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Insomnia! *MEGA-thread*

Insomnia after sun exposure

I started working the third shift a few months back and haven't had much sun exposure except on the rare occasion. When I do get sun exposure, I've noticed I get wicked insomnia. Could be totally unrelated, but could they be related? I mean, it makes sense that sun exposure in the morning would make me not want to sleep, since I'm trying to sleep during the day time...
 
addictivepersona said:
I started working the third shift a few months back and haven't had much sun exposure except on the rare occasion. When I do get sun exposure, I've noticed I get wicked insomnia. Could be totally unrelated, but could they be related? I mean, it makes sense that sun exposure in the morning would make me not want to sleep, since I'm trying to sleep during the day time...
Click to expand...

It is probably you're circadian rhythms still trying to get used to your new sleep schedule. Seeing light triggers many changes in the brain and body that tell the body that its time to be awake and alert. Things that can help with this is to use black-out curtains in the room where you sleep and make it dark and cool to your comfort. Also, the natural supplement melatonin is actually produced by your brain when its time to sleep, and taking 1mg of it 30 minutes before sleeping can help set your new sleeping schedule

Vitamin D is produced in your body when sunlight touches your skin, and vitamin D deficiency can actually cause insomnia. Probably not relevant yet, but since your sun exposure has recently been cut down quite a bit it might be good idea to take a vitamin D supplement in the future to help with that.
 
dokomo, where did you read such thing that vit d deficiency can cause insomnia ?
 
asecin said:
dokomo, where did you read such thing that vit d deficiency can cause insomnia ?
Click to expand...

My doctor said that there was a connection between them. Last year I changed my diet dramatically and developed insomnia. I had full workups done and found that my vitamin D level had dropped and I was deficient. I took a high dose for three months and now take a maintenance dose. As soon as my levels went back to normal, as did my sleep.
 
dokomo said:
It is probably you're circadian rhythms still trying to get used to your new sleep schedule. Seeing light triggers many changes in the brain and body that tell the body that its time to be awake and alert. Things that can help with this is to use black-out curtains in the room where you sleep and make it dark and cool to your comfort. Also, the natural supplement melatonin is actually produced by your brain when its time to sleep, and taking 1mg of it 30 minutes before sleeping can help set your new sleeping schedule

Vitamin D is produced in your body when sunlight touches your skin, and vitamin D deficiency can actually cause insomnia. Probably not relevant yet, but since your sun exposure has recently been cut down quite a bit it might be good idea to take a vitamin D supplement in the future to help with that.
Click to expand...

It very well could be as simple as the circadian rhythm. Next trip to the health food store I'll look into pickin' up melatonin if the Vit. D pills I will probably be getting from my doctor don't help--She wanted me to get tested for a deficiency in it. I've gone to have blood drawn for it twice now but the lady drawing blood is unskilled and my veins are quite poor. So, gotta give myself time to heal and then go back for round three (with a different lady this time).

That's interesting though that lack of Vit. D can cause insomnia... I mean, I haven't had a decent amount of sun exposure on a regular basis since last summer. And I gave up dairy/eggs last summer. So I very well probably am deficient. I do have bouts with insomnia, but nothing major... It seems every once in awhile I get into a pattern where I'll sleep like 10 hours one night, then have an insanely difficult time sleeping for the next three nights, then sleep like 10 hours, and so on and so forth, for a few weeks. Then I sleep normally.

Hrm... Wish I could have that blood work done sooner rather than later.
 
Insomnia?

I don't know if this is the right section to put this in. It was either this or TDS, but didn't think it would be apt in there.

Since the age of 15-16 I have had insomnia (to a degree). I have had problems sleeping for as long as I can remember, but it seemed to really kick in when I went to college. During the 3 years I was there I was getting about 2-3 hours sleep a night on average.

Thinking it was just a teenage thing I ignored it for the first few years. After a while I went to the doctor, they prescribed me Tamazapam, it didn't help me get to sleep, it just meant that when I fell asleep it would be much much harder to wake up which meant I was late for college and nearly got thrown out.

