Sleeping habits...need advice

J

Jason Salamone

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One thing that I have always had an issue with since I was a teenager is poor sleeping habits and insomonia.

How do you prevent broken sleep?
And how can I get to the point where I consistently wake up each morning feeling refreshed, and not feel like I need more sleep?

Thanks in advance for any help and advice you can give me.

Jason Salamone
 
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Have you tried Melatonin? I do not use it, but have friends that swear by it.

Dr. Laura Berman says that sex will do it too ;)
 
I have tried melatonin. I think it works as far as getting myself to sleep, but keeping myself asleep it really has no effect. I will still always end up waking up a bunch of times throughout the course of the night. I'm out of it, so I may as well pick up some more. Plus, melatonin is great natural way to increase HGH levels in your body, and I'm all about finding natural ways to do that.

Yes, sex is a great way to get sleep for most people. With me though, there's absolutely no sleep throughout the night most times. I can be that 15 minute monster if the mood fits, but most times, I most definitely prefer being one of those "from dusk till dawn" types when it comes to that. Dr. Laura Berman is a smart and attractive woman...you think she'll be up for it? :p

T.M.I.? ...sorry. :D

Jason Salamone
 
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You may want to try and get a routine down for bed. Do some relaxing exercises like yoga, or stretching to relax your muscles. A shower, or aromatherapy.

I have hear they are using CBT now (cognitive behavior therapy) too.

I'm an insomniac and there are a number of things you can do...I'll come back with more brb....
 
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Insomnia treatment: Cognitive behavioral therapy instead of sleeping pills




10 tips for better sleep

If you're having trouble sleeping, change your sleep habits for a better night's rest.
 
i used to have major sleep problems. i switched my job and got off of birth control pills and just like that....i now sleep MUCH better. i still wake up a few times to use the bathroom in the middle of the night though. i rarely sleep straight through a night, but it happens every now and then. when i was having major sleep issues, i did go to my doctor and he had prescribed me ambien, which really helped. i no longer take it. my point is...maybe something in your life needs to be changed. is there anything causing you to not sleep? sometimes it could be something like your job, like it was for me. or it could have been the bcp's i was on. maybe it is a medication you are taking? you need to take a look at what is going on in your life that may be contributing to it. wish you luck with it and i would see your doctor if it is affecting your life in any way for at least some relief.
 
Jason Salamone said:
And how can I get it so I feel refreshed when I wake up in the mornings, and not tired like I need more sleep?



Jason Salamone
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Seriously look into ZMA. It is cheap. And this is exactly what it does for me. Even if I don't get to bed until 11 or 12 come 6am I am doing fine. But only if I have taken my ZMA. It is sold as a sport supplement for recovery and is suppose to help you get a deeper more restful sleep.
 
So many people recommending drugs and other things. Anybody ever think he may need a new mattress or a better pillow? Clean sheets do WONDERS.

How old is your mattress? Pillow? Most people are NOT sleeping on the correct pillow height which adversely affects both your comfort and REM. Try using different pillow types. I cannot stand to sleep on anything with feathers.

A good pillow goes a LONG way. Switching to a higher end mattress did wonders for my sleep as well.
 
oicdn said:
So many people recommending drugs and other things. Anybody ever think he may need a new mattress or a better pillow? Clean sheets do WONDERS.

How old is your mattress? Pillow? Most people are NOT sleeping on the correct pillow height which adversely affects both your comfort and REM. Try using different pillow types. I cannot stand to sleep on anything with feathers.

A good pillow goes a LONG way. Switching to a higher end mattress did wonders for my sleep as well.
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Melatonin and Valerian root is really not a drug as much as they are natural herbal supplements.
You're right though, a good mattress and pillow are extremely important, moreso than many people think.
My mattress is solid, and not old. Th pillow situation is something I was actualy thinking about though, so you may be onto something there. I definitely think I need more support there. But I don't typically fall asleep on my back. I almost always fall asleep mostly on my stomach or on one of my sides. When I fall asleep on my side, I risk my shoulder crinching up against my neck and head, and I have woken up with neck strain sometimes because of it.

