Insomnia/early rising

[Octogoat]

Anyone else deal with this and if so what has helped you get back to sleep? I wake up at 2-3 am wide awake and then my day begins with or without rest.

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

At the moment, yes, because things are being a bit stressy, so 4am wakeup is normal. If I'm lucky, back to sleep by 5am, if not, have to just try and rest till my partner wakes at 7am.

 

Things I've found that help me a bit, YMMV:

• HTP5 tablets, with or without Valerian extract (check for interactions, but should be OK with most things. Easy to find at most supplement/healthfood stores, probably cheaper on Amazon but check the brand)
• Late night short intense workout (HIIT 12 to 18 minutes)
• Warm drinks - decaf or herbal teas (some green teas are very much not decaf), or low-cal hot chocolate (not for diet purposes - sugar rush isn't good either)
• Before sleep, or if you wake up at night and your brain's fidgety, try an audiobook, relaxing music or hypnosis tape on low volume rather than doomscrolling or gaming

 

good luck…

Edited January 31 by ThaOGDreamWeaver

[Octogoat]

2 hours ago, ThaOGDreamWeaver said:

At the moment, yes, because things are being a bit stressy, so 4am wakeup is normal. If I'm lucky, back to sleep by 5am, if not, have to just try and rest till my partner wakes at 7am.

 

Things I've found that help me a bit, YMMV:

• HTP5 tablets, with or without Valerian extract (check for interactions, but should be OK with most things. Easy to find at most supplement/healthfood stores, probably cheaper on Amazon but check the brand)
• Late night short intense workout (HIIT 12 to 18 minutes)
• Warm drinks - decaf or herbal teas (some green teas are very much not decaf), or low-cal hot chocolate (not for diet purposes - sugar rush isn't good either)
• Before sleep, or if you wake up at night and your brain's fidgety, try an audiobook, relaxing music or hypnosis tape on low volume rather than doomscrolling or gaming

 

good luck…

Thanks gonna look up those tablets

[Luminara]

I started having trouble sleeping when I was four years old.  I'd wait until my parents were in bed, then sneak into the bathroom and read all night.  I'd do that for three or four days in a row.  When I slept, it was erratic, sometimes I'd nod off in the bathroom, sometimes I'd fall asleep in class.  As I grew older and had to factor this in with having a job, I "dealt" with it by taking night shift work whenever I could and sleeping when I had to.  Lost a couple of good jobs because I couldn't manage my sleep properly, too.  It took almost 45 years to resolve the problem.

 

I rarely allow myself any caffeine after 3 in the afternoon now.  I have two cups of coffee when I get up, and I have two cups at 1 in the afternoon to stave off the mid-day nap ambush.  Even with the early afternoon coffee, I'm close to dozing frequently, but I'm not laying down for a "quick nap" and waking up four hours later any more.  If I can't shake the sleepies in the middle of the day, I get up and do something, anything, to stay awake.  Sleeping in the middle of the day makes it harder to sleep at night, so I don't let myself do that.

 

I spend a lot more time doing physical things than I used to.  I work at three farms, a grocery/general store, and sometimes help a friend with catering (it sounds like a lot, but i only work a few hours each day, rarely more than 20 in a week), and all of them require physical exertion.  At home, I cut and split my own firewood, bring water up to the cabin, go for walks in the forest or work on improvements to the cabin.  I'm not constantly working, I spend a ridiculous amount of time playing games, watching movies and reading, but after I noticed how well I slept after getting out and doing things, I started making it a point to spend enough time every day doing something physical.  My lifestyle probably isn't directly comparable with yours, but the point is, I found that physical activity helped settle my sleep schedule.  Instead of being tired because I was bored (mind-tired), I became tired because I was exerting myself (body-tired), and that's the kind of tired that makes it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.  Go jogging, or even just walking.  Work out.  Swim.  Start a kitchen garden.

 

Stress played an enormous part in my insomnia.  I have social anxiety disorder.  Going to work stressed me out.  Going grocery shopping stressed me out.  Ordering a pizza stressed me out.  A big part of why I live in this cabin now is because I couldn't live that way any more.  Not being in a constant state of anxiety has definitely made it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.  Find the stressors and deal with them.

 

Have sex.  Or masturbate.  Getting your rocks off is scientifically proven to improve sleep.  So get your swerve on, even if it's with Rosy Palm and her five sisters.

 

Make sure your bedding is comfortable.  Most people don't think about their bed, the blanket(s), the pillow(s), they just use what's at hand and assume that's all there is.  If you're not comfortable in bed, though, you're not going to sleep well.  Try a firmer or softer mattress.  Add another pillow, or take one away.  Another blanket, or just a sheet.  Sleep naked, then fully clothed, and figure out which gave you a better night's sleep.  Maybe just flip your mattress, it could be all you need to give you some good sleep.

 

Loneliness can kill sleep as much as any other kind of stress.  If you're sleeping alone, get a body pillow.  Or a love doll.  Just having something to throw a leg over, wrap an arm around, snuggle up against, can make it easier to sleep, and we don't all have a spouse or SO to do that with.  No shame in taking door number two.

 

I'm broke, I'm cold, I need a bath, but I'm going to sleep like a boss after I post this.  Right now.  G'night.

[Jacke]

I had variable insomnia in the past several years.  Then last year, it went away and my sleep was like it was 20 years ago, great.  My doctor thinks my slow weight loss passed a threshold.

 

Unfortunately, last September I gained some of that weight back.  My insomnia isn't as bad as it was before.  Sometimes sleeping is okay.  Sometimes it isn't.