Anyone else have trouble sleeping?

[Mike M.]

I really getting bad with sleeping lately. I work nights and even though I have the weekends off I've still been up since 1:00 in the afternnon on Saturday.

When I get home from work during the week I try to be in bed by 7:30 AM and have a lot of difficulty of not only falling asleep but staying asleep. (It's gotten really bad for about a month or so now). When I finally crawl out of bed I feel like I didn't sleep at all. Don't have squat for time Monday thru Friday, I'm always tired and when the weekend arrives it's almost like I don't want to sleep because I want every minute of time I can get. I know I have to sleep but it seems like I can't turn my brain off, which was the case with trying to sleep today. I was really tired at 6:00 AM this morning, tossed and turned for about and hour and said screw it and got up.

I find I've been craving change lately and because of certain things (long story) I really believe I have a mild form of depression going on within....which may be contributing to my erratic sleeping.

I'm due for my yearly physical soon but in the meantime does anybody else here have, or has had this much trouble trying sleep and if so, what helped you? (Besides getting some sleep!) I've tried Tylenol PM's, Melatonin...even a few shots of NyQuil on occasion and nothing has any effect on me.

[bluesdogblues]

I recently read that people who have sleep problem has more activities in the brain than others, and we can cure it (to be able to sleep) simply by compress our head with water (to make our brain cooler and to help slowed down the brain activities).
I tried, and it works for me.
Good luck.

[pacojas]

when i travel it's very hard to sleep. i usually get a generic sleep-aid to help put me under. they are not habit forming for some reason, Thank God!!!

i can totally relate, tho. my mind never takes a break and if i can't sleep, i get up and do things. that may entail taking a ride to the coast, doing chores, etc. i absolutely HATE lying there in complete frustration mode. gl

[JNowiski]

i've recently become clean and sober (day 12 today) and i've been having alot of trouble sleeping. and i've also been having super vivid dreams, which i can't say i'm a fan of really. when i was drinking heavily it was obviously super easy to go to sleep (and not remember any dreams haha), but it's been slowly but surely becoming easier. hopefully your sleeping patterns will get better too, good luck!

[Papa Dangerous]

I used to issues sleeping, but that was because I had no real schedule in my life. I graduated college, and could not find a job. I would stay up until 8am, sleep until 5pm and restart the process. I frequently did not sleep at all and would become a drone.

Your situation is different though because you work nights, and that interferes with your circadian rhythm. A huge part of this being thrown off is the amount of sunlight in your room, if any. Too much light will make you want to stay awake. The television being on is a distraction, as well as too much on your mind. I can try and make a few suggestions that have helped me, and hopefully can help you.

First off, one thing I always tell people to do is try to make yourself yawn... This can all of a sudden make you feel tired, if I remember correctly, when you yawn, you release a neurochemical that induces sleepiness. The same goes for stretching. Stretching is a great way to relax your body.. I suggest trying Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR, I mentioned it on another thread, I'll dig that up after this)

These suggestions can be tied into the practice of meditation and visualization.. its really an awesome thing to try and get under your grasp. Laying in bed, thinking about a random shape, give it a fuzzy hair, maybe 3 eyes, 5 legs.... Just let your imagination go and really try and picture this creature you are making up. Try and make up a story in your head.. I remember being very young and having this dream of being attacked by vampires and then being accepted into their coven.. (DONT JUDGE... I was very young ) But occasionally, I would try and revisit that dream and/or other dreams.. I would get about five minutes into it and I would conk out.. (I still remember those dreams to this day xD)

You mention suffering from depression, and that is always rough. A sense of feeling worthless, or unambitious can really take a toll on your body and it is best to snuff it as quick as possible. You say you think you may have mild depression, so that suggests it would just environmental factors, rather than neurological factors. This can be contended with a very positive approach, and it may sound lame.. But diet and exercise. Look at the foods you eat and try not to take in too much junk. Exercise in general can make you feel like a new person, it certainly has for me. When you do cardio, and most likely an exercise that gets your heart pumping, your brain releases Dopamine which is a neurochemical that affects your mood. It is associated with happiness (as well as Serotonin) Dopamine is the chemical elevated when using cocaine, when you stop using the coke, then you get depressed because your dopamine levels are no longer elevated as high as they were, and they need a few days to level out back to normal (this is a main cause of cocaine addiction)

So my best advice is to exercise, eat right, meditate, and do little tricks while you are preparing for sleep to clear your mind. ALSO, try and only use your bed for sleeping. If it is a place you play video games, practice bass, eat, watch tv, do work, study, read, etc., your brain will always associate those things with your bed. If you just use your bed for bedly things... sleep, sex, etc. then you will notice that when you get into bed.. your brain will start to comprehend that it is sleep time! I hope this helps you!

