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Umm . . . this sounds kinda silly, but lying on my back and focusing on my breathing can put me right out, especially if I’m being careful to breathe from the belly. Or I’ll put myself into a mental image of one of the “places for relaxing” I’ve dreamed up, like a high sea cliff with the sound of the waves below, the sun nice and warm, and just enough of a breeze . . . or lying on a big rock on the slope of my favorite desert canyon at night, with nothing but the sound of the warm wind blowing. Sometimes I’ll just imagine running on a meadow, and create all the little details of what it would look and smell and sound like (but omitting the graceless puffing and staggering ;)). Stuff like that.
Sometimes I can get past it by concentrating on relaxing myself…bit by bit. I’ll concentrate on relaxing the muscles around my eyebrows…then my jaw (I find I clench my jaw alot when I cant sleep)..then my neck..and work my way down. I’ll admit it doesnt always work, and alot of nights I end up reading, or watching anime all night long, but it’s a suggestion. 🙂
I have suffered through insomnia for many years. I always blamed my being on a rotating shift, but the insomnia continued even after I took a “normal” day time job. It turned out that I have fibromyalgia, and the insomnia is part of that. I use a variety of things to keep the insomnia under some sort of control. I have a prescription for Ambien CR, and I also take melatonin 3 mg dose, and a calcium supplement with magnesium. And if that all fails, I opt for a camomile tea sweetened with honey. No refined sugar. I keep a fan running for white noise, and the windows open or AC on to keep the bedroom cold, and ear plugs, since usually once I’m awake that’s it; I’m up. It’s harder for me to stay asleep rather than falling asleep. If I do wake up, I will *not* look at the clock, because then I immediately calculate how long before I have get up for real. I’ll do a form of self-hypnosis/biofeedback to deliberately relax my body starting at my feet and working up towards my head, and regulate my breathing. If all that fails, then I get up. If I start to feel drowsy again, I’ll go back to sleep if time allows. I’ve gone without real sleep for a couple of days in spite of everything. That truly sucks. You feel tired, but still can’t shut your mind off enough long enough to go into deep sleep. Gah. 🙄
Yeah….sometimes the mind just wont shut down, those times are the hardest. 🙁 The longest I’ve gone is four days, and I was so miserable.
I think up some stories, fanfics, character bios, weird nightcrawly and fantasy animals, what SHOULD have happened in a show or movie if I had been the writer/director… 😳 Sounds funny but by the time I figure some plotline out, so am I!! As a bonus, I have a cool character to draw if i’m bored the next day.
I usually tell myself that if I’m not asleep by this time (insert time here 😀 ) that I have to get up and do some nasty chore that didn’t get done during the day (like cleaning toilets :puke: ) That generally does the trick…
twindragonsmum 😀
tdm
I also recommend coming up with a story in your mind. I used to have terrible insomnia because my mind would start racing as soon as I went to bed, but distracting myself with stories does the trick every time.
Also, you might try something like catnip tea. That always makes me feel really mellow and calm, which is good for sleeping.
I read…I sit down in bed, with a small light on, and I read. Cat, have you ever read Insomnia by Stephen King? It’s not the normal blood and guts type of thing. It’s one of my favorites. And perhaps you can relate in a weird way with the lead character…I did. 😉
I’m embarassed to admit that I started taking a Tylenol PM to help me with my insomnia – BUT, it helps. I too can’t seem to turn off my mind and thoughts race well into the wee hours of the morning. I invent things, but don’t typically write them down and often forget. I can’t fall asleep in the dark, and have to have at least a nightlight on but like to have the t.v. on even if I mute it, set to go off in 120 minutes. Sometimes I am just about to doze off when it goes off which wakes me LOL Usually I fall asleep between 3-4am, and wake every couple of hours – and of course am deep into sleep when I should be getting up. I am lucky, and don’t usually HAVE to get up before 9am. But yeah, I think without the Tylenol PM, I wouldn’t sleep at all!
One thing that I’ve found that helps me when my mind is racing and won’t let me get to sleep is to get up and write about what is going through my mind. I don’t write it out on the computer though, I write it out on paper. I do that because if I write on the computer it engages my mind even more, waking me up further and preventing sleep. Usually after 15 minutes of writing my mind has settled down enough that I can finally lay down to get some sleep.
Although I can’t say that I can relate, since I can’t remember a time I ever had trouble getting to sleep (in fact, I have trouble remembering exactly how or when I fell asleep the next morning), I must admit I find it hilarious that no one has mentioned (or even so much as hinted at) one of the most common ways to put yourself to sleep. I mentioned this thread to a male friend on AIM, and being the perv that he is, it was the first comment he made. This forum is PG-13 though (which is probably why no one has offered it as a solution, haha), so I’m not sure I should tell you what he said..>.>;…but it made me laugh!
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