I Can't Sleep...

[Gigabitch]

Gaaahhhh! I haven't had a good night's sleep in about a week. It's not that I can't fall asleep, it's that throughout the night I keep waking up, and after about four in the morning, I can't sleep at all.

Possible contributing factors:

1) My daughter often has bad dreams within an hour of going to bed and has come in to my room to wake me up twice this week
2) My boyfriend isn't sleeping well either- perhaps he is disturbing me
3) I've been having disturbing dreams

I'm about ready to tranq myself. I'm freaking useless at work.

Anybody have any tried-and-true solutions?

[Junket]

Have you tried sleeping by yourself?

I enjoy sleeping with my girlfriend, but there's nothing like having a bed to myself.

[Gigabitch]

I think I may need to do that. Last night he got up to go to the bathroom and I felt myself really relaxing and heading into sleepy land...

I hope his feelings don't get all wounded, but if I don't get some sleep, I'm going to turn into Satana.

[Junket]

I think I may need to do that. Last night he got up to go to the bathroom and I felt myself really relaxing and heading into sleepy land...

I hope his feelings don't get all wounded, but if I don't get some sleep, I'm going to turn into Satana.

Well, since he's been having trouble too, suggest trying it out for the benefit of both of you. And if he's wary you're growing away from him or something like that, spend some time together, cuddling (if you do that), or something right before bed just to keep him assured.

[misombra]

i have major insomnia too. i get up at like 4 in the morning and i'm totally awake and shakily getting a bunch of work done. it's stress.

i have a few tried and true ways of dealing with it. first off, my herb doctor gives me something that puts me to sleep and makes my dreams not so disturbing. (all my dreams are disturbing.) good stuff. expensive though.

another thing i do is have a night ritual. i drink chamomile tea, soak in a nice, hot epsom salt bath, light some candles, listen to some relaxing music. anything that says to your brain, "we must, and we will rest."

Take time out of the day for yourself. Are you worrying? tell yourself that everything is going to be fine, because it will be.

fix your bed and your bedroom up nicely. light some candles and incense. tell yourself how you'd like to sleep, what kinds of dreams you'd like to have, and how you'd like to wake up.

that's what i do. it works well.

[IndiReloaded]

When I can't sleep I do the following:

1. Put hubby on 'kid alert' for the bathroom run.
2. No coffee/tea after 6pm.
3. Clean bedsheets & fluffed pillows.
4. Warm house/bed. Make sure you have your own blanket/duvet.
5. Soft foam earplugs to block out noise.
6. Go to bed a bit early and read, when you feel that 'nodding off' just go with it.

I am also really sensitive to garlic. A heavy garlic meal affects my ability to sleep deeply (I get weird dreams).

[IndiReloaded]

and makes my dreams not so disturbing. (all my dreams are disturbing.)

My dreams last night were completely bizarre, so were hubby's. Maybe the space aliens are trying to communicate or something...

[Gigabitch]

My dreams last night were completely bizarre, so were hubby's. Maybe the space aliens are trying to communicate or something...

Maybe they want us to give them Tom Cruise back.

Fine with me.

Misombra, what is the herbal stuff? Do i have to go to a DOM or can I just grab some at Herbs, etc?

[misombra]

well a dom will be able to do more of a holistic analysis, and then give you the right mix of herbs. you probably could get them at an herb store but i wouldn't know what would work or or interactions or any of that.

[vashti]

I take half of an over-the-counter sleep medication. If I take a whole one, I am dead the next morning, but with a half, I am fine.

BTW - I do NOT do this on a regular basis.

[misombra]

sleeping pills always make me feel like total shit when i wake up. i feel hungover or something.

i have a hard time with pills.

[boobaa]

While my problem is probably not relative with gigas problem, I must admit that I have sleeping problems too. I always wake up at five or six o clock, wait three or four hours and fall asleep again... Its damn annoying.

[bohemiandonut]

You don't need expensive herbs or an hour long home spa treatment to go to sleep. You just need to get your brain in "sleep mode." I used to have insomnia pretty bad so here are some tips:

1. Are you getting enough exercise during the day? Laziness causes restlessness.
2. "Sleep mode" is not compatible with "Eat mode." Thus, don't be afraid to have a low-sugar snack before bed. This will actually keep your metabolism running smoothly through the night (a good thing).
3. Induce the mode: Darkness and "silence" is key. I quote "silence" because often something like a fan to provide white noise is more soothing than "no noise at all" (i.e. a blank canvas for annoying sounds (cars, babies, boyfriends) to paint themselves into your subconscious = weird dreams).
4.***This is clutch: DO NOT use your bed for anything other than sleepytime; except perhaps some pre-sleep exercise. This will train your brain to associate the bed with going to sleep and not late-night laptop marathons.

Hope I helped sexy mama.

[Illusional]

i know exactly what you mean. when i drink on a nightly basis, and then i try to go to sleep sober on the night next, it's very hard. i swear that i lie in bed for an hour or so trying to fall asleep because i'm not in a normal state. haha...

raverboy

[TheSphinx]

I would add to bohemian's post that having a regular sleep and wake time has definitely helped my body get into a satisfying cycle.

~Sphinx