25 replies to this topic

[Scubatooth]

I have been trying to correct my sleep pattern for a while now and its not working so i will ask here.

Im wondering how you all regulate your sleep patterns to get it into a normal rythem, as i cant seem to get it there.

Here is the situation is that with school and the other activities i have my schedule is that my days vary from starting early in the day(7am) going through late evening 10-11pm or my work day ending at noon and then i have the rest of the day off, and then everything in between. Then on top my days off vary so i may work monday through friday one week and then the next work mon-tuesday, wed off ,thur-sat sun off, and combos inbetween on constant is sundays off With school ending and studying to the point of no end isnt helping but i need to regulate my pattern as i cant afford to run my self down again. Plus with the internship this summer i will need to make sure im rested as if im not rested my mind wont be tack sharp and in the water thats not a good thing (read in to that as much as you like).

I try to shoot to go to bed about 10 pm (but usually ends up 11pm - 2am) so that i can get a full 8 hours but it seems that i cant fall asleep for some reason. I dont want to go back to using meds as i dont need those side effects again IE i dont remember putting my keys in the ice bin. The also i know i should get off the caffine but getting off it totally is going to take a long time at least im down from the 1+ gallons of Dr Pepper a day to maybe 1-2 cans, i also wont have any sodas after 1pm so that they wont keep me up.

One thing i have started to do is that i have started running (only 1-2 days a week) again and on days that i run i seem to sleep better that night, but not as well on days i dont run


so if anyone has any ideas feel free to post them as im all ears

Tooth

[ScubaDadMiami]

I am a life long insomniac. I got tired of it all a few years ago, and I went to a specialist. I had to spend a night in the hospital with all kinds of monitors hooked up to observe my sleep pattern.

My biggest problem is that it can take me hours to fall asleep at night. Then, I want to sleep very late the next day. That won't be a big problem when I am retired. However, it does interfere with the working world.

I have been on medication for a couple of years now. It still takes me a lot longer than most people to fall asleep at night. However, it is taking a lot less time than it used to take, and I am sleeping much better than I had in the past. Compared to everyone else, it still is much different. However, this is as close to normal as I will ever get, and I am grateful for even this much progress. At least I feel fairly well rested when I wake up in the mornings, something I have not felt almost ever before.

I am in a career that tends to start later and run later than most businesses, and that helps. I do my exercise walks at night (ended just before midnight last night) rather than trying to force myself into an unnatural pattern. I like to work late into the night, and I find that this is when I can be productive since my phone doesn't ring. You might have seen my posts where I say that I will only go on afternoon dives unless something akin to the dive of a lifetime. In short, I am doing the best that I can under the circumstances, and I am trying to follow the patterns of my body instead of forcing it to conform to society's clock.

Since working with a sleep specialist, things are much improved. However, I do not expect to ever hit the pillow and turn off like the way that everyone else seems to be able to fall asleep. I am happy for the small victory I have achieved.

[Moose]

so if anyone has any ideas feel free to post them as im all ears

Tooth

Here is my 2 cents. Note, spending over 18 years in the Army and on rotating schedules I've learned one thing that makes it very easy to get the sleep you need.

Ok, first trying to make a consistant bed time is a great start. But don't get caugh up on the "8" hour number. Different people need different sleep and on different nights.

What is the most important thing I found that works great for me is, whenever you naturally wake up in the morning before the alarm clock, GET OUT OF BED. No matter if it's 5 mins before the alarm or 3 hours. If you naturally woke up, that means your body has finished a sleep cycle and is ready to go. The important thing is that you need to do this for a few days in a row. then, when you do lay down to got to sleep at night, your body will go to sleep faster and start the cycles quicker.

If you do exercise, don't exercise after 3pm. If you can give up cafine, even better.

I don't know the last time I used an alarm clock to wake me. I normally just get up around 3 or 4 am and start doing things. (which gives me extra time to get stuff done.) I hit the sack between 10 and 11pm and I'm good. It's not impossible to stay up to midnight or 1 on occasion as well.

The important thing is to have un-interupted sleep cycles and alarm clocks prevent that.

[Moose]

Since working with a sleep specialist, things are much improved. However, I do not expect to ever hit the pillow and turn off like the way that everyone else seems to be able to fall asleep. I am happy for the small victory I have achieved.

Hell, I can save you lots of money. MOVE WEST!!! Put your body in a time zone that works for you! 8>) Make it to Asia and you'll be an earlier riser!

[Capn Jack]

Advice from a friend of mine...

