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Birb Katter posted:This just makes me want to try ambien I can't blame you. Please post trip reports
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Jan 11, 2016 04:53
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Try flux for pc/ios or twilight for android to dim and take the blue spectrum out of your devices if you can't get off your electronics at night. It helps.
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Jan 11, 2016 10:35
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Haskell9 posted:The only way I'd ever take Ambien again is if I had someone handcuff me to the bed and hide the key. I kept waking up with some combination of being naked, being outside and/or having done truly bizarre things. One time I stripped nude and grabbed an 18-count egg carton, then ran outside and circled my car pelting it with the eggs. I woke up lying in a bush in the woods outside my yard cuddling the empty carton like an infant. My feet were cut and bruised from walking/running barefoot on gravel and I had (of course) no memory of anything. When I emerged from the woods and saw my car I realized where the eggs had gone. Why did you keep taking ambien? Did you take it right before you got into bed to go to sleep? It often causes problems for people who take it and think they can stay up until it "kicks in", assuming that the medication will make them fall asleep regardless. Sleeping medication doesn't actually make you fall asleep; it makes it easier to fall asleep and then helps prevent waking for a few hours. If you take it while awake and active, the effects the drug has while you are unconscious are still there, but you are aren't unconscious - thus the parts of the brain used for executive functioning and to form memories are prevented from functioning, but you are still awake. That's why I don't get the appeal of recreational use of ambien - you won't remember what you did, and the part of your brain that understands consequences (such as "if I walk on train tracks when a train is coming, I will die") doesn't work. However, ambien in particular will cause some people to have crazy reactions regardless, much like some people have sleepwalking episodes. Enfys fucked around with this message at 14:17 on Jan 11, 2016 |
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Jan 11, 2016 14:14
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I've always had trouble sleeping, a few years back I started listening to audiobooks instead of reading/gaming before bed, which helps a lot. I just set the volume to just loud enough to understand and a 30 minute timer, and then rewind the book half an hour in the morning because I probably forgot almost all that I listened to. My brother has always listened to music or TV to sleep apparently - he used to keep a cassette radio under his pillow and I could never figure it out. But for some resaon, I've found that a quiet audio stream in the background seems to help keep me from lying in bed and thinking about whatever is most on my mind - I can spend all night thinking about how I need to go buy de-mosser for my roof, and then be too tired from lying there thinking circularly about it, to really think it's a good idea to get up on the roof the next day. edit: music doesn't put me to sleep, often a song stuck in my head ends up being why I can't sleep, and when I'm reading I usually have to turn off the lights etc and then arrange the pillows so I don't sleep leaning against the backboard and wake up hurting, and sometimes ya just can't put a book down.  Sometimes I still can't sleep, sometimes I get engrossed in the book too much to nod off, but it's been pretty helpful for me, and with headphones or earbuds I've learned to fall asleep in cars after 30 years of not being able to do so. Also I've had luck visualizing something soothing, and then sort of hypnotizing myself to sleep by picturing something in my mind like a painting on a black wall in a dark room, and then slowly visualize looking deeper and moving closer through layers of dark on dark and then I wake up the next morning. I learned it in some self-hypnosis tape that a old roommate of mine left after moving, but I find that forcing my mind to blank by focusing on an image can do the trick. I drink a lot of caffeinated tea all day and into the evening, but it doesn't jack with my sleep and wake cycle like coffee does, I hate caffeine withdrawl headaches and feeling like poo poo without that first daily cuppa coffee, and I don't get that with tea. coyo7e fucked around with this message at 15:10 on Jan 11, 2016 |
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Jan 11, 2016 15:07
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Being aware of your thinking helps, even if you don't want to go whole-hog meditation. Purposefully avoid thinking about people, real-world events, memories, plans for tomorrow etc. I find abstract stuff works best, shapes and colours and warm feelings. Try to think about what a dog thinks about when it lies down to sleep.
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Jan 11, 2016 15:08
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Fargo Fukes posted:Try to think about what a dog thinks about when it lies down to sleep. Have I spun around in a circle enough?