I went back and got prescribed something like Citalamapram (don't remember was years ago). This was supposed to be a mood enhancer that I would have to take twice a day. It made me feel like I was dropping E when on the bus going to college in the morning, but didn't help me sleep.

I finished college and thought that it may get back to normal... Seems I was wrong.

I went to a different doctors about it about a year or so ago, and their advice was "go for a run before bed" and "go to bed earlier".

I did the running and exercising before bed, went to bed earlier, but just lay there aching for hours.

Fast forward to today, I will go to bed at 1am, 2am, 3am whatever (I work evenings to help accommodate). I will lay in bed for hours, 6-7-8 hours, eyes closed, music on, music off, doesn't make any difference.

Weed used to help a little, but my tolerance appears to be going up and I have reached the limit I will allow myself to spend on a regular basis. Valium seemed to work at first, but after getting up to 40mg and nothing I decided it's probably best to leave that there before I end up with another addiction.

To be honest it's driving me fucking mad. For the most part I will end up falling asleep for a couple of hours after laying there for 5-6-7+ hours. But sometimes that doesn't happen and I will be awake for literally days.

One time a few months back I had been at work all Friday, didn't sleep Friday night, went on a trip on the Saturday, the van got stuck in the mud, spent 6 hours pushing it out, got to a bed where we were going, was shattered but couldn't sleep, when we left there on the Sunday morning, I got back to my bed Sunday afternoon, was exhausted but only slept for 3 hours and then couldn't sleep till Monday morning.

For the last 9 years, people have been saying "why not just go to bed earlier" and so on, as if I hadn't already thought of that.

It's affecting most elements of my life. I have started up business plans with a friend, something I want to do to get away from the shit job I do now. But I keep missing the meet ups because I've finally passed out, 3 hours before I am supposed to be up and meeting them to start sorting it.

Have started musical collaboration with another friend, but again, I'm missing sessions or being so tired I can barley function. It's making me unreliable when I plan to meet up with friends. And totally unreliable when it comes to potential relationships.
I like to think I'm a musician, but am not getting a chance to do anything in the day because I will have laid in bed from 1am till 10am before passing out or managing to smoke myself unconscious and then have to be up at 2pm for work.

Anyone with any similar experiences or problems, how do you manage it?
Anyone overcome a similar problem? How did you manage to do that?

Many thanks :)
x
 
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insomnia is the bane of my existence as well.
i have been prescribed a number of things all of which work intermittently .
benzos and z-drugs will definitely hurt the mind if taken long term.

many times in desperation i would pour alcohol down my throat; full well knowing there is a price to pay for doing so.

so yes we are in the same boat. years ago while working graveyard shift (midnight to 8:00 AM) i often went a few consecutive days without sleep . dangerous because i worked in heavy industry and accidents happened with some regularity when men were dumbed down.

now i rejoice when i get a good night's sleep and ignore it if i don't . i believe that my metabolism requires just a few hours sleep compared to most.

you are working swing shift and when i did i had a method that way fairly successful . i commuted on a bike . if the weather was conducive i would hit the track at a local university and do a mile or two before heading home and making ready for bed.

books, books, books are the insomniac's friends budro. there is little hope of me getting 40 winks without my ritual read at bed time . now retired and old as dirt so missing sleep no longer effects me so badly .
 
It's strange, I'm not inactive or anything, I walk a couple of miles to and from work each day, spin poi or staff for at least an hour a day, sit-ups and push-ups and things.
Most of my time before I start trying to sleep is spent reading, but that just seems to activate my mind more :P

It doesn't seem to matter how physically or mentally tired I am, if my body doesn't want to shut down, it wont.
I used to lay there getting frustrated, I have learned that doesn't help, and nor does looking at the clock and counting the maximum amount of sleep I can get before I have to be up.

Alcohol does help me sleep if I drink enough, not sure what my threshold is now, but it used to be quite high. I don't like being drunk now days though, and don't want to encourage any sort of alcohol dependency.

My Dad was saying that he has been having sleep issues for most of his life too, he basically told me to get used to it.
Would you agree?
 
