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  • TDS Moderators: AlphaMethylPhenyl | paranoid android

How do you deal with insomnia?

^ yeah I'm aware and i'm quite sure he is. I should have said redish or even orangish.

I haven't acutually seen his set up
 
I have an uncle in seatle and from what he says light therapy is really big there. half the people at his work have these daylight bulbs in thier offices.
 
n3ophy7e said:
Whoa does that really work?! If so, that is awesome and amazing! :)
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There are heaps of scientific articles published which show the interaction of light and the natural circadian rhythm.

One interesting article is 'Light in the Built Environment: Potential Role of Circadian Disruption in Endocrine Disruption and Breast Cancer'. It states in laymans terms that in the common office environment we are exposed to inadequate light levels during the day (our bodies evolved to use the sun as a daytime light source), while we have too intense light levels during the evening and night time. This effects the natural melatonin secretion patterns which basically mean we are under active during the day time and have too much energy at night, leading to poor sleeping patterns.

I have noticed since investing in very bright light source for working during the day, and a soft, warm (orangy red), dull light source lighting up my bedroom at night, I am sleeping a lot better than I used to. Might not work for everyone (sleep patterns are very individual) but it may be worth a shot for you.

Oh and the other benefit to following this method, you lower your chances of getting breast cancer :P
 
Oxycondone said:
One interesting article is 'Light in the Built Environment: Potential Role of Circadian Disruption in Endocrine Disruption and Breast Cancer'.
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Cool thanks man, when I get a free moment I'm going to search for that article :)

Oxycondone said:
I have noticed since investing in very bright light source for working during the day, and a soft, warm (orangy red), dull light source lighting up my bedroom at night, I am sleeping a lot better than I used to.
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Very cool :)
 
n3ophy7e said:
Any time man :)

However, the most reliable herbal supplements that I've come across are ones containing valerian root extract[/B. You can get valerian on its own, or it comes in various combination tablets/capsules. I find it to be very effective (surprisingly so).
I also drink chamomile tea before bed (sometimes 2 or 3 mugs) which is also quite effective for me.
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Although I enjoy chamomile, it hasn't really done anything in the past for me. Works better than the heat to stay warm when it's cold out, that's for sure!

Hahahaha, can't believe I forgot about Valerian root. EWWWW!!!! That shit was an awful experience for me. Was in Wash D.C. for a convention when I was in college and ended up having to detox myself during it because I didn't have any dope. Got desperate and got some Valerian root. Not only did it do jack shit (I also tried it again for sleep later on, albeit while I was actively using, and had no success then either), EXCEPT making everything that came out of my body smell like death. Giving speeches to important people while there is a shit-ass-dirty-sock-nasty odor emanating from my pores is neither fun nor cool. I believe the correct adjective to describe the smell would be "fetid" ;) :\

I also forgot about Kava kava, which has helped me in the past, before I started getting really into opiates. I'll have to try that again. I really enjoyed it. Then again, I'm sober, and I want to keep it that way. So actually I don't think I should go get any kava, just cause I know I like the effect and I have used it in the past to get (quasi) "high".

artic: Yea, cannabis worked the best for me, but I'm trying to stay 100% sober so it's out of the question.

schwiftee: You're absolutely right about the scheduling, it has helped. I'll also have to try that red light idea, as I can see how it would supplement this process. But I'll save it till I'm desperate, cause I'm spending all my money on this sober living place and can't even afford to buy a light bulb right now... Haha, would a red spray painted light bulb work?

panic: mmf? what is this? I did read a really interesting article about light therapy w/ a low dose of melatonin (like 500ug) to help for sleep. I should definitely look into this. I think you and schwiftee are on to something here!!! This might be the article I'm thinking of: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/19/sleeping-or-not-by-the-wrong-clock/

oxy: I sure don't need to deal with breast cancer :]

emj/panic: hell yea, a hot shower, then an orgasm has really really helped.


Still, the problem persists. But you know what, I don't fucking care. I still feel better during the day, despite getting like an hour a night on average, than I ever did after the honeymoon period of my using days. Today I started a catering job to hold me over till I start working on my psychology masters and it was fucking awesome. I even washed the multitude of coffee cups a woman's AA group left in the kitchen I was using cause I was bored and didn't have anything to do after I set up in lightening speed for my thing. It's like I'm almost hyperactive since I've come off dope and getting sober (which apparently isn't abnormal in the least), I don't feel tired and can perform at better level than I could when I was using. Then again, I'm not about to run any marathons any time soon...

