For those of you that don’t know, I’m an insomniac. I have insomnia pretty bad, but I cannot take anything to regulate it because most sleeping medications have inconsistent effects on one of my other medications. I’ve dieted right, exercised regularly, turned the air conditioner as low as it will go, and tried about every other insomnia tip, but it never works. I don’t feel tired, drowsy, or lethargic until I’ve been up for a few days without sleep. I’ve even taken a test where I had to react to certain pictures while sleep deprived, and I did better than most rested people. My doctor has even concluded that I’m just one of those rare people that do not need much sleep to revive myself, and that eventually I’ll start to need more as I get older. You’re probably thinking “that must be GREAT!” or “I bet she has all the time in the world!” Well, you are right. I do have lots of time and therefore can take on more commitments than most people.
There’s only one problem: I like to sleep.
I would love to be able to sleep a good, solid 6 hours each night. On the average night I get about 2-4 hours of shuteye, and I sometimes wake up as often as every 10 minutes. Sadly, this is an improvement from the sleeping every other day routine I kept in my younger years. The only part of my body that seems to be affected are my eyes. Once I go for about 36 hours without sleep, my eyes start to hurt. At that point, if I still can’t sleep I have to force myself to keep them closed for a while. I love the feeling of sinking into a nice deep sleep, yet I only get to experience it for a few hours. From time to time, I’ll only take a sleeping pill instead of my other meds and sleep all day. There’s nothing more relaxing to me than covering all the windows, turning out the lights, setting the AC on 65F, and taking an all day nap. In fact, I’ll probably partake in Sleepfest 2008 here within the next week or so. It’s been a while since I’ve had one.
I know that this trait is quite uncommon. According to a lot of the sleep studies I read, the majority of people with sleep issues are tired, have a hard time reacting, and do not sleep because they feel like they need more time to keep up with our fast-paced society. With this in mind, I would like to know if anyone else ever takes a day off just to sleep? It’s very relaxing, and I think that everyone could benefit from it whether they are physically tired or not. It seems to me that most people don’t take time out to relax. If you don’t like the idea of sleeping an entire day away, perhaps you could try taking a day off to do whatever it is that you enjoy. You might be surprised at how great you feel the next day.
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This is very interesting. You do not need as much sleep as everyone else. Thats is just neat and it explains a few thigns about you;)
I do not sleep much either. SOmetimes I can't and have been up for days doing as much as my body can.
I wish I could take a day off to enjoy my owness however I have a family to tend to. the good news is I like them very much so its mostly not a proble.
Have you tried meditating and clearing your mind? Its both hard and easy but I have fun trying
~T
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Oh, yes! I've been meditating since I read about it at the whopping age of......8. I can usually get myself into a trance, but not real sleep. I even got to the point where I could meditate anywhere- standing, in class, in a line, etc. It's really a great tool for me, since I had a lot of stress when I was younger.
Find out everything you need to know about poop here:
http://progressiveu.org/000701-everything-you-need-know-about-poop
When you can't sleep, resting is just as good. Your body really needs some time off.
-Sonja
"Democracy works only when you vote. When you don't take the time to vote for the candidate you find the least offensive, you run the risk of electing the candidate you find the most offensive."
I have a lot of trouble sleeping but it is nothing compared to you! The hardest i've ever had it is just not being able to sleep for one night. The next night i'm out like a light. Sometimes it may keep me up for a good five hours but I usually eventually get to sleep. When I am stressed out, during the school year, I take sleeping pills but i'm able to quite them in the summer. I know right it's weird. I can do that with ciggeretts too. I smoke during the summer and don't during the school year. But, I took slepping pills for four years straight and had withdrawls for three weeks so thats why I quite them during the summer. It's not really all that bad if you quite for a little while. I have slept all day and I love sleeping all day. But I try not to because I feel that I have wasted a day and it usually makes me sick.
Yeah, the withdrawals can be pretty bad from what I understand. That's why I am skeptical of taking them on a regular basis. It doesn't seem to be problematic for me, so I think I'll just stay up!
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I've always had trouble falling asleep, no matter how tired I am. I went to bed at 10:30, and gave up on sleep a while later. Until I'm actually drowsy from this point on, I won't be able to get to sleep, and I'll just be annoyed.
I've had a script for Ambien for quite a while. I rarely take it, maybe once a month when I really need to be up early and do a lot of stuff. It sucks sometimes. My body is strange. Sometimes Ambien knocks me out, others it keeps me up with some really weird thoughts. Those nights' I usually end up watching very late night tv until 4am.
One thing I've noticed is that whether or not I fall asleep fast, I can't drink for a couple of days after. Maybe it's in my head, but I feel like I get a buzz immediately. Well, I suppose it is cheaper that way...
