4:15 in the AM and I still can't get to sleep. Don't know why. Anyone else have this problem? Hmm, according to Wikipedia, millions of you do.
Insomnia is a symptom of a sleeping disorder characterized by persistent difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep despite the opportunity. Insomnia is a symptom, not a stand-alone diagnosis or a disease. By definition, insomnia is "difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, or both" and it may be due to inadequate quality or quantity of sleep. It is typically followed by functional impairment while awake. Insomniacs have been known to complain about being unable to close their eyes or "rest their mind" for more than a few minutes at a time. Both organic and non-organic insomnia constitute a sleep disorder. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in year 2007, approximately 64 million Americans suffer from insomnia on a regular basis each year. Insomnia is 1.4 times more common in women than in men.
5 comments:
Xeno,
The Ambiens and the Lunestas of the world are safe and non-addictive as my doctor said. I wouldn't have been able to take on all the life changes I've
taken on without these medications and the resulting restful, lengthy sleep I get these days.
Thanks Pete! It was an odd week. I had people in my house staying up until 4:30 AM, then I had a snorer at a hotel keep me up until 4:00 AM, then I had to get up at 7:00 AM, then the next day I had to get up at 6:30 AM... the gym I was going to closed for Spring Break, and I've been under some stress as well. Add it all up and I think my internal clock is just screwed up. I've been missing my normal meal times by hours as well. I'm also feeling some temporary normal healthy situational depression since my best friend for the past three months just moved out of town.
I'm going to first try getting back to my exercise routine and I started taking 5-HTP again yesterday.
I have suffered from Insomnia for years. I have tried multiple times to get myself into a strict sleeping regimen (12am-8am) but it rarely lasts more than a week before I am suffering from sleepless nights again. I am also in great cardiovascular shape, I run 5-6 miles every other day and it does not seem to help the insomnia.
I do not know what this insomnia stems from; I tend to be a nervous person and have had issues with depression for years. But even when I am having a good day or week my insomnia does not go away. I basically lie awake at night and my brain will not "turn off" long enough for me to go to sleep. Constant pestering thoughts.
Honestly the best medicine I have ever taken for insomnia is marijuana. Although I realize that is not an option to most and isn't even really an option to me.
By the way I have been reading your blog for years and this is my first comment. I think you are a really cool guy and checking out what you have written or reported on is something I really enjoy.
Peace!
Insomnia - apart from reacting to the Ambiens and Lunestas, it also does react to the right kind of nutrients. 5-HTP is fine and it does much the same thing as marijuana - release some of that melatonin that gives you the cuddly feeling and lets you doze off.
Of course there is also calcium which tends to let you go to sleep by relaxing, and there is vitamin B-1 which lets you continue to sleep, as in the case of people who wake up and do what they may, they can't get back to sleep again.
Luckily I'm a sleeper myself and usually have no problems either going to sleep or dozing off again after waking up.
Success. The exercise during the day, the B vitamins I took in the morning, the accumulated exhaustion, or the Valarian root before bed did the trick. Or perhaps it was dimming the lights and slowing down and falling into a routine and hour before hitting the bed. Or perhaps it was all about that internal moment with my eyes closed of just letting go of all concerns, letting everything be what it will, letting thoughts in and out without dwelling on them or capturing them.
I was out like a light by midnight and I got in my 8.5 hrs of sleep. This morning I was re-energized, ran a mile, lifted weights, had my morning shake, and I'm off to San Francisco. Has anyone seen the musical Wicked?
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