Not scientific, not documented, but works great for me.

Plan so you never sleep in anything other than 90 minute increments. 1.5, 3, 4.5, 6, 7.5, 9 hours

If you wake up and have less than 90 minutes - stay up.

[Latitude Adjustment]

Join the military, you will soon learn to fall asleep whenever you get a chance, time of day, position, temps, rain, dust and noise will not matter!

[weescot]

Join the military, you will soon learn to fall asleep whenever you get a chance, time of day, position, temps, rain, dust and noise will not matter!

So true!

If my sleep falls into a disrupted pattern, I make a point of getting fresh air and exercise to help me on my way. a good constitutional walk in the evening works a treat. And a cup of wobbly hot chocolate (with rum)

[Scubatooth]

LA

unfortunately the military doesn't want me due to being a medical high risk, two abdominal surgeries in under 5 years will do that. I know this from trying to get a slot at one of the academies in high school and that i was at risk at being DQ medical because of my medical condition (Crohns) and after the first surgery would have been medically discharged anyways.

I used to be able to have a load of caffine and then just fall asleep but not the case as of late. Plus the profession(Fire/EMS) im going into is not condusive to full nights sleep with the tones going off in the middle of the night for some problem. Im not quite needing to adjust to that schedule yet but i need something to start from so i can build to that.

Tooth

[mechanical31]

I too have pretty severe sleep problems. You have already been given some good advice, especially about joining the military. I learned to sleep standing up there Of course that is when a lot of my sleep problems started too. Some things that work for me that haven't been mentioned that work very well for me is two things. Avoid any harsh stimulus to your mind for at least 1.5 hours before bed. I.E. no violent/heart racing video games or movies. The thing that helps me the most is read a book for about an hour before I go to bed. Usually it takes me an hour plus to go to sleep, but with a good book 30 minutes or less. I think everybody is a little different, but find your triggers and you have it made. My son had problems with nightmares until I explained to him to think about things that make him laugh or he just plain enjoys when he lays down and Presto, no more nightmares. Best of luck. Hop ethis problem gets better for you. Oh yeah, sometimes a good book will make you get no sleep at all from staying up all night reading.

[shadragon]

Join the military, you will soon learn to fall asleep whenever you get a chance, time of day, position, temps, rain, dust and noise will not matter!

That is the truth. If you can catch a nap in the back of a bouncing APC over uneven ground you can sleep anywhere... Even today I find carrying a large backpack many miles works wonders for insomnia.

Don't want to sound tree-huggy here, but 'Guided meditation' is a drug free way to approach this type of issue.

Train the Brain...

Now if you will excuse me there is an Elm out back I need to embrace...

[cmt489]

A lot of it really depends on the reason for the insomnia. Like SDM, I have insomnia that requires medication as does my mother. My insomnia gets worse with age. For some reason I wake up at 2:00 am no matter what time I go to bed and then have troubles sleeping from that point on. The insomnia is not constant but constant enough. I can pretty much tell when it is going to hit since I feel different when it is around. As for the get up no matter what, this may work if it were conditioning but after doing 3+ months on 2-3 hours of sleep per night I can tell you that it doesn't always help...

[mechanical31]

I also forgot to mention Passion Flower extract. Just a little bit in some water or juice relaxes me and lets me sleep like a baby without feeling hungover in the morning. It doesn't work all the time. I think it depends on how bad I am at the time. Stress really makes my condition worse. Through the two years of divorce five hours a night was a great night. I find myself sleeping much better now. Like I said, everyone has a trigger for it that I have spoken too. Find it and win the prize. I also don't watch anything that will upset me before bed. Such as all the craziness that goes on in this world. Late night news is definately a no no for me. To many things get my emotions going.

[mantarraya]

Melatonin supplements help me out a lot when I have sleep problems....failing that, watching Anna Nicole or any other celebrity type coverage will always put me to sleep due to sheer boredom.

[finGrabber]

Here are some things I try to follow:

no exercise after 7pm
no food after 7pm
no caffenine after 8pm - this works for a 10pm to 11pm bedtime for me

I used to play soccer 4 times a week and workout at the gym 3 times a week. If I missed a workout, then I couldn't sleep that night no matter what; of course, these days I'm not doing any of the above and have issues sleeping too

[drbill]

Wish I could share the secret of why I have no trouble falling asleep at night, and function very well on 6.5 hours of very solid sleep... but I don't know what that secret is. Good luck finding a cure for your problems though.