• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

How do you put yourself to sleep? (1 Viewer)

ab9924

ab9924

Educator / Liar Champion
Joined
Nov 8, 2011
Messages
904
Reaction score
135
Location
Sharing time between UK and US.
Gender
Male
Political Leaning
Independent
I can't sleep. I think I have become an insomniac. What shall I do? What do you do when you are an insomniac?
 
ab9924 said:
I can't sleep. I think I have become an insomniac. What shall I do? What do you do when you are an insomniac?
Click to expand...

I am one of those blessed to lay head upon pillow and be out almost every single night. But the person I love most in the world suffers from dreadful insomnia and disturbing nightmares. This has gone on for many years, and everything has been tried. Everysituation/ solution is different.

Facts: Routine sleep time and dark/cold rooms help. Melatonin helps for many, and I have a bottle in my medicine cabinet. Avoiding spicy evening meals too. None of this has helped the person I love most.
 
I need: My bed, absolute darkness, absolute silence or some kind of white noise like a fan blowing, the right amount of blankets for the temperature and a slight buzz from a nightcap else my brain just wont STFU about trivial concerns.
 
I have just learned to survive on 4-5 hours of sleep per night.
 
ab9924 said:
I can't sleep. I think I have become an insomniac. What shall I do? What do you do when you are an insomniac?
Click to expand...

I've had that problem for basically my entire life. I don't recommend alcohol unless you want to wake up in the middle of the night and possibly have extremely weird dreams. Sleeping pills are hugely addictive and you build up a tolerance very quickly. There are some herbal teas that can be very, very effective if used infrequently (I recommend Sleepytime teas). The best thing is to regularly get exercise. Or possibly do yoga.
 
When I have problems sleeping I will usually picture myself somewhere else...

my favorite and most effective "sleepy place" is imaginining i'm out camping, it's cold, and there is a fire warming me.
 
ab9924 said:
I can't sleep. I think I have become an insomniac. What shall I do? What do you do when you are an insomniac?
Click to expand...

For one, I don't drink any caffeine after about 5:00 pm. Caffeine keeps me up all night now.

For another, I sleep because I have a physically active occupation. If you don't, I suggest doing some kind of strenuous exercise. It doesn't have to be weight lifting or aerobics - it could be as simple as going for a power walk for an hour. That will tire out your body as well as help you stay healthy.

Find some kind of method to relax your mind before you sleep. Personally, I play a few video games, as it helps me get "in the zone" of mindless motion. Try to find something that works for you.

I don't like quiet when I'm trying to sleep. So what I do is keep the radio on when I'm trying to sleep. If I'm tired, I go right to sleep. The radio helps make sure I stay asleep.

I'm also on a pretty regular sleep schedule, and I stick to that schedule every day. So my body tends to go to sleep as a matter of habit.
 
ab9924 said:
I can't sleep. I think I have become an insomniac. What shall I do? What do you do when you are an insomniac?
Click to expand...

When I don't sleep, which is somewhat frequently lately, I just don't worry about it. 'Course I don't have to set an alarm clock either. When I had to be up and out by 9 AM in the morning, I went to bed every night at 10:30 PM. Never had trouble sleeping, because if I screwed up one night, the next night I was so tired sleep was no problem. So I'd get right back on track. I always sleep with the TV on for white noise. Set to go off in 60-90 minutes. If I don't have white noise? I'm in trouble. Even when I travel, I take my Kindle on which I have some talking books -- that I've never heard the end of, by the way. Ha!

For me, guarantees I won't sleep well include, especially, playing computer games close to bedtime and eating fish for dinner. A night of one-too-many results in my getting to sleep immediately, but waking up after about 3 hours and having trouble falling back to sleep.

I often take two sleep melts -- an over-the-counter sleep medication that relies on benadryl . . . non-habit-forming according to my doctor . . . in order to get myself back on track.

When I had to set an alarm, I never had trouble sleeping. Now that I don't, a few nights a week I'll be wide-eyed. When I can't fall asleep, I get my butt out of bed, go into the living room and watch TV on the couch 'til I'm sleepy-eyed. Sometimes I check in here and talk to the night owls.
 
I vary rarely have trouble but when I do one of two things usually work:

1. I try to focus on 'seeing the darkness'. This is simply focusing my mind into a TOTALLY singular task of seeing the blackness of my eyelids.

2. When the random thoughts creep into mind and prohibit sleep I subliminally state to myself in my mind 'don't think about X'. After 'Xing' off all the random thoughts one by one the 'blankness' usually induces sleep.

Lately, I commonly use Rainman's tactic which is effective.
 
I had a deadly case of insomnia for years, and I believe now it was related to the hormonal changes of menopause.

All the suggestions above (apart from drinking liquor) are good ones, but ab9926, just don't freak about it. The anxiety over whether you will sleep can be the biggest barrier to falling asleep.

Just take note that a sleepless night will impair your fine motor skills, and that a week of sleepless nights will have you sleeping in microbursts, so you should not drive a car, etc. until it passes.
 
Blessed sleep. I haven't had 8 hours of sleep in a couple of years. I went to a sleep clinic. Had all these wires all over me tied together in an array behind my head. I looked like a pink Stevie Wonder. The sleep tech told me to just go to sleep. If I needed to go to the bathroom just say so and he'd come in an unhook me. They have you on a microphone all night along with all the other crap. You can't turn over much as they even have an electrode on your finger. I cannot sleep on my back.

The next morning the tech came in and as he unwired me we chatted a bit. He said he'd never heard anyone say "F*ck" as much as I had in my sleep.

Not having slept all night and having been tethered to a computer as well I said, "WHAT? ARE YOU CRAZY? I WASN'T ASLEEP!"

