I've had insomnia off and on for most of my life. Despite my usual status as a morning person, I sometimes go through long periods where I can't sleep at all; I can't go to bed before two, and I can't sleep past five or six.

Do you have trouble sleeping? What causes it for you? How do you deal with it?

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2000

Answers

Well, my insomnia generally takes the form of not being able to fall asleep in the first place. Once I do get to sleep, I'm fine. The only way I can really deal with it is to stay up until I'm really tired, and hope for the best. I have been drinking a double-strength cup of Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Extra tea before bed, and that seems to put me out really quickly. I don't know that it would help you, though, Beth -- but it does relax you a lot, so maybe it would help a little.

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2000

Yes, I have HORRIBLE insomnia. I would say I manage to get a solid and consecutive 7 hours about once every 2 months (if I'm lucky). I find that PMS makes it considerably worse, although stress, anxiety, caffeine,my too firm mattress, cigarettes, pets, loud neighbors (and their even louder techno music, which always seems to kick in just as I am about to drift off)and heavy meals eaten after 9pm are all contributing factors as well.

I haven't found a definitive solution, although occassionally melatonin helps. Usually I lie in bed and try not to freak out when I envision how I will feel at work the next day. Sometimes I'll get up and turn on the tv or read a book. Every once in a while I'll open my bedroom window and crawl out on my fire escape and just look up at the sky.

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2000

Very rarely, and usually when I'm under some kind of stress. In the last week, I've been woken up twice in the middle of the night by my cat, and been unable to get back to sleep for some time. The weird thing is this: the only time I get the kind of violent nightmares Beth described is when I'm trying to get back to sleep. (The *very* short version: Home invasion by 4 unknown thugs, followed by tying up my ex and stealing his shotgun, so he couldn't get me.) I hope this stops soon: I'm as cranky as a newborn when I'm sleep-deprived, and not nearly as cute.

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2000

i wouldn't call it insomnia, exactly, but it takes me about 45 minutes to fall asleep because my brain won't turn off. i also sleep very lightly. usually if i wake up in the middle of the night, i can fall asleep again in 20 minutes or so, but sometimes i can't.

melatonin and 5-HTP (tryptophan) each make me sleepy, taken half an hour before bedtime, and the 5-HTP has the benefit of making me ache less during PMS time. the only problem is that if i take either melatonin or 5-HTP for more than three days in a row, my dreams get increasingly intense each night thereafter, and turn into nightmares within a week. the situation is much better if i only take something every other night, or alternate substances.

i've read that drinking alcohol before bed, although it makes you sleepy, actually lowers the quality of sleep you get. i've also read that spending an hour in only dim light before bed (as in, no brighter than a candle) improves the quality of sleep. that seems awfully inconvenient unless you can soak in the bathtub during that hour. it could be something to try in a desperate sleep situation, i suppose!

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2000

I have trouble falling asleep. I generally lay in bed for hours *thinking*. Or worrying. Either way its not conducive to sleep. Lately I haven't had much of a problem, but when I want to sleep and I know I can't, I take melatonin.

Now I have an extra bottle I'd be happy to give you Beth, but I don't if it'd help you much. It makes you sleepy, but I'm not sure if it KEEPS you sleepy, and that seems to be your problem. If you want to try it, let me

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2000

Lately, yes, I have been suffering from insomnia and I wish it would stop.

I've been having an extremely hard time falling asleep for the last few nights and although I'm blaming it on the time change, I'm not sure that is the problem.

Last night, after tossing and turning for 2 hours I fell into some mighty weird dreams. Dreams about my hubby cheating on me, then a dream about me breaking it off with him right before we got married. Oy vey. (And we aren't even having problems that way)

To top it all off, when I toss and turn I always manage to get tangled in the sheets so when I do wake up in the morning, I have to spend five minutes unwrapping myself out of a blanket coccoon.

But I'm awake again before the alarm and I mean I'm AWAKE. Bright-eyed, bushy tailed and hopping in the shower raring to go. But by the time 7 pm rolls around I'm falling asleep in my dinner. I force myself to stay awake to bedtime and by then I'm wide awake again.

