Do you remember the scene in Falling Down where Michael Douglas enters the fast food restaurant? He starts to order but the manager refuses to serve him breakfast because he’s two minutes too late. So he snaps, pulls out a gun and starts shooting into the ceiling. That’s what I’ve been feeling like for the last few days.
Well, maybe it’s not that bad, but it’s not far off. I can’t sleep and it’s driving me nuts. I’m a night owl anyway but the last two weeks I’ve been getting 2 hours sleep a night. I’m not tired, not thinking, not doing anything… I just can’t sleep. And I’m probably not much fun to be around either.
My brain’s been too zapped to think of any meaningful posts lately, so I thought I’d post this quiz instead. It seemed like a good match. I’m hoping it’s right and it’s just a “sometimes” thing… if it’s insomnia I’m going to go crazy.
What about you? Do you get enough sleep? Any tips? I’ll take anything I can get. 😉
I sleep good if i have some milk before going to bed.
CJ: Unfortunately eating or drinking too close to bed has the opposite effect on me, but maybe some fruit an hour before wouldn’t hurt… thanks for commenting. 🙂
I got the same score on the quiz (not too much of a surprise). I’m sorry you’ve been having sleep issues. My goodness, 2 hours a night? It’s amazing you can walk and talk!
As a fellow night owl, my adrenaline is still pumping late at night, so it’s hard to just relax once I hit the bed. Sometimes reading in bed will do it, but that can go on for hours.
If you really mean you’ll “take anything you can get” you might try out the energy tapping technique I use. I do go to sleep, when I remember to do it, sometimes with my fingers still on my upper lip–but, heck, it works.
Here’s an article: http://www.emofree.com/cases/insomniaitchingdeafness.htm
and here’s a video: http://www.tapping.com/videos/insomnia.html
Good luck & sweet dreams. 🙂
CJ: Thanks, Muse. I’m feeling a bit tired but managing… just finding it a bit hard to make sense, which is why I’ve been holding off on blogging and commenting for a few days.
I do a lot of my writing at night which probably doesn’t help, particularly if it’s an intense scene… reading used to help me unwind but not as much lately. I think I need to change my routine. Or find something to do while I’m up. Pity the moonlight collectors aren’t in Sydney yet, eh? 😉
Thanks for the links too. I’ve been trying biofeedback and some relaxation techniques, so I’m definitely open to trying something different. I’ll let you know if it helps! Peace and good thoughts to you, always. 🙂
Too bad you have sleep issues! I have been down and out lately as-well. I am just now starting to sleep after about a month. I truly think when we can’t sleep, something is triggering our psych. What do I know…?
I found out that I have stomach problems. Just knowing what’s up helps me sleep. It’s not the sleep through the night for hours sleep. Maybe, 3 hours here, wake up, 2 hours there. I eat instant oatmeal about 3 hours before I go to bed.
Have you started a new job? Do you have something in your life you are currently dealing with that might not be comfortable with? Are you having any health issues? It could be many things? Keep us informed CJ. Good Luck!
CJ: Thanks, Lynn. It’s reassuring to know I’m not the only one! I agree as well, I think lack of sleep is often a symptom of something else and knowing what it is can help. Unfortunately there isn’t any one thing I can pinpoint that might be causing it.
The most likely reason is that I’ve been finding writing difficult for the last few months and I’ve been writing late, trying to work through it… when that happens it can disrupt your sleep pattern later. There are also a couple of things in my life I’ve been frustrated with, so that might be part of it too. I’m hoping it’s just a matter of working through it and it’ll get back to normal. Either that or finding a good punching bag and wearing myself out. 😉
I’ll let you know how it goes. Right now I’m using power naps to top up my sleep. If it was good enough for Winston Churchill, it’s good enough for me, eh?
CJ, I don’t even have to do the quiz…I felt so aggressive and not myself one week ago because I did not sleep for about week…Actually, I felt like I was plugged on adrenaline for 24/24…Even if, I would try to relax, visualize, meditate, use tapping like Muse…I just couldn’t fall asleep…But my problem was about my hypothyroidism medication being too strong for me…Now, I feel so much better and more myself and I do now get some sleep…I can understand ur frustration….But let me tell u that writing at nite is not helping… I stopped myself painting late because of the sleeping issue, it can for sure disturb ur sleeping habits…
Have sweet dreams..
CJ: Sorry to hear that, CV. It must have been awful to feel so switched on all the time and not in control… that doesn’t sound like you at all, your spirit. Glad to hear you’re starting to feel more like yourself again.
I’m not sure it’s the writing at night that’s doing it as much as writing later… I’ve written at night for 5 years now and it can be quite relaxing, but as it’s got harder I’ve been writing until earlier in the morning… I think that’s what’s causing some of the disruption. Hopefully once I sort through a few things it might get back to normal. Otherwise I’ll have to rethink my times.
