Sleeping trouble

[Devon8822]

Sometimes I have trouble falling asleep and I think its due to, thinking deeply about plans, my schedual, exams, problems, etc... It is preventing me from fallign asleep lately as theres alot going on. Tonight I will try writing this stuff down to worry about the next day... but that what do i think about? I tried counting the old sheep... Is there anything else I can do to just chill/relax before and in bed? I'm am just too active in my thoughts at this time. help, thanks

[viscapes]

Have you tried meditating before bed? Or perhaps having some soothing background music? I know they're a bit corny, but I often enjoy falling asleep to those CDs you can buy of soothing sounds like rain, thunderstorms, dolphins, waterfalls etc. Perhaps even some aromatherapy might help. Anything that you find relaxing.

[Iamsuperman]

When I have a lot on my mind before I go to bed then what I do is lay in bed and let myself think it all out until I become tired then I turn the lights out. I find that when I turn the lights out and there's still a lot on my mind then it can takes hours to fall asleep.

Does this sound like it'll help or am I in left field here?

[jetpack]

I have the same problem. Even if I'm exhausted, I still can't sleep if there is stuff on my mind.

I think part of it is that I sleep too late in the morning, and/or am not active enough in the day.

I do wish there was a meditation to get me to sleep.

[Kaspian]

Sometimes when I want to fall asleep when my mind is busy, I imagine putting each busy thought in a box and setting it on a shelf. With each boxed thought, I tell myself that it's time to go to sleep now, I am setting this thought aside for now, and if I need to address it when I wake up, it will still be there.

[Devon8822]

Music seems to help me a bit definitely.

Can anyone tell me or give me a link to some info on medition that I could do before bed?

just thinking through my problems is nto a good soluton for me because I just continue thinking about it, and I cannot afford to miss 2 hours of sleep at this time in my life.

Kaspian, that sounds liek a really good idea I will try it but I dont know how effective it will be.

[Calculusaurus]

The most effective cure for insomnia is to go to bed when your tired.

The problem is that our circadian rhythms are always trying to play catch up because we have inconsistent sleep schedules. So sometimes we will try to go to bed at 2am feeling mentally exhausted, but our "subjective day" is offest to much earlier so our body won't let us sleep.

It's true that stress WILL prevent sleep onset somewhat. Worse, even if we do get to sleep, the increased levels of stress hormones will reduce sleep quality. But if our sleep schedules are perfectly in sync with our circadian rhythm, insomnia will rarely be a problem, even with a bit of stress.

So if possible, sync your circadian rhythm by waking up at the same time every morning and go to bed when tired. It might take a week of discipline before it becomes natural.

Second, do whatever possible to minimize stress late in the day. Get work done early in the day so you can spend your last two hours with relaxing "me" activities. Write down tomorrow's to-do list sometime before you go to bed -- it's best if you do this early in the evening so, like i said, you can spend the last few hours of the day stress-free.

[TAS]

I have a friend who can ONLY fall asleep after smoking the reefer...and this is the only time he smokes it...when going to bed.
If he doesn't smoke, he doesn't sleep...AT ALL!

so I guess that's one way of relaxing before you go to bed if you're down with that kind of thing...
sometimes it does put me to sleep at night also...but in the daytime it give me crazy energy!!

[Devon8822]

I have just discovered some helpful info for me about this. Often 1 or 2 days before I perform (I am a musician), I can never sleep... out of fear of not getting enough sleep for the big day, and I cant stop running through my performance in my head and worrying about what could go wrong. So I kinda get stage fright, when thinking about being on stage.. I get the same feeling. Anyways, I just found out that when one gets stage fright they get a large boost of cortisol. This is my problem... ussually thinking about stuff at night isnt a problem but when it has to do with thinking about a performance, I just cannot sleep. Tommorow I am playing, and I need some help... How can I not worry/think about my performance tonight? How can I just relax and go to sleep without worrying about it?