The only "negative" side effect from the insomnia I've been experience is a little fatigue/depressive episodes (the depressive moment is best treated with an AA meeting, I've found, but that might just be me and where I'm at right now) and lots and lots of yawning all afternoon/night. I just want to work on the insomnia because it's been an issue for a long time (I've been self medicating with bud for so, so many years; other than that the only things that have helped have been high doses of benzos, ambien, phenobarbitol and seroquel, all drugs I loath and am obviously not about to use if I wanna stay sober as of right now - in the future they might become necessary, but I need some more sober time on my belt before I even wanna try to take any mind altering shit, even if I were to follow my Dr's instructions to the t like a normal person (don't mean to sound self-righteous, I don't think I'm better than normal people, rather I'm real fucked up)), and I have a feeling in the long term it can't be healthy. In other words, I wanna get a jump on it now, before it becomes a problem.

I do feel like it's getting better though, if slowly. I mean, I've only been sober for like 9 days, so what the fuck do I think I'm supposed to expect?



Anyways, THANK YOU very much for all your input. Keep the ideas coming! <3
 
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I find the light therapy info interesting. I found some info here suggesting sitting in a darkened room during the early evening to trick your body into thinking that it is later than it is, and thus shifting your sleep schedule earlier. I don't think that this would work for my particular type of insomnia because I often wake up while it is still dark, but I go to bed at 10 or 11 most nights (I wouldn't describe it as ASPS).

I think that the light spectrum treatment idea is interesting. Most of the sites I found talked about a special box with fluorescent tubes in a cool-white spectrum that you put on your desk or something and kinda keep in your peripheral vision for a few hours, in the morning if you are a night owl (DSPS), and in the evening if you are an early bird (ASPS). They made it sound real expensive, but it doesn't seem too "special" to DIY. Does anyone have any good links or info on this?

Plant/Animal similarities in physiology are kinda crazy cool. I think light therapy definitely qualifies, if effective. pH effect on nutrient uptake is also interesting.
 
toothpastedog- mmj is code fur medically recommended omy....'

and yes^^ a few fish to watch swim around, with some nice Halide lighting,, or a Cat is very therapeutic, as is mine right here;-)
either:-D
~
together?
thats oddly enough chaos..!


=D

--------------------------------------------
Edit:
TPD ~~*
-lol
m, m i c what you did there..!
 
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Phenibut works wonder for me on those rare occasions when I can't sleep. I have not experienced a better sleeping aid than phenibut. You'll have a deep, and I mean DEEP, sleep. It is not recreational at all, IMO.

But of course phenibut is not meant to be taken more than say, 3 days in a row. It loses it's effectiveness quickly and the risk of withdrawal after consistent usage is very high.
 
^interesting:

heres some info from Ol' Wiki_pedia -
Contraindications and side effects

The literature reports that phenibut has almost no negative side effects, with only an increase in sleepiness observed, however this effect is not nearly as pronounced as with benzodiazepine usage.[2] Tolerance has been reported with extended use of high doses (e.g. 5-10 grams) of 4-amino-3-phenylbutyric acid.

There are "numerous reports of withdrawal symptoms on Internet blogs" and a medically documented case of withdrawal involving severe anxiety, tremors "agitation, psychosis, hallucinations and a complaint of insomnia" similar to baclofen withdrawal, consistent with its GABAb agonist properties. There has been no systematic study of this problem.[8]

Phenibut is not to be mixed with alcohol, sedatives or prescription medication without consulting with a health-care professional.

Persons on MAO inhibitors or epilepsy medications like carbamazepine or oxcarbazepine should consult with their physician or pharmacist prior to supplementation with phenibut. Some evidence suggests that phenibut can modulate the function of some epilepsy medications
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i use hylands calm forte. take like 10-20 of them. its a safe herbal supplement that has a mix of diff herbal extracts.
 
Just wanted to update you all:

Last night got 6hrs!!! So happy about that. Haha, still, for some reason I was so fucking tired today. Might have been from working out earlier, but still, was wierd. I was fricken hyper when I was getting 1hr or less. I guess this is just my body readjusting to a sober life...

Beautiful.

Panic- :]
 
I only get insomnia when I get depressed. If everything is going great in my life, I sleep like a baby at normal hours. I never like taking any pills for insomnia to sleep. If im in the insomnia route, I find exercise helps. I will go for a run at 2am & when I get back, im pretty tired which helps to sleep.
 
^^ Funnily enough, exercise can be a fantastic natural method for treating depression as well :)

vfoolio said:
i use hylands calm forte. take like 10-20 of them. its a safe herbal supplement that has a mix of diff herbal extracts.
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Just out of curiosity, what's in them, exactly?



toothpastedog that's great to hear you got some good sleep last night! :)
 
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