Jim Alfredson Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 Nice to see you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slsmcgrew Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 2:12 am here in the Seattle area and I'm still up. I had to take something to stop my cough and instead of putting me to sleep like it is suppose to it keeps me up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottb Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 Let me guess, you took Nyquil. Nyquil has an antihistamine which usually makes people sleepy as well as a little alcohol but it also contains decongestants which are stimulants and in some people (ie you) the stimulant wins out and can keep you up. The decongestant is also the ingredient that can muck with your blood pressure. It's better to treat symptoms with separate drugs. Take Benadryl and something else for the cough like Robitussin DM (no decongestant) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 I've had depression related insomnia in the past, but the fact is that I've *never* liked going to bed. I don't know why. I feel like sleep is a waste of time. There's too much I want to DO (and read and listen to). My daughter is the same way. We put her to bed around 8:30, but she's commonly awake until nearly 11. All evening long, she's poking her little head out of her bedroom door demanding water, needing to go potty, etc. I sympathise with her, but I can't tell her that! I usually get to bed somewhere between two and three. Days when I have class, this isn't a problem because class isn't until late in the day and I can sleep late in the morning. But days like today, when I have to work, I'm dragging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricia Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 (edited) Just saw this thread and have been up since 3:45AM, having gone to bed at just shortly after midnight. I think that my sleeplessness is a result of a combination of stress, seasonal depression and uncertainty about the future. Would therapy help?? I don't think so. The down side, aside from not feeling comfortable with starting my day that early with my usual two-mile run, is that I WILL get tired by mid-afternoon and won't be able to go to sleep, the day's activities not having suddenly disappeared. It's a dilemma. One thing though about sleep patterns. When I was going to college, I used to work in the summer at a job that was midnight to 7AM. I found that if I re-configured my day so that when I came home from work, I ate a light meal, then stayed up for about four hours, went to bed for about six hours, ate a light meal, carried on my daily business and socialized after that, then went to work again it seemed to regulate my life. A couple of years later I had varying shifts and my body never did accustom itself to the different times I ate, slept etc. So I think that a routine is more important than what the routine is. At least, seems to be. Edited December 19, 2003 by patricia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottb Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 Patricia, altough therapy may not help as you seem to have good insight into the cause, medicine could. Talk to your doctor. It wouldn't have to be a permanent thing. You could take it to help you through a tough time then get off it when things turn around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricia Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 Patricia, altough therapy may not help as you seem to have good insight into the cause, medicine could. Talk to your doctor. It wouldn't have to be a permanent thing. You could take it to help you through a tough time then get off it when things turn around. Thanks Scott. Annoying problem though. I do need to sleep and it is most frustrating not to be able to stay asleep. I suspect that it is the baggage on my mind. If I can get my head on straight, I'll probably sleep again. YAWN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceH Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 (edited) DAMNit! I read this thread, then I had insomnia the following night!! The power of suggestion? Edited December 19, 2003 by BruceH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
couw Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 read it again! and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slsmcgrew Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 Let me guess, you took Nyquil. Nyquil has an antihistamine which usually makes people sleepy as well as a little alcohol but it also contains decongestants which are stimulants and in some people (ie you) the stimulant wins out and can keep you up. The decongestant is also the ingredient that can muck with your blood pressure. It's better to treat symptoms with separate drugs. Take Benadryl and something else for the cough like Robitussin DM (no decongestant) I had to take some cough stuff that was perscribed with codine in it. I'd been coughing so bad my stomach and ribs were sore. I usually take Benadryl but this cough was beyond that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catesta Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris olivarez Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 Usually I wind down from a day by watching some TV and that usually works for me but not last night. My brain was still processing the days events and sleep was out of the question. When I was able to let go of it for the night then I was able to get some sleep. Everybody relaxes in their own different way but if you can't relax and let go of the days events then sleep can be real tough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connoisseur series500 Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 I've been fortunate in that I generally have no difficulty getting to sleep. This is something to appreciate just as some of us here boasted how they go to the toilet and do their business without any time to read anything on the can. Anyway... Try this as an attitude change: if you cannot sleep, you tell yourself, "Hot Dog! I don't need to sleep and I've got more time to spend on stuff I really want to do, such as finish the book I'm reading, or listening to those unheard cds in your collection; or study a chess opening/ending/middlegame B) or write some letters or emails to people you've been holding off. Or even to a few silent chores around the house. After all that, you'll suddenly feel very sleepy. Basically, the trick is to get your mind off your concerns and issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 I used to work a second-shift (4-midnight), but have recently switched to a more conventional 