[Kaspian]

Originally Posted by Devon8822

How can I not worry/think about my performance tonight? How can I just relax and go to sleep without worrying about it?

The visualization of putting your busy thoughts in a box and setting it aside until later can work well for that. You will just have to firmly decide to set those thoughts aside, and if they come back, repeat the visualization and tell yourself again that it's time to go to sleep, you're setting these thoughts aside for now, and they'll still be there when you wake up if you need to address them further.

[Devon8822]

I have tried a similar thing as that last night (I am going to try the specific box thing tonight), and I feel it would have worked if I had something to replace those thoughts with.. I mean they left me for a second and than I just start think about them again, because I have nothing to replace the thoughts with. Are there any tricks I can do to keep my mind occupied? I'm gonna try music again, but anything else? thanks

[Kaspian]

What about visualizing yourself as an eagle, soaring above a beautiful landscape? Trees, hills, prairie, ocean, whatever appeals to you...

[DrMartinRussell]

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[Stormcaller]

I have dealt with insomnia since 1997. I have read all the stuff about "no caffiene after 4" "take Meletonin" "relax before bed".

The truth is that when there are troubles in your life, you won't be able to sleep well due to your mind running around in circles. Here are the things I've found that help the most...

To make yourself physically tired:
A hot bath or shower RIGHT before bed

To ignore the thoughts in your head:
Listen to relaxing music with no words on your iPOD, or listening to audio books on your iPOD. Download and listen to audio books and more - audible.com audio books is where I download loads of self help and fiction novels. My mind is engaged with listening to the audio book and you can only think of one thing at a time. Naturally since it is so hard to rewind 8+ hour audio books on your iPOD, you will inevitably fall asleep at some point and wonder when in the book you lost consciousness.

I have tried Meletonin, and it does KNOCK me out about 1-2 hours after taking it. However, in the morning I don't feel better. I feel it aggravates my tendency towards melancholy, and for that reason I do not recommend it. Although it will put you to sleep and reset your sleep cycle after being awake for 24+ hours. Something else that works pretty good is Flexeril prescription drug for tense muscles. I get tense and my doctor prescribed it for my muscles, but it makes you drowsy, so often when I take it before bed for my muscles it tends to put me to sleep. I'm not big on prescription meds, but in the case when my back seizes up, it is a nice side effect of the drug.

I've tried Valerian Herb, Hops etc, they kind of work to make you tired. But again I've been tired beyond belief and still unable to sleep. So often it is more to do with the mind than not being sleepy physically.

I recommend taking Reiki level one and speaking to a counselor about the issues you are really having. I find that when I avoid taking action I can't sleep (dealing with some issue that seems lose lose). It's a difficult process, but if you want to get better you might a well get started.

On another note to make you feel better. I think the world is experiencing an increase in insomnia. I haven't had major problems with my insomnia since the late nineties, and in the last year I have had a resurgence in sleeping problems. Perhaps it's the negative energy in the world that you are sensitive to. I hear all the time that people who have never had problems sleeping are now having problems. Don't feel bad. Work towards positivity yourself and you will change not only yourself but the world too. At least that's the advice I am giving myself and what I believe.

[Calculusaurus]

Originally Posted by Devon8822

I have just discovered some helpful info for me about this. Often 1 or 2 days before I perform (I am a musician), I can never sleep... out of fear of not getting enough sleep for the big day, and I cant stop running through my performance in my head and worrying about what could go wrong. So I kinda get stage fright, when thinking about being on stage.. I get the same feeling. Anyways, I just found out that when one gets stage fright they get a large boost of cortisol. This is my problem... ussually thinking about stuff at night isnt a problem but when it has to do with thinking about a performance, I just cannot sleep. Tommorow I am playing, and I need some help... How can I not worry/think about my performance tonight? How can I just relax and go to sleep without worrying about it?