[SoComSurfing]

I usually don't have problems getting to sleep, but staying asleep. Because my job keeps me on-call pretty much 24/7, my doctor said I conditioned myself to avoid a deep, restful sleep. To help my brain relax he prescribed Restoril and it worked wonders in helping me feel refreshed. I'm still able to wake up and be alert and coherent with it, should work call, which was my number one reason for avoiding Ambien.

[Papa Dangerous]

Originally Posted by bluesdogblues

I recently read that people who have sleep problem has more activities in the brain than others, and we can cure it (to be able to sleep) simply by compress our head with water (to make our brain cooler and to help slowed down the brain activities).
I tried, and it works for me.
Good luck.

Very very interesting.. I will certainly try this next time I have sleep issues



And here is what I was talking about with Progressive Muscle Relaxation
1: Close your eyes
2: Squint your eyes really tight and feel the wrinkles formed on your forehead.
3: Raise your nose and feel the movement in your cheeks
4: Raise your ears (this may seem odd, but rub the muscle area behind your ears, feel them, massage them, try and move them on your own.
5: Tighten your neck muscles, and your jaw.
6: Try any other muscle your like
7: Relax all these muscles. Let the back of your neck relax, drop your ears, relax the eyes, and let your jaw hang a bit.
8. DO this with your entire body, it can work wonders for bad sleep habits, as well as daily routines.

By doing this, you are learning how to relax the muscles of your head by becoming aware that those muscles actually exist! How many times have you felt muscle soreness due to a stretch or exercise that was fairly new to you? Did you get that "Oh $#@*! I didn't know that existed!" feeling?

This helps with your mood, and avoiding anger and sadness.. when you are feeling melancholy, try and notice the muscles in your jaw that are causing that frown, serious like face. Then smile for a few minutes. You can easily notice the change in muscle tension. So next time you are feeling blah, force yourself to smile and think about something awesome!

[pacojas]

ooooh,.. i forgot to mention,

Zinc and Magnesium are very helpful in attaining deep sleep. check sites that sell health supplements. gl

[mpdd]

i work four 11 hour split shift days and then friday mornings and i'm a teacher so the stress is a factor

eat a balanced diet, no salt, lots of water, watch coffee/soda levels
physical activity
try to stay out of irritating situations
when you get home tell your girlfriend that the drama talk doesn't start till tomorrow
if you take a nap try to keep it around 40 minutes or less
i've had success with sleep masks, half a beer, old lady pillows, valarium root, and melatonin from time to time also

i actually started playing bass again, because i neeeded something to occupy my mind that wasn't my art, art career, or art networking
reading is good too, but watching tv or dvd messes some people up, because the light can have residual effects and keep them awake longer

[fhm555]

Originally Posted by JNowiski

i've recently become clean and sober (day 12 today) and i've been having alot of trouble sleeping...

Not trying to bum you out or anything, but many nights in my first year I got more rest sitting on the side of the bed or in a comfortable chair reading. For some odd reason when I quit drinking my mind went into 24/7 overdrive and some of my dreams were so real, so vivid, so intense, I'd wake up feeling like I just finished running a few miles.

Speaking of running, the thing which helped me rest most in that time was to physically exhaust myself before laying down. I found a nearby gym that ran around the clock and spent many late nights taking as many laps in the pool as it took to wear me out, then a quick shower and straight home to bed.

I never required much sleep anyway but after I quit drinking I was able to do fine on 4~5 hours instead of the usual 6.

[JNowiski]

Originally Posted by fhm555

Not trying to bum you out or anything, but many nights in my first year I got more rest sitting on the side of the bed or in a comfortable chair reading. For some odd reason when I quit drinking my mind went into 24/7 overdrive and some of my dreams were so real, so vivid, so intense, I'd wake up feeling like I just finished running a few miles.

Speaking of running, the thing which helped me rest most in that time was to physically exhaust myself before laying down. I found a nearby gym that ran around the clock and spent many late nights taking as many laps in the pool as it took to wear me out, then a quick shower and straight home to bed.

I never required much sleep anyway but after I quit drinking I was able to do fine on 4~5 hours instead of the usual 6.

it doesn't bum me out. i've actually started reading ALOT more, especially at night and that does seem to help. And read alot of Dalai Lama teachings and lectures and stuff like that, so that also helps clear my mind and help put alot of thoughts at peace (ive had enough bs go on in the last month in a half to last a lifetime, from girlfriend cheating and leaving me to jumping in a river to wrestle my drunk buddy out that wanted to kill himself). and my sleep is slowly getting better, i do need to start exercising though, just in general. i havent done any PT since i left the army last year haha. thanks for the advice!

[Mike M.]

Thanks so much for all of the suggestions, as there are some great ones here.

It took some doing, but I was able to take a two hour nap! I was starting to feel really lousy (wonder why?) and I still tossed for about an hour, though.