Someone knock me over the head tonight about 10pm and put me out of my misery please.

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2000

I have trouble sleeping when I'm depressed or stressed. I've adopted the "better living thru chemistry" maxim and take antidepressants (Paxil). Works wonders, most of the time.

Last night was nightmare-city, tho. I finally saw an episode of "The X-Files" that I haven't seen before, and lo and behold, it invaded my dreams last night. I woke in a total panting panic at 3 am, convinced red-eyed monsters were about to tear me apart. Lovely. I've noticed the nightmares seem to be totally out of control if I eat ice cream before going to bed, sooo...I'll try a moratorium on B&J's and see if that helps.

My sympathies, Beth (and company)...that groggy, spacey feeling sucks, especially if you're trying to focus.

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2000

Actually Beth, you may want to see a doctor, there's a good chance you could have sleep apnea.

Just a thought.

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2000

I have insomnia off and on all the time. I have trouble staying asleep once I get to sleep. Usually I take a half a tablet of a Sominex, and that helps. It also helps to change where I'm sleeping, like go sleep on the couch or another bedroom if that's available. I have been known to sleep in the car. If I can't get back to sleep, I just get up and do something, read, watch TV, clean my aquarium, something!

Stress definitely contributes to it. My mind races at night when I worry about work, bills, or lovelife problems. I hate not being able to sleep. It makes me CRANKY.

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2000

From time to time, I have terrible stress-induced insomnia, and I haven't found anything that helps other than trying to avoid stress. My doctor once suggested that I take Benadryl to help my sleeping. I tried it, and it worked, but it made me feel groggy the next day, which sort of defeats the purpose, right?

I haven't tried Melatonin because I'm somewhat antsy about taking a drug which affects your brain chemistry, is unregulated by the FDA, and which has never been tested for long-term safety.

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2000

Yes, I suffer from insomnia. What do I do about it? I kick the insomniac out to go sleep on the foldout sofa.

When people aren't doing the jitterbug in the bed at 2 A, I sleep like a log. I fall asleep almost instantly, and can sleep anywhere; it is legend, with the insomniac, that I once fell asleep during a romantic dinner a deux with my fork halfway to my mouth after a week of heavy overtime.

There are downsides, mind you; I function best with ten hours of sleep instead of the standard eight (and I usually get six) which means I normally run with a low-level headache and consistent crabbiness. I'd also love to be able to get up early early in the morning and do stuff - but I'm completely incapable of it. When can I do stuff? At midnight and after, that's when. I get hit by bursts of inspiration, and take monster creative projects from start to finish in a night. Then - guess what? I need to get up at 6 to get ready for work.

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2000

I have never had a problem getting to sleep in the evening. I usually go to bed between 10 and 10:30 at night, but will fall asleep as early as 8:00 if I get in bed.

I do suffer from the early morning wake up though. I will get up between 4:30 and 5:00 and be in the office by 6:00 or 6:30 a.m.

All this when I don't have to in until 8:00 a.m. I used to think it was because I was afraid of losing my parking space (not really mine as it was not assigned.), but recently I have started using public transportation. This has capped the earliest I can arrive at work. There is no bus on my route before 6:00. (I was at the bus stop at 5:30 on morning to check). I think my punctuality has gone haywire.

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2000

Insomnia, suffer from ? ? ? ? depends on the point of view a bit, I think. My wife, Heather helps me have the incentive to go to bed and go to sleep. Otherwise, I would be awake as long as my mind keeps whirling until my forehead bounces off the edge of the table.

As I am retired, I don't have the go to work syndrome the rest of you do. When I still worked, if I was up all night one night it would be a very early bedtime the next night. It seemed to even out, even though the doctors dispute that.

I never did feel that I suffered from insomnia, if I was interested I didn't want to fall asleep.

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2000

i have or have had the following sleep disorders since i was very young... insmonia, sleep walking, sleep paralysis, pre-sleep dreaming... what do i do?

i look forward to the morning.

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2000

I often have trouble falling asleep at night, and like Jen Wade, have occasionally used antihistamines to help. I haven't had a problem with being groggy the next day either - if you aren't already you might try taking the 4 hour version as opposed to the 12 hour. I don't really like the idea of depending on drugs to put me to sleep, though, so I generally save it for nights when I know I really need to fall asleep quickly.

