Tuesday, January 24, 2006

So, So Tired

I am really fading here. I went to bed around 11pm last night (pretty usual for me). I quickly settle into a nice little sleep all snuggled in my down comforter. I would have liked to have stayed like that until wake up/workout time at 5:10am. I mean, isn’t that early enough already? But no…my body had other plans. It decided to wake up at 2:56am. It’s times like this that I want to throw that clock against the wall because it just seems to taunt me…2:57…2:58…2:59…Oh crap, now it’s 3am. I WANT TO SLEEP!!!! Then it’s 4am. Then it’s 5am and time to get up to workout anyway, so why not just give up? No problem. It was actually a great workout because I was more awake than usual.

But now…now, life is totally sucking. It is just after 4pm, and I am a feeling totally done for the day despite more than enough work on my desk to keep me busy for quite some time.

So what does everyone else do when you can’t sleep? Any tried and true remedies? I tried prayer, counting sheep, relaxation methods, reading, even doing some paperwork. It is so rare for me that I haven’t come up with anything that really works for me. I know from training with sleep psychologists that you are supposed to get out of bed until you feel tired again (which I did), but any other bright ideas from all you people with more chronic sleep problems?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

heaven help us if the shrink among us can't figure out how to get to sleep... :)

my doc gave me some stuff to help with that. it's been semi-helpful (it's only been a couple of weeks, we'll see...). i've also been scanning the web for other ideas... i think for me there's some emotional/stress/worry-related stuff attached to the insomnia, so i'm trying to deal with that a bit better. working out regularly is supposed to help (which i know you already do). watch your alcohol and caffeine (no caffeine within 8 hours of going to bed). use the bedroom for only, um, bed-related things (a major challenge for me in my one-bedroom apt). etc.

if this is rare for you, i'd suggest you look at what might have been different about last night. eaten anything different? something heavy on the brain? stuff like that...

i'm mucho tired right along with you... :)

Steve Fuller said...

I consider one of the great blessings in my life that I ALWAYS sleep through the night and NOTHING can wake me up. Thanks God; sorry Marsha. :/

Lucid Magazine said...

As someone with chronic sleep problems (I am always hyper, plus once a year, I go a whole week without sleeping) I have come to semi accept it. but reading can help, plus playing cds. basically something to arrest my attention, keep my thoughts at bay, and let me be still enough to fall asleep. lately though I have been asking god what he wants to tell me when I am awake. I must be awake for a reason, right? like Samuel? dunno

Anonymous said...

Was it b/c your house was so clean? That probably changed things up in your bedroom alot...just kidding.

Usually, my sleep or lack there of has to do with other crap going on in my life. You do have some fairly exciting/stressful things on your plate lately, you know.

Sometimes it's God waking me up to pray; sounds like you have that covered though. A friend of mine is on lunesta (sp?); says it works wonders and it is non-addictive. My dad suffers from sleep issues, so I think I'm just lucky like that.

I could bring you some back issues of The Wall Street Journal or maybe consumer reports or something unexciting.

Anonymous said...

Candyce - Yes, I know some other technical stuff, but I guess sometimes I think grandma's advice works best. I thought I would stay open to it and expand myself to what other people's grandmas say as well :)

Steve - NOTHING can wake you up? Not even the smell of some raisin bread toasting?

Ehi - I think you are on to something.

Courney - I'll grab me some Wall Street Journals tonight.

Aaron said...

Grape Juice! I'm serious. I can be somewhat of an insomniac, and I loves me some sleep. A lot of the time it's God - my best times with Him are in the middle of the night. Sometimes it's crazy stuff. But if you're looking for granny's remedy I say grape juice. Here's why - you probably know this being a shrink and all - but the carbs actually stimulate sleep (I can't remember all the exact reasons, but I think it has something to do with melatonin or dopamine or something like that.) Coke works, but it has caffeine and other juices are too acidic for the middle of the night. Do the grape!