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Across the Fence:  What do you do...  |
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melanie47601
True Blue Farmgirl
1949 Posts
Melanie
Boonville
IN
USA
1949 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 28 2008 : 05:18:32 AM
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What do you do when you can't sleep? I have been going through this for about a month now. I have one night a week where I actually sleep all night. The other nights I drift off for an hour or so and then I'm wide awake. I'm usually up in the middle of the night for 3 or 4 hours before finally crashing. UUgghh I'm so wore out.
Melanie
"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart." Helen Keller
http://wheelsarealwaysturning.blogspot.com/ |
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Jami
True Blue Farmgirl
1238 Posts
Jami
Ellensburg
WA
USA
1238 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2008 : 06:26:30 AM
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Melanie, I go through bouts of insomnia too but lately I've been sleeping like a log. I usually read or watch TV or go sew or get on the computer or make lists when I can't sleep. Lots of times I will lay there and watch the clock...and wait to fall back asleep. The problem is that by the time it's really time to get up, I'm getting really sleepy! Right?
After a few nights of no sleep I will take a Tylenol PM (my doc said it's safe and prefers this over a sleeping aid) and will sleep all night. I don't like taking pills but once I get in that bad cycle something has to be done! Mostly though I am now so tired from working outside so much this time of year that I'm out within a few minutes of going to bed. I have identified a trigger for my insomnia...it's stress and not the normal kind of stress but worry-stress. When I am worried about something I fall into the pattern. I feel for you not sleeping night after night...you walk around like a zombie during the day and aren't thinking straight, right?
A power nap late in the afternoon (15 minutes or so) revives me quite a bit...I still do this although they say not to nap when you have insomnia, but when you're so tired something has to give. I sit down to read the paper or something and I'm out. But I wake up feeling much better and can last through the evening. Not sure what time you go to bed but I am an early-to-bed/early-riser myself. Bed around 9, up around 5.
Take care.
Jami in WA
Okay, so now I have a blog. http://woolyinwashington.wordpress.com/ |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2008 : 07:19:14 AM
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Well, I used to do this, too...and on occasion, I still have issues. I have the "monkey brain" that doesn't turn off, or the hamster brain that keeps running around in it's little wheel, with all the stuff I have going on. I usually will fall asleep and then wake up an hour or two later, continuously all night.
I find that reading before bed is helpful...and, because of my allergies (they really only act up at night), I take an allergy pm medication that puts me right out AND allows me to breathe. If I really am having difficulty, I get up and come into the living room where I sit with a nice lap quilt and my book (not magazines...too many thought provoking articles or decorating ideas, and that starts it ALL over again!), and eventually, fall asleep on the sofa. It't not as bad as it used to be, and I know how frustrating and helpless you feel...I would be so tired sometimes that I would just break down and cry out of frustration, but STILL couldn't sleep.
Like Jami, mine is stress related--worry about money, bills, family issues--heck, just about anything I can worry my fool self over. That's where the book comes in handy before bed--and I also don't allow myself to listen to much news (doom and gloom) or watch anything frightening, or disturbing right before bed, so I'm not harboring those emotions.
Wishing you luck--I surely know where you're at right, now.
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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elphie0503
True Blue Farmgirl
500 Posts
Samantha
Gilmer
Texas
USA
500 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2008 : 08:01:35 AM
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Mel~I have the same problem, so my doc put me on Ambien....which is great if you don't have 2 children that you take care of. I knocked me out...I couldn't even wake up when my 6 year old started shaking me. Thank goodness DH was off that day! I now take the Tylenol PM as well, and it helps. Doctor said that my insomnia is a mix of stress and aging. I guess the whole no rest for the weary biz. Hope it gets better for you!
Samantha
www.elphie0503.blogspot.com
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort~~Albright
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Sandra K. Licher
True Blue Farmgirl
1106 Posts
Sandra
Horseshoe Bend
Arkansas
1106 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2008 : 08:52:42 AM
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Well....I have never had this problem and I'm almost 60 so not sure how old you are when this starts happening but all I can say is that I always read before turning out the light and I pretty much always exhaust myself before I call it a day. Years ago I would drink coffee all day long too and still had no problem going to sleep. I've always been very physically active too if that helps? Even when I worked in a corporation I was always running around and when I got home I had 4 children and a garden and a farmette so there was always work to do after work. And I had stress for sure but it never kept me awake so maybe I was just darned lucky but reading does relax me even if it's only a few pages and I agree...nothing scary or depressing that might keep you awake and I stay away form the news and t.v. which can be very negative and/or thought provoking. Try reading something light and uplifting and maybe that will help relax you so you can go to sleep. Many nights I WANT to stay awake and maybe finish a book or even a chapter and I just start dozing and have to turn out the light. I hope this helps and I wish you "sweet dreams"!
