Advice on getting to sleep quicker.

Nyarlathotep · #1 05-26-2009, 03:18 PM

Give me some advice

So far (from last thread): Valium and/or squeezing one out.....

mike_v_s · #2 05-26-2009, 03:20 PM

Get Debo to knock you the **** out.

Mike

excane · #3 05-26-2009, 03:21 PM

And the purpose of an identical thread is.......?

Nyarlathotep · #4 05-26-2009, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by excane

And the purpose of an identical thread is.......?

Rule #5: Do not question moderation policies/actions in the forums
If you have a disagreement with a moderator (If your thread gets deleted, if you get a warning, etc.), DO NOT post your complaint publicly on the forums. If you have a problem with a moderator's actions, PM or email the moderator privately. If the moderator's response is unsatisfactory, email the administor (username: Paul).

We take all complaints seriously, but posting your dissatisfaction publicly will result in a rule violation.

Blueszilla · #5 05-26-2009, 03:27 PM

Exercise, but not too late. Getting to sleep quick is about how tired you are. If you exercise late you'll boost your energy and stay awake. Don't eat right before you go to bed. Try to go to bed at approximately the same time every night to establish a routine, your body will remember it's bedtime.

Sex is a great way to bring on the sleepies, it works for me...

EDIT: Sorry if these have been mentioned, I didn't read the other thread.

DudeistMonk · #6 05-26-2009, 03:37 PM

two shots of whiskey, or a Tylenol PM and 1 shot of whiskey... does it every time.

Also try watching law and order while laying down, you'll wind up waking up at like 11:30 with the news on and drool on your couch.

excane · #7 05-26-2009, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nyarlathotep

Rule #5: Do not question moderation policies/actions in the forums
If you have a disagreement with a moderator (If your thread gets deleted, if you get a warning, etc.), DO NOT post your complaint publicly on the forums. If you have a problem with a moderator's actions, PM or email the moderator privately. If the moderator's response is unsatisfactory, email the administor (username: Paul).

We take all complaints seriously, but posting your dissatisfaction publicly will result in a rule violation.

Well, I can see you're up on reading comprehension

I'm not questioning a moderator in any way....I'm questioning why you started another thread?

(Unless the apocalypse occurred while I was taking a piss and you became a moderator?)

tplyons · #8 05-26-2009, 03:39 PM

I use 25 mg of Doxylamine Succinate, I believe the active ingredient in NyQuil that helps you sleep without all the other drugs. This, and ear plugs and I'm usually out like a light in twenty minutes.

Nyarlathotep · #9 05-26-2009, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by excane

Well, I can see you're up on reading comprehension

I'm not questioning a moderator in any way....I'm questioning why you started another thread?

(Unless the apocalypse occurred while I was taking a piss and you became a moderator?)

I got a warning for the title of the other one.

Im not gonna say anymore. I don't really want to have the warning turn into something else. And I am seriously looking for some advice.....

excane · #10 05-26-2009, 03:44 PM

Gotcha.

Ericman197 · #11 05-26-2009, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nyarlathotep

Rule #5: Do not question moderation policies/actions in the forums
If you have a disagreement with a moderator (If your thread gets deleted, if you get a warning, etc.), DO NOT post your complaint publicly on the forums. If you have a problem with a moderator's actions, PM or email the moderator privately. If the moderator's response is unsatisfactory, email the administor (username: Paul).

We take all complaints seriously, but posting your dissatisfaction publicly will result in a rule violation.

I think it was a valid question in the context that (as of right now) there is no mention in the OP of moderator action, nor does it appear that the original thread was locked or moved. It is not entirely unreasonable to think that this is a duplicate thread - but because you're hinting at moderator action, I'm guessing the old thread was deleted (but this wasn't obvious to me either). EDIT: Ah, I see, old thread deleted. Perhaps you might mention this in the OP so others don't get confused.

OP: look up something called 'sleep hygiene.' It encompasses all of the tricks and tips to help you fall asleep.

I think your main problem is your schedule. Change it if you can. Otherwise try other sleep hygiene tricks.

If it continues to be a problem consult a doctor. Alcohol and benzodiazapines are not a great permanent solution because both are physically addictive. Something a little more helpful (and what is currently being prescribed more often) are non-benzodiazapine hypnotics such as lunesta, sonata and ambien. They're addictive in the sense that you can become dependent on them for sleep, but they aren't physically addictive in the same way that alcohol/benzos are (both of which have the potential for seizures and death following immediate withdrawal).

Which is not to worry you if your doctor does prescribe you a benziodiazapine (Valium, Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin, etc.) - just that these medications have a high potential for abuse/addiction, which is something you need to be very careful with. Some drugs used in the past were even more dangerous (barbiturates, quaaludes), but are no longer used today for insomnia (quaaludes are illegal and barbiturates are used only in certain medical conditions like epilepsy).

bryan bailey · #12 05-26-2009, 05:14 PM

The key to falling asleep is winding down from the day. Say you set a specific bedtime you and your schedule can agree on, lets say midnight. So you want to get your last grub and drink in you around 10:30, water is ok after this, 90 minutes is about enough time for your stomach to be done mushing up your food. For the last hour try reading to get your mind slowed down a bit. Music and TV is too much stimuli to get your brain waves ready for sleep mode.

