Sleeping

[Synthesis]

As per the title, what can induce a sleep-state? Obviously, exhaustion can be one, yet even that at times isn't enough to put one to sleep, I've found. Are there certain nerves that must be relaxed before one can drift off, or is it a combination of chemicals?

I ask this because I have the fortune to awaken every few hours whilst slumbering, instead of continuing undisturbed. I'm aware that anxiety and depression can cause this, yet I do not think either apply. Furthermore, I have found that I am often unable to find rest at all, instead lying in my bed staring at my ceiling in a - typically - vain effort to sleep.

Any comments or suggestions? The above has become rather...tiring.

 

[hope]

You can do a bunch of things to get back to sleep

Take hot bath
take medication
exercise
do something you find boring (I read John Adams' biography)
do math in your head
2 4 8 16 32 64 128 256 512 1024 2048 4096 8182 16384 32768 65536 131072 232144 464288 928,566 (im pretty sure the last one is wrong) -- its where I get before i fall asleep

Some reasons that you could wake up

sleep apnea
anxiety/depression
narcolepsy
ptsd
not exercising enough -- need to be physically tired to sleep well
bad diet
genetics

 

[EditorOne]

I'd go with the exercise. Take a walk.

I've had some success with attempting to envision the color grey and nothing else, staying focused on the nothingness of the grey, no thoughts in my brain. "No thoughts in my brain" is the hardest part, of course.

I empathize. When I was a firefighter I'd awaken to a screaming radio alert in the middle of the night, instantly come wide awake with adrenalin pumping, and then not be able to get to sleep even if it was a false alarm or a nothing call. That was years ago. I still come completely awake instantly, very rarely sluggish, but without the adrenaline it's possible for me to go back to sleep within an hour.

Job stress used to keep me awake, but now that I'm jobless I'm pretty much stress free.

 

[Synthesis]

Hm. I will try those, thank you for the advice. After some wikipedia searching, I am thinking the cause(s) may be i) a form of insomnia ii) narcolepsy iii) diet abnormality. There is only one other person in my family who I know suffers the same, so it may/may not be genetically related. Sleep apnea, I do not recall ever having a shortness-of-breath or loss of the same at any time that didn't deserve it (i.e, outside of a sparring match or similar environment). Ptsd, nothing relevant has occured. Exercising, I am prone to 2 hour walks for stress relief. Any other ideas? I appreciate the quick response.

 

[snafupants]

people produce 1/2 the amount of melatonin when 50 as compared to 20 years of age. to remedy this, one could take melatonin supplements. however, I dont recommend sticking with this long term because it is better for your body to produce these chemicals endogenously. speaking of endogenuous production, it is best to reduce the amount of light a few hours before sleep to heighten the release of melatonin, produced by the pineal gland.

if this doesnt float your boat, exercise until exhausted.

my parents seem to have acid build up later in the day because of the high acid (versus alkaline) food they consume, so i would avoid that greasy cheeseburger at 9 pm

dont have more than 1 or 2 beers either, because this reduces the amount of rem sleep, which will leave you lethargic the next day, not to mention the hangover

 

[snafupants]

i realized after posting that that was a list of donts. i seriously DO recommend having sex at night to release endorphins; this is better than exercise later in the day. moderate exercise will probably give one a zap of energy, which is antithetical to quick sleep.

 

[Synthesis]

Thank you Snafu for the list of "do not's". The bit on melatonin was new information for me, I will keep it in mind. Would intense exercise aid the process of falling asleep more, what with the physical exhaustion factor and the typical hot shower/bath afterwords?

 

[Vrecknidj]

1) Eliminate stress.
2) Overcome depression.
3) Booze.
4) Ambien.

There are others.

Dave

 

[Chimera]

I've heard a blunt object to the head does wonders.
I'm the wrong person to give sleep advice; I don't sleep until I've been awake for 24 hours lately, which is when my body starts telling me to find a bed or reasonably soft surface. Or the floor. The floor works.
Good luck conquering your sleep issues though. o:
​

 

[OrionzRevenge]

....I ask this because I have the fortune to awaken every few hours whilst slumbering, instead of continuing undisturbed. ......Furthermore, I have found that I am often unable to find rest at all, instead lying in my bed staring at my ceiling in a - typically - vain effort to sleep.

....