I used to have this problem too when I performed piano pieces.

Sleep does have a huge, noticeable effect on performance quality. REM is particularly important, since it will give you a large boost in coordination and motor skills. I remember one time when I went in for a lesson, my piano teacher remarked "wow! your fingers are flying! I've never seen them move like that." I told him that I had a very good sleep the night before AND I took a 20 minute nap right before the lesson. He said "oh, of course!"

Sara Mednick Ph.D (author of Take a Nap, Change Your Life) once interviewed a professional pianist who ALWAYS took a 20 minute nap right before a performance. The pianist claimed that a nap has 10 times the benefit of spending 20 minutes just warming up. As a pianist (and napper) myself, I certainly agree with that statement.

Hmm, I suppose I'm rambling. Since I've been in your situation several times before, I know it doesn't help when people say "just don't worry about it" or "meditate" or "apply such and such mental trick" blah blah blah.

I've tried everything from eating bananas before a performance to breathing exercises minutes before I would go on stage... Maybe some of those tricks helped a bit, but not much.

Really, the only realistic solution is to attack the source of the problem: be so damn well prepared with the piece that you'll play fine regardless of the butterflies in your stomach. The other solution: perform as much as possible. Funny that these two solutions are precisely the only two ways to get over nerves for public speaking, eh?

OK I'm really rambling, but one last thing: cortisol isn't all that bad. You get a boost of it during stressful situations, like before a performance, this is why it's called a "stress hormone". BUT it's also called "the alertness hormone." A bit of cortisol is good to fire you up and stay alert.

[Stormcaller]

Originally Posted by Calculusaurus

I used to have this problem too when I performed piano pieces.

Sleep does have a huge, noticeable effect on performance quality. REM is particularly important, since it will give you a large boost in coordination and motor skills. I remember one time when I went in for a lesson, my piano teacher remarked "wow! your fingers are flying! I've never seen them move like that." I told him that I had a very good sleep the night before AND I took a 20 minute nap right before the lesson. He said "oh, of course!"

Sara Mednick Ph.D (author of Take a Nap, Change Your Life) once interviewed a professional pianist who ALWAYS took a 20 minute nap right before a performance. The pianist claimed that a nap has 10 times the benefit of spending 20 minutes just warming up. As a pianist (and napper) myself, I certainly agree with that statement.

Hmm, I suppose I'm rambling. Since I've been in your situation several times before, I know it doesn't help when people say "just don't worry about it" or "meditate" or "apply such and such mental trick" blah blah blah.

I've tried everything from eating bananas before a performance to breathing exercises minutes before I would go on stage... Maybe some of those tricks helped a bit, but not much.

Really, the only realistic solution is to attack the source of the problem: be so damn well prepared with the piece that you'll play fine regardless of the butterflies in your stomach. The other solution: perform as much as possible. Funny that these two solutions are precisely the only two ways to get over nerves for public speaking, eh?

OK I'm really rambling, but one last thing: cortisol isn't all that bad. You get a boost of it during stressful situations, like before a performance, this is why it's called a "stress hormone". BUT it's also called "the alertness hormone." A bit of cortisol is good to fire you up and stay alert.

Very interesting. Thank you for your comment. I'm intrigued by the possibility that a nap could have such a positive effect.

I know sleep is very important. I have been struggling to get better quality and more sleep for a very long time. I can understand how a nap would have benefits...

But an important concern that comes to mind is... if it takes me 4-5 hours every night to fall asleep, why would I spend that time in order to get a 20min nap... And unlike people without sleeping problems, I can't just fall asleep on demand, making napping completely out of the question at present time.

I'm not trying to criticize your suggestion. I’m just craving more advice on how to fall asleep for a nap. It's going to take me at least 60min or more to fall asleep for a 20minute nap. Which totals at least 80min. In such a case this would not be practical for other insomniacs and myself.

Do you have any suggestions on falling asleep on demand?