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Jan 11, 2016 16:35
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Fargo Fukes posted:Try to think about what a dog thinks about when it lies down to sleep. Man, maybe licking my own rear end in a top hat isn't as awesome as it seems? I keep thinking that I should go get a script for a proper sleeping med, but I am to afraid that of the walrus stuff. Our house is full of things I do not want to mess with asleep.
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Jan 11, 2016 17:22
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Enfys posted:Why did you keep taking ambien? Did you take it right before you got into bed to go to sleep? It often causes problems for people who take it and think they can stay up until it "kicks in", assuming that the medication will make them fall asleep regardless. I was thinking the same thing. After egging my car and waking up naked in the woods, could be... you should stop taking the medication? Could be? Maybe? Reactions like that are rare. My mom quit taking Ambien after my dad caught her sleep walking and putting the toaster in the fridge. However, after hearing about it I wanted to try it for myself as well. I've always enjoyed playing pranks on my wife and freaking her out by sleepwalking the television into the bathtub or something would really satiate my sense of humor. No joy on that account, but I do enjoy a deep and refreshing slumber on Ambien. I also experience a mild calm euphoria shortly before falling asleep and for several hours upon waking.
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Jan 11, 2016 19:22
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Maintaining sleep hygiene helped me a lot. I had on-and-off again insomnia until age 21 or so, and the thing that made the most difference was only using my bed for sleep. I had been living in studio apartments, so my bed was a major piece of furniture, and I'd sit on it for a lot of the day. Once I started making a point of only sitting on or lying in my bed when I was ready to fall asleep, it became much easier to sack out quickly. Habit is pretty powerful, so if you establish the connection in your brain that bed = sleep (and/or sex, if you're into that sort of thing), lying down in it primes you to fall asleep pretty quickly. Dunno how much it will help you, but it's worth a shot.
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Jan 13, 2016 19:10
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I use sleep for android. Its one of those common apps that watch bed movement to know when you are in deep sleep compared to rem. You put in your alarm time but also how many minutes before that time you are still willing to wake up at (I'm 630 willing to wake up 10 minutes earlier). If the phone sees you moving at 620 or later it will wake you up (I use the gentle alarm that builds up to full loudness . Very light sleeper) It will not go off until your alarm time if you are in deep sleep but you don't want this because if you wake up directly from deep sleep you will feel like poo poo. Best change to sleep I ever did was this app.
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Jan 14, 2016 19:17
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Read a goddamn book, OP. I have terrible sleeping habits, and apparently that is supposed to help, but I don't do it, so What helps me sleep, though, is mostly physical, some mental. Physically: ZMA (usually zinc, magnesium, and vitaman b6) helped a lot. I took it as a workout supplement, but people said it would improve sleep, and they were right. It's not a narcotic effect, just somehow relaxing. Getting earplugs and a sleep mask helped. You look goofy, but helps you become dead to the world. Showering before bed. Strangely, a shower can shake me awake in the morning, but it can also help me relax and fall asleep. Mentally: Accomplishing things that day takes a lot of the thoughts and worries racing through my head away. Errands, working out, cleaning, etc, even showering before bed. All of those check off things in your mental checklist that you no longer have to account for. Check out https://www.sleepyti.me Maybe it's placebo effect, but getting up when that suggests to has improved my waking hours.
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Jan 18, 2016 19:02
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Wasn't there a mattress buying megathread? Anyone have a link to that?
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Feb 18, 2016 04:58
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I've seldom had much trouble falling asleep, overall, though I do find some things helpful. Darker is Better: When I was growing up, I always had a nightlight just to avoid tripping and falling and to stop little Pesty from being scared. I started finding it a bit distracting and switched to just dark mode. I'll cover the windows and cracks with tinfoil, place things in front of light sources, and even make sure the room outside wherever I'm trying to sleep is suitably dark so there's no light from under the door. White Noise: I use a fan to block out all other noise. I've tried various nature sounds, ocean things, and I find them distracting. If I can focus my hearing on something (like waves), I'll focus my hearing on it and it's no good. Solid fan sound works. I think that's the most important piece. I'm also weird in the sense that I can hear my eye moving around and my heartbeat in my left ear. Drowning that out stops me from going crazy. Avoid Sleeping on Back: I find I have worse dreams when I sleep on my back and don't get as restful of a night. Side sleeping works best for me, with my left ear on the pillow. Sleeping Partner: I also am immensely comforted by having my partner in bed with me, so long as I can reach out and touch with an arm or a leg.
