What do you do when you can't sleep?

Caporegime
Joined
29 Aug 2007
Posts
28,594
Location
Auckland
I imagine an iceberg and I'm at the tip, sitting, watching, laughing at the views but then those horizons change and I can't see as far and I think I'm falling or coming to rest because that land I once could only almost see is hurtling towards me at alarmingly slow speeds and we're about to hit and abort, abort, abort, lift up, mayday, and then I wake up.
 
Soldato
Joined
21 Mar 2013
Posts
3,022
Location
Lincolnshire
Apart from the obvious 18+ things that tire you out, get up and play a few games. In the past if i've slept 11-3am and woke up refreshed unable to get back to sleep i've just got up and started my day, being all productive and stuff.

A few years ago, not being able to sleep led to me getting my motorbike license :p
 
Joined
5 Aug 2006
Posts
11,306
Location
Derbyshire
I often struggle to sleep. My brain rarely turns off.

The following I find helps:
- No caffeine after 1PM as it takes many hours for your body to consume it.
- No intense gaming before bed. This includes anything online where you need to be alert.
- You need a wind down period. Your brain doesn't go from 100% busy to nothing in 5 mins (ties in with the point above).
- Stay off your phone in bed.
- Keep bedroom cool. Having Betty visit does not aid sleep.
- Go for a swim in the late evening. The pool is often quiet at 9pm and you will be knackered when you get home.
- Watch or listen to Bob Ross (turn your phone screen down to minimum lighting!)
- Do something to take out the day's stresses. For me this is gym.
- A swig of Night Nurse*.

*Don't do this.
 
Soldato
Joined
25 Sep 2006
Posts
14,349
Usually excitement or mild anxiety will keep me awake, it passes eventually, or you become so tired that it just happens.

I never sleep well when I have a flight early the next morning because I'm paranoid that several alarms will all fail and I'll miss it entirely :p
 
Soldato
Joined
13 Jan 2004
Posts
12,706
Location
Leicestershire
I've struggled ever since my stroke 10yrs ago.
Anxiety is an absolute killer for me - my brain doesn't switch off and only gets worse if I'm failing at things.
Only when I get really tired and peaceful do I start to nod off and then it takes me hours.
4hrs is a good nights sleep for me.
I have a coffee in the morning and once late afternoon, the rest is water.
I need to exercise more but I'm not obese or anything, just not as trim as I used to be.
 
Soldato
Joined
15 Apr 2012
Posts
6,605
Location
Rannoch
I've struggled ever since my stroke 10yrs ago.
Anxiety is an absolute killer for me - my brain doesn't switch off and only gets worse if I'm failing at things.
Only when I get really tired and peaceful do I start to nod off and then it takes me hours.
4hrs is a good nights sleep for me.
I have a coffee in the morning and once late afternoon, the rest is water.
I need to exercise more but I'm not obese or anything, just not as trim as I used to be.

Anxiety is brutal, a good few years ago I let it totally control me. Night time was worse when I just had my thoughts and was staying on my own in a very remote location.
 
Soldato
Joined
30 Mar 2010
Posts
3,518
Location
Exile
I imagine fruits that aren't blue blue. My fruit of choice is a nice juicy bright blue orange. I imagine the texture of the skin and then what the inside would like if i sliced it in half. ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz

THIS WORKS!
 
Soldato
Joined
13 Jan 2004
Posts
12,706
Location
Leicestershire
Anxiety is brutal, a good few years ago I let it totally control me. Night time was worse when I just had my thoughts and was staying on my own in a very remote location.

I understand that. Nothing worse than being alone with your own thoughts and you get into a spiral of depression very difficult to get out of.
Takes a serious mental strength to break away from that. I've often hoped if I went to sleep, I'd never wake up and the pain is over.
Given that I have a reasonably good life it's very hard to explain why I ever feel that but certain things I want so much are proving impossible to achieve given my limitations and that just stops me from enjoying life.
I'm still unsure what life will bring.
Sorry, went a bit off topic.
 
Soldato
Joined
19 Oct 2008
Posts
5,949
^Avoid stuff like that if possible.
I use various mind techniques. Nothing works consistently and tend to vary it a bit - the same thing won't work all the time. Sometimes after waking and mind starts working away I simply tell myself to stop it while thinking it's so stupid and that can work :).Most common thing for me is waking after about 3.5 to 4 hours and not being able to get back to sleep. Always been a light sleeper and also a sleep talker :D but started getting sleep problems as I;ve got older. Brother has same thing too.
How the Forces might do it:
https://www.joe.co.uk/news/sleeping-tricks-197402
 
Soldato
Joined
17 Mar 2009
Posts
6,590
Location
Nottingham
Ive been having sleep issues for about 15 years, ill be fine for a while then suddenly... a week of next to no sleep. For example i can be find for 6 months then suddenly i'll have issues sleeping and get maybe 7 hours in 7 days if I'm lucky and usually such a wreck by this time that I eventually crash and sleep for 12+ hours then im good again for an undetermined amount of time.

Sleeping tablets from the quacks seem to make me violently ill so i don't bother

Touch wood, my last bad patch was 15 months ago. Although i do get a bit of an iffy nights sleep every Tuesday as i only work 4 days a week and i think the night before I go back to work im always a bit worried about oversleeping from the weekend
 
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