Jason Salamone
 
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well of course try everything else before meds. if i can't sleep i wouldn't want to suffer, so i'll take the meds until i feel i can try to sleep again on my own. right now i'm not on any meds, but there was a time when i just had to get some sleep and couldn't without them.
a new mattress or pillow isn't always the solution. i tried that...LOL! i bought a temperpedic. yeah it's more comfortable, but it didn't help me to fall asleep any easier when i was having issues.
i tried valerian and i felt like i couldn't breath to well, so i stopped taking them.
i tried melatonin and was wide awake all night, made me worse....LOL!
i switched some things in my life and that helped a lot. things i didn't realise were affecting my sleep so much, like my job and other meds.
sometimes change is good. it may be time for a change for me soon as i feel some more stress affecting my life. i definitely don't sleep through a nite and some nights i'm up all nite. totally sucks. but for the most part i sleep better now than i did before so that's a plus if any of that makes any sense....haha!
 
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-Coffee will screw with your sleeping habits.
-Going to bed when not tired is bad, it will keep you up and get you into a bad rut.
-Exercise increases endorphins and makes you more relaxed which in turn will make it easier for you to fall asleep.
-Stress will disrupt sleep.
-Clean sheets and pillows help a lot.
-Most people wake up more than once during the night.
-Aim for 8-9 hours of sleep per night.
-Stress is the biggest cause, IMO, of any disease or affliction.

There is a cornucopia of things you can do and try before resorting to meds.

But, personally, I'd say insomnia is, for the most part, due to stress.

The biggest source of stress, IMO, is due to unfinished or unplanned work. When your head is full of these things, you subconsciously stress over them. You can't control this easily; You can say you don't really care about these things but your subconscious is like a mind of it's own and does. I mention this in detail because I eventually found a book (Getting Things Done by David Allen) and it has helped me deal with stress so much that I actually sleep better because of it. A lot better. It shows you how to process work, in any area of your life, how to "remove" things things from your subconscious through action and planning. If you don't like reading, there is an audio version of this book. If you want more details, feel free to PM me I'll be glad to help you out.

Good day! ;)
 
Eric L said:
-Coffee will screw with your sleeping habits.
-Going to bed when not tired is bad, it will keep you up and get you into a bad rut.
-Exercise increases endorphins and makes you more relaxed which in turn will make it easier for you to fall asleep.
-Stress will disrupt sleep.
-Clean sheets and pillows help a lot.
-Most people wake up more than once during the night.
-Aim for 8-9 hours of sleep per night.
-Stress is the biggest cause, IMO, of any disease or affliction.

There is a cornucopia of things you can do and try before resorting to meds.

But, personally, I'd say insomnia is, for the most part, due to stress.

The biggest source of stress, IMO, is due to unfinished or unplanned work. When your head is full of these things, you subconsciously stress over them. You can't control this easily; You can say you don't really care about these things but your subconscious is like a mind of it's own and does. I mention this in detail because I eventually found a book (Getting Things Done by David Allen) and it has helped me deal with stress so much that I actually sleep better because of it. A lot better. It shows you how to process work, in any area of your life, how to "remove" things things from your subconscious through action and planning. If you don't like reading, there is an audio version of this book. If you want more details, feel free to PM me I'll be glad to help you out.

Good day! ;)
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Hmmm, this book sounds very intriguing. It's funny you mention how the subconscious deals with stress. I think you're onto something. I don't feel like I'm literally stressing out or anything...I'm a pretty relaxed chilled guy most of the time, if not all of the time. Yet, I do have a bunch of things that I want to accomplish, that I need to accomplish as soon as possible, that I don't know where to start. Some days I find it so overwhelming that I just completely put those things off, because I feel like I don't have the motivation and/or energy for it. Then it just gets worse, because the sooner I get these things done, the better off I will be. So yeah, I'm definitely interested in this book that you're referring to.

Your point about exercising working to relaxe me though, I don't know what to say about that. Most days, whether I work out in the morning or afternoon, it has the opposite affect on me. That is, it gets me more wired. And I usuaully work out to the point to failure with most of the things I do, so it doesn't makes sense.

Jason Salamone
 
Jason you got some good advice here. How are you sleeping now?

