Trouble Sleeping

[FinalWord]

Don't know if you have read my other thread about my situation.

Over 3 Years of Depression

I want to start making changes in my life and change but i cant even get to sleep well its not that i cant sleep but i don't want to cause my days are so empty and meaningless so i end up staying up late just surfing the net watching pointless videos and reading articles etc which will not really benefit me in anyway. But i just don't want to go to sleep, maybe it's because i know tomorrow holds nothing good or eventful for me and i just keep staying up late waking up late and never really achieving anything.

Anybody have any suggestions as to how i can change my mind set to make myself go to bed earlier. Is it just a simple toughen up and do it! Or something else. Cause i think its more then just i have developed a bad sleeping routine its more my mind set about myself and my life. Thanks for any help.

[silicon toad2000]

kinda sounds like you know what the problem is.

Have you thought about volunteering. Donate your time to a volunteer organisation. Might give you something to look forward to...

As far as the sleep goes, maybe try a 30 day trial to become an early riser. Might at least give you something to focus on.

[dalang]

I've been in a similar place. Actually I still stay up and get up late, but that's not a problem for me anymore.

As you already realized, staying up late is not the cause of your problems but a symptom (of the feeling that your days are empty and meaningless). So your goal should be to find out how you can change that. What would make your days worthwhile and fulfilling? Maybe reading articles doesn't help because this is only the first step. If you don't apply what you've learned, you are not likely to see much of a result.

If you have no real reason to get up early, you won't. You should stop beating yourself up for that. If you're not achieving, you should ask yourself questions: do I even know what I want to achieve? Do I have a (written, detailed) plan on how I can achieve those goals?

(btw: a little more care for punctuation and structuring of your post would probably encourage more people to help you and make it easier for them to give a valueable answer).

[FinalWord]

Thanks for the replies guys. And yeah i know what you mean about the structuring a lot more easier to ready when its spread out better i tried to fix it up a bit.

[AddictiveX]

Have you ever tried hypnotic sleep patterns, these sorts of audio tapes are available and can drop you into a deep sleep, however they rely on that you can relax whilst listening. Personally I tried on once, not because I had trouble sleeping on a regular basis but because I had too much caffiene on the given day, it worked a treat! It might be worth a shot!

Ax

[shinken]

i have trouble with sleep too.
i run 2 hour everyday
now i can sleep well
mybe it's work with you

with love
Shinken Shobu
Free Ebook

[Matthew Shea]

I agree with dalang. Sleep is not the problem, but merely a symptom of the larger problem of empty, boring, meaningless days. You should really fill your days up with something. Anything you enjoy doing that will keep you busy should do the trick. The key is that when you end your day feeling you've accomplished something, sleep will naturally come much more easily.

I'd suggest that you don't over-think this, either. Just pick something that looks OK and take the plunge.

[NotesMaeve]

Since other folks did a bang-up job of covering the emotional part, I'll tell you what helps me sleep:

1) Regular cardio exercise.

2) Healthy eating. The better I eat, the better I sleep. Cut your dairy, meat, refined sugar.

3) This falls under the former a bit, but getting enough food in my stomach before bed. I can't sleep hungry. Make it healthy though. At 8 last night I had an avocado with sea salt and slept great.

4) Having enough time to relax. I dim the lights at 9. It really helps me calm down and unwind.

[FinalWord]

^ Yea i have been eating well and exercising well lately. But still no good i've just lost track of my life and lost direction i don't really have anything to work towards. But thanks to everyone for the advice.

[Shamou]

When I have difficulties falling asleep... I just think about girls... it relaxes me... makes me happy... and first thing I know... it's morning... just had another wonderful night's sleep...

Try it... you'll like it...
.

[Livgivare]

I've had my few nights of being unable to fall asleap. It is a pain in the ass if you ask me. Here is a few things to think about...

1) Make yourself a mental jurney on what your rising and going to bed is like. This way you get to know any thoughts you might have that makes it hard to sleap. Do this when you are fully awake and not going to sleap or rising up in the morning. This way you really get to know your type and were you come from to get to the place you want to go to.

2) Don't over-do the evening. Some people seem to have a list of 20 things that needs to be perfect just to fall asleap, they concentrate on those things so much that they miss the goal to sleap in the night. Don't become like Confusius said: I can't sleap if my bed is not totally flat. But try to become more like a Taoist: Ah, bed is not totally flat, maybe it is supposed to be that way. I know one who has got exactly this problem and I guess he can't even sleap in trains or anywere else if the situation isn't perfect. Let go of everything, get the head clear.

3) Some tellings that are too true to be true haha...A) My mom use to say: "A good conscience is the best pillow". So stop beating yourself when trying to go to bed, don't focus on bad stuff and do not for the sake of (god, allah whatever) think that a lazy day is the worse thing ever right when you are off to bed. Try to make the day you have as positive and as good as possible. Do the things you need to do and get rid of things you dont. B) "A sleaping person is not a sinner". Dont feel that sleaping is bad, then it will kill the beauty of sleaping. This telling comes from Norway and gets you in a good mood right before the sleaping time. C) "It's better to kick oneself tired than to do something you don't want to do". Yet again my mothers telling. This one tells you to try to get the day by without having too much thought on what others want you to do and just stay on doing what yourself wants out of the day. If you do not want to party one night because you really feel like staying indoors eating chocolate do that, and probobly my mother also thought that it was better to do something fysical to yourself then on others. Like throwing paper-balls into the wall or running a mile.

4) and last, make sleapint a bit more regulary, like someone said, read the Steve Pavlina text on early rising and how to awake. They are really great material.

(Wow, this was really a good post if I may say so myself)

Love Leelene

[ReallyGoodIdeas]

Try EFT on it!

First time I tried EFT, it was on insomnia. For me it was stress from overwork, but one 2 minute round of EFT and the next thing I knew the alarm was going off. I agree, if your days aren't challenging , getting yourself physically exhausted is good, but try EFT when you're in bed. If I coud do it first time, so can you.

Much joy (and sleep to you)
Hazel

[Livgivare]

Sorry for misspelling Sleep with sleap. I can be a bit off the line while writing. I will make a better atempt to spell right next time!

[FinalWord]

Originally Posted by Livgivare

Sorry for misspelling Sleep with sleap. I can be a bit off the line while writing. I will make a better atempt to spell right next time!

Don't worry about it. I'm sure i make a lot more mistakes and so do many others.

[FinalWord]

Well i guess i should'nt have called the thread Trouble Sleeping because really i don't have trouble sleeping its more that i don't want to got to sleep.

I look back on my day and its so empty and its not just the day even if i do something semi productive during the day its just my life is so empty, it has no direction. I just feel hallow inside if that makes any sense.

I can get to sleep like when i actually to finally decide its time to get some sleep i usually get to sleep in reasonable time its just that i don't really want to go to sleep.

What do i do in this time? Well just surfing the web going to sites like this and other and sports and other sites..

I have started writing out lists of things i should do during the day to make my day productive this is helping out a bit but still most nights, well all nights i still stay up pretty late wasting my time when i really should be sleeping.

I think i really just need to keep taking this one day at a time and try and improve my life slowly over time and keep setting myself goals and trying to archive them until i find what i really want to do with my life and i find that direction in life.

I guess it seems stupid for me to post this cause in a way i am just answering my own question but i guess if this could help someone else then its worth posting. And also someone probably does have something to add to this that could help and i would like to thank you in advance if someone does.