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2000

Chemical solutions for my insomnia: 500 micrograms melatonin, aceitominephen with codeine [chased with a couple of Tums to keep it from upsetting my stomach], or two eyedroppers of kava kava diluted in a mouthful of warm water.

Non-chemical: Think about things that have nothing whatsoever to do with my current life. I sometimes think of a place that I used to live or visit and walk myself through it, trying to remember all the details I can. My favorite subject is my old elementary school; I go down each corridor and staircase, and through the playgrounds and surrounding woods. This keeps my mind, which is always rocketing along no matter how tired I am, occupied and distracted during those crucial minutes after the lights have first gone out. The other thing I do is visualize myself doing something silent and graceful; I'm a figure skater, gymnast on the uneven parallel bars, or even a superhero leaping from skyscraper to skyscraper. It calms me somehow, and again it's something completely removed from me that I can't worry or obsess over.

If I find I have a list of things that I need to accomplish running through my head, I get my Palm, which has a lit screen so that I can use it without turning on my lamp and waking myself up further, and make notes. Knowing that I will not forget things when I awaken tomorrow reassures me. Sometimes I play Klondike on the Palm, too.

Or I imagine that I'm somewhere else rather than in my own bed: a hotel, sleeping bag in the mountians, or a cot in a cell. I think the reason this works is that I have a hard time sleeping in strange places unless I'm exhausted, so I figure I must be exhausted *now*, really need sleep, to have finally put myself to bed in this [fictional] unfamiliar place.

Looking over this, I appear to be a complete nutcase. I think the trick is to have an overactive imagination and a talent for self- delusion.

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2000

Insomnia? nope... solve it in one word baby....

xanax. :)

but, if i'm out of my prescription, i'll go days without sleeping, then pass out and have long, vivid, and lucid dreams.

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2000

For the last 2 1/2 years I average 3 hours of sleep a night. The first night I used a prescribed sleeping pill I got 5 hours. Now they don't work. I am suffering from severe sleep deprivation. HELP!!!

-- Anonymous, April 05, 2000

I need about 8 hours sleep, and with my work schedule I get about six. If I don't find myself dropping off to sleep by about 11.30 I start to get panicky (I get up at 6). And I can never sleep on Sunday nights. I hate that.

Best best best best thing - Valerian and passionflower - doesn't knock you out, doesn't make you feel wasted in the morning, but does help you sleep.

cheers anna

-- Anonymous, April 05, 2000

Here is my simple answer for insomnia. As I can better explain it by illustration, that's what I'll do.

When I am really tired, there is no effort at all to slip into that deeper state, and suddenly off to sleep. Most everyone is probably familiar with such a state, where if you can just lay your head down, you quickly slip into oblivion. This is great if you feel this way all the time when you need to sleep.

However, when I am not tired (but should be sleeping), I've found that trying to slip into that state will actually keep me awake. So, instead, I simply lie down but keep the same conscious waking state. I don't try to shift gears at all. And shortly, I fall asleep. I emphasize, if you want to stay awake when you don't feel tired, simply try to slip into a deep sleep state, and you will assuredly lie awake for a long time.

I don't think I explained that very well. I guess if you didn't understand you'll have to wait for Jim and the Naked Indian to show up.

If the above advice doesn't work, kill yourself, as there is no hope for you.

-- Anonymous, April 05, 2000

yes!,I've wrestled with sleep all of my life.The anxiety seems to creep into bed with me.I'm in my bed,a place where the body stops but the mind races.I've done the meditation thing and it helps..sometimes.Otherwise,its midnight projects baby,tired and worked over.I might need proffesional help but my doctors never took me seriously as a child,so what to do? melatonin huh?,I'll give it try. ciao,paul w.

-- Anonymous, April 05, 2000

Ah, fellow insomniacs, stop fighting it. Learn to embrace it. Unless you want to rely on drugs or therapy for many years to come, simply accept the fact that you and sleep will never be best buds. Treat, instead, your insomnia as an equal, a cohort, a partner in crime. Change your connotation of the sound of the newspaper hitting the doorstep at 4 am to a victorious one. I don't know if that makes sense, but what has kept me from going mad with frustration with my chronic insomnia is acceptance, and a healthy dose of respect for it.