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Feb 19, 2016 04:28
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Sleeping on your left side is supposed to put some sort of miniscule extra weight/load on your heart, your mileage may vary or it could be a myth, but maybe that's why you can feel your pulse. Back or right side for me.
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Feb 19, 2016 11:40
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This is a serious question: how big is your neck. Actually measure it. Do you snore?
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Feb 23, 2016 08:50
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Goodpancakes posted:This is a serious question: how big is your neck. Actually measure it. What, from chin to torso? Nope.
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Feb 23, 2016 09:25
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- Go to sleep the same time every day, same for getting up. - Shut off electronics in the room you sleep in. - Try not to use the bed for anything other than sleep and sex. Your body will notice and produce less sleep hormone. - No stimulants (this includes black tea, coffee, and any kind of street drug you happen to be doing) or alcohol at least five hours before bed time. Meditation divides folks, I sleep fine if I meditate before sleeping, but some people get really amped and can't relax. If you commit to these suggestions, and still wake up in the night, you may consider checking out if you're disposed for certain problems like sleep apnea, anxiety or PTSD. It's no shame to get help, and makes all the difference in the world. Good luck!
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Feb 23, 2016 12:26
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Circumference, from under the chin around the neck back to under the chin
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Feb 23, 2016 16:37
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Goodpancakes posted:Circumference, from under the chin around the neck back to under the chin Oh. I'll have to get back to you on that one, I'm (funnily enough) off to bed for now.
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Feb 23, 2016 16:54
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I have blackout curtains, a white noise machine (I love the "rain" sound), no electronics before bed, use the bed for only sleep, and I take melatonin. I'm sure if I meditated before bed it would help. I'm still dissatisfied with my sleep but it's gotten much better. I seem to wake up multiple times a night (probably between each sleep cycle) and have early morning awakening. I sleep on my stomach, and I'm not sure if that's a bad thing or not. Keep a dream journal!
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Feb 27, 2016 18:03
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galahan posted:Sleeping on your left side is supposed to put some sort of miniscule extra weight/load on your heart, your mileage may vary or it could be a myth, but maybe that's why you can feel your pulse. I used to use a fan to sleep to, it does help a lot once you get used to it. Never have figured out how to kill ear-worm songs in my head when I'm trying to sleep, except to not drink or  at all for like 24+ hours. If you cut off entirely then actually stay active enough to be tired, you'll likely fall asleep immediately, sleep for longer periods, and also have super vivid dreams. If you try to knock yourself out with drugs or drink, it's a losing scenario - you'll probably wake up every couple hours, and also feel like poo poo the next day.
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Feb 28, 2016 05:47
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I like to listen to podcasts when I sleep, usually history-related so it won't be too crazy or loud or anything, just someone talking about interesting stuff. Dan Carlin's Hardcore History is really good - his voice is really soothing, his podcasts are loooong and at least if you can't sleep, you get to listen to something interesting instead of tossing and turning!
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Feb 28, 2016 07:46
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Any programme narrated by David Attenborough puts me straight to sleep, Secret life of plants or whatever. Obviously don't have the screen on though. Otherwise as mentioned above, ZMA works well and is dirt cheap, reading also knocks me out easily (until I drop the book on my face as I pass out) Or just smoke weed to sleep as suggested above.
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Feb 28, 2016 17:40
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I really can't read and fall asleep (unless I literally just read until I fall asleep with the book on my chest, and since I usually use a back pillow to read, I wake up all torqued up and sore in a bunch of ways), because I tend to get too engrossed in the book and lie there thinking about it all night or I just turn the lights back on and read until sun-up or the book's done.. It's usually a lose-lose whichever way the dice land. I can easily fall asleep while reading, but again, I don't like passing out with my book/kindle open or on the bed next to me, and I'm usually propped up on pillows while I'm reading in bed so I feel like hell the next morning.