I double dose on ibuprofen, sleep like a baby. (Only used on occasion and with food in the belly)
 
I don't feel like I'm literally stressing out or anything...I'm a pretty relaxed chilled guy most of the time, if not all of the time. Yet, I do have a bunch of things that I want to accomplish, that I need to accomplish as soon as possible, that I don't know where to start.
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I felt this exact same way before too. David Allen stresses how it is important to take every single task, every objective of your life anything that is as simple as doing groceries to things as complex as resolving world hunger. The idea is to take all these ideas and objectives out of your head and to place them in a trusted system, such as scheduling software (such as Thinking Rock) or an agenda, lined paper or folders, to identify if it is actionable or not. If it is, plan out how you will get it done, set a priority and move on to the next job/project/objective/idea rinse and repeat until all the ideas and objectives are out of your head. Then follow the priorities/schedules. Now you never need to think about it or stress over where to begin, everything is thought out, planned and you know where to start and where your priorities are. In short, it took the biggest chunk of stress in my life and it has thrown it out the window.

I've incorporated this into my work and personal life, sounds like a lot but really - it makes it so you put in less effort (work) and end up getting more done.

Good luck!
 
Eric L said:
I felt this exact same way before too. David Allen stresses how it is important to take every single task, every objective of your life anything that is as simple as doing groceries to things as complex as resolving world hunger. The idea is to take all these ideas and objectives out of your head and to place them in a trusted system, such as scheduling software (such as Thinking Rock) or an agenda, lined paper or folders, to identify if it is actionable or not. If it is, plan out how you will get it done, set a priority and move on to the next job/project/objective/idea rinse and repeat until all the ideas and objectives are out of your head. Then follow the priorities/schedules. Now you never need to think about it or stress over where to begin, everything is thought out, planned and you know where to start and where your priorities are. In short, it took the biggest chunk of stress in my life and it has thrown it out the window.

I've incorporated this into my work and personal life, sounds like a lot but really - it makes it so you put in less effort (work) and end up getting more done.

Good luck!
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Sounds like I could really use this book.
I'll check amazon...

Jason Salamone
 
JohnnySolo said:
Jason you got some good advice here. How are you sleeping now?

I double dose on ibuprofen, sleep like a baby. (Only used on occasion and with food in the belly)
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I'm going through my phase right now where I'm not sleeping well at all.
My consistency with eating (though it could be a lot worse) is suffering, and I haven't been consistently going to the gym since the beginning of August.

I've been taking all these courses and workshops that are helping me in my job search, and I've been spending a lot of time going through my stuff, sorting things out, and packing things up, because the few good job leads that I have received through a friend has come from mostly certain areas in Florida, which is an area I've been looking at moving to for almost 5 years now, ever since a couple of my friends moved down there, and rave about it all the time. I want to get out of this cold weather in western New York.

So yeah, I guess I have some things going on lately.

Jason Salamone
 
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The most natural thing I do if I am having broken sleeps is I drink milk before I sleep. Sometimes, I read boring books because it makes me sleepy. Also, try not to intake a lot of fluids before you sleep because it will cause to wake up and pee in the middle of the night. Don't think much about sleeping because the more you think about it, the more you can't sleep. ;)
 
I can definantly relate. There are so many things I know I need to do and could be doing each day but I just cannot find the motivation to do them, and I lie in bed at night thinking about what I DIDN'T do that day. I might look into that book........
 
Ugh! I thought I was the only one!

I go to bed so late its crazy, the reason being I cannot stand lying awake at night with stuff going round and round in my head and not being able to do anything to resolve them. I think about everything from global warmin and the war in Iraq through to getting a career, a pension, a family and on to how much milk I have in the fridge exactly and when I will need to get some more and what if I forget. It sounds mad but I cannot seem to differenciate from which is more important then the other- they all seem very very important then and there and need to be resolved then and there.

Part of the problem is that I don't do enough in my life day to day to resolve them- something else more important always gets in the way and at the time the things that get in the way feel way more important (and probably are) but that leaves things undone and I worry they will never get done.

But the other side to it is that in my life I feel pretty powerless, things feel beyond my control, I do things for other people (at least thats how it feels) and put what needs to be done for me, second and just don't do it. As a result I get this little voice come back at me in the pitch dark with a long list of "you need to do this, that and the other" and trying hard not to have me forget. I think infact I need to change my value system in the day- work out what is really more important and deal with it rather then just going with the flow and doing what I feel other peoples values lie in.


Now I can see that infact there are many other people going though the same thing- I am not sure the books ideas would work on me, being that I have tried so many ideas and each work for maybe 2 or 3 days before I seem to overide them. I think I need to take some action when I can in the day so I can rest assured at night that I have done everything in my power to act in the interests of the little voice/my voice of reason or subconcious and hope that things change. But if they don't then maybe I will try the book!
 
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