad trouble falling asleep. I have two methods that have always worked for me. First, I'll try reading myself to sleep. If that doesn't work, I try to relax, and imagine my toes floating in water, then my foot,then my ankle,etc. and usually by the time I've gotten my knees floating, I'm asleep. It sounds crazy...but it works!
 

709juggalette

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Originally Posted by stormchickx

I can't seem to sleep at night anymore. When I do go to sleep it's around 6 am now and I don't get up until 4 or 5 pm.
Thats how I used to be!
Now that I have a 3 yr old,my sleeping habits have changed.

However she goes to daycare and since I currently do not work,I find myself up all night and after getting Chloe ready for daycare in the morning and sending her off,I will go to bed till 12:30pm!
 
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amberthe bobcat

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Thanks for the ideas everyone. I know I always don't get to exercise regulary, but I love to go out dancing. I seem to be able to let out a lot of energy when I dance. Most of the time when I can't sleep, my mind feels like it is going and going and it just won't quit.
I hav e alwayshad trouble falling asleep. I have two methods that have always worked for me. First, I'll try reading myself to sleep. If that doesn't work, I try to relax, and imagine my toes floating in water, then my foot,then my ankle,etc. and usually by the time I've gotten my knees floating, I'm asleep. It sounds crazy...but it works!
As long as it works, that would be fine by me
My wife has no problem sleeping. It seems as if she is a sleep within a minute or so once in bed. It's never been that easy for me, unless I have been outside working all day. I never really feel all that stressed out, but it seems like I always have this excess amount of energy in me. I forgot to mention, sometimes when I am driving, that's when I get sleepy. Maybe when I go to bed, I should imagine myself driving home after a busy day at work. Don't worry though, if I feel myself getting sleepy in the car, I crank the stereo. The pounding bass keeps me awake or I just pull over, get out of the car and stretch or walk around a minute, then I am fine.
 

taterbug

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Originally Posted by AmberThe Bobcat

It's never been that easy for me, unless I have been outside working all day. I never really feel all that stressed out, but it seems like I always have this excess amount of energy in me. I forgot to mention, sometimes when I am driving, that's when I get sleepy. Maybe when I go to bed, I should imagine myself driving home after a busy day at work. Don't worry though, if I feel myself getting sleepy in the car, I crank the stereo. The pounding bass keeps me awake or I just pull over, get out of the car and stretch or walk around a minute, then I am fine.
You sound like me!! A car or a Dr's office will do it every time!
 

renovia

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Well,

I have anxiety and panic attacks and so I have trouble falling asleep a LOT. I just come to terms with the fact that when my body decides it's time to sleep, I will sleep. I can't force it, and if I try I stress out about it.

But things that make me tired, reading, doing crosswords, perhaps draw? or even the other end of the spectrum - write down in a journal everything that you are thinking about and once you get to the third page you'll be tired.
 

sarahp

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Ever since my sleep was completely disrupted while I was in hospital, and was woken at 4:30am every day for blood draws, I can't sleep through the night, and am still waking at 4/4:30 every day because my body's gotten into that habit now.

If you are an insomniac, I'm not sure what to do, but if you've just gotten into a "bad habit" of not sleeping, you may need some drugs to help train your body into sleeping for 8 hours straight again, which is what I'm trialling.
 

theimp98

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Originally Posted by AmberThe Bobcat

. My wife is sound to sleep and so are all my cats, but there I am, wide awake
poke the cats, at least it will give you something to play with


to answer your question yes all of my life.
at least it gives me time to get in lots of reading and video games
 

faith's_mom

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I am insomniac...maybe a 'side effect' of having cats too long??? Hahaha...but seriously...when I can't sleep, I usually just stay up until I get tired; it stinks when I do have to work, but when ya can't sleep, ya can't sleep...I get sore just laying in bed not falling asleep, due to my Fibro...acckk...can't win!
 

gailc

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So do you work 8 hour swing or 12 hour swing shifts?? I have several BIL's who worked swing shifts for years. But they can play havoc with your system. They tried to keep an even routine to help them sleep.
From another thread I know your bedrooom is kep at a cool temp. "Experts" say not to have a TV in the bedroom. I usually read a book for 30 minutes or so before turning out the lights. Try not to eat or drink anything within a couple hours of bedtime either.
 

kaete

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I have bouts of insomnia that can sometimes last for weeks. I've gotten used to them and they don't bother me as much as they used to.

When I can't sleep, I sometimes find that getting up and taking a hot bath (yes, even at 1am
) helps. Also, a cup of tea (yeah, I know, it has caffeine... somehow it works!), a change of environment (as a kid I'd sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag; now, I either move my head to the opposite end of the bed or try the couch), or getting up and moving around for a few minutes sometimes works.

I've tried sleep meds, and they don't work for me. Go figure.

Good luck; I know how frustrating it can be!
 
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