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Mar 2, 2016 07:50
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I worked a graveyard shift for 5 years which meant my sleep quality was poo poo no matter when I laid down. Two things kind of helped me out though. The first was advice from Dale Carnegie's How To Stop Worrying and Start Living which has an entire chapter on insomnia. If you're awake in bed, you're awake so you might as well get up and do something. That's not to say you should spend the whole night awake, but if you lay down and you might as well have had a cup of coffee go ahead and do something for a half hour. Also, one of the big contributing factors to insomnia is ironically worrying about insomnia. If all you can think about is how your tomorrow is ruined because you're only going to get 5 hours of sleep, you're going to end up on 3 hours of sleep. You have to remind yourself that you've functioned perfectly well in the past on low-to-no sleep and you'll just catch a catnap sometime tomorrow and you'll be just fine. As long as you can get X amount of sleep tonight you'll be fine. The other thing that helped was owning cats. Cats will enforce their sleep schedule on you. They have an excellent sense of timing and have been waking me up an hour before my alarm like clockwork for over a year. It's chaotic at first because they made my schedule a lot harder to enforce but once we settled into a rhythm it actually works out. They have a set bedtime so I just have to go to sleep when they go to sleep which is between 8PM-11PM. If I'm already asleep at that point they don't bug me, but if I'm awake and doing stuff they stay up with me and coerce me into playing with them. They also keep you from moving around too much. They crawl on your lap, in the crook of your arm, or between your legs to go to bed so if you're laying down you'll subconsciously do anything you can not to disturb them. Even when you're half-awake and drifting in and out and you think about tossing and turning you'll instinctively choose not to since it would disturb Professor Kiki-Mow-Mow's slumber. This is a double-edged sword though since they'll trap you when you actually do want to get up and move. Pizza guy's here? Sorry, the cat just nuzzled its head across my wrist.
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Mar 2, 2016 18:48
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Instead of thinking about, concrete, real, rational stuff, think of nonsense, abstract things (counting sheep) I use swirling colors or psychedelic imagery that transforms (inkblot style) into other imagery. Try and slow breathing and heartbeat consciously if you can, I do this when I am racing for no real reason.
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Mar 5, 2016 21:39
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Real talk just take four Benadryl, break them in quarters, and swallow them with a shot of vodka. You will be hard pressed to not pass the gently caress out.
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Mar 6, 2016 04:33
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bongwizzard posted:Real talk just take four Benadryl, break them in quarters, and swallow them with a shot of vodka. You will be hard pressed to not pass the gently caress out. Benadryl is for big fag babies. Real cool kids take Unisom sleep tabs. Doxylamine > Diphenhydramine.
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Mar 6, 2016 05:09
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I actually didn't realize they had a different active ingredient. Benadryl is the only thing that helps when my allergies are bad so it does double duty.
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Mar 6, 2016 21:50
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Does benzo use actually decrease the quality of your sleep? By a significant amount? I'm debating tapering off with my doctor, because I've honestly no reason to take them for anxiety or anything right now.
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Mar 6, 2016 22:17
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MrSlam posted:...they also keep you from moving around too much. They crawl on your lap, in the crook of your arm, or between your legs to go to bed so if you're laying down you'll subconsciously do anything you can not to disturb them. Even when you're half-awake and drifting in and out and you think about tossing and turning you'll instinctively choose not to since it would disturb Professor Kiki-Mow-Mow's slumber. This is a double-edged sword though since they'll trap you when you actually do want to get up and move. Pizza guy's here? Sorry, the cat just nuzzled its head across my wrist. 
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Mar 9, 2016 08:47
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Haskell9 posted:Beware the walrus! You just have to be aware that once you feel the 'down the rabbit hole' drug effect coming on to practice self restraint at all of the crazy thoughts. Soon enough, you'll get accustomed to it and you won't be Walrusy anymore. I've tried just about everything and I had a really, really awesome week with Mirtazapine until I had shortness of breath. My insurance only covers 15 doses of Ambien a month, and doc hasn't prescribed it in a while. Tried Traz but my vision would get blurry, which isn't bad, but then my heart would feel like its beating really hard, but unnaturally slow. Now I just take generic Benadryl but I've been having a bad week or two. Once I'm out I'm usually out for the night, and my sleep issues are probably not helped by stress- but its hard to unpack.