....Some reasons that you could wake up

sleep apnea
anxiety/depression
narcolepsy
ptsd
not exercising enough -- need to be physically tired to sleep well
bad diet
genetics

Apnea is a candidate but only if others comment on your snoring.
Many have spoke of depression but it sounds more like the polar opposite to me (as in Mania). I have much experience with this.

Try a slab of Turkey Brest and a glass of Milk at bedtime for a little natural sleep medicine.

Best of Luck

 

[zxc]

I find that a cool temperature helps me to fall asleep faster, though I don't need help sleeping usually. Drops in body temperature make you sleepy, one reason why a hot bath or shower may work (increase and then decrease in temperature afterwards). I cannot sleep when it's hot and humid.

You could try calm ambient music or sound tracks of the waves at a beach or whatnot, if you think that'd help. I've never done it myself.

As you get older, you awaken more often during the night.

When I'm exhausted but can't sleep, attempting to read a page of a non-fiction book with a lot of jargon will usually do the trick.

 

[Synthesis]

Apologies on the late responses, I have been preoccupied with several chess marathons and wikipedia. Thank you all for the responses, I will look into them.

Orizonz, I am not as familiar as I'd like with Mania; would you describe its effects please? Particularly how they relate to my sleeping patterns.

Chimera, yes...blunt objects to the head can help I will have to try it one day, just for the novelty. I am usually up for 20-ish hours on one waking/sleeping cycle (that is, upon waking I will be up for the next 20 hours, give or take a few).

Zxc, I can relate to wanting a cold temperature. I will try the temp. modulation tomorrow - thank you for the idea/information. I usually do have some sort of 'Zen' ambience going when I try to sleep. 'Tis odd, really...I am a teenager, yet seem to have issues sleeping instead of sleeping too much.

I have recently found that creating mental fantasies, following them, then dropping them a short time after will strangely make me more receptible to temporary oblivion. I find this to be rather odd, considering I am prone to creating the same (or theorising) throughout the day.

 

[zxc]

Apologies on the late responses, I have been preoccupied with several chess marathons and wikipedia. Thank you all for the responses, I will look into them.

Zxc, I can relate to wanting a cold temperature. I will try the temp. modulation tomorrow - thank you for the idea/information. I usually do have some sort of 'Zen' ambience going when I try to sleep. 'Tis odd, really...I am a teenager, yet seem to have issues sleeping instead of sleeping too much.

I'm exactly the opposite - I sleep too much 12 hours of sleep is not an uncommon occurrence, although that's normally after staying awake 24+ hours.

Also, did someone mention chess?

 

[Synthesis]

Heh, once I do manage to succumb to the beloved darkness, I can easily sleep 10-12 hours. Although, that is normally when I find rest in the early/mid-morn.

Chess, yes. I've been trying to brush up on my chess playing abilities this past week...been playing everyone I know that knows how to play. Great fun 'tis I am not terribly 'good' at it yet, unfortunately. Need to watch more gm games methinks.

 

[Fool]

Things which help me fall asleep:

-Marijuana
-Hot shower/bath
-the correct room temperature
-a good workout/run
-Sex

 

[asdfasdfasdfsdf]

928,566 (im pretty sure the last one is wrong)

928,576 (sorry, its an intp thing)

 

[zxc]

Heh, once I do manage to succumb to the beloved darkness, I can easily sleep 10-12 hours. Although, that is normally when I find rest in the early/mid-morn.

Chess, yes. I've been trying to brush up on my chess playing abilities this past week...been playing everyone I know that knows how to play. Great fun 'tis I am not terribly 'good' at it yet, unfortunately. Need to watch more gm games methinks.

Watching GM games is sometimes good, but most of their games are simply over our heads. You'd need them to be annotated well to make sense of it, and the patience to go through the variations given.

I'd recommend learning all the basic tactics first (forks, pins, double-attacks), some opening principles (development, piece placement), and how to checkmate with king and queen//rook vs king. Then learn about the various checkmating patterns (chess is ALL about patterns), and combine that with solving lots of chess problems like 'Mate in two moves' etc (plus this is particularly fun!). An understanding of algebraic chess notation is a must as well.

There's lots of good chess sites but one you may not otherwise come across is http://www.exeterchessclub.org.uk/index3.html

I'll stop here before I derail the thread