(A little further explaination). I'm 58 and have been on nights since 1998. For the most and for a long time the night shift actually agreed with me. But I've reached the age and a point in life where I realized how fast time has gone by...and I'm seeing all these indications of how fast it's gone by as well. A few years ago my son got married, I became a grandfather, my fathers health took a very bad downturn.....and it seem that all I've done was worked and slept. No time for a life. No time for "living." So here I am still working 12 hours a night and it's really, really starting to wear me down both physically and mentally. Probably more mentally. As far as exercise goes, I have been trying but I'll tell ya....it makes me even more worn out. It's not like I'm trying to overdue it either...but due to working 12 hours a night and not sleeping well during the week I find that even modest efforts practically kill me. I eat sensible, don't drink, I'm 5"11" and weigh about 176 pounds. While not out of shape I'm the first to admit I could use a decent "toning up." But again, all efforts wear me down even more.

I am trying to change my situation but it's proving to be more difficult that I thought it would be. Simply put, not too many places here in Michigan want to take on a 58 year old worker bee who's starting to break down. I try my best to be a "glass half full" kinda guy, but lately I am seeing it on the empty side. (Mild depression).

Please. please don't get me wrong. While I live very modest (by choice) I have a LOT to be thankful for and I KNOW it. Praise God Almighty for my blessings!!

All I want is to live and to enjoy life before it's too late.

[JNowiski]

well keeping a positive attitude is great no matter what (even if you have to force it sometimes! lol) and at least you've decided to try and make change, thats something alot of people refuse to do even after they realize they need it. So *Thumbs up!*

[Papa Dangerous]

For exercise, since you are not over weight, cardio does is not necessarily something needed for tuning up. So a good way to avoid weight lifting and such is trying out isometric exercises. Isometric exercises are a bit hard to describe, its essentially, using your own strength and weight instead of lifting weights. If you take your hands, palms together and press until you feel your muscles burning (arms and chest) that is an isometric exercise. I believe that would work out your chest and triceps. If you hook your fingers together and pull (make sure you feel it in your back) you are working your back and biceps. If you press your hands against the wall and pushing simulates a push up. These are really simple and can be done before attempting to lay down without exerting as much energy as a gym would require.
Is there any way your job can set you up with different hours? Perhaps being awake during the hours of everyone being asleep is aiding to the depression after years of continued practice. Since you have been up when most are not, this can be a building block upon which "I realized how fast time has gone by...and I'm seeing all these indications of how fast it's gone by as well" is built.

[cjmodulus]

I'm subbing to this. I was up till almost 4 last night trying to sleep with no luck. Will have to give the suggestions here a try.
Depression blows.

[Mark Wilson]

Originally Posted by SoComSurfing

I usually don't have problems getting to sleep, but staying asleep. Because my job keeps me on-call pretty much 24/7, my doctor said I conditioned myself to avoid a deep, restful sleep. To help my brain relax he prescribed Restoril and it worked wonders in helping me feel refreshed. I'm still able to wake up and be alert and coherent with it, should work call, which was my number one reason for avoiding Ambien.

That's exactly my problem.
I can fall asleep almost immediately, but wake up every hour or two for a bit.

how does Restoril work? Is it a drowsy thing? Or does it just help you feel rested?

[JNowiski]

Originally Posted by Mark Wilson

That's exactly my problem.
I can fall asleep almost immediately, but wake up every hour or two for a bit.

how does Restoril work? Is it a drowsy thing? Or does it just help you feel rested?

that's how i used to be when i was drinking. and i'm also a little curious to how it works, maybe i could get it from the VA or something if it'd help.

[PolkaHero]

I was struggling with severe insomnia for a couple of months back in February. Family doctor gave me Ambien, Restoril, strong antihistamines, etc. Nothing really worked. Finally went to a sleep specialist and was prescribed Klonopin which is an anti-seizure medication (he said I have restless leg syndrome which I still question). All I know is that I've been sleeping much better since taking the Klonopin, 1 mg nightly. I also take a magnesium/zinc supplement which someone previously mentioned.

[Jimmy Bones]

I've been overdosing on Diphenhydramine for years. I have to take upwards of 300mg to get to sleep anymore.

Every couple months I get a weeks worth of Ambien.

[fhm555]

Originally Posted by JNowiski

it doesn't bum me out. i've actually started reading ALOT more, especially at night and that does seem to help. And read alot of Dalai Lama teachings and lectures and stuff like that, so that also helps clear my mind and help put alot of thoughts at peace (ive had enough bs go on in the last month in a half to last a lifetime, from girlfriend cheating and leaving me to jumping in a river to wrestle my drunk buddy out that wanted to kill himself). and my sleep is slowly getting better, i do need to start exercising though, just in general. i havent done any PT since i left the army last year haha. thanks for the advice!

Best of luck to you.