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Mar 14, 2016 17:57
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I have the worst problem sleeping, haven't been able to properly sleep for a long time so I started taking Dimenhydrinate (Dramamine for those in the US and Gravol for those in Canada.) Usually around 50-100mg per night and this has gone on about for three or four years or so, there will be nights where I can somehow pass out without taking the meds but most of the time I have to take them in order to sleep. I am clinically diagnosed with a very bad anxiety disorder so I wouldn't be sure if that would have anything to do with it but I know when I went to Florida on a trip for a bit, nearly every night it would feel as if I had taken the med as I was nearly passing out and was actually able to sleep, possibly the humidity did that or something, no clue as to how I'm not able to sleep properly otherwise.
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Mar 17, 2016 02:51
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Poodge posted:I have the worst problem sleeping, haven't been able to properly sleep for a long time so I started taking Dimenhydrinate (Dramamine for those in the US and Gravol for those in Canada.) Usually around 50-100mg per night and this has gone on about for three or four years or so, there will be nights where I can somehow pass out without taking the meds but most of the time I have to take them in order to sleep. I am clinically diagnosed with a very bad anxiety disorder so I wouldn't be sure if that would have anything to do with it but I know when I went to Florida on a trip for a bit, nearly every night it would feel as if I had taken the med as I was nearly passing out and was actually able to sleep, possibly the humidity did that or something, no clue as to how I'm not able to sleep properly otherwise. You're using an anti-nausea med as a sleeping aid? I mean, if it works for you, whatever, but that seems like a poor idea.
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Mar 17, 2016 03:56
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I've got anxiety which often leads to pseudo-obsessive thoughts running circles in my brain when I can't sleep. Considering you were out of your element (I've been to Florida, I can't imagine how much of a culture shock that would be for a canuck!) and probably physically and/or mentally exhausted, you probably were just naturally falling asleep like normal people do. If I spend all day digging post-holes or studying hard for an exam or something else that wears me out, I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. For real, try taking a long walk or doing something else physically tiring before you crash for the night (I've got a dog so long night walks are rad, we both enjoy them) or just carbo-pile by eating a load of pasta or something in the evening.
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Mar 17, 2016 04:01
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Lprsti99 posted:You're using an anti-nausea med as a sleeping aid? I mean, if it works for you, whatever, but that seems like a poor idea. It causes extreme drowsiness and using it this way is a common off label use, including giving it to babies to make them sleep on airplanes (that's of course a much debated topic).
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Mar 17, 2016 04:25
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Lprsti99 posted:You're using an anti-nausea med as a sleeping aid? I mean, if it works for you, whatever, but that seems like a poor idea. Most OTC sleeping aids are antihistamines and so are most over-the-counter antiemetics. Like, Unisom (the drowsy part of Nyquil) can also be used as an antiemetic.
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Mar 21, 2016 14:38
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Bardeh posted:I like to listen to podcasts when I sleep, usually history-related so it won't be too crazy or loud or anything, just someone talking about interesting stuff. Dan Carlin's Hardcore History is really good - his voice is really soothing, his podcasts are loooong and at least if you can't sleep, you get to listen to something interesting instead of tossing and turning! This helps me to sleep also. Any audio book or podcast of something vaguely interesting, not too interesting though or I'll be too engaged and won't sleep. The problem with this though is I become too accustomed to it in my sleep routine and have a really hard time falling asleep in situations where I don't have them.
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Mar 24, 2016 05:26
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I think all the things mentioned in your original post are true. I would recommend the following steps: 1. block off ALL light in your room (I put up light blocking curtains on the window, trash bag over the fire alarm), such that you cannot even see your hand in front of your face 2. Optimum sleeping temperature around 68-70: well worth the extra cost per month 3. No bright screens 10-15 minutes before sleep: try reading a book 4. Buy a white noise machine: works wonders
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Mar 24, 2016 08:07
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Goodpancakes posted:This is a serious question: how big is your neck. Actually measure it. This is another good point. As a medical resident I cannot emphasize enough about how BiPAP changes peoples lives. If you even think you may have obstructive sleep apnea (does your partner report your snoring), go get tested. My patients tell me they have new lives after they start on BiPAP after being diagnosed with OSA
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Mar 24, 2016 08:08
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