How Do You Sleep At Night?

[Zero]

There are times when I can't hush my mind to go to sleep, even though I'm tired and it's 4am in the morning.

Usually the situation is that I'm preoccupied with something. If I'm overly preoccupied with something it'll take me a very long time to fall asleep. The worst situation is when I'm angry. I don't know how to "Not go to bed angry". There are times I'm simply too enraged at the stupidity thriving in the population. There are times I'm angry and frustrated because when I try to communicate with people, as clearly as I can, they don't seem to understand anything.

How do you deal with any sort of preoccupation that keeps you up?

 

[shoeless]

i don't.

i just... wait it out i guess.

i've tried you know, meditating and all the other standard bullshit people do to "quiet the mind", but none of it has worked for me. usually it's not so bad that i can get to sleep within an hour, but when it's bad, oh god, it's bad.

meh.

 

[Cognisant]

Why do you think I'm here so much?

I can't relate to your anger though, I just don't sleep unless I must.

 

[Fleur]

How do you deal with any sort of preoccupation that keeps you up?

Write it down. I even have a special notebook.

 

[Shatokan]

Usually i don't even try to go to sleep if my mind is preoccupied. A way to get around that is exercise right before you want to go to sleep, if your body is exhausted, you'll fall asleep way easier. And it's good for your body.

p.s. i know the second one works well, doesn't mean i use it

 

[RobertJ]

I need a fan running in order to sleep. If I don't have that white-noise to drown out all the rest of it, everything I hear will keep me on edge.

 

[y4r5xeym5]

I need a fan running in order to sleep. If I don't have that white-noise to drown out all the rest of it, everything I hear will keep me on edge.

I'm the same way. A fan or the gentle sound of rain does wonders. Now to figure out why I can't sleep past 8am...

 

[Shatokan]

I need a fan running in order to sleep. If I don't have that white-noise to drown out all the rest of it, everything I hear will keep me on edge.

For me it was a train. Though that's cause i spent the first 13 years of my life next to train tracks. But yes, i have to have white noise, otherwise i can't fall asleep.

On another note, does temperature of the room have a lot of effect on you?
High/Low temp.s make you sleepy or energetic?

I tend to stay awake when it's hot in my room. If i do sleep, i wake up unrest-ed, groggy(compared to when it's cold in my room), and very pissed.

When it's really cold in my room, I tend to be happier, feel well rested, and become a little more extroverted during the day. This may be just me but opinions?

 

[flow]

very carefully.

 

[citrusbreath95]

Depends on the day, if nothing is on my mind, I sleep quite well and fall asleep in seconds. Though a lot of the time, I'm either debating in my head, thinking about the future, about previous events of the day, random thoughts, so much stuff that sometimes I give up on the whole idea of sleep and watch mindless T.V. for an hour until I get tired.

 

[Cavallier]

very carefully.

That's exactly how my dad would have answered that question.

Honestly? I take a big drink of water. I then make myself a martini or a gin and tonic. Then I settle down in a different chair, bed, couch from the one I was sleeping on originally. I turn on the tv to something none provokative like the hirstory channel with the volume turned low. Usually this does wonders.

The temperature is important to me as well. If the room is too warm I simply can't sleep and I wake up groggy and angry like Shatokan.

 

[Firehazard159]

very carefully.

Me too. I have two pillows under my head, and a sword and a gun layered between them.

Must stay protected!

 

[flow]

That's exactly how my dad would have answered that question.

Honestly? I take a big drink of water. I then make myself a martini or a gin and tonic. Then I settle down in a different chair, bed, couch from the one I was sleeping on originally. I turn on the tv to something none provokative like the hirstory channel with the volume turned low. Usually this does wonders.

The temperature is important to me as well. If the room is too warm I simply can't sleep and I wake up groggy and angry like Shatokan.

I like that you said Hirstory channel. Also, your father sounds like a good person.

 

[Zero]

I like it being warm, my brother got POed because apparently 75F is hotter than hell. I usually oversleep, as I don't eat much. I went to sleep around 7am. Probably writing it down would've helped. I use to sleep with a fan on and before that a TV (I don't have one in my room now), but considering how much colder it is here it would bother me. I have two thick blankets and three pillows, one which is a body pillow.

Drinking or pills would probably help me sleep, but I don't tend to have it around. I guess I should go buy some Smirnoff's. I think my brother has some spiced rum I could steal, even though it'll piss him off. He doesn't drink it, he hates the taste of alcohol.

 

[violetblue]

i sleep uneasily and wrapped in layers and layers and layers. (i actually have a sleeping bag on my bed for weight.) for some reason, that helps quiet my mind. summer time? it's awful for sleep.