They suggested I do a second night as they weren't able to find any reason the first night. I told them, no thanks. Of all the things that might induce sleep a sleep lab is the last place on earth I'd consider.
 
Last edited:
ab9924 said:
I can't sleep. I think I have become an insomniac. What shall I do? What do you do when you are an insomniac?
Click to expand...

There are some minor anti depressants that help with sleep. Tell your doctor and ask for Trazadone.

Otherwise, take out your TV, cold room, absolute darkness and quiet.
 
Dickieboy said:
I vary rarely have trouble but when I do one of two things usually work:

1. I try to focus on 'seeing the darkness'. This is simply focusing my mind into a TOTALLY singular task of seeing the blackness of my eyelids.

2. When the random thoughts creep into mind and prohibit sleep I subliminally state to myself in my mind 'don't think about X'. After 'Xing' off all the random thoughts one by one the 'blankness' usually induces sleep.

Lately, I commonly use Rainman's tactic which is effective.
Click to expand...

I had lots of trouble getting to sleep as a teenager and used a similar method to induce sleep. Mind over body. I was into yoga and meditation and practiced turning my mind away from whatever was crowding in. Eventually, I didn't need to actively "put myself asleep", until I had babies. Then it was sleep when they sleep or lose my mind, so had to use those methods again.

Overall, to the OP, there are lots of good suggestions.

Exercise, watch caffeine intake and establishing a routine to unwind your mind and prepare yourself for bed. A shower, drink a bedtime tea, white noise or I have used the sounds of waves on my iPod and total darkness. But getting your body and mind ready to sleep is important.
 
sharon said:
There are some minor anti depressants that help with sleep. Tell your doctor and ask for Trazadone.

Otherwise, take out your TV, cold room, absolute darkness and quiet.
Click to expand...

I respectfully disagree. Medication should be a sufferer's last resort, IMO.
 
Risky Thicket said:
Blessed sleep. I haven't had 8 hours of sleep in a couple of years. I went to a sleep clinic. Had all these wires all over me tied together in an array behind my head. I looked like a pink Stevie Wonder. The sleep tech told me to just go to sleep. If I needed to go to the bathroom just say so and he'd come in an unhook me. They have you on a microphone all night along with all the other crap. You can't turn over much as they even have an electrode on your finger. I cannot sleep on my back.

The next morning the tech came in and as he unwired me we chatted a bit. He said he'd never heard anyone say "F*ck" as much as I had in my sleep.

Not having slept all night and having been tethered to a computer as well I said, "WHAT? ARE YOU CRAZY? I WASN'T ASLEEP!"

They suggested I do a second night as they weren't able to find any reason the first night. I told them, no thanks. Of all the things that might induce sleep a sleep lab is the last place on earth I'd consider.
Click to expand...

I had two such studies done. If you have a snoring problem they can help, but IME, if you don't, all they can offer is pills.
 
What ever you do do not take Lunesta more than a couple of times a week. One of its major side effects is lose of memory.
 
I try to get laid...that usually works.
 
Pinkie said:
I respectfully disagree. Medication should be a sufferer's last resort, IMO.
Click to expand...

Trazadone is a very minor anti depressant and quite suitable and safe for seniors.

Sleep deprivations has its own health consequences.
 
ab9924 said:
I can't sleep. I think I have become an insomniac. What shall I do? What do you do when you are an insomniac?
Click to expand...

It's hard to say what the cause is (for you), but based on the subjects and the ideas you post on here, I would say that you have a very active mind and imagination. This makes it difficult to sleep, because your wheels never stop turning. It would probably be helpful for you, if you can learn some type of meditation technique, or another avenue to try and calm your mind. An active mind and imagination is a good thing, but the downside is in learning to use it to your benefit, and not your detriment.
 
ab9924 said:
I can't sleep. I think I have become an insomniac. What shall I do? What do you do when you are an insomniac?
Click to expand...

I've had this problem off and on over the years. Normally, I will get up and surf the internet or read until I can't hardly stay awake. Even at that, I may still lie in bed and stare into the darkness. I don't have this problem much any more, because once my head hits the pillow I'm out - I am mentally exhausted most days any more.
 
LOL, I almost never have trouble going to sleep, but if I ever do - and I shouldn't say this - there is one quick, easy, enjoyable, and sure-fire way of getting off (to sleep) I have used for years - but I can't tell you because one doesn't talk about such things in polite company. :3oops: :mrgreen:
 
ab9924 said:
I can't sleep. I think I have become an insomniac. What shall I do? What do you do when you are an insomniac?
Click to expand...

I dunno. What do vets use? :lol:

But really, I mostly use melatonin. It's the gentlest method, and you can buy it at the grocery story. It isn't 100%, but it's far better than nothing. Only take as needed. You can develop a tolerance to it.

I don't take sleeping pills at all. They just destroy me the next day. I'm trippy and nodding off and feel like crap. If I need something stronger than melatonin, I either have a drink or take a Benadryl or a Tramadol from when I had surgery. I do that very rarely when I absolutely need to get sleep.

Also, try turning off your computer or anything else with a lit screen at least half an hour before you go to bed. The light keeps your brain awake. If you can have dim lighting, use that too.

No caffeine after noon or so. Yes, that early.

I've been an insomniac for most of my life. Apparently I slept perfectly as a baby, and then when I turned 3, I just stopped sleeping normally. No one really knows why. I can only remember getting a solid 8 hours maybe a handful of times in my life. Normally I get 4-6. Every now and again I just can't sleep at all.
 
ab9924 said:
I can't sleep. I think I have become an insomniac. What shall I do? What do you do when you are an insomniac?
Click to expand...




I contemplate the beauty of Chaos.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top Bottom