Question of the day: Tuesday, March 26

feralvr · Mar 26, 2013

Good morning all! :sun: Hope you are having a good start to your day and hope you are not as "tired" as I am this morning. I have been having trouble falling asleep lately. There is a lot on my mind but really nothing more than the usual. Usually I am able to fall asleep quickly but staying asleep was always the problem. Now, it has switched. :lol3: I can't fall asleep fast enough but when I finally do, I stay asleep. I do have Melatonin on hand and started taking that at night before bed. It does seem to help. Reading also helps me get heavy eyed. So, :idea:

this gave me an idea for my QOTD. :bigwink:

[COLOR=#BLUE]Do you use, or have you ever used, any special methods that help you get to sleep? Herbal remedies? A strong nightcap? Sleeping pills? Counting sheep? Green Tea? Meditation? A kitty behind your knees? :lol3: What works for you?[/COLOR]

peaches08 · Mar 26, 2013

Ambien has really saved my health and sanity!

catspaw66 · Mar 26, 2013

peaches08 said:
Ambien has really saved my health and sanity!

It took me three years before the doctor stopped prescribing things like Benadryl, Elavil, Thorazine and such and got me on ambien.

betsygee · Mar 26, 2013

I bought one of those sound machines--I program it to play the sound of the ocean for 1 hour when I go to bed. I'm ALWAYS asleep before it goes off. Wonderful.

feralvr · Mar 26, 2013

catspaw66 said:
It took me three years before the doctor stopped prescribing things like Benadryl, Elavil, Thorazine and such and got me on ambien.

Yeah, my doctor has recommended Benadryl as well. I do know about Ambien. But, here is the problem. IF I take something that will really "knock" me out, then I won't be able to hear when my elderly dog, Wilbur, has to go out for a potty. He can't make it through the night anymore and actually, I am up at least two times per night to let him out. That has to be the main reason I am so tired most of the time. Honestly, in the last year or so, I never get a full night's sleep because of my dear Wilbur, bless his heart. :heart3:

feralvr · Mar 26, 2013

betsygee said:
I bought one of those sound machines--I program it to play the sound of the ocean for 1 hour when I go to bed. I'm ALWAYS asleep before it goes off. Wonderful.

Ooooo - that is a good idea! :clap:

And I wish I could try that but I do have to wear ear plugs. Hubby snores.

jcat · Mar 26, 2013

Valerian root and a really boring book usually put me to sleep, but I seldom sleep through.

larussa · Mar 26, 2013

I've never taken anything to help me sleep. I usually sleep pretty well but there are nights when I can't sleep at all and when I wake up in the middle of the night, I can't sometimes get back to sleep. I just toss and turn until I do fall asleep again. Autumn being snuggled up against me and purring like crazy also helps me get back to sleep.

I've wanted to try meds to make me sleep but I'm afraid of getting addicted to them.

catsallaround · Mar 26, 2013

Up till early teens I would use herbal teas. Anything else left me groggy. Now it takes all I have to not fall asleep after being up a few hours(even if not doing anything) Medical issue is the reason. I would give anything to survive on hours of sleep like I used to!

Winchester · Mar 26, 2013

I have your problem, Lauren, only with me it's an elderly cat. Bootser loves to walk around the house meowing, starting around 3:00 in the morning or so. She's been doing that for years and I'm still not used to it.

You might as well say that my morning starts at 3:00 when she starts in.....once she starts meowing, I don't go back to sleep. Once I'm up, I'm up. And it's frustrating. The whole time that Rick was gone, I never once needed an alarm clock to awaken me; I was already wide awake.

We've been thinking about a white noise machine like betsygee has. I don't know if it would drown out her meows, but at this point, it's worth a try.

I don't know what it's like to sleep an entire night anymore. And I often fall asleep around 8:00 or so at night because by that time, I'm just too pooped to stay awake.

Willowy · Mar 26, 2013

I have a white noise app on my phone

. I'm sure I could sleep without it but I sleep better with it. Also I need a fan going and the moving air needs to go by my face or I feel like I can't breathe. Other than that, I don't have any trouble sleeping. . .I just have trouble going to bed! :lol3:

catsallaround · Mar 26, 2013

Willowy said:
Other than that, I don't have any trouble sleeping. . .I just have trouble going to bed!

Yeah tell me about it. Cats,Dogs,TV and computer makes bedtimes vary to much!

MoochNNoodles · Mar 26, 2013

I usually fall asleep reading on the couch (with both kitties of course). But if I'm sick and it's a weekend I'll take a benadryl to help me dry up and sleep. I'm just afraid I won't hear my kids during the night if they need me. One time DS kept waking up and I swear I felt like I was floating down a tunnel trying to walk to his bedroom!

I think that one was on a regular nighttime cold medicine; not even benadryl!

blueyedgirl5946 · Mar 26, 2013

Melatonin works for me

AbbysMom · Mar 26, 2013

I don't sleep well at all.