 

[Geminii]

If it gets too frenetic in my brain, I'll fire up a text file and write down all the stuff that won't let me sleep.

Of course, sometimes I'm sitting there hammering on the keys until 6am anyway, so it doesn't always help.

 

[_whispers_]

First: I need it to be quiet - no clocks, no fans, no dripping sounds, no nothing. It annoys the hell out of me.
Second: I`ve learned to force my brain to be quiet. It takes a lot of concentration and it`s not always on a 100% mute, because some stray thoughts might slip through.
Third: I usually come up with stories - thinking of characters and plots. Concentrating on the details lulls me into sleep. The problem is when I can`t concentrate enough for that. Then I sit down and write in my livejournal or here... that`s how I found the forum.

 

[Hawkeye]

I usually stay awake until I feel tired and then go to bed. I then sleep easily for about 4-5 hours. The time I sleep could vary between 9pm-6am depending on what I've done etc.

 

[LAM]

I bore myself to sleep.

 

[sagewolf]

I either draw, read, or play video games until I can't hold my eyelids up anymore. Just doing something preoccupies my mind, so I'm not lying in bed trying to avoid thinking and hoping I drift off. I like the feeling of weight on me, too, but I can do without it, and I prefer to be warm when I fall asleep (but cooler when I wake up, mainly because I can't make myself get up if my bed is too much warmer than the room ). I don't go to bed before I'm tired in the first place anyway, though, so that might help too.

 

[Moocow]

Well personally, I go through this complicated process. You see, first I lay down on the bed, and then I close my eyes.

 

[RobertJ]

On another note, does temperature of the room have a lot of effect on you?
High/Low temp.s make you sleepy or energetic?

At first, yes, temperature can make it difficult to get comfortable. After a while though, with the aid of fans or blankets, I can find an acceptable degree of temperature comfort to relax and drift off to sleep.
In the cold winter I find it harder to crawl out of bed (which seems to be common among most folks).

 

[MattKelevra]

If I have anything bothering my mind enough when I lay down it will keep me up all night. Even normally when I'm tired and drained it takes a bit. Only thing thats ever calmed it was drugs, particularly the smokable kind

Sometimes I even toss and turn when I get back from a bar drunk, so alcohol doesn't help in my case.

 

[Luminates]

I don't think i intentionally fall asleep, it just happens when my mind Finally decides to pass out, usually around 2 or 3 in the morning on most days. I have found that listening to music only makes the stimulus worse, or makes me think even more. A white noise is the only method I use to give some form of help. Our A-C/ Heater produces quite a rein of noise, I also have a ceiling fan, though in the mist of winter, it can't be used really unless I feel like getting sick. My parents apparently know about this problem. Last Christmas, they bought me a white noise maker with over 15 different options of sound. One even says white noise the quality is sub-par, but it does work.

 

[Luminates]

At first, yes, temperature can make it difficult to get comfortable. After a while though, with the aid of fans or blankets, I can find an acceptable degree of temperature comfort to relax and drift off to sleep.
In the cold winter I find it harder to crawl out of bed (which seems to be common among most folks).

Sorry for Double post, But would it help if it was colder or warmer? The average temperature in my house is 68 F- 70 F, but my room is usually from 65F to around 75F at times. I have two windows, and a personal heater, so I can make it a colder or warmer very quick.

 

[RobertJ]

Sorry for Double post, But would it help if it was colder or warmer? The average temperature in my house is 68 F- 70 F, but my room is usually from 65F to around 75F at times. I have two windows, and a personal heater, so I can make it a colder or warmer very quick.

The temperature in my bedroom can range (I estimate) anywhere between 50F - 85F, but for the most part is well in between. This is because all that I have in my room to moderate temperature is a small baseboard heater and a small portable fan. Also, where I live the winters are cold and the summers are hot.
I find it easier to sleep when it's hot instead of cold, though, because then at least I don't need to dress in layers and wrangle with tons of bedding all night.

 

[Luminates]

The temperature in my bedroom can range (I estimate) anywhere between 50F - 85F, but for the most part is well in between. This is because all that I have in my room to moderate temperature is a small baseboard heater and a small portable fan. Also, where I live the winters are cold and the summers are hot.
I find it easier to sleep when it's hot instead of cold, though, because then at least I don't need to dress in lairs and wrangle with tons of bedding all night.

