Anybody Suffer With Chronic Insomnia?

Yes. 20+ years of shift work have made me an insomniac. I do manage about 4 hours of sleep here and there. Not always consecutive though. And only by taking melatonin and benadryl (along with some of my homemade wine)

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I use this melatonin. It helps a little. Natrol Melatonin 10 mg, Fast Dissolve Tabs, Citrus Punch 60 ea - Walmart.com

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Not since retirement. But mine was never as bad as yours.

 

The trick I find is to turn off your thought process. It's not easy tho. Takes concerted effort, often multiple tries. Like quitting cigarettes.

If all else fails, give up and read a book. There's a good one by Stephen King: Insomnia.

 

Is there any consistency in the thoughts you have when you wake up(i.e. relationship issue, neighbor dispute, getting your Prius back up over 60 mpg,etc)?

One thing I have used is to set boundaries. In a previous job at a different company I had 3 facilities I managed and got over 100 emails a day (sometimes 200) and had to respond to them in between meetings. I would very rarely have a night where I got more than 4 hours of sleep or did not have headaches constantly during the day. This was stress related, but advice given was to set limits on when I would do certain activities (not respond to emails after 7 pm) and not engage in activities before a certain time (say 7am). Also doing something enjoyable as a "wind down"activity prior to going to bed is helpful.

Remember your mind is setup for success. It just needs a little assist on occasion in reducing some stimuli that affect it the most.

 

Try ramping up the exercise and physical activity.

Walk 5-7 miles several times a week, with an occasional 10-12 mile scenic hike.
Or, bicycle 25+ miles weekly.

Take some Yoga classes . . . Good luck.

 

Hey, try watching New Yankee Workshop. That show always knocked me out. Right about the time Norm would say "but before we get started, a little talk about safety precautions". Bam, I was out. Would come to when he was varnishing, lol.

That and the YouTube demonstration of the Prius transaxle innards: I cannot stay conscious through that.

Then, wake up at 3 am, and start thinking about our abysmal portfolio's ability to drop even on "up" days, that's it: might as well get up.

 

Have you tried radio?

I've gone through several phases of insomnia, and I often struggle to sleep when I'm travelling for work and I'm on my own. I find it really helps to have the radio on: it gives me something for my mind to focus on that takes my mind off of work or whatever else I might be thinking about.

The only trouble is, late-night radio simply doesn't work: whether it's drunk people on a phone-in, or allegedly-relaxing middle-of-the-night music, it just doesn't do the job: I find daytime radio much more effective.

So I tend to either use a listen-again feature (like the BBC's iPlayer) to listen to a show from another time, or I listen to the BBC World Service (as long as it's not about something too depressing), as it's always daytime somewhere for the World Service. Or I use TuneIn Radio or Simple Radio on my phone, and listen to the radio somewhere that it is daytime: I listen to British or American radio when I'm in Australia or China, and to Australian radio when I'm in Britain. Sometimes I find French radio - especially French rap - really helpful.

Anyway, different things suit different people, but the thing with TuneIn and Simple Radio is that you can access pretty much anything, from anywhere in the world. So if there's something out there that might work for you - whether it's Japanese comedy or a Russian polka station or Spanish nursery rhymes or Chinese sports news - it'll be there.

You can experiment with different sorts of speech radio, or different sorts of music. But I find it can really make a difference.

If you share a bed with someone, then it's more of a challenge: you can't really use a speaker on your bedside table, because you'll keep them awake, and headphones are just uncomfortable. My wife got me a pillow with a speaker embedded in it: if I've got my head on the pillow, I can hear it, but no-one else can.

But a moderately-interesting (not too interesting) documentary, or some decent music, really makes a difference for me.

Good luck!

 

there is a newer product called 'audible' that might be worth a shot. my wife has pillow speaker, but the only problem is that she has become addicted to it. can't fall asleep without it. that's better than insomnia i guess.

 

I agree that being very active is the answer.

I am very busy with regular gym time (hard workouts), working on engineering projects (my job is demanding), studying guitar (brain stretching), reading, and non-stop chores around my old house. By the time I near bedtime, I'm beat. Any brain activity is gone when my head hits the pillow. Staying as active as possible helps me.

 

The audiobook company, or a different Audible?

 

yes.

 

Ah, right. I find myself concentrating too much on that. It has to be something I can fall asleep during without worrying about missing anything.

 

they must have some boring stories. but that's why i had to get my wife a pillow speaker. i would lay awake listening while she would fall asleep.

 

Take a look at Healthy Sleep Formula.

GRC's | Healthy Sleep Formula

Just reading through the web site should help you sleep.

I feel for ya Costal, I know all too well about the brain refusing to shut down.


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