Zzzzzz ...Chasing Zzzzz's
I have to admit that I'm not a great sleeper. Most nights find me up and down, in and out of bed, like a yo-yo in the hands of a 8-year-old with fidgetitis.
My sleeping patterns have been like this for several years now.
I'm not sure how much sleep a person should have on a daily basis, but I suspect 3 or 4 hours is probably not enough.
I have tried most of the common remedies — hot milk at bedtime, one of those sleeping masks that black out every speck of light, a hot bath just before turning in, and reading myself unconscious. I've tried herbal teas, herbal supplements, herbal balms, herbals roots, herbal aromatic sachets, but each of those weedy concoctions just seem to make matters worse, and I turn me into the human equivalent of a herbal gerbil running on a spinning wheel-to-nowhere, squeak-squeak-squeaking through the night.
I've even tried some of those over-the-counter medications, like Nytol, Sominex, Tylenol Body Pain Night, a shot glass of Benadryl, and the like. I still wake up, but with the added bonus of having one whopping hangover.
Perhaps what I need is some companionship, a warm body to snuggle up to in bed. Well, let's be honest. Sometimes those warm bodies snore and fart through the midnight hours, and although I have some tolerance for such human failings, I do find that symphony of REM-inspired orchestration a little unsettling.
I'm not complaining. I like the night. It's a quiet time. The phone doesn't ring, I have no appointments to keep, the outside world is more or less peaceful, and I love looking out, from 25 floors above ground, over the sparkling lights of the city, where I suspect everyone else is probably sound asleep.
I have to admit that I'm not a great sleeper. Most nights find me up and down, in and out of bed, like a yo-yo in the hands of a 8-year-old with fidgetitis.
My sleeping patterns have been like this for several years now.
I'm not sure how much sleep a person should have on a daily basis, but I suspect 3 or 4 hours is probably not enough.
I have tried most of the common remedies — hot milk at bedtime, one of those sleeping masks that black out every speck of light, a hot bath just before turning in, and reading myself unconscious. I've tried herbal teas, herbal supplements, herbal balms, herbals roots, herbal aromatic sachets, but each of those weedy concoctions just seem to make matters worse, and I turn me into the human equivalent of a herbal gerbil running on a spinning wheel-to-nowhere, squeak-squeak-squeaking through the night.
I've even tried some of those over-the-counter medications, like Nytol, Sominex, Tylenol Body Pain Night, a shot glass of Benadryl, and the like. I still wake up, but with the added bonus of having one whopping hangover.
Perhaps what I need is some companionship, a warm body to snuggle up to in bed. Well, let's be honest. Sometimes those warm bodies snore and fart through the midnight hours, and although I have some tolerance for such human failings, I do find that symphony of REM-inspired orchestration a little unsettling.
I'm not complaining. I like the night. It's a quiet time. The phone doesn't ring, I have no appointments to keep, the outside world is more or less peaceful, and I love looking out, from 25 floors above ground, over the sparkling lights of the city, where I suspect everyone else is probably sound asleep.
In such case, in Poland, we use to count sheeps... that's really boring and finally you fall asleep... but seriously speaking maybe you should speak about it with your doctor... One of my friend take very small dose of Rivotril and it works...
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counting_sheep
If I were to count sheep, I would never get to sleep for fear of missing one.
DeleteI have spoken to my Dr, but he believes that the body gets as much sleep as it requires, and quite frankly, I'm not wasting away. It's just my internal, or should that be infernal, clock that is out of whack ...
And too much coffee ... far too much coffee, I'm afraid ... ;o}
Actually, the need for sleep as we are aging decreases and we often confuse this with insomnia. Insomnia is when a person fails driving benefit from the night rest because of too little sleep or poor sleep. If you are waking up bright and cheerful then even 4 hours of sleep are enough. But if you need more sleep then sour cherries are better for treating insomnia than counting sheep. Sour cherry juice stretches the sleep by 17 minutes because of the high content of melatonin. Flavor your bedroom with soothing scents. Drink mint tea with honey and milk. Do not sleep during the day. Don't talk too much. Don't watch TV or use PC before going to bed. Oh, there are a lot of things you have to do... My advice is... give up. The insomnia is the disease of our era in which people are forbidden to close their eyes to many things. We all are insomniacs ...
ReplyDeleteOK, giving up ...
DeleteMy intake of caffeine tends to keep me awake. For the most part, once I'm out, I'm down for the count! I normally exercise myself to exhaustion tho. Lol.
ReplyDeleteI should try that ... lately, I've been such a slug, and I have a great gym, where I could go and exhaust myself ... hmmm ...
DeleteI can usually start falling asleep if I sit in front of the TV at night. What doesn't work to induce sleep is getting involved in writing before bed or having something on my mind that worries or otherwise upsets me. I average about 6 1/2 hours of sleep, most of the time. Trying to keep a regular bedtime schedule does help--something that I can't always accomplish.
ReplyDeleteI find TV a great narcotic as well ... but I always end up reading Stephen King or some such author instead of watching TV, and that can't be helping ...
DeleteI love Stephen King's stuff, but I'm all caught up with him, for the moment. Time to dig out the videos...
DeleteI have no answers, I sleep like you do...
ReplyDeleteOK, back to giving up ... haha ...
DeleteGive up the coffee or cut back drastically. I did and I was sleeping like a baby all night. But then I started drinking it again, only two cups a day and now I find myself awakening several times every night. Going to give it up again soon and see what happens.
ReplyDeleteI think coffee probably is the culprit. I'll have to try to cut back a bit, because I can't imagine giving it up completely.
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