9:30-6 p.m. shift on most days. I actually think I prefer working second-shifts... I like coming home & listening to jazz and/or reading till about 3 in the morning. Ever since I started working this day-shift I've fallen into a pattern where I conk out on the futon in my study around 11, get up an hour later and stumble into bed where I sleep until 2, then get up and read for two hours before falling asleep again. My wife is a tolerant soul & a sound sleeper, but sometimes I think she finds it disconcerting... esp. when I fall asleep in my study first. Is this a guy thing or what? My mom used to HATE it when my dad fell asleep in the living-room Laz-y Boy at night--some serious tension there! In any case, my habit of consuming coffee in the evening probably doesn't help matters either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted December 19, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 I've actually been on some form of anti-depressant for the last 7 or 8 years (and I was able to get back to sleep the other night, BTW. Been sleeping okay ever since). One thing I found out recently is that taking my a-d in the morning has improved my sleeping, instead of taking it right before going to bed. For the longest time, I always thought that taking it BEFORE going to bed would help me sleep better (I mean, the label clearly states "MAY cause drowsiness.") I guess it's a crapshoot. Anyone else ever feel like their too tired to sleep? Of course, I could always go and read one of my own posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzdog Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 read it again! and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again .... I loved it, It was better than Cats, etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Posted December 20, 2003 Report Share Posted December 20, 2003 (edited) I sometimes have the same problem. One thing that has helped a lot is exercise during the day. Lately I've been bicycling 20 miles round trip to work every day. It's amazing what a good effect this has had on my sleep habits. Not to mention waistline! Edited December 20, 2003 by Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz Posted December 20, 2003 Report Share Posted December 20, 2003 You know, I'd like to second Jerry on the excercise comment. Many times (not all the time) I think that insomnia can be more related to excercise habits than to mental stress or depression. I'm not trying to play down stress-related insomnia, because I've had it worse than most people I know ever had. But, when the stress went away (i.e. - when I quit my horrible job) I still had bad insomnia, and I had it in decreasing amounts for years. Now that I've began to fit some excercise into my schedule I can go to bed and sleep pretty well. Just thought I'd share my personal little experience. Carry on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricia Posted December 20, 2003 Report Share Posted December 20, 2003 One thing that I've found helps, sometimes. You know how some people eat in the evening, well, stop that. Have a satisfying dinner and then don't eat anything before you go to bed. I used to think that it was my then husband's snoring which kept me awake, but I was off-base. That woke me up, if I was already asleep. So there is, I think, a difference between interrupted sleep and insomnia. As for exercise being a sleep-inducer, my routine is to run in the morning. I don't feel comfortable running late at night, due to perceived n'er do wells abounding on the streets of the city. The most annoying thing is if I stay up really late, which I tend to do, and then, having gone to bed at 2AM, wake up at 4:30 or so and, though tired, can't sleep. When I wake up, I'm not tired, so I start doing stuff, knowing full well that I have to go to work and that I will be a zombie by 3PM. But, there seems little point in staying in bed if I'm not sleeping. And, so it goes...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 A serious followup to this one from me... This thread was the first, but for a while there it seemed like everything I did, or talked about with others resulted in the same response: "You know, that's supposed to be one of the warning signs of depression." Well, to make a long story short, I saw the doctor today, and am now on antidepressants. This is something I should have done years ago, but I'm one of those stubborn males who has to be forced into the doctors office. The last straw was last week when I was simply flooded with despair while at work for about half an hour. Well, we'll see how this stuff works. Hopefully I'll be back posting in my usual way soon. Then again, how do I know what the "real me" is at this point? Scary stuff... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Johnson Posted January 7, 2005 Report Share Posted January 7, 2005 Auuuuuugggggghhhhh! For one of the first times in my life I Can. Not. Sleep!!! Toss, turn, not even thinking about anything--I just can't make the sleep come, can't yawn, can't even doze. WTF! Anyone else awake (who shouldn't be)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonym Posted January 7, 2005 Report Share Posted January 7, 2005 You are probably in a deep slep right now Peter, but I too was awake when you posted that. I managed to watch Das Boot though. Hope your condition is just a temporary one. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
couw Posted January 7, 2005 Report Share Posted January 7, 2005 You are probably in a deep slep right now Peter, but I too was awake when you posted that. I managed to watch Das Boot though. which version? the L version, the XL version, or the XXL version? (wasn't there an XXXL version too?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonym Posted January 7, 2005 Report Share Posted January 7, 2005 Oh, don't know....200 minutes if that helps. Pretty darn long as it is. The XXL version would be too tense for me, I was sweating after about an hour of this one. Mind you, I don't think anything can beat Fignon v. Lemond's 1989 Tour for tension and suspense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
couw Posted January 7, 2005 Report Share Posted January 7, 2005 Oh, don't know....200 minutes if that helps. Pretty darn long as it is. The XXL version would be too tense for me, I was sweating after about an hour of this one. Mind you, I don't think anything can beat Fignon v. Lemond's 1989 Tour for tension and suspense there's a 6 part television mini series that runs for a couple of hours more. But I see your attention span only lasts for 8 seconds, so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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