''My Dad was saying that he has been having sleep issues for most of his life too, he basically told me to get used to it.
Would you agree?''

indeed i would agree with that ! after all the decades of failed attempts at getting shut of insomnia i have quit struggling .

after all, the odd night in which i sleep 8 hours is like a trophy to me.

seroquel (quetiapine) at 50mg. is often effective for me. it never gets me to sleep but rather often makes for really long sleep sessions. at first it sucked because i slept so long and immobile that my body was a wreck when i first got up.

docs hand it out with no worries as it has few side effects and no addiction potential. i am glad that the VA sends me it even though i don't use it nightly.
 
Gah, looks like I'm in this for the long haul.
Guess I am just gona have to suck it up and deal with it and try to not let it effect my life too much.

I was recommended like allergy tablets with antihistamine to increase drowsiness, which may be worth trying out.
Maybe I just need some fuckin' strong skunk to sort me out a bit.
Start a 2 week holiday from work tomorrow, so may just stay up and see if in 24 hours time from now I am still functioning.

I will give Seriquel a go. Tamazapam, didn't help me sleep, but would put me in a deep sleep, that's where it gets sketchy for me though, I'm walking a thin line with work as it is, if I am late more then that's it.
Does Seriquel have the potential to have similar effects?
 
burn,
yes seroquel has that potential . at low dose it works just as an antihistamine does. for me, it is way more potent than over the counter sleep aids.

when i was working midnights i had an arrangement with the night side leadmen and supers . they worked like nannys and would call me if i had not shown just before my shift . i would bolt out the door and make my shift on time enough to suit them.

it is such a god damn struggle as after missing a boat load of sleep for days only to fall out a couple of hours prior to work.

good on you if chronic works well. i am on a medical card for it because it helps glaucoma but i use a vaporizer if at home . dank trashes lungs . smoke inhalation needs to be kept in moderation .

give the cheap OTC antihistamines a shot man . they make most drowsy and like seroquel clog my sinuses. that's a small price to pay as sinus blockage goes away after an hour or so of waking.
 
Have you tried meditation soon before bed? I often have troubles with sleep because my mind tends to start racing when I lay down, but a bit of meditating beforehand helps calm it down a bit.

Reading and podcasts have helped me at times, but it has to be something that is not too engrossing. Otherwise I end up focusing too much on it and it makes it more difficult to sleep. But otherwise hearing the voice can help distract me from my thoughts and make it easier to drift off.

It really is hard to deal with and can interfere significantly with day to day functioning. Good luck man :)
 
Sleep Hygiene— Insomnia Treatment methods

I'm normally a frequenter of BDD, ADD, and DiTM, however, as this thread is not solely drug related I thought perhaps BDD isn't the best place for it. Mods, feel free to move this if it seems better suited to another forum.

I have been 'diagnosed' with Chronic Intermittent Insomnia specifically manifested from a form of Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I've tried all sorts of things to help ease the symptoms and treat the underlying cause. The problem is, as many of you insomniacs may know, that treating insomnia is tricky business. There are many different views on how to treat insomnia best lumped into two categories - pharmacological treatment and psychological / behavioral treatment.

I have an interest in studying sleep science as I suffer from insomnia. For this reason I frequently read articles concerning various treatment methods for insomnia. Most recently I have read through "Tackling sleeplessness: Psychological treatment options for insomnia" from the open access journal - Nature and Science of Sleep, March 27, 2010. It provides a good overview of the methods for non-pharmacological treatments of insomnia

My ultimate question/reason for posting this is as follows: For those of you who suffer from insomnia and other sleep related disorders that affect your daytime efficiency, how many of you use non-pharmacological treatment as your primary method for dealing with your sleep? Which methods do you find work best? To me it seems that many of the non-pharmacological methods are not the easiest things to implement in your life if you don't have a simple 9-5 structured schedule and perhaps even harder simply if you are just a young person ( as I am myself)

For a highlight of the methods covered in the article:
Stimulus control:
Aims to restore the learned association between the bedroom and sleeping. Instructions often include using the bedroom only for sleep (or sex),
getting out of bed if awake for 15–20 minutes (and returning when sleepy), avoiding napping, and setting regular bed and wake times.

