Conquer Club

I've had issues with not being able to fall asleep at night lately. I gave up caffeine 29 days ago and so far that hasn't helped much at all. Back in the day I'd take a Benadryl but it would knock me out and make me sleep too much, so I've shied away from drugs. Just wondering who else has this issue and what you do.

Beer and wine aren't helping me out yet, fwiw.

ViperOverLord wrote:I've had issues with not being able to fall asleep at night lately. I gave up caffeine 29 days ago and so far that hasn't helped much at all. Back in the day I'd take a Benadryl but it would knock me out and make me sleep too much, so I've shied away from drugs. Just wondering who else has this issue and what you do.

Stop thinking too much, worrying and all that. Don't tell me you don't, don't analyze what I'm saying just go take a walk at around 9pm, come back, take a shower and hit the hay. f*ck your wife or jerk off if it helps before. DON'T THINK. Try to just being aware of the 2 or 3 important things you have to do the next day, just for 3mins, visualize all of them going alright. Then stop thinking, it's your obligation to let everything go. Do this for 1 week, and keep doing it. In no time you'll be back drinking coffee and sleeping regularly.

Yes I'm a psychologist, saxi trained me.

I agree on the jerking off part before bed time....really helps me fall asleep. Or you could f*ck your wife/gf, if you've got one. I'm a loser, so I'm stuck wanking it...lol.

nietzsche wrote:

ViperOverLord wrote:I've had issues with not being able to fall asleep at night lately. I gave up caffeine 29 days ago and so far that hasn't helped much at all. Back in the day I'd take a Benadryl but it would knock me out and make me sleep too much, so I've shied away from drugs. Just wondering who else has this issue and what you do.

Stop thinking too much, worrying and all that. Don't tell me you don't, don't analyze what I'm saying just go take a walk at around 9pm, come back, take a shower and hit the hay. f*ck your wife or jerk off if it helps before. DON'T THINK. Try to just being aware of the 2 or 3 important things you have to do the next day, just for 3mins, visualize all of them going alright. Then stop thinking, it's your obligation to let everything go. Do this for 1 week, and keep doing it. In no time you'll be back drinking coffee and sleeping regularly.

Yes I'm a psychologist, saxi trained me.

very nice. All those things help.

Viper, do you smoke? what are the patterns you are in?

ViperOverLord wrote:I've had issues with not being able to fall asleep at night lately. I gave up caffeine 29 days ago and so far that hasn't helped much at all. Back in the day I'd take a Benadryl but it would knock me out and make me sleep too much, so I've shied away from drugs. Just wondering who else has this issue and what you do.

Wear yourself out with a bit of a workout about an hour or 2 before you want to hit the hay. Also, if you feel to warm at night, open a window or turn on a fan, but make sure it is a good balance in the room. Maybe read a book that you have read before, but like, and do so in a comfortable position.

All of these have worked for me.

nietzsche wrote:

ViperOverLord wrote:I've had issues with not being able to fall asleep at night lately. I gave up caffeine 29 days ago and so far that hasn't helped much at all. Back in the day I'd take a Benadryl but it would knock me out and make me sleep too much, so I've shied away from drugs. Just wondering who else has this issue and what you do.

Stop thinking too much, worrying and all that. Don't tell me you don't, don't analyze what I'm saying just go take a walk at around 9pm, come back, take a shower and hit the hay. f*ck your wife or jerk off if it helps before. DON'T THINK. Try to just being aware of the 2 or 3 important things you have to do the next day, just for 3mins, visualize all of them going alright. Then stop thinking, it's your obligation to let everything go. Do this for 1 week, and keep doing it. In no time you'll be back drinking coffee and sleeping regularly.

Yes I'm a psychologist, saxi trained me.

You make good points. That is helpful.

ViperOverLord wrote:I've had issues with not being able to fall asleep at night lately. I gave up caffeine 29 days ago and so far that hasn't helped much at all. Back in the day I'd take a Benadryl but it would knock me out and make me sleep too much, so I've shied away from drugs. Just wondering who else has this issue and what you do.

