Insomnia, any ideas?

[Betpartners]

I ahev suffered with Insomnia for years, on average i get 3-4 hours sleep per night and then after about three weeks i get a serious migraine attack due to lack of sleep and sleep for about 8-10 hours for one night and then back in to the routine of 3-4 hours per night.

I ahve tried all sorts, when i was in the UK i used to use Nytol, load of crap, the docs once gave me some sleeping tablets but even they never really did the trick and anyway they caused more issues than what the insomnia did.

I used to puff on the wacky baccy and that would help but became immune to that now, just made me fat, paranoid and lazy.

Nothing seems to work at all and so anyone got any unusual remedies that may work.

Would be interested to hear them

[mojo]

If you find one let me know Paul. I can't get to sleep before 3am these days.

Reading helps a lot. Almost done with Angels and Demons. Need a new book fast.

[Betpartners]

When i see Paul i will let him know Linda

Yeah i read massively as well just finished Winston Churchills biography and yeah Angel and demons is not a bad read.

[pgaming]

Appears to be a common problem amongst those who keyboard too much. For myself no problems falling asleep rather staying asleep. I might get 4-5 hours but that’s it. Does not matter what, when, or why always 4-5 hours and is not unusual to stay up for 24 hours on occasion.

My friends suggest cut back on computer time, scale back on caffeine, healthy diet (really important IMO non-process foods), and exercise because you love it, live in the moment (cuts done on needless worry), cut back on watching news….

I think stress plays a major role with insomniacs. We all have a fair bit of useless stress causing many health problems. I normally throw on the mp3 player and ride my bike till I cannot ride any longer. Always remembered what one friend said to me “I don’t mind and it don’t matter’. Is what Einstein meant lol.

My guess is worry Betpartners is what keeping you up. Funny thing is there is nothing to worry about.

greek39

[TheGooner]

Decent exercise - 30 minutes worth - physical tiredness does wonders.
A glass or three of quality red wine.

(not both at the same time)

or ...

Watching a replay of Switzerland v Ukraine Q/F in World Cup 2006
0-0 after ET and both side played for it from about 4 minutes onwards ...

( I was unfortunate enough to be one of the 30,000 in the crowd)

[giggles7p]

All good advice, but sex usually does it for me!

If all else fails, i have the perfect answer....its called "A Hammer", my husband is ready and willing whenever i need it he says?

[pgaming]

Watching a replay of Switzerland v Ukraine Q/F in World Cup 2006
0-0 after ET and both side played for it from about 4 minutes onwards

Good one

Some T.V programs totally relax me enough to fall asleep. A given is the National Geographic Channel. One of my favs but it always makes me dose off.

greek39

[Chalkie]

Did i hear my name?

I have given up on trying to find a cure!

Wacky backy - erm nope, tried once gives me headache

Get drunk - Not allowed that anymore but you get immune to it anyway

Reading - I wish people would stop buying me books is all i can say there! I might read a few pages of the paper occasionally.

Sex - Now that was the best remedy of them all tbh, enjoyable and worked, nowadays i just end up getting back up again afterwards - perhaps i need a newer model I aint half glad the other half dont go online.

Only thing that works for me now is a good foot massage - trouble is i have to do that myself!

[pgaming]

All good advice, but sex usually does it for me!

Ain't getting any lately, I could place an order (just kidding).

greek39

[matted]

All good advice, but sex usually does it for me!

How can anyone beat that advice?

I have it - I've tried lots of things. I'd lay down and my mind would still bne thinking about business and them move onto other things. And the worst was when I'd fall asleep for a few minutes (I'd only know I slept at all bc my wife would tell me I was snoring) and wake up not able to get back to sleep. The sleep pills all have their problems - ambien, sonata, lunesta... I find they make me drousy the next day - almost like I hadn't really slept the night before anyway. And something like sominex sometimes lacks the power to knock me out.

