my horrible sleeping patterns
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free skin care · Thu Jan 26, 2006 3:42 am

I am experiencing an issue with going to bed at night. Whether this be because I detest waking up in the morning or that my brain becomes so active at night, I have developed a horrible habit of going to bed at like 4AM and sleeping until noon or 2. Obvsiously, this isn't going to work when I get a real job. And I feel tired because I require at least 9 hours a night to feel rested. (insert sleepy emoticon here)

I push it until guilt drives me to bed. Rolling Eyes

Anyone else ever felt or feel this way too?

What should I do to change my psychological issue with sleep? Mad

P.S. I also grind my teeth and have to wear a nightguard to help protect my teeth. I still wake up with jaw aches and sometimes headaches. Perhaps I avoid going to bed becuase I antcipate this???

free skin care · Thu Jan 26, 2006 3:51 am

Right there with ya kiddo. It's 4:45 am in Chicago right now. And yes, here I sit. And I have to be up in 3 hours to get my little guy up and ready for school.

In the DIY section was a recipe for insomniacs like us. 5 drops of Lavender EO and 5 drops of Marjoram Wild EO, mix together, apply to the top of your head.

I actually remembered to do this one night early enough to tell me if it worked or was me just hitting the wall and it did work. Now I just need to remember to oil my head after OCM'ing my face, lol. I might acutally get some sleep for a change!

free skin care · Thu Jan 26, 2006 8:53 am

I have the same problems with sleep patterns. It helps if you can force yourself to wake up early so you'll be dead tired at a normal hour the next night. Sometimes I end up staying up through the night just so I can fall asleep before midnight the next day. Also, excercise REALLY helps get your tired. Good luck!

free skin care · Thu Jan 26, 2006 11:49 am

The natural remedy Valarien is an effective mild sedative, though be careful if you are on the pill.
Also I find a bath helps and something boring to read Laughing

free skin care · Thu Jan 26, 2006 6:37 pm

Oh yeah I forgot about Valerian - I've tried that as a tea. Too bad it tastes like dirt! hehe

free skin care · Thu Jan 26, 2006 10:11 pm

Okay, this sounds a bit whacky but it might work. You need to readjust your sleep cycle. So.....

If you take an adult dosage of Benadryl (the allergy medicine) early enough in the evening to actually wake up in the morning the next day, you'll spend the entire next day walking around like a zombie, wishing you could just crawl into your bed and pass out. Once you make it past dinner time and into the early evening (you'll be nearly catatonic by this point... no napping allowed!), you're ready to sleep on your own at a decent hour. You'll wake up the next morning feeling fairly normal.

I know this because I have allergies and Benadryl is the only medicine that actually works.... so I suffer the side effect of extreme sleepiness.... Rolling Eyes

free skin care · Thu Jan 26, 2006 10:28 pm

Hi amnis - I've had the same problem from time to time all of my life (I'm 53), and I've even wondered -- as you have -- if I avoid going to bed because I HATE waking up! I'm just happy to hear someone else say it -- THANK YOU!!! Sleep's a little like death, and waking is a little like being born all over again. Such a bother. You're probably right -- this is likely a psychological issue. Part of me has always resisted conforming (i.e., why does everyone have to sleep 8 hours at night beginning at 10 or 11, and awaken at 6 or 7?), and resisting sleep is probably some form of arrested development! Plus, I've always loved to read at nighttime -- it's so quiet and still -- and I feel guilty spending daytime hours indulging myself since there's always so much I have to do then.

My husband grinds his teeth now and then, and I believe this is also psychological -- he has very intense and disturbing dreams sometimes and awakens in a state of terror (parasomnia). He'd be very upset if he knew I was divulging this, but it's obvious we were made for each other Laughing

You've gotten some good advice from others. Good luck!!!

free skin care · Fri Jan 27, 2006 1:11 am

thank you everyone! I really appreciate it. Guess, what? I'm headed to bed right now (well, in about 30 min) Wink

All I have on hand right now is some Benadryl so I am going to go ahead and take that. LandB- I am so sorry you have to suffer the drowsiness!

free skin care · Fri Jan 27, 2006 5:37 am

amnis wrote:

thank you everyone! I really appreciate it. Guess, what? I'm headed to bed right now (well, in about 30 min) Wink

All I have on hand right now is some Benadryl so I am going to go ahead and take that. LandB- I am so sorry you have to suffer the drowsiness!