Caffeine is typically my issue (which you've resolved). Other than that, it tends to be when I'm particularly bothered by a situation (usually work, but occasionally family, for instance if someone is seriously ill). Those times, I have two solutions:

1) Fall asleep by either watching television or reading...basically by distracting myself enough that it just happens. The only flaw in this plan is that with reading, if I'm particularly into a book, I'll find that it's 6:00am and I never fell asleep because the book was too damn good. That doesn't seem to happen with the television though.

2) If I do try to intentionally go to sleep, I try to focus on "just seeing black"...basically, thinking about nothing. This can be difficult if you haven't done it before, because it really does take some focus to not let my mind wander back to whatever may be bothering me. But once you get good at it, it does work most of the time.

nietzsche wrote:take a shower and hit the hay.

I find that taking a shower wakes me back up in a big way - this definitely wouldn't work for me. But you're absolutely right about the "don't think" thing.

muy_thaiguy wrote:Wear yourself out with a bit of a workout about an hour or 2 before you want to hit the hay.

This also has the opposite affect for me. In fact, if I work out after work, I'm screwed for sleeping. Though maybe if my workout was something I don't normally do (so it exhausts me rather than giving me the workout high), it might.

muy_thaiguy wrote:Also, if you feel to warm at night, open a window or turn on a fan, but make sure it is a good balance in the room.

A cool room definitely helps me - good point.

Phatscotty wrote:
very nice. All those things help.

Viper, do you smoke? what are the patterns you are in?

Well my barely paying job slowed down a lot, so I haven't really had much of a need to improve my sleeping patterns from that perspective. I do my own long term projects and it really does not matter the hours; so I naturally gravitate towards staying up. But I admit that my days are fuller in terms of getting chores/exercise/work done when I get on a day schedule so that's what I want to do.

I don't smoke and really drugs of any kind are not the issue. I do have some medical history, some mild head trauma in the past but it is not currently an issue with regards to seeing a doctor.

When I'm less inhibited, I tend to sleep for 8 1/2 to 10 hours with 8 1/2 or 9 being the norm. I can function on 7 to 7 1/2 but usually I lack the motivation to be at that point.

I generally wake up tired and struggle through the first few hours of the day to get energy and then later I have like this huge second wind.

Going on computer is not a solution.




Trust me.

Army of GOD wrote:Going on computer is not a solution.




Trust me.

ditto. also chatting with aog on Windows Live does not make one fall asleep any faster, even when he starts explaining his homework.

Good points on staying off the computer and a cool room. Both of those things are generally helpful.

Some months back, I heard that it is not a good idea to work out right before bed and I have to concur at least for myself. I am always going to be away for 2-4 hours after a workout, no matter how hard I work out too.

ViperOverLord wrote:Good points on staying off the computer and a cool room. Both of those things are generally helpful.

Some months back, I heard that it is not a good idea to work out right before bed and I have to concur at least for myself. I am always going to be away for 2-4 hours after a workout, no matter how hard I work out too.

yes, ideally you should work out at the beginning of your day. also, any screen time can interfere with sleep, so no tv either. in general, you should do winding down activities for the last hour before bed. nothing that gets you stressed or excited (giggidy).

the experts say you should only use your bed for two things sex and sleep cause this trains your brain that when you get in bed you have to fall alseep. so no reading in bed no watching tv. me i have no problems falling alseep unless i am thinking

targetman377 wrote:the experts say you should only use your bed for two things sex and sleep cause this trains your brain that when you get in bed you have to fall alseep.

your sex life doesn't sound very appealing

saxitoxin wrote:

targetman377 wrote:the experts say you should only use your bed for two things sex and sleep cause this trains your brain that when you get in bed you have to fall alseep.

your sex life doesn't sound very appealing

He does make it sound like he has sex while he sleeps. He does bring up a point to contemplate though.

ViperOverLord wrote:I've had issues with not being able to fall asleep at night lately. I gave up caffeine 29 days ago and so far that hasn't helped much at all. Back in the day I'd take a Benadryl but it would knock me out and make me sleep too much, so I've shied away from drugs. Just wondering who else has this issue and what you do.

Some good advice up there. A few more things to consider.

First, is the problem just falling asleep or not getting enough rest when you sleep? If the latter, get checked for sleep apnea, particularly if you snore heavily. (serious, this is LIFE THREATENING issue!)

