What do you do when you can't sleep?

xirtam

Diamond Member
Aug 25, 2001
4,693
0
0
I'd kinda like to be able to sleep during the night, but I haven't been able to for several weeks. Now I kinda need to so I can go to physics class. What do I do?

And obviously, at the moment, I'm looking for more answers than "I post on anandtech when I can't sleep."

Maybe none of you suffer from insomnia. I don't know.
 

Aves

Lifer
Feb 7, 2001
12,232
30
101
I stay up until the next night and usually after being a wake for 36+ hours I don't have a problem.
 

Kelvrick

Lifer
Feb 14, 2001
18,422
5
81
Do you know where you are?

We know where we are, and we know wtf we're doing here!

Post ++

EDIT: Added :)
 

IGBT

Lifer
Jul 16, 2001
17,976
141
106
Go for a midnight jog. Do your own neighbourhood watch..see what's going on out there. The fresh air will do ya good. Then mabe you'll sleep.
 

xirtam

Diamond Member
Aug 25, 2001
4,693
0
0
All right, so 2/6 suggestions so far have been exactly what I said I *didn't* want, particularly, posting here. Aves2k, that's usually what I wind up doing. Kelvrick, your post was absolutely useless to me. Congratulations. That leaves IGBT and Qosis. I'm underage and I don't like jogging anymore.

Anybody else have some bright ideas?
 

Koing

Elite Member <br> Super Moderator<br> Health and F
Oct 11, 2000
16,843
2
0
I can always sweet so I have no problems with that:D

At times when I am in bed and can't sleep I think of what I am going to do in the next few days. Think about life and things such like.........
 

tcsenter

Lifer
Sep 7, 2001
18,949
573
126
What do you do when you can't sleep?
I grab some porn and masturb...umm...I mean I curl up with some classic English literature and read. :Q

Seriously, if you try many common and sensible things to sleep better but you don't find that any of it is really helping, you may have a sleep disorder of some type. You can see that the first, second, and third recommendation by most people is to advise or recommend behavioral changes, so its very easy to get the erroneous impression that sleep problems must always be behavioral or life-style related. Nothing could be further from the truth.

There are MEDICAL causes for difficulty in sleeping, too, that can NOT be remedied by a life-style or behavioral change, so attempting to 'cure' yourself is an exercise in futility. Here is an article about getting enough sleep:

Tips for a Better Night?s Sleep

Don't make the mistake that I did, which was to completely dismiss the possibility that I might have a medical condition causing my sleep problems. So, I suffered from severe sleep related problems most of my adult life, including losing two good jobs and crashing two cars from falling asleep at the wheel, all the while I blamed myself, believing that I was simply too undisciplined to get myself on a regular sleep schedule.

I finally went to see a physician, who referred me to a sleep specialist. I have borderline sleep apnea and, more importantly, a neurological disorder called narcolepsy. The sleep apnea in and of itself is probably not significant enough to cause any adverse symptoms, but since I also have narcolepsy, one exacerbates the other. These are serious conditions that can be dangerous.

Neither of these conditions are remediable by any amount of life-style of behavioral change, no matter how determined or disciplined you may be. I'm not saying that you have a bona fide sleep disorder, and its entirely reasonable that you would try many common sense things to remedy your problem at first, but if nothing seems to work, don't dismiss the possibility.
 

SeaSerpent

Platinum Member
Sep 24, 2001
2,613
4
81
I have a doctors appointment tuesday at 2:30. I do not think Ive ever had a good nights sleep. 90% of the time when I go to bed I just lay there, staring at the walls. I can be dead tired, but my mind just doesnt seem to want to shut off. And when I do wake up, I do not feel like I have slept at all. I do not know what it feels like to wake up rested. I have 0 energy level, my legs and arms feel weak a lot of the times....I just do not feel right. I've been taking 2 Melatonin and 2 Tylenol PM's before bed. This seemed to help to get me to sleep quiker, but I feel even worse when I wake up. My hours of work are 5pm to 3:30am...I know that doesnt help, but my problems started well before my job. I got off work this morning....and couldnt got to sleep until 12 noon, missing my 3:30 scuba diving appt. I always misss out on stuff, cause Im to tired. Hopefully I can get something from the doctor. Maybe all this sounds like jumbling of a mad-man.....THATS CAUSE IM SO TIRED!!!