My doctor once put me on Trazadone (I think). I broke it into 5 pieces, and took only one. I didn't fall asleep for hours, but once I did, I couldn't wake up for about 12 hours. I threw them out.
I haven't had withdraws from anything, but I've seen it and have no desire to take any mind-altering drugs regularly for any kind of time. Well, I have been on phenobarbital for about ten years, and it would suck to stop. (It's for seizure disorder.)
-Sonja
"Democracy works only when you vote. When you don't take the time to vote for the candidate you find the least offensive, you run the risk of electing the candidate you find the most offensive."
Yeah, it might not be a good idea to stop the seizure meds.
The sleeping pills sometimes work for me, and as you mentioned, sometimes they don't. It's even less predictable when I've taken my adderall. I wonder if it's just neurological/neurotransmitter type abnormalities that disrupt the action of the sleeping pills. that's something I'll have to look into.
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I have taken a whole day to sleep before, so I'm SO glad you posted this because I always feel so lazy when I do. I even called in sick one day so I could sleep, but I only did that because I went 14 days with no more than 20 minutes of sleep total per night because I was working on a project for work. I figured since I already had 70 hours of work in that week I deserved a day to sleep.
I, too, have issues with insomnia. I haven't slept for the past three nights and here I am still typing away. I found an all natural sleep aid that works for me sometimes, called Calms Forte. It worked for me twice, but all of the other times in between when I've taken it, it did not work at all. My brain just never seems to want to stop running through millions of things at once, making it almost impossible to relax.
I'm glad to know I'm not alone in my drastic insomnia to sleep marathon changes!
"My brain just never seems to want to stop running through millions of things at once, making it almost impossible to relax."
That's exactly it. I'm a complete worrier, so I'm constantly thinking of what could go wrong. It's so weird, especially since I am pretty much an optimist. Maybe I just get tired and cranky, and the negativity kicks in....
I guess I did fail to answer the question. Yes, I have slept all day before, several times, even a few days in a row. When my body is tired and sick, I can't control it.
-Sonja
"Democracy works only when you vote. When you don't take the time to vote for the candidate you find the least offensive, you run the risk of electing the candidate you find the most offensive."
Mine's not worry or thinking as much as restlessness. I won't have anything in particular on my mind. Even after meditating, I'll just open my eyes and want to go run or something.
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"My brain just never seems to want to stop running through millions of things at once, making it almost impossible to relax."
That's exactly it. I'm a complete worrier, so I'm constantly thinking of what could go wrong. It's so weird, especially since I am pretty much an optimist. Maybe I just get tired and cranky, and the negativity kicks in....
I guess I did fail to answer the question. Yes, I have slept all day before, several times, even a few days in a row. When my body is tired and sick, I can't control it.
-Sonja
"Democracy works only when you vote. When you don't take the time to vote for the candidate you find the least offensive, you run the risk of electing the candidate you find the most offensive."
I might have to try the stuff you've taken. Who knows, maybe it will work more than twice for me.
I can relax OK, but I just can't sleep. Sometimes I just lie there for hours, with nothing on my mind. It's really strange. I've just accepted it and quit fighting it.
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I have never tried this before. I have stayed up for 48 hours straight though that was interesting... Since my mom got sick then passed away I have had sleeping problems. I have to take medication to sleep or I won't sleep at all. I have tried everything as well.
I must try this sometime. I love sleeping, it is like a vacation I have never had and I always hate the getting up part. I just wish I could sleep for a month straight. Sadly this is one of my hobbies. lol.
I was getting ready to write a blog on sleep but in a different way...don't think I am copying you. It is more about vacation and sleep. Just read and find out!
http://www.progressiveu.org/032913-lupus-uncureable-wait-what
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I wouldn't mind if you were "copying" me. I'll definitely check it out. I need to go through your blogs. I haven't done that in a few days, and I think I might be a little behind.
Be prepared for a comment flood if I am.
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I love doing blog raids especially when I haven't been on to read my buddies blogs in a while. I wrote a different blog. I want to write the one I was telling you about today but I don't want to look like I am a point hungry pig. lol. Some people won't read my blogs for some reason (comment at least but you always do and I am here to do the same.
http://www.progressiveu.org/032913-lupus-uncureable-wait-what
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Meh, don't worry about looking like a point hungry pig.
I probably do. I wish I would have put more effort into the contest earlier on. I kinda disappeared for a few weeks because I had a lot of deadlines to meet and didn't have time to have fun. 
I wonder what the "average" number of reads per blog is. I wish we had something to compare ours to.
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I signed up for this site because of the scholarship, like most of us did. I signed up relatively late, but once I started reading blogs and comments posted on my own, I was hooked! It's really not often enough that I have a group of intelligent people reading what I have to say, whether or not they agree with me. It's beautiful! (by the way, that's totally been the main word out of my mouth lately.... better than f"ck, I suppose....)