I would also prefer a warmer temperature, but the only problem with that I would most likely end up sweating. I tend to wrap up in my blankets and sheets, cover my ears and sometimes my mouth, more of a habit over time really. It also helps me to block out any unwanted noises like my dad extreme case of snoring. I was wondering if the temperature effects how well you sleep. Logically, a warmer temperature would be preferred as you wouldn't shiver or get that "cold feeling", but the same applies to the warmer option, minus the shivering.

 

[TheHmmmm]

First: I need it to be quiet - no clocks, no fans, no dripping sounds, no nothing. It annoys the hell out of me.
Second: I`ve learned to force my brain to be quiet. It takes a lot of concentration and it`s not always on a 100% mute, because some stray thoughts might slip through.
Third: I usually come up with stories - thinking of characters and plots. Concentrating on the details lulls me into sleep. The problem is when I can`t concentrate enough for that. Then I sit down and write in my livejournal or here... that`s how I found the forum.

How the hell do you force your brain to be quiet? Mine constantly plays music when I try to go to sleep. Pisses me off and makes me more sleepless.

 

[Chronomar]

The clock, my heartbeat, the song that plays in my head, random snippets of noise...it's just too much.

 

[Luminates]

First: I need it to be quiet - no clocks, no fans, no dripping sounds, no nothing. It annoys the hell out of me.
Second: I`ve learned to force my brain to be quiet. It takes a lot of concentration and it`s not always on a 100% mute, because some stray thoughts might slip through.
Third: I usually come up with stories - thinking of characters and plots. Concentrating on the details lulls me into sleep. The problem is when I can`t concentrate enough for that. Then I sit down and write in my livejournal or here... that`s how I found the forum.

#1- I can see that as possible, but too much work for me (the training part that is) and no sounds would annoy me to hell and back.

#2- wouldn't this cause you to think more? causing you to stay awake even longer? I have tried this before, I implemented my own ideas into random story plots and such that i know of, or attempted to create my own, this lead to me going to in-debt which lead to me being awake even longer.

#3 I don't do journals really, but I will get on the internet if it's an absolute fact I won't be able to fall asleep within the next hour or so.

I've yet to find an effective method to obtain the recommended amount of sleep for my age (which is 8-9 hours) and even with all of the possible stimulus's in effect, I still get around 5-6 at most.

 

[Geminii]

On another note, does temperature of the room have a lot of effect on you?

Heat can make it really difficult to get to sleep. Amusingly, a warm room when I'm not in bed can make me drift off.

Cold is best. Bitingly cold. I put out more therms than a nuclear pile, and it's comforting to have them actually ripped out through my face instead of hanging around overheating me.

 

[echoplex]

I have no idea how I ever manage to sleep sometimes. Somewhere before thinking about philosophy and thinking about that conversation I had days ago, I wake up hours later, dumbfounded that the impossible* happened.

I recommend exercise. It seems to slow the mind down a bit.

* This was determined after counting the 500th sheep in one night. The mind's barn can only house so many of the creatures, and they apparently cease to exist upon being counted, preventing repeat counting. I then tried counting kittens, but it's hard to sleep when you're laughing.

 

[saihtlen]

When I'm preoccupied with something I... meditation skills help with stopping and not thinking about it, either that or I think of something boring, like something from school that I did not devote enough energy to understand, then I turn it around in my head till I get this feeling of confusion, I usually black out around this point.

 

[lafmeche]

I've found that it's difficult to sleep if I haven't used enough energy during the day. It doesn't necessarily have to be physical energy, but it helps. (Don't exercise too close to bedtime - it'll keep you up)

Other than that, I just have to occupy myself until I'm tired (tv, computer, reading). When I feel myself starting to droop, it's bedtime. I'll often put something on tv with a sleep timer and lower the volume as I get tired. It's best if you have DVR or similar so you can put on old reruns and/or shows you don't care about.

Temperature is not super important for me, but if it's too hot, I'll tend to toss and turn. If I'm on the ball, I turn down the thermostat an hour or so before bed to give the temperature time to come down. Wish I had a programmable one... It might help me keep a decent schedule.

 

[lafmeche]

I couldn't help but add this (from the Simpsons):

Jay Sherman: How do you sleep at night?
Rainer Wolfcastle: On top of a pile of money with many beautiful ladies.

 

[pjoa09]

Hmm i cant sleep unless if i am dead tired. Especially when i am stressed on emotional stuff. Its so hard to get rid of it from your head because you are pounding logic into something that can't be dealt with logic. Couple of times I have even resort to vodka and coke (coca cola). Push-ups though, sort of help, if you do them early enough.

