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Have you ever had insomnia? How did you deal with it? Lately I've been suffering from in/hypersomnia (that is, it's awfully hard to go to sleep at night but once I get there I am loathe to wake up). Do share your experiences and sage advice.

-- Anonymous, August 28, 2000

Answers

I'm a big believer in relaxation tapes. They seem sort of dopey at first, but they've really helped me sleep when I can't seem to *shut my brain off*. Good luck.

-- Anonymous, August 28, 2000

I need fresh air to be able to sleep. I won't sleep well if I'm in a stuffy or too hot room.

When I've had trouble sleeping I tried melatonin and it worked pretty well. You have to fool around a bit to figure out just how many milligrams you need but once you get it right, it works.

-- Anonymous, August 29, 2000


I've said this before on other forums, but why not post it on my own?

When I can't sleep, I make up some kind of alphabet game. A good one is "What if I had to give myself a new name?" and then I go down through the alphabet and think of a name for each letter. I always, always fall asleep before Z.

Other things to go with letters: stores at which you'd want a shopping spree, names of flowers, celebrity names, movie names, prescription drug names... you can think of all kinds of stuff.

If that's too easy, do it backwards, from Z to A. Dude, I swear that is my number one, foolproof way to conk out.

-- Anonymous, August 29, 2000


I haven't had insomnia for five years,a nd when I did, it was from taking a medication at bedtime (liek I wa told to do) instead of in the morning (which is what I started doing). That was miserable, and my body and mind were both so tired, but I couldn't konk out because the medicine made me too jumpy, twitchy and nervous. Sucked.

I had occasional insomnia as a child, but it was situational: dreading a big test, waiting for Santa.

As an adult, I can drink caffeine and be energetic and have a lot on my mind, leave the lights and music on and still konk out due to sheer willpower when my head hits the pillow. I have experienced occasional delayed sleep in the past few months when I've been extremely unhappy, at which point I make myself dwell on the saddest and most upsetting things, cry, and then fall asleep. Works a treat.

Tightening and relaxing your body parts from toes up helps. I.e., tighten your toes, feel the tension, then loosen them. Tighten your calves, feel the tension, loosen them. It's all about getting your mind off of whatever is making your thoughts race and boring yourself to sleep instead.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2000


I just go over the list my wife has on all the projects she has for me to complete around the house. I usually get to the middle and I'm so tired I just "have" to nap. ssssnnnnngggggggzzzzzzz!. James

-- Anonymous, September 04, 2000


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