I did take Ambien for just a little bit right after my father died.

smitten4kittens · Mar 26, 2013

I have a hard time falling asleep too. Some things that help me are lavendar tea, a meditation cd, or my white noise machine.

di and bob · Mar 26, 2013

I too have cats that think the day should start around 3:30, one walks on us in bed and the other walks around the house meowing. He has done this since he was a kitten and he's now 12. Once in a while a Benadryl helps me sleep, it does great, I sleep all night and wake up not groggy. When my Chrissy died I was taking it every night for a couple of weeks because of the terrible nightmares of seeing her dying. It definitely saved my sanity. I did find out though that if you take it too long it becomes less effective, give it a break for a week and it works again. If you look at the main ingredient on almost all of the 'sleep aides' they are all Benadryl! Midnight, the sleep aide with natural ingredients, and the one you can take at any time, is not as strong but does help me fall asleep when I'm not using the benadryl. I wish I could program my cats to wake me on MY terms and not theirs. I still haven't figured out how they know to change at daylight savings time too!

feralvr · Mar 26, 2013

jcat said:
Valerian root and a really boring book usually put me to sleep, but I seldom sleep through.

:lol3:

Boring is always good when trying to fall asleep.

LaRussa said:
I've never taken anything to help me sleep. I usually sleep pretty well but there are nights when I can't sleep at all and when I wake up in the middle of the night, I can't sometimes get back to sleep. I just toss and turn until I do fall asleep again. Autumn being snuggled up against me and purring like crazy also helps me get back to sleep.

I've wanted to try meds to make me sleep but I'm afraid of getting addicted to them.

There is something about a "purr" that is so soothing and comforting. My Presley sleeps on my neck.

catsallaround said:
Up till early teens I would use herbal teas. Anything else left me groggy. Now it takes all I have to not fall asleep after being up a few hours(even if not doing anything) Medical issue is the reason. I would give anything to survive on hours of sleep like I used to!

I also wish I could sleep like I once did - many years ago.

feralvr · Mar 26, 2013

Winchester said:
I have your problem, Lauren, only with me it's an elderly cat. Bootser loves to walk around the house meowing, starting around 3:00 in the morning or so. She's been doing that for years and I'm still not used to it.

You might as well say that my morning starts at 3:00 when she starts in.....once she starts meowing, I don't go back to sleep. Once I'm up, I'm up. And it's frustrating. The whole time that Rick was gone, I never once needed an alarm clock to awaken me; I was already wide awake.

We've been thinking about a white noise machine like betsygee has. I don't know if it would drown out her meows, but at this point, it's worth a try.

I don't know what it's like to sleep an entire night anymore. And I often fall asleep around 8:00 or so at night because by that time, I'm just too pooped to stay awake.

AND, if we fall asleep that early - 8:00 p.m. - then we are up in the wee hours anyway. Presley is another problem at night for me. He comes in and plops on my head and neck. I do love the purring but he gets up and walks around and then comes back for more. Wakes me up all the time and I don't have the heart to keep my cats out of the room. No way is that going to happen. :lol3:

MoochNNoodles said:
I usually fall asleep reading on the couch (with both kitties of course). But if I'm sick and it's a weekend I'll take a benadryl to help me dry up and sleep. I'm just afraid I won't hear my kids during the night if they need me. One time DS kept waking up and I swear I felt like I was floating down a tunnel trying to walk to his bedroom!

I think that one was on a regular nighttime cold medicine; not even benadryl!

I am actually glad to hear your description about the feeling like you are floating down a tunnel. :hugs:

Scary, right?! I have had that distorted visual perception too. It is either from being so tired or happens when I am having anxiety. :shame:

blueyedgirl5946 said:
Melatonin works for me

I just bought the 5 mg. today. I have the 3 mg. tabs and they don't work. Pharmacist says to try the 5 mg. :cross:

AbbysMom said:
I don't sleep well at all.
I did take Ambien for just a little bit right after my father died.

At least we know we are not alone in the sleepless nights department.

feralvr · Mar 26, 2013

Willowy said:
I have a white noise app on my phone . I'm sure I could sleep without it but I sleep better with it. Also I need a fan going and the moving air needs to go by my face or I feel like I can't breathe. Other than that, I don't have any trouble sleeping. . .I just have trouble going to bed! :lol3:

Pretty cool on the phone app! And, fan noise is also the perfect white noise for sleeping. I guess all of your cats must keep you from getting to bed!! :lol3:

Di and Bob said:
I too have cats that think the day should start around 3:30, one walks on us in bed and the other walks around the house meowing. He has done this since he was a kitten and he's now 12. Once in a while a Benadryl helps me sleep, it does great, I sleep all night and wake up not groggy. When my Chrissy died I was taking it every night for a couple of weeks because of the terrible nightmares of seeing her dying. It definitely saved my sanity. I did find out though that if you take it too long it becomes less effective, give it a break for a week and it works again. If you look at the main ingredient on almost all of the 'sleep aides' they are all Benadryl! Midnight, the sleep aide with natural ingredients, and the one you can take at any time, is not as strong but does help me fall asleep when I'm not using the benadryl. I wish I could program my cats to wake me on MY terms and not theirs. I still haven't figured out how they know to change at daylight savings time too! :lol3:

So sorry to hear about what you went through upon losing :rbheart:

Chrissy. I can say that when my dog, Wilbur (a JRT) who is 14 1/2 yrs. old and unwell passes to the bridge I will be completely heartbroken beyond belief. I have great anxiety of when that day comes. He is my constant and has been since Larry, my husband, gave Wilbur to me for Christmas in 1998 which was one of the biggest shockers of my life. :lol3: Larry suggesting we add a pet into the family. :shocker:

I think I will look up Midnight! Thanks.

Question of the day: Tuesday, March 26

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