At the end of the day I'm exhausted, and I fall into bed around 10:30. Then, I crank myself back into wakefulness at 3am. And I mean that too - COMPLETELY WIDE AWAKE. A mere 4.5 hours in bed.
It usually takes me another hour or two of clock watching to fall back to sleep.
As I lay there I know that this lack of sleep is going to be a problem in the oncoming day. I KNOW I'm going to struggle with my workouts, my chores, my job, because less than 6 hours is just not enough, and I do best on 8 hours. The more I know this, the harder it is not to stress about it.
In an effort to self "medicate", I decided that I would experiment with different tactics. The one I tried last night was 3/4 mile easy swim at 8pm. It used to be that if I swam at night, followed by a hot shower, I was sure to sleep like the dead. At 8pm I went to the gym, swam my prescribed distance, practiced flip turns for about another 10 minutes (FAIL), took my hot shower, home by 9:15.... in bed at 10.... Still awake at 11.... And then WIDE AWAKE at 4AM. Uhg.
What's it going to take for me to break the cycle?
Today I'm changing my sheets back to my favorites and remaking the bed. I'm also going to clean my room and air it out, in the hopes that the new fresh room will be more relaxing. Its the only thing I can think of, as I cannot continue in a sleep deprived state for very much longer.
4 comments:
Hmm insomnia is no fun. I rarely have that problem so I'm not sure of any remedies other than Tylenol PM :(
Sleep is over-rated!! I will gladly pay you if you want to work for me! You can be very productive at those times! That's why I get up at 5am
Insomnia is tough, because it sets you in a vicious cycle...the less you sleep, the more you stress about sleep and the more you stess, well...you follow I'm sure. Some tricks for insomnia include simply turning on a lamp and reading until you feel sleepy (whenever that may be)...NO CLOCK ALLOWED. This reduces the stress and helps you get back to sleep sooner. Plus, knowing how many hours you didn't sleep is no help at all...right?! Good luck with that...maybe it's just a monthly hormonal phase :)
I've had insomnia for 10 years off and on. When I must sleep I use Unisom, doesn't give me a hangover. I also had good luck w/ Melatonin for a while, hard to wake up at first but once your on a schedule you can stop, it helps regulate your "clock". Get a good brand of Melatonin, like from a natural store. Also if I wake up in the middle of the night Tazo "calm" tea is great. It only works for about 4 days. The hardest is the middle of the night wake-up so I hope it fixes itself soon. Good Luck!
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