Sam in AR..... "It's a great life if you don't weaken!"
Farmgirl Sister #226 |
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melanie47601
True Blue Farmgirl
1949 Posts
Melanie
Boonville
IN
USA
1949 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2008 : 9:38:05 PM
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I've heard of others using Tylenol PM, but I have been iffy about it. I've never liked the idea of meds to sleep. I know it's not supposed to be addicting, but addiction runs a strong path through my family. Anything from alcohol to prescription meds. I don't know maybe I'm just parnoid about all that stuff.
Jonni, I totally have the hampster going 90 miles an hour. I think that's what the problem has been here lately. When I'm feeling really creative or have a lot of projects I'm hyped about it's really bad. My mind is just going and going and going. It's like I'm even trying to fix the glitches in my projects in my sleep. It's so aggravating at times.
Maybe things will settle some after I get a couple of projects done. I started on Josephine the other day. My first try at a rag doll. My fiance's son wants me to make him a doll after I'm done with Jo, but he said his has to be a boy. I'm just amazed he wants a doll. And I'm thinking of opening some kind of online store. I'm thinking a combination of pre-loved treasures and crafts. (This one probably has me the craziest right now.) And the other day I got Mary Jane's Ideabook in the mail. I have been sooo anxiously waiting for it to come. I have not been able to put it down. Two days and half way though. I LOVE this book!!
Well gals I'm off to bed and hopefully sleep.
Sweet Dreams to all of you :)
Melanie
"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart." Helen Keller
http://wheelsarealwaysturning.blogspot.com/ |
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MissLorri
Farmgirl in Training
28 Posts
Lorri
North East
Texas
USA
28 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2008 : 9:50:16 PM
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| Try using melatonin. It is a natural hormone your body produces to promote a regular sleep cycle. Our body stops producing it as we age and that is one of the reasons for insomnia. Tylenol PM is a good OTC, but the main ingrediant in it is benadryl. Used on a regular basis, benadryl causes memory loss. I use it sometimes, but melatonin is better for you. |
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ruralfarmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
4309 Posts
Rene'
Prosser
WA
USA
4309 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2008 : 9:59:15 PM
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I agree with Lorri - I might add if there is a Doc in your area that does hormone testing and can treat with natural hormone therapy you should try that... A great book on the topic is Suzanne Somers "Ageless".
Rene~Prosser Farmgirl #185
" Plant goodness, harvest the fruit of loyalty, plow the new ground of knowledge. Hosea 10:12 |
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Jami
True Blue Farmgirl
1238 Posts
Jami
Ellensburg
WA
USA
1238 Posts |
Posted - Jun 29 2008 : 07:54:24 AM
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Melanie, I understand how you feel about taking meds, but when you're sleep deprived, I feel it's safer to take a pill once in a while (I don't use it unless I'm in the "cycle" of insomnia) than to be a zombie. My mood is altered when I'm sleep deprived and I don't think clearly..just not firing on all cylinders. I only take the Tylenol PM a couple of nights and then I'm usually out of the cycle and they only happen every few months...usually a stress related insomnia. I'm a "list maker" in my insomnia...I make lists of things that need to be done and all of it rattles around in my brain while I watch the clock. I hate it!
It's hard to turn off the busy mind no matter how hard you try. I have a friend who takes a warm bath before bed every night...it's her routine and then she goes to bed. Whatever works for you, I wish you sweet dreams.
Jami in WA
Okay, so now I have a blog. http://woolyinwashington.wordpress.com/ |
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ruralfarmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
4309 Posts
Rene'
Prosser
WA
USA
4309 Posts |
Posted - Jun 29 2008 : 08:43:30 AM
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Love your Blog Jami.. How fun!
Rene~Prosser Farmgirl #185
" Plant goodness, harvest the fruit of loyalty, plow the new ground of knowledge. Hosea 10:12 |
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Jami
True Blue Farmgirl
1238 Posts
Jami
Ellensburg
WA
USA
1238 Posts |
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Across the Fence: What do you do... |
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What do you do...
Enjoy this beautiful warm day.