-- Anonymous, April 05, 2000

I don't think I've slept through the night in years.

Part of that has to do with the fact that I'm a light sleeper and will wake up at the slightest noise.

Mostly, though, I wake up for no apparent reason, and I'll be awake for a half hour to an hour or more in the middle of the night. I get up at 5:00 during the week, so I usually average about 5 total hours of sleep a night.

I'm probably more sleep deprived than I think I am, but to me, my sleep patterns are normal. I don't get sick a lot, and I'm usually very alert and focused. I do get very tired by the end of the week, though, and I always nap on Saturday afternoon.

-- Anonymous, April 05, 2000

Ah, but Kristin, you're self employed, right? When I am self- employed, I will sleep when the mood strikes me (usually at 3 p.m., and then again at 9 p.m., and maybe again at 3:30 a.m.). In the meantime, it's bad form to sleep through meetings, or to sit at one's desk for four hours nodding off in front of the computer screen.

-- Anonymous, April 05, 2000

I really don't often have insomnia, what I have is cats who jump on my head, but I've always found that the way to fall asleep is to preetend to be asleep. If I lie down and get comfortable and close my eyes and breathe deeply and generally act as though I'm already asleep, soon I am.

-- Anonymous, April 05, 2000

I don't have insomnia; I just don't like sleeping. I work doing transcription for a psychiatrist and am always surprised to type things about people who "only" sleep 6 hours a night. Four hours is about what I average...I go to bed around 12:30 or 1 a.m., it takes me roughly 3 minutes to fall asleep, and I get up around 4:30 or 5...sometimes I'll sleep in until 6. But getting more than 6 hours is very unusual for me--and 6 is what I consider a lot of sleep. I guess it's all a matter of perspective!

-- Anonymous, April 06, 2000

I had never suffered from insomnia in my life, until about a month ago. I went through a very messy breakup (over 5 years, cheating involved) four months ago, and my sleep was still fine (although I wasn't) after that. But, a month ago, I dreamt about her 4 nights in a row, and I haven't been able to sleep ever since. I can't fall asleep before 4-5am, and then, I can't get up before noon (being a student with all morning classes, this isn't very good). I have even tried staying up overnight so that I'd fall asleep earlier the next day, but even that didn't work. I still couldn't sleep until 5am..

It's 3:22am as I write this...

-- Anonymous, April 08, 2000

Kymm, that works for me too. If I pretend to be asleep for a while I'll nod off.

I occasionally will be wide wide awake at 4 in the morning. This is just too early, although I get up at 6 and head to the office by 7 anyway. I have to get up, because I get bored, so I'll usually dig out the spare duvet and check out the pay TV offerings. This will invariably have me nodding off on the sofa after a while. I figure an hour's nap on the sofa is better than two hours lying awake in bed.

Is it just me, or does it really piss you off if you're in bed with somebody who's fast asleep, and you can't sleep at all? I always want to wake him up and berate him for using up all the sleep in the room, and leaving none for me.

-- Anonymous, April 09, 2000

I have trouble sleeping because I'm a freaking house-sized woman with baby in there who bladder dances. I also just get achey, so no amount of pillows, tylenol or changing position is comfortable. I also get it from worrying. I've got a license to be a worrywart and I brandish it occasionally in the middle of the night.

I shower sometimes to relax. I get up write in my journal, read your journal, read others' journals, pee 20 times, take an antiacid and then crawl back into bed and wait for the coma to hit.

Nearly every time, lately, the coma will hit and I'll have to get up in the middle of one of those really super content and comfy sleeps.

Just call me whiny and bitchy. Because I am.

-- Anonymous, April 10, 2000

I wanted to let you all know that the melatonin has done wonders. Wow. I can sleep and I have no side effects (knock on wood). I'm taking three milligrams just before bedtime, and I sleep very soundly until six or seven. It's very nice.

-- Anonymous, April 10, 2000