Let me know how it goes! (Luckily, my allergies are periodic or I'd be Zombie-Woman all the time!)

free skin care · Fri Jan 27, 2006 6:25 pm

Hi there~ I didn't read the full thread, but I can totally relate. I went through the same thing around 7 years ago. I had a schedule of like, 4am to 10 am. I tried every over the counter remedy available. It was awful....I was exhausted and wanted to sleep( I thought) but when i went to lay down my brain just wouldn't stop. I also suffered from restless leg syndrome but that's another story. for me, it came down to a lot of unresolved issues and stress. I finally got on meds for anxiety(neurontin)and it has been a life saver. I had to go off it when I got pregnant. But 6 out of 7 nights, I am able to fall asleep around 11pm and stay asleep. Now if my my two little ones would stay asleep,well, then we'd really be in business!! this stuff has helped me immensely. Good Luck to you. You may want to try going to a specialist. I went to a neurologist( and an endrocrinologist, and our family doctor and my ob). But it was the neurologist that suggested the neurontin and it worked very well for me.

free skin care · Fri Jan 27, 2006 7:30 pm

m.april that is exactly how I feel! I tell my SO that waking up for me is like being dead and having to come back to life. It is the most painful thing I do every day.

The only reason I can get up and go to the gym is because of him!! He practically pushes me out of bed and then makes some coffee.

What is it with men and being able to get up early?? Both my dad and my SO jump out of bed at 5am or some ungodly hour like that!
On weekends I want to sleep until 11am but am only allowed to sleep till 9:30 b/c he says it is a waste of the day. Crying or Very sad

free skin care · Fri Jan 27, 2006 8:34 pm

Hi Shelley01 - My husband awakens very early also, like around 5:00 (but HE won't make coffee). Plus he's always in a good mood when he gets up. He considers rising at 7:00 over-sleeping. At least I've finally disabused him of the habit of watching the Today Show -- the sight and sound alone of that (IMO) pseudo-sweetheart Katie Couric was enough to turn me into a raving, foul-mouthed shrew. Now Don Imus is the morning TV fare -- an improvement, but I'd really rather have no TV -- I like quiet!!! So my solution is generally to stay in bed until the coast is clear. But DH loves it when I get up while he's still here -- I make coffee.

This is making me wonder if there isn't a hormonal/evolutionary component involved in sleep habits. I've often wondered if female insomnia could be related to the vigilance required of motherhood. And now that I think of it, maybe male sleep patterns are affected more by sunlight -- like some atavistic trait from hunting-gathering days.

Now what's complicating my sleep even more is wearing nicotine patches. I have very trippy, epic dreams since I started using these. It's suggested that the patches be removed at bedtime if they cause sleep disturbances, and indeed, I don't crave cigarettes after I go to bed, but I have to confess that these vivid dreams can be very entertaining!

I JUST re-read A Midsummer's Night Dream for a lecture/discussion series I attend. All of the good stuff happens at night! Maybe you could tell your SO that going to bed early is a waste of the evening Razz

free skin care · Mon Feb 13, 2006 12:49 pm

I have this problem too.. My body is used to sleeping late. Its like around 12am and im like "Oh its only 12 its not that late..." THen i stay up watching tv forcing myself to stay awake..

Here are some things that can help and has helped me somewhat:

Drink a cold or warm glass of milk before you go to sleep.

Take whole food vitamins: could take about a week for it to take effect.

Green Tea or any kind of tea..

Put a new fresh bet sheets and take a shower. You will feel the difference there.

Sometimes taking off your socks works..

Wed Feb 15, 2006 7:16 pm

I used to not be able to sleep until 9 a.m. ARG. The whole day afterwards felt miserable, like you were there, but not really. I used to take almost a whole sleeping bottle (one after another) to try to sleep. Stupid idea, of course. lol Now I stay away from ANY kind of pills.

I completely understand how horrible it is to be not able to sleep like most people.

Stress could be the cause for you not being able to sleeep well...

Thu Feb 16, 2006 5:20 am

I have this problem sometimes, like the last few weeks, but this is brought on by workload. I basically get home from work, eat dinner, hopefully EDS for a while and then work till about 3am, then get up at 7am. When I do this for a few days my body seems to switch over and when I do actually need/want to go to sleep earlier than the 2/3am I find that my brain is just not shutting off.

My solution to this is possibly not the best but it works for me. I am going to say that I am not endorsing this or recommending it but this is what I do and it was actually recommended to me by a friend of mine who is a Dr. I either take some Polaramine (anti-histamine that makes you drowsy) or take a very gentle OTC muscle relaxant. It works like a charm. I would not do this regularly but when my body gets into a routine of 3am bedtimes I take one of these for a couple of nights and then it's all back to normal for me.

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