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can you sleep after a gig?

#43
Skitch it! said:
I didn't know the severity until you posted this, I apologize, that's quite a problem and IMO not at all safe, you need a break, I've done 48hrs before now a few times, I used to get on my mountain bike at 7.00am after rolling around all night and ride to the forest with an acoustic and try and burn myself out, anything to wear the buzz down, In my mind as far as I consider a chemical has increased it's flow within dopamine uptake....and has kept me up for days as a result, not sooo much now but that's my thing I think. Get checked man, insomnia does not a kind mistress make at all. ;) As other posters have mentioned, try not to feed it with caffeine or sugar IME.

P.S I would take the natural route first IF you can, your right in that IMO.
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I agree, something isn't right if even 10 mg of Valium won't let me sleep. I refuse to take something I have to take daily unless I have no other alternative. I would like to learn some meditation techniques to see if that will help. I prefer to stay as natural as I can. I also can't use alcohol to help me sleep as it has the opposite effect unless I drink to the point of passing out. I'll just lay there drunk and feeling miserable, still wide awake unless I kill off at least 8 beers or a good portion of a bottle of bourbon. I only drink a few times a year and only at home but when I do I have to drink a lot or I won't sleep and since I hate hangovers I rarely drink.
 
#46
I can't sleep after a gig either. I've just spent 5 or more hours concentrating intensely!

I've asked my buddies, and they can't either.

All I can do is surf the web. Rinse; repeat as necessary. :^)

Bummer when you know you have to get up in X hours, though. On the first night like that, I just resign myself to whatever happens. I can cope with a single lousy night's sleep and still function. Tensing up about getting to sleep never helps. The second and third night are murder, though. :^(

pw
 
#51
Rocks said:
I agree, something isn't right if even 10 mg of Valium won't let me sleep. I refuse to take something I have to take daily unless I have no other alternative. I would like to learn some meditation techniques to see if that will help. I prefer to stay as natural as I can. I also can't use alcohol to help me sleep as it has the opposite effect unless I drink to the point of passing out. I'll just lay there drunk and feeling miserable, still wide awake unless I kill off at least 8 beers or a good portion of a bottle of bourbon. I only drink a few times a year and only at home but when I do I have to drink a lot or I won't sleep and since I hate hangovers I rarely drink.
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Your right to lay off the 'self medication' IMO it's heaping problems onto a problem, I do have a lot of experience as regards to mood disorders but that's another story........
Map your moods/effects in a small diary (month/weeks even) (especially extremes) this way it's a little more coherent to yourself in frequency and having a 'hard copy' for a doc' to study and get more of an idea of what's involved rather than just one facet of your sleep problem will be handy and more complete in explanation, however you approach, don't feel 'stuck in a moment you can't get out of' with this if possible, things change...all the time, take care man and be good to yourself.
 
#52
I'm always way too "high" from the performance experience to sleep for at least a few hours. I call it a performers high. No booze or drugs, just high from playing. The whole experience just gets me all keyed up. Maybe because I give every bit I've got into the performance, like you.
 
#53
Hi all

I know exactly what you mean I have the same problem after gigs or rehearsals.
At gigs the adrenaline plays a great role but the show makes you more tired than a practice, plus by the time you get home it is late, I like a few beers...but still sometimes i need a couple Jays to sleep.
I feel the worst after practice, where things are less wild, my main problem is that even several hours and Jays later i still hear the music in my head,I still go through the changes, I still here EVERYBODIES lines and melodies and arrangements, its just insane, I can t keep it quiet up there :help:
Anyway no pills for me, just relax, breathe slowly and try to cut down on the sodas and sugary stuff...really the ONLY thirst quencher is water
 
#54
YoMomma said:
I'm always way too "high" from the performance experience to sleep for at least a few hours. I call it a performers high. No booze or drugs, just high from playing. The whole experience just gets me all keyed up. Maybe because I give every bit I've got into the performance, like you.
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+1 And it's the best 'high' there is, of course it is, the cat who got the cream :D But in predisposition to this, there comes a point where you know you've enjoyed 'having' 'the high'...but now the 'high' is enjoying 'having' a piece of you ( this goes for food, sex, drink, drugs, OCD everything IMO ;) Many times IME I've thought 'I really enjoyed that....but pleeeease let me alone now and let me sleep' :D, I personally dig the outdoors for 'leveling out'....best explained by this little snip for me....Beethoven being deaf was asked why he spent so much time out in the outdoors because he couldn't hear anything anyway...he replied 'when I'm out there, I don't need to hear anything' I kinda run with this for relaxation and time 'away' from the instrument/lifestyle/scene, try your best to 'know yourself' from the inside out and get relaxation strategies together. I don't know how this reads :D, but it's just a thought.
 
#56
codeinedreams said:
it's not just a gig thing - I work until midnight and don't get to sleep until 3 or later (hence, what I'm doing right now) - hate to break up the party! :p
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I regard this as a 'normal' :D No-one wants a 'bed to work' lifestyle, I'm a night-owl too, it's when I do 90% of my practise :D But I will say, being awake for two days...is a bit more involved than a couple of hours 'afterglow' ;)
 
#57
Well, after a lot of tossing and turning last night I managed to string together a few hours of continuous sleep so I am back on the path to sleeping normal (for me) nights. I've been keeping mental notes of my sleep patterns but I think I'm going to start keeping a journal like someone else mentioned so I can be sure I am as close as possible to accurate. As anyone that has gone through insomnia problems knows once you get past a certain point of no sleep you can't trust your mind to think clear.

I know this can get serious and the biggest red flag for me is that even doctor prescribed things like Valium are having no effect on helping me sleep. I'd be very curious to know if there are any blood tests that can help pinpoint the problem. Maybe they would need to do a blood test on a "normal day" and one right after a gig to see the difference.
 
#58
I need some time to wind down after a gig or practice too. When I get home after practice I usually have a drink, helps to physically relax. I usually don't drink before a show, afterwards I do enjoy a cold beer (or two, never more though since I'll have to drive home).

tip for you:
Stop drinking any energy/sport drinks! When your mind is weary but your body is still pumped on adrenaline, caffeine and loads of sugar, no wonder you can't fall asleep. Sport drinks are meant for rehydration, use it for that purpose.
I can understand you don't want to drink alcohol before you're driving, but when you're at home there's no harm in having a small drink, not even enough to really feel the buzz, it might help you.
One other tip I got for sleeping problems is to install a fixed ritual before going to sleep. It's like teaching your body that after a set number of actions (e.g. read a few pages in a book, check emails then shut down pc, go to toilet, brush teeth, go to bed), it's time to go to rest.
 
#59
Low Sound, I have a routine I do when I get home, reasonably close to what to recommended. I watch some TV, nothing that gets the blood pumping, only relaxing shows (Andy Griffith reruns, etc) Also, as I mentioned before small amounts of alcohol make it worse, I have to drink a lot to sleep and its just not worth it to me to drink that much. It isn't solving the problem, only creating a new one.

I will stop the sports drinks, caffeine and sugars and see how that helps. I will really miss my Pepsi. I may try some herbal teas that are caffeine free, something like Sleepytime I can start drinking on the way home or even the last set of a gig.
 

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