I have been suffering from a mild form of insomnia for a long time now.
Trouble falling asleep.
Trouble staying asleep.
Trouble getting through the whole day without spacing out.
I know that I need to get more sleep, but when the time comes to go to bed, I yawn, I stretch, I find a comfortable position and snuggle up to my blankets and pillow…
And lie there, wide awake for a long time, before finally dozing off for a couple of hours.
Only to be woken up again, from a nightmare, or a noise, or just an uncomfortable shift in position. I flip over, resituate, and try for sleep again.
To wake up a couple of hours later, yet again, even though it may be only for a brief moment, as I check the time. If it says anything earlier than 7:00, I roll over and go back to sleep, or try to.
When the alarm goes off, I roll out of bed, exhausted and growly, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, not wanting to speak to anyone if I can help it. Give me my Diet Coke and a couple of hours, and I’m fine – but first thing in the morning… grrr.
About 2:30 – 3ish, I hit the wall. And maaayyybe catch a second wind somewhere a little later in the afternoon, or at least, around 9:00 in the evening.
Barring allergies, which will make me not only exhausted, but extremely irritable and flash-tempered.
On the weekends? I don’t mind the insomnia, because it allows me to sit up, watching old movies, playing games, or writing. And some of my best words happen at about 3 or 4 am on the weekends. I get very lost in the fantasy-land in my head, where everything is slightly foggy and far-away.
But during the week, this makes for some difficult days, struggling to just make it through till it’s time to leave for the evening. I have to make sure and get up a few times, walk around the office, have interactions with people, just to wake up again – because after staring at the computer screen for a couple of hours, I feel like my eyes are burnt-sockets in my head.
I know the issues I face aren’t mine alone. I know that others, friends, suffer from insomnia too. I think part of the problem might be from SAD (seasonal affective disorder) The lack of enough sunlight and warmth throws everything off.
But I can’t get right. So I’ll struggle for a couple more months, fight my way out of this foggy bag of non-sleep. And I’ll make it out the other side.
We play this game – sleep and I – every year.
Brea's Air 
Hey! My mom suffers the exact same way. She tried everything, light therapy, adding exercise to her days… Finally she got melatonin supplements. You should talk to a doctor about them. She used an internist I believe. He also prescribed injectable B compound vitamins, her body didn’t process or absorb it from food so between those two things it made a HUGE difference in her life.
Hope you feel/sleep better soon!
I’ve heard about them, but I’m not sure if they’d be something that I can do right now. Too many things that need to be taken care of first, and all that jazz. I have so many stupid allergies, and a lot of the shots contain stuff I can’t take. But I’m going to keep looking. Possibly try the light therapy first. Set up a “sun-station” in my basement, a place to get away, and have a sanctuary, I think.
Tylenol PM…Great stuff! Lets you sleep and you don’t feel drugged in the morning! I have the same problem and this really does help! Try it…
I’ll have to look into that for short-term help, I think! Thanks for the great suggestion!
Melatonin. It’s natural, our bodies lack the production certain times of year. It has to do with our circadian rhythms.
There are two kinds of melatonin, one pill you take to help you sleep. The other is a pill you take that helps you sleep, but then it’s slow release. It kicks in when you start to come out of REM and helps you maintain sleeping.
Thanks, Regan, I’m getting so many good ideas from my friends here on the blogs, I wish I’d done this a few years ago!
I would recommend setting a regular schedule and sticking to it. This means no more weekend movie marathons. I’ve found that a body that gets used to the weekday schedule can be thrown off quickly with weekend “cheating”. Probably, like me, your a natural night person. Too bad employers don’t recognize this and allow flexed schedules. So many of us would work better if we started our 8 hours at 10:00 am.
Happy Dreams
Uffda, I wish I could get a shift at my job like that! I’d be so much better off if I could start later in the day, and work till later in the day. Alas, such is not my lot in life. I just can’t bring myself to the regularly scheduled programming thing. My mother tried for years to get me on a schedule, and I’m now 40, and still bucking the system. ack.
Unfortunately insomnia is something I deal with all year long in random spurts and is caused by my medical issues. I know the frustration. I can’t take sleep aids or supplements because of the medical issues but I’ve heard that Melatonin works great and it is a natural supplement. Hopefully you can get some rest soon.
Well, most nights I do get at least 3 hours uninterrupted, but the rest gets all broken up into half hour to hour naps. I’ll be doing more research on treatments, and try to find one that I can handle. Thanks!
Hey Sis! I fight the sleep Demon too! For me, most of my problems is based on my tendency to be the worlds biggest worry-wart. If I got anything on my mind, any kind of stress at all, I barely sleep. Like you, some of my best writing ideas pop into my skull when I am laying awake at the crack of dawn, staring at the clock. Hang in there! Just remember next time you are staring at the wall at 3am….there is an idiot down here is probably doing the same exact thing! 🙂
Ah, yes, the worry-warts. I have those… Rather like Plantar’s warts, painful, and hard to get rid of.
LOL, with the time change, when it’s 3am here, isn’t it like 2 am there, or is it Thursday here, and January there? I forget. Sleep deprivation will do that to a gal…
Hi. Do you have any sage? If so make some tea out of it with honey and cinnamon and that should help with the insomnia. Works most of the time for you but I suffer from it too. Don’t know whats up with this time clock o mine. You should also burn some sage in your home to smudge the negative energy that may follow you home from work. Love you woman. I’m glad of the relationship we are building!!!
I love the smell of sage, but my OtherHalf can’t handle strong smells in the house, sage being one of them. I can only do smudging and incense when he’s got plans to be out for a few hours, and then I have to make sure it gets aired out well.
*sigh* allergy central, dangit.
And me too, it’s been great, getting to know you better, Diva/cupcake! 😀
….possible will help immensely for good sleep.Secondly keep to a minimum during the day and have the last drink at supper time. Some people stop drinking anything after 6pm at night so they will not have to get up and go to the bathroom in the middle of the night also.Thirdly exercise is good for a healthy lifestyle for anyone but it helps with sleep too.
I’ve heard it’s a menopausal thing. I have trouble sleeping so I took a night job. Works for me!