If its just falling asleep:
1. Drink plenty of non-caffeinated fluid, particularly water.
2. Don't eat right before sleeping.
3. Get enough excercise earlier in the day. Heavy excercise not less than an hour or two before sleep is best.
4. Try 1-2mg melatonin. It helps your body's clock to "reset" for sleep, but won't make you drowsy in the way most sleep aids will. (it is a chemical your body produced naturally during sleep and seems to help make sure you get enough rest).
5. Think about your diet. The more balanced your diet, the healthier you will be and the easier it is to sleep.

Finally, Do NOT try alchohol, etc. Some doctors used to reccommend older people drink a glass of wine or beer in the evening. However, while it puts you to sleep initially, it then keep you awake later.

ViperOverLord wrote:I do have some medical history, some mild head trauma in the past

[cheapshotalert]That explains a lot![/cheapshotalert]

(I'm kidding!)

targetman377 wrote:the experts say you should only use your bed for two things sex and sleep cause this trains your brain that when you get in bed you have to fall alseep. so no reading in bed no watching tv. me i have no problems falling alseep unless i am thinking

You people gotta quit lobbing the softballs up here!

PLAYER57832 wrote:First, is the problem just falling asleep or not getting enough rest when you sleep? If the latter, get checked for sleep apnea, particularly if you snore heavily. (serious, this is LIFE THREATENING issue!)

Oh, good point. My wife has Restless Leg Syndrome, and her sleep quality was horrendous until she got on medication for it. You probably wouldn't know if you had it unless you've got someone who sleeps with you a lot so you can ask them (she kicked while asleep all the time...at least, she claimed she was asleep!). She's no longer as tired as she used to be.

One other thought...do you have a lot of fillings in your teeth? That could actually be a part of the problem.

My first wife used to nag in her sleep.
One night at about 2 am (she was fast asleep herself) she kicked me and said "DON'T spread the butter with the bread knife!"

PLAYER57832 wrote:

ViperOverLord wrote:I've had issues with not being able to fall asleep at night lately. I gave up caffeine 29 days ago and so far that hasn't helped much at all. Back in the day I'd take a Benadryl but it would knock me out and make me sleep too much, so I've shied away from drugs. Just wondering who else has this issue and what you do.

Some good advice up there. A few more things to consider.

First, is the problem just falling asleep or not getting enough rest when you sleep? If the latter, get checked for sleep apnea, particularly if you snore heavily. (serious, this is LIFE THREATENING issue!)

If its just falling asleep:
1. Drink plenty of non-caffeinated fluid, particularly water.
2. Don't eat right before sleeping.
3. Get enough excercise earlier in the day. Heavy excercise not less than an hour or two before sleep is best.
4. Try 1-2mg melatonin. It helps your body's clock to "reset" for sleep, but won't make you drowsy in the way most sleep aids will. (it is a chemical your body produced naturally during sleep and seems to help make sure you get enough rest).
5. Think about your diet. The more balanced your diet, the healthier you will be and the easier it is to sleep.

Finally, Do NOT try alchohol, etc. Some doctors used to reccommend older people drink a glass of wine or beer in the evening. However, while it puts you to sleep initially, it then keep you awake later.

All good advice to consider on getting to sleep. No I don't have bad quality sleep or snore. It's just the falling asleep part. I don't know that it is as much a medical problem as it is a discipline/re-training issue so I appreciate all of the advice.

jonesthecurl wrote:My first wife used to nag in her sleep.
One night at about 2 am (she was fast asleep herself) she kicked me and said "DON'T spread the butter with the bread knife!"

Well of COURSE you don't spread the butter with the bread knife...you clearly deserved it. <grin>

Woodruff wrote:

jonesthecurl wrote:My first wife used to nag in her sleep.
One night at about 2 am (she was fast asleep herself) she kicked me and said "DON'T spread the butter with the bread knife!"

Well of COURSE you don't spread the butter with the bread knife...you clearly deserved it. <grin>

To this day, every time I cut a slice of bread, I smile as I spread the butter WITH THE BREAD KNIFE!

I believe the root of your problem is CC. It has taken hold of your brain and you are obsessed with rank and what those liberals are posting. I suggest you take a lengthy break from CC.