 

[Irishpenguin]

Yea it's hard for me to get to bed at a decent time. I start thinking I should get to bed at about 10:00 but it's almost always at least 1:00 before I actual sleep. My friend gives me grief every day about how I look like a crackhead with the black spots under my eyes, and that nagging gets annoying.

Taking a shower before going to bed helps me out, I think it's supposed to relax some muscles or something like that. The problem with this is that I procrastinate taking the shower, adding another factor to the late sleep times.

As far as temperature goes, I kind of like it to be a little cold, at least cold enough to get that awesome warming feeling from being under the covers for a while, I love that feeling .

And yes. Even when I finally get down to business and am in the bed I usually have a song stuck in my head. I pretty much know that no matter what, there is going to be some kind of song in my head, so I at least force it to be a song that might help me sleep by listening to some songs before hopping in the bed. I mean hell... last night I was literally rocking in my bed singing myself to sleep with Barry Manilow's "Can't Smile Without You" ...it was funny, but helpful.

 

[yes]

Honestly, I slowly think the alphabet backwards and everytime I mess up I start all over from "Z". It has to be slow, and I try to see and hear the letter in my mind. Or shut down everything after dinner, no tv, no pc, no electronics, just me in bed sitting and or thinking or speaking out loud to Jesus.

 

[RubberDucky451]

I like to play my ukulele when I'm restless. I'll play without any lights and the sound is incredibly soothing. It's more effective than anything else I've tried.

 

[Paradroid]

I have never problems in falling sleep.
I simply blank out my mind,I think Nothing At All (NAA).
And then I fall asleep.
Sleeping actually is the same thing as thinking nothing.
Dreams are not thinking,they are products of our subconscious.
...

 

[RedLoki]

Well personally, I go through this complicated process. You see, first I lay down on the bed, and then I close my eyes.

That's just crazy talk

 

[Crazythinker1]

I tend to catnap throughout the day and when I do go to sleep at night it is usually in my office chair with all the windows wide open so I can listen to the sounds of the night. My only quirk is that if someone else is in the house with me then I can't sleep at all until they leave.

 

[intuitivet]

Now to figure out why I can't sleep past 8am...

I can't either! It's frustrating...

I sleep by making sure I have spare duvets around, toys down the side of the bed so I don't hit into the wall, and I do relaxation breathing (7 counts in 11 out). I also try to keep the room dark and hope no one makes noise (I cannot sleep with noise or light, I experienced it on a college trip and barely slept).
With thoughts, I basically focus on one nice thought and don't let my mind wander (which can take ages to get right).

 

[Jedi]

How do you deal with any sort of preoccupation that keeps you up?

I find something else to preoccupy my mind.

 

[kantor1003]

I stare at my eyelids.

 

[Anchorite]

I rarely ever fall asleep before 1 A.M. I usually try. Lying there in the dark for as long as hours at a time, getting comfortable, having the room cool, complete silence. But after I realize it just isn't going to work I get back on the computer to listen to music and search the web until it hurts to keep my eyes open. I pass out on the bed and rise in the morning cranky but totally awake for a few hours until Math class where I am immediately knocked out and proceed to fail miserably.

 

[s0nystyle]

i fall asleep by drinking a soda or eating something sweet like 1 hr before i go to bed and ride the sugar crash down

 

[onthewindowstand]

Usually i don't even try to go to sleep if my mind is preoccupied. A way to get around that is exercise right before you want to go to sleep, if your body is exhausted, you'll fall asleep way easier. And it's good for your body.

p.s. i know the second one works well, doesn't mean i use it

This isn't a response to your post but of your profile picture. Don't you think that, that women has the rocket launcher in a strange area? LOL

Also I had this same problem last night. Normally I just need to take a sleeping pill or if its really bad I take adderall and stay up the whole night and let my mind go places and write some of the brilliance down.

 

[bananaphallus]

According to my own hasty, misinformed judgment, I've been experiencing what are called 'hypnic jerks' every night for the past three days, during the murky semi-conscious state which occurs pre-sleepdeath - it feels like I'm 'slipping'/losing my balance...whilst laying down. The actual sensation of slipping is only evident in the pad on the underside of my left foot, then my whole body reacts as it would in the event of an actual slip - sudden contraction of muscles/jerk. I hope it keeps happening.

 

[Thoughtful]

Well, for one thing, I usually stay up till 3 AM, after which it's fairly hard not to fall asleep. I also leave my computer on and listen to "sound of rain" videos. those seem to help too.

But, there was one night where I swear I could hear someone moving around in the attic, I was up till 6 AM clutching my knife. Fortunately It was my day off, so sleeping till 3 was not a problem.