Monday, April 16, 2007

Insomnia

I haven't been able to sleep through the night in over a week. I feel like a newborn baby, or like the parent of a newborn, up, pacing the hallways, looking for stupid food to drink, trying to read myself into a stupor.

If I take something, Tylenol PM, benadryl, I can't get up in the morning, I sleep until noon, and I throw my circadian rhythms even further off. I take relaxing baths, I avoid caffeine... I don't know what to do. I get up and I try to write blogs, but I erase everything that I type because it all seems sleep-deprived and idiotic (not unlike what I've generally been writing since I've been in Akron, hence the lack of posting here).

So, what I'm asking for is all your insomnia cures. Or at least your sympathy.

19 comments:

librarian pirate said...

Pregnancy is supposed to cause insomnia. I was talking to some other pregnant women the other day and none of us had experienced it yet - and all of us were still working. We all concluded that at the end of the day we were just too darn tired to have insomnia.

Other than that - no suggestions ... but good luck!

Anonymous said...

Oh girl, I feel your pain. On nights when I don't work, I find myself staring at the ceiling TRYING to sleep all while counting down the hours until Starbucks opens.

Anonymous said...

I go thru bouts of this too.

Honestly, sometimes alcohol. Wine makes me tired for some reason so sometimes when I'm in an insomnia phase, a glass of red makes me sleepy.

I've also found that working out makes me more tired at the end of the day, but I can't work out at night - then I'm just awake longer.

My husband read something recently that said wearing socks to bed makes you fall asleep faster. *shrug*

Have you done anything new lately that's brought about this change of sleep?

Good luck - no sleep is brutal.

Anonymous said...

Ugh. Insomnia is the worst. If it keeps up, go to the doctor! Get a nice prescription.

apricoco said...

I wear socks to bed.. Ha.. No reall I do. I don't know if they help me sleep though. What does help is the benadryl. But, I take it no later than 8:30 pm so that way the next day I am up and ready to go... Just a thought..

Anonymous said...

Your Grandma Pat would tell you to say a rosary--and I can tell you from experience that it works more often than not. A benedryl works too, but I always take it early, before 9. Love you lots.

Princess in Galoshes said...

I feel your pain, I've actually been going through something similar, recently.

I'm the opposite of Kim, alcohol can keep me up, or cause me fitful sleep instead of deep sleep.

What works best for me is stimulation. Emotional/physical/mental, etc. The more exercise I get, good books I read, challenging work projects I have, the more tired I am at the end of the day. The more bored I am, the more I can't sleep.

goirishkj said...

Ugh, I'm so sorry. Not being able to sleep is the worst. My mother-in-law swears by melatonin--she works night shift and sometimes needs a little help sleeping during the day. She cuts the pills in half to cut down on the next day drowsiness. Does Matt still have his law textbooks? Those work a little too well for me sometimes. I also had some luck with Checkov's The Cherry Orchard a few years back (though if you really like Russian literature that might have the opposite effect?)

Anonymous said...

At this point, you are most likely suffering from performance anxiety when it comes to sleeping. The best way to combat this is to set up a routine that you follow every night before you go to bed. Also, only go to bed to sleep (well, and maybe for something else too...). Don't go there to watch tv, ect. Make sure that the temperature in your bedroom is where you want it. That can be difficult this time of year and can lead a lot of people to abnormal sleep habits. About an hour before you want to go to bed, take a Benadryl or have a glass of wine. Then do your routine (bath, brush your teeth, etc). Then go to bed.

Anonymous said...

almost dr. lizzie said pretty much everything I was going to tell you (which I culled not from med school but from proofreading an extremely long book on sleep disorders).

I've found that drinking a mug of hot chocolate or -- this is a terrible way to treat wine, but here goes -- having half a glass of warm red wine mixed with hot water works for me. (I was inspired to try this by a Jane Austen novel.)

My mom always reads National Geographic to make her sleepy!

Sweet dreams...

Unknown said...

Here's what you do: Count backwards from 100. If that doesn't work read some Jane Austen.

Bobealia... said...

Exercise. That's what works for my husband.

Anonymous said...

Alka Seltzer PM works for me. I've been experiencing it too. So has the hubby. Not sure what the solution is.

big c said...

my mom drinks brandy when she can't sleep...says it works like a charm. get some rest! we gotta play soon! love love.

v said...

Wish I had an answer but the above posts have some great ones.

Hopefully your insomnia has been cured by now.

And sleep-deprived blog posts are the best! I say post away!

Anonymous said...

take melatonin! it's not a drug (it's a hormone) and it's not addicting. It works great!

The Sleep Doctor said...

Have you tried writing down your thoughts in a worry journal before bed? This can help convert worries to To Do List items, and clear your mind so you give yourself permission to sleep.

Anonymous said...

take "melatonin". it's a natural vitamin/pill that helps you sleep. you can get it at walmart or any store of that sort. :) plus, it's inexpensive. just a couple bucks.

i take it and it works. hopefully it will for you as well!

Anonymous said...

We want a new post! Tell us about Cincy or Cleveland or going to Michael Chabon! Or going to Charlotte this weekend! The insomnia is over! (You slept 11 hours the other day!)