Sleep restriction:
Consists of limiting the amount of time spent in bed to the actual amount of time spent sleeping by setting a prescribed bed and wake time. Periodic adjustments are made to the bed/wake times depending on the level of sleep efficiency.

Sleep compression Relaxation:
A variation on sleep restriction that involves a gradual reduction in the time spent in bed.
Used to reduce physical and mental tension. Common types include progressive muscle relaxation, auto- genic training, imagery, and meditation.

Cognitive therapy:
Involves uncovering faulty underlying beliefs regarding sleep, providing alter- native interpretations, and allowing the patient to consider their insomnia in a different way.

Multicomponent therapy:
A treatment package that is usually comprised of sleep hygiene, stimulus control, sleep restriction, cognitive therapy, and relaxation training.

A bit of background, I am a physics graduate student. As such, I don't have the simplest schedule; my schedule varies frequently as my course load changes, sometimes I work late by force sometimes by choice. Due to these factors combined with simply being a young person (I go out on weekends, some weeknights, parties, etc..) I find it rather hard to implement nearly any of the above methods into my daily lifestyle.

I'd like to hear some feedback from others about how they deal with their sleep issues from both a psychological standpoint as well as pharmacological standpoint.

Cheers.
 
The best thing I've done to get it under control is to wake and get up at roughly the same time every day. Enforcing that lets everything else fall into place easier.

Not playing the snooze game is another thing.

And not staying up late for no reason is another.
 
i have had MAJOR insomnia for almost two years and what i have done is stop fighting it..i think i dont NEED as much sleep as i think i do..i go to bed only when im tired, if i wake up at around 2 or 3 (which is usually do) i get up and do something until im tired again instead of laying there watching the clock.
I get about 6-7 hours of sleep a night but its broken up...
Ive been on all types of prescription and otc meds and i end up building a tolerance thats unhealthy..so i dont take anything but melatonin and im also very careful about not drinking coffee after like 1 or 2 pm..
 
I'm a big tea drinker but I try to stay caffeine free in the evening and night time. I've given up coffee entirely but strong black tea is in my blood, I drink that nearly every morning. I do my best to get up around the same time everyday, grad school makes that task a little bit easier. I'm currently still on a benzo regiment for weeknights, clonazepam and temazepam, however this summer I plan to try to cut down the benzo usage significantly. With no classes and only a research position I'mn hoping the overall stress reduction will make things easier.

in years past I've been on all kinds of different RX and Otc stuff, unfortunately benzos are the only thing that work for me on a regular basis, everything else has just been a crapshoot. I may give melatonin a shot again this summer I've had mixed results with it in the past.

I have tried counseling, relaxation techniques, breathing techniques, mediation, but none of that seemed to have a lasting effect. I try my best to implement what I can from the above list but sometimes it just feels pointless and rather makes me worry about sleeping more than it helps me sleep.
 
Okay, I can't remember where I got this tip from but I think it worked for me (perhaps, I was simply so exhausted my body just couldn't keep punishing me any more).

Anyway, a few drops of lavender oil on the pillow really help, I found it so easy to drift off by doing this. I wish so much I had some now, sadly I've run out :(.
 
I need to replace it but I have put a loose leaf tea bag containing some english lavender in my pillow case; I use the lavender for tea at night also. I have to agree though, lavender in/on the pillow is really pleasant.
 
A cool way to beat insomnia!

My friend told me about this interesting research that is going down, and I realize that many people on bluelight suffer from insomnia. So I thought that this might help some people. The link below summarizes this study.

http://news.bioscholar.com/2011/06/now-a-‘nightcap’-with-cold-water-to-beat-insomnia.html

This head cap seems like it completely embodies the concept of keeping it simple and I have been thinking of fabricating one of these simple devices for personal usage. I was wondering what other people thought about this.
 
This device is pretty interesting, but did you know that meditation or exercise can also help to slow down your pre-frontal cortex? It helps you to relax your mind and to slow down thinking so you can have a restful night's sleep, just as this device does.

It makes me wonder if insomniacs sleep better in the winter than the summer...
 
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