I was sick for a few weeks... so sick I was in bed sleeping most days and nights. I got up only to pee and rehydrate. My husband made me eat. I was offline for weeks. I knew I was totally out of the running for the scholarship. Where am I right now? Typing away and watching the sun come up!
Take advantage of this site, regardless of the scholarship. There is so much to learn, even if it is just another viewpoint. We're all real people, with real feelings and beliefs that may not be yours. Find out why. I wish I would have known about this years ago when I felt lost and completely unmotivated.
-Sonja
"Democracy works only when you vote. When you don't take the time to vote for the candidate you find the least offensive, you run the risk of electing the candidate you find the most offensive."
Oh, definitely! I like the idea of being part of an online community. I don't have a lot of time for non-work human interaction, and not very many people keep the same schedule I do. I'd much rather be on here than anywhere else! I still have some good blog ideas, but I think I'm going to wait to do the better ones until after the contest is completely over.
Aside from the contest, I would just like to know what the average number of reads is. I would like to know how interesting my writing really is, but it's hard to tell from just number of reads. I would also like to know (maybe they could tell me after the contest) how many of the reads that show up are new and how many are returning readers. I like to think that readers who return would probably be a better indicator of how interesting the topic is, since I rarely return to a blog that is boring. I wish we had an anonymous feedback form or a place where people could leave reasons for their ratings. I think some of my stuff is interesting, but I also feel like some of the ratings I've got are biased in either direction.
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Annonymous feedback on ratings is a good idea. I usually just write the person a comment or private message if it is important or annoying enough to.
t would be nice if people here told us what could make our blogs better or what was good and what was not. Only a hand ful of people do this in their comments. The rest we have to learn from example.
ANyway good idea.
~T
A nation of well informed men who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has given them cannot be enslaved. It is in the region of ignorance that tyranny begins. ~Benjamin Franklin
I like the idea of making it anonymous because some people take it much too personally when they know who is making the comment- especially when the person is known to have different views. I think more people would be accepting of the advice if it were anonymous.
I try to make comments about why I gave a rating, but I don't like to do it for the bad ones because I'm afraid someone will get mad and attack my blog with bad ratings. I also don't like to sound like I'm ripping them a new one. I leave comments about spelling and grammar from time to time, though. One user actually PM'd me and thanked me because he didn't fully understand the nature of this site at first.
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These can help one to get pushed to the other side, the price mentioned is ridiculous, were I live they only cost 2US$$
The plan is to put it on a spot you can see when lying in I’m ready to fall asleep position, instead of closing your eyes while maybe getting confused in thoughts, just keep your eyes open and yes! Look towards the light, lol
It will only take a small amount of time to dwell away, I will not mention how much time, figure it out for yourself, lol
It works even better when you have 2 or more of these in the room.
http://www.coolthings.com.au/mood-light-cube-p-32.html
http://www.loveearth.com/uk/film/
I've actually tried something very similar to this! Mine is in the form of a round alarm clock. The back part lights up, so I tried turning the numbers away from me to where all I could see was the glowing sphere. Sadly, it didn't seem to work. I thought it took longer than usual for me to fall asleep. I finally put it in my stepdaughter's room.
Thank you for the suggestion! Maybe it will help someone else, even if it didn't help me. In case anyone's interested, I got my alarm clock at Wal Mart, by the way. Not exactly my favorite store, but it was the only place that was open after I got home from work in my old town.
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EDIT: I just noticed the video of the lights. My alarm clock cycles more "smoothly". These lights were definitely more mesmerising. Perhaps I will try to find some of these and see if it works. I might try to find a full-screen version of the video tonight and see what happens.
I don't think that would help me sleep, but I don't know. I don't understand how or why it would work. If I can find them cheap, I would try them. I need something...
-Sonja
"Democracy works only when you vote. When you don't take the time to vote for the candidate you find the least offensive, you run the risk of electing the candidate you find the most offensive."
The only thing I could figure is maybe by stimulating the part of the brain that triggers sleep. The video put me in kind of a daze. i think it might be something that could work for me.
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It works great (to me) with the type I presented in the link I posted, they shift in 8 or 9 different colors.
Good luck,
:-)
http://www.loveearth.com/uk/film/
WOW.
i dont know what i would do without my sleep
i can't get enough of it, and even lie awake in bed because i dont want to get out
usually during summer, i do take a day of sleep, once i didn't wake up until six p.m.
then a few hours later, sleepy time!
but this summer the latest has been 1 p.m.
sleep is definetly my bliss, my heaven
Update: I did sleep all day yesterday! We put up white cardboard behind our miniblinds, turned the AC to "igloo" setting, and took a lot of Benadryl ( I had an allergic reaction Sat. afternoon) and slept until 1pm. It was very nice.
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