Happy dreams to you, CV, always. 🙂
Chamomile tea works for me, helps me to relax. Though I haven’t had issues to get to sleep in a quite a while, I fight to stay awake as long as possible, afraid I’ll miss something 🙂
CJ: I’m like that as well, Diss, there’s always so much to do in a day, I want to stay awake! But chamomile tea sounds nice… I might have to try that. Nothing better than relaxing with a good book and a nice drink, eh? 😉
I never liked sleeping even as a child hence I just do segmented sleeping. It seems after the first REM segment I am up & stay up for an hour or so, at which time I do a variety of things from TV to showering, eating, or emailing, sketching in journal or daydreaming. For an odd reason sleep seems to hurt, yes physically hurt. Every 3 hours I tend to get up with a variety of emotions… last night each time I rose, I was intensely irritated mostly likely from the barometric pressure, which I am highly sensitive. It seems the couch helps lull me some nights. Today I began an exercise program, so tonight will see if that helps…….usually exercise causes me to need less sleep—odd huh?
CJ: That’s interesting about segmented sleep. It’s not the same as what you mean but when I have been sleeping, it’s been off and on. I’ve actually found it easier to rest for a couple of hours in the morning and then again later in the evening… it keeps me alert.
Sorry to hear that about your sleep pattern too. That’s awful that sleep would cause you pain and discomfort. Here’s hoping the exercise helps… it’s amazing just how many people have trouble sleeping now, though. It says a lot about how we live, the stress in our lives.
I often suffer from insomnia myself and then end up angry and cranky. My brain slows down too. I’ve recently become very particular about my sleep and I make sure I get 8 hours sleep. I’m also a night owl, so the first thing I did was schedule all my classes after noon (I’m a part time teacher). Then I read up on the concept of sleep hygiene. It really, really helps. The trick is to sleep at the same time and wake up at the same time. I know it sounds difficult, but it’s really not. Your body will then fall asleep at the right time and wake up at the right time. I now wake up exactly 8 hours after going to bed, often before the alarm rings. Taking a sleeping pill once in a while isn’t a bad idea either.
This is a good resource for a basic list on sleep hygiene: http://www.stanford.edu/~dement/howto.html
Hope it helps!
CJ: Thanks for the link, Nabiha. I’ve heard of some of those sleep hygiene tips; they make a lot of sense. Things like just using your bed for sleeping and developing a sleep ritual all help to create an atmosphere for sleep… I’ll have to try it, I can see how that would be relaxing.
The first thing I need to do is get back to some kind of a normal sleep pattern. Once I’ve done that and I’m sleeping regularly again, then I’ll try and increase the amount of sleep back to 8 hours. At the moment I’m not much of a morning person, so it’d be nice to fix that. 😉
It’s amazing just how many people are night owls these days. I’ve actually quite enjoyed it at times… it’s a different world at night.
I haven’t checked for a few days, so I didn’t see your reply. I hope you’re sleeping better now? And as long as you don’t have to work in the morning, why would you want to wake up? Especially since you’re a night owl. I don’t sleep till 2 or so and wake up at around 10. It works! I’m productive at work and I can focus on my writing at night. I agree that nights are more enjoyable.
CJ: Thanks, Nabiha, I am sleeping a little better now… not back to normal yet but slowly getting there! I used to be something of an early riser, so I guess I’m just not used to getting up later. But you’re right, if you don’t have things to do, what’s it matter if you wake up at 10? It’s certainly a lot quieter at that time with no one around. 😉
Writing at night’s great, isn’t it? There’s nothing quite like that spark of inspiration which keeps you going until 1 in the morning… that’s the one thing which has surprised me about all this, how I’ve actually enjoyed some parts of being up late. It’s been an eye-opener.
Hmm. I love sleeping, so all this talk about people wanting to be alert so that they won’t miss much – makes me feel a bit guilty.
Generally, our body chemistry changes around 30, 35, 40 etc – any milestone like that can alter one’s sleep patterns.
My husband has some problems sleeping. Whenever he avoids coffee/tea after 11 AM, he sleeps better.
Your brain probably is working in full-gear all the time. Now, I’ve perfected the art of being flaky on demand. The moment I lie down, my frontal lobe shuts down. Sleep is the only activity possible 🙂
Plus, we all need a trusted, time-tested sleep-aid – a god-awful boring book. In between the laborious, pompous lumbering of the author, somewhere between pages 2 & 3, our brain will fall asleep in sheer frustration. I’m serious. May I recommend the “Flight of the Iguana?” – works like magic for my husband, every time.
CJ: Oh, I enjoy sleeping as well; didn’t mean to give the impression that I don’t. It’s just that there’s so much to fit in a day that being awake for a few extra hours might be nice sometimes. But then sleep helps you to be more effective anyway; what’s the point of being awake for 20 hours if you’re a zombie? 😉
Now that’s a skill I’d love to have! Unfortunately my brain’s always active, so I’ve not quite worked out how to shut it down yet… one reason why everything should have an off switch, eh?
I’ve tried a few boring books (and audiobooks) as well but I keep thinking how I could write them better… I’ll have to try Flight of the Iguana, though; now I’m intrigued. Either that or Ulysses. That always made me drop off in school and I can’t imagine trying to rewrite James Joyce. I’d have to understand him first. 🙂