A few ideas:

1. Stop working at least 15 minutes before going to bed. Write down what it is on your mind (so you aren't trying to remember where you are when you pick it up again tomorrow). Just relax - listen to music, watch a little TV, meditate, whatever...

2. You need to take 2 full days off. Get away from the computer.

3. A warm beverage sometimes helps me to relax...

4. After 30 minutes, get up and get a drink of water and tak e aquick walk around the house.

5. Have kids... It can help (although admittedly, it wasn't until my 2nd was born a year ago that I feel like I have it beat more nights than not).

And on a more serious note: You may want to talk to a doctor. They can do a sleep study to figure out why you aren't sleeping. And they may want to investigate sleep apnea (what you describe doesnt fit, but some people with insomnia actually suffer from this condition)

[Betpartners]

Indeed some good advice there, problem is tried them all literally

I take the dogs for a walk ever night and does knacker me out and have 5 young kids here that work me senseless in the back garden in the evenings but in terms of getting to sleep on the back of that just dont work.

Reading does get me tired but its 50/50 between sleep and headaches and even then the sleep is fitfull not deep.

Drink, yeah Chalkie your right, you can get immune and anyway i suffer serious hangovers.

Sex, i wish, 9 bloody kids teaches you a lesson lol, no but serious sex liofe is normal i suppose but getting me to sleep just dont do it for me.

All the other stuff, listening to light music, hot drinks, cutting down on caffeine and so on tried and dont work.

Now Worry and stress yeah that may be an issue, but some things you just cannot avoid worrying about, certain things play on your mind no matter, its a reality and its not always work related.

Also dont help living in bloody Malta, one damn hot humid country,

But you ahve all made some fantastic suggestions nonetheless and maybe a combination of two or three of them could help.

Will try them

But i am noticing a pattern, seems i am not the only one that has sleep issues, maybe its the industry we are in, seems a common complaint

But again thanks people, your advice is appreciated and taken on board

[Betpartners]

And on a more serious note: You may want to talk to a doctor. They can do a sleep study to figure out why you aren't sleeping. And they may want to investigate sleep apnea (what you describe doesnt fit, but some people with insomnia actually suffer from this condition)

Just done a quick check on that and you may ahve something

I was in hospital a few years back, had a heart attack, yeah i know bloody young, it was a physical thing thats been resolved now so no worries anymore.

But anyway when i was in the hospital the nurse did comment to me that my breathing when asleep was very slow and they monitored it closely

I never really thought too much about it, something i should check out really just to be sure.

[slotplayer]

Decent exercise - 30 minutes worth - physical tiredness does wonders.
A glass or three of quality red wine.

just what I was going to suggest.

ever notice how tried one gets after moving?

wine will do it to.

[Renee]

The stress thing has to be a factor I think.. Ive noticed there are so many aff managers that i've spoken to who all have trouble sleeping..

When I was 19 two of my best friends passed away 2 days apart and i didnt sleep anymore than 3 hours per night for a year. No matter what time I fell asleep, I would wake up at 7am on the dot and usually wouldn't be able to fall asleep before 4am. I think it was the exhaustion of actually being awake and stressing about not being able to sleep that got me in the end, because now I can sleep anywhere. I have to say though, if I get even a little stressed these days, I have a very hard time sleeping..

There was nothing in particular that made me be able to sleep better. I just woke up one day and I was ok. I did find that I tried a sleeping pill called Normison which knocked me out without the drowsiness, but it only worked once for me then not again.

I would definitely suggest what Matt said - to go see a doctor to see why you're not sleeping. For all you know it could be some kind of medical reason (like not enough of something in your diet).

[giggles7p]

Greek, are making appointments?

LOLLL

[Chalkie]

Greek, are making appointments?

LOLLL

You crack me up!

[pgaming]

Greek, are making appointments?