This routine usually works for me. And if even after all this I still cannot sleep I try my best to slow my breathing down as much as I can and do my best to think about nothing and you will usually drift into sleep fairly easily.

Nyarlathotep · #13 05-26-2009, 05:15 PM

Hmm. Well I have been thinking about taking up a meditation routine. Maybe now would be the time for that

EricF · #14 05-26-2009, 05:49 PM

Squeezing one out - or, better yet, having someone do that (or similar) for you - is still a good answer. It's all-natural!

lunarpollen · #15 05-26-2009, 06:02 PM

Half a Benadryl tablet does it for me. Or an alcoholic beverage (one drink).

Quadcam · #16 05-26-2009, 06:37 PM

ambien will knock ya out, but it has some killer side effects, depending on how you look at it the side effect is much better than sleep. My wifes friend gave her a few so she could sleep and instead of sleep she turned into a freaky nympho.

just go a google search for ambien sexual effects, too much to list LOL

thats one side effect bonus, you'll do stuff you normally wouldnt do and have no clue you did it when you wake up. other effects are hallucinations, abnormal behavior, or severe confusion. vivid or abnormal dreams.

"In other cases,

People have made phone calls or sent E-mails they don't remember, have ordered items from shopping channels they don't recall, have done laundry, cooked, cleaned the house, moved furniture, and found all sorts of debris in their kitchens from late night snacks they don't remember.

They've eaten things like non-edible objects, raw eggs, uncooked vegetables, and even cigarettes with no recollection of ever doing these things.

one woman colored her daughter purple while she was sleeping, another woman painted her front door without being conscious of doing it, and another woman defacated during the night in her closets and on the basement floor. None of them had any recollection of these events. And, in London, a girl left her house and climbed to the top of a 40 meter crane.

With respect to the hallucinations that can be caused by Ambien, one person writes: "I would literally see images, like faces, in the walls or in the designs of tile floors." And another person relates experiencing "crazy nightmares that upon waking I swear these were real and that I had actually talked to the people in the dream."

Chunk-O-Funk · #17 05-26-2009, 06:54 PM

Take one of these (to the noggin) before bedtime.

Ericman197 · #18 05-26-2009, 07:00 PM

I would question whether some of those people were abusing drugs, or had psychiatric history. Those are not 'normal' reactions when Ambien is used as intended... but

That said, hallucinations are a side effect of Ambien. It is not unheard of for people to take Ambien recreationally, and to 'fight' the urge to sleep. Rather than cancelling each other out, combining Ambien with stimulants (and/or a strong willpower) will cause some very bizarre things to happen.

If you do receive a hypnotic (sleep aid) medication, you need to follow the instructions. You don't want to take Ambien, get ready for bed, and then finish writing a paper, or do anything important for that matter. If you don't go straight to bed... well, whatever happens next, you might not want to remember.

For what it's worth, benzodiazapines have a similar effect. They don't typically cause you to hallucinate, but people taking them will act 'drunk' and then not remember what they did the next morning. In some ways they can impair you more than many other 'harder' drugs. A former (scummy) classmate of mine was experienced with drinking and driving, but he got his DUI when he mixed a few drinks with Valium. The arrest went something like this:

~Cherries and Berries~

Officer: Do you know why I -

Him: heeeeeyyyy occiffferrrr

(mixing even small amounts of benzos and alcohol together can cause a greater degree of intoxication than either taken alone - users are very often unaware of how drunk they are acting).

So definitely do not write emails to your boss, go for a walk, operate heavy machinery etc. until you are very familiar with the effects of your medication and have your doctor's approval (and you should probably never do these things while taking any hypnotic medication, because the purpose is to put you to sleep).

BillytheBassist · #19 05-26-2009, 07:05 PM

12 to 14 hours of manual labor should do it....

Orph · #20 05-26-2009, 07:17 PM

I use a meditation technique which is kind of hard to explain.

I'll try, though: When I lie in bed, finding it hard to sleep, I'll straighten out on my back, hands and legs slightly spread out, and start focusing on my breath while having my eyes closed. Then I start think of my body as an empty container, slowly filling up with cold water (as if there's a waterinletflange in both my feet, and I'm standing upright). Curiously enough, with some training, one will actually "feel" the water slowly filling up your body. Or rather: I will "feel" the cold from the water (it might be that I've got an unusual amount of control of my body's thermostat, I can also crank the temperature up quite a bit). Usually, once the "water" reaches my lungs, my breathing will drastically slow down, and when it reaches my heart, my heartrate goes down. And as it reaches my head I'll fall to sleep.

I still haven't perfected it (it may seem kind of silly, but it works for me), and I'll sometimes have a hard time avoiding being distracted by my own mind. But even if this doesn't work directly, I'll usually fall asleep a short while after (I'm guessing because it relaxes me completely).

I'm an advocate against unnecessary drug use (or in many cases abuse).