LOLLL

Any longer I just might, tired of replacing my pillows lol. Oh boy the animal in me, crazy.

greek39

[boozaa]

If your in the UK just tape and watch the cricket it usually works for me,

[Chalkie]

If your in the UK just tape and watch the cricket it usually works for me,

I tried to tape the cricket once and even the video recorder got bored! It went on stand by!

Disclaimer: I was recording for a friend - i would never waste time watching a cricket match.

[Spearmaster]

I have trouble sleeping as well, though probably not to the extent that some of you are experiencing.

Causes of my insomnia:

* Not getting off the computer at least 30 minutes before bed - causes me to think too much about what I was doing.

* Too many games or repetitive things - especially if they're puzzle-oriented games. It's almost like trying to replay the game in your mind to see if you could have done something differently... especially, no gambling in the last couple of hours before bed.

* Eating too close to bed time - 3 hours is good, 2 hours is passable but if I eat anything closer than that, I find that I don't sleep well.

* Light... I hate light in the bedroom. I have blackout curtains because I go to sleep at 5 am.

* Muscle stiffness - this is probably the worst issue. Could be arthritis, but it's also related to weight (losing weight helped a lot) and sugar and carbs (going low-carb worked wonders). To cure this I often have to massage stiff muscles (don't get the wrong idea LOL). But then I also have the luxury of cheap traditional Thai massages for $6 per hour any time I want A warm/hot bath an hour before bed also helps.

* Speaking of which, go see a chiropractor - I never believed in this - until I tried one a couple of years ago - took him 4-5 sessions to completely crack my back, after which I had flexibility I hadn't had since childhood - and because the back was almost normal again, muscle stiffness in back, neck, and legs lessened considerably - only to discover that I had stiff muscles UNDER my stiff muscles which I simply didn't notice until the bigger muscles had relaxed! Might take months or years to get rid of all of it, but you're always getting better and feeling better too!

* Once you've started loosening up those muscles - stretch. Even if you don't exercise (which I don't at the moment), learning to stretch properly (like a cat does) will keep those muscles loose.

* Room temperature - too hot, can't sleep. Too cold, my muscles stiffen up considerably.

* External noise - easy to fix - get a HEPA filter, preferably with ionizer, which will clean the air in your room, plus it emits a steady hum which neutralizes other sounds. Notice how you sleep better when it rains? That's because it drowns out sharp sounds, plus cleans the air (which the ionizer will do). At the very least get an ionizer alone, my classmate got one on my recommendation and all her allergies seem to have disappeared since.

* Bed - get a good mattress. I slept on poor mattresses for years - actually gave me a permanent back curvature. One day I went and tried out new mattresses, found one which was medium-firm and had a cushion on top - the day it arrived, I completely zoned out for 14 hours... still have that mattress today and every time I travel I miss it dearly.

* Pillow - not too soft, not too high. If it doesn't support your neck, you will be stiff all the time. I still have a problem with my pillows, haven't found just the right one yet.

* NO SLEEPING PILLS - they don't work! And when they help even a bit, the instant you stop you will have trouble again.

* Less alcohol - though actually I find I sleep better (but less hours) after a heavy drinking session at one conference or another. But it takes me weeks to get back to a normal sleeping pattern. One drink might not be bad, especially a spirit - helps to calm the nerves - but don't if you don't really need it.

* More water - well, not so much that you have to get up in the middle of the night. Water helps to dilute any of the bad stuff in your system as well as giving you better hydration.

If none of these help - you should go see a specialist. I have a friend who just can't sleep - he claims he's tried every doctor and remedy on the planet - but I know he hasn't done acupuncture. If it's something a regular doctor can't find - alternative medicine sometimes does the trick. Sometimes it's just a nerve or a pinched muscle which wasn't detected - but a good massage therapist, chiropractor, or acupuncturist may find these things. Especially good is a blind massage therapist - rather than going through a routine, they can actually feel the points of tension and work on those areas.

If all else fails - a vacation to Thailand will help considerably!

Oh - by the way, sex works for me too Trouble is, it usually has the opposite effect on my wife!