The Insomniacs’ Thread

It’s 3:45am. 
It’s absolutely still and quiet, for a change - except for D’s CPAP machine, and the very occasional and sub-murmured almost whispered croak of a nocturnal duck.

No bats or frogs or toads, for a change; no crickets. Not yet cicada season. 

Giving up on sleep (I’ve been trying for most of 4 hours), I’ve come out to the kitchen to make a decaf - just in time to discover a very early exploratory ant sortie. Third mass invasion this week! Ten minutes later, I’ve resolved that issue and  got the kettle boiling. (We don’t use whistling kettles in this household!)

I just don’t think I’m going to sleep at all tonight. Sigh. 

So: dear MOL, what are our current preferred ways of dealing with:

- difficulties getting to sleep?

- staying asleep?

- getting enough sleep?

- handling the day after a night of inadequate of inadequate sleep?

- what do you do when you know sleep just won’t come?

TIA  I’m looking forward to all suggestions and contributions, especially as the other half prefers to retire early and sleep late, and I average 5-7 hours a night if I’m lucky



And now it’s 4:30, dawn is slowly breaking, all the birds are waking up. And traffic is slowly starting to move...

Ah well, probably no point in even trying to get back to bed now. Just finish the decaf and read the news. 


joanne - What city are you in?  We have friends who just left today to visit their two daughters in Australia. It just worked out that way that both daughters ended up in Australia. One is up north in Queensland, I believe, and the other is in Perth. They'll be there for three weeks. 


I'm on the Gold Coast (that's SE Queensland). If anyone's gonna be here, they should get in touch! smile

There are fires around Perth and towards Geraldton, and towards Margaret River. So WA travel might need care. Qld is a real mess at present. Our pocket is mostly safe but smoky.


Joanne...........tea has only a fraction of the caffeine found in coffee.  However coffee/ caffeine does need about 8 hours to leave the body.  No real coffee after early afternoon.

Interestingly enough,  because of my high blood pressure, I drank only Lipton Yellow label tea during on extended stay in Greece one year.  Later found out that Greek coffee is brewed differently than what is imbibed here,  so that the caffeine presence is much less significant

My BP would probably not been affected and no one sleeps at night in Greece anyway.

Erratic sleep is common later in life.  I have solved all the world's problems at 3 AM many times.  Really should start righting down my schemes


Some sage advice here. Others will find it very helpful.

If only I could drink tea, or tisanes, again! I'm condemned to 1 coffee a day, thereafter to 1 half-strength decaf. I have the real coffee early in the morning, and usually the decaf by lunchtime if I am having one at all. Otherwise I'm just drinking water - hot, cold or sparkly. Never flavoured (I'm not allowed, unless I fiddle with citric acid which I'm not going to, I can't taste it anyway)  

The caffeine doesn't affect my sleep but it does affect my immune system and my migraines. The other yummy things that enhance aroma and flavour with roasting irritate my MAST cells and cause inflammation and joint pain. Plus I'm limited to 100mls of rice milk daily (can't drink black coffee unless it's Greek).

I'm lucky to have low BP. Need to watch weight, and lipids are slowly rising (genetic) but exercise helps cheese I have a stand-up paddleboard class on Thursday.


If I were you, I'd find another doctor.

That regimen seems weird — and appears to be not working. Personally, I mistrust doctors who blame everything on caffeine!


cheese My lack of sleep this week is due to bushfire smoke and dust in the air, not caffeine. 

Our current air purity rating in Eastern Australia is below New Delhi and Beijing.

(Mtierney, you might have forgotten I'm sensitive to the natural chemicals in plants and the environment that preserve plants and promote their healing from bruising and insect attack; makes them colourful, aromatic, speeds their ripening and decomposition. I also react strongly to the natural chemicals that make foods yummy if we fry, grill, roast, bake, slow-cook, marinate, ferment or age them. I'm sensitive to proteins in grains (not gluten), dairy (not lactose) and I'm allergic to most painkillers and sulfites. Tested. Carry an epipen. My old immunologist just died of cancer, and I have a brilliant (as in acknowledged genius) new one)


I had no idea of the extent of your medical issues!

I somewhat understand having to avoid ingesting certain foods,  but how/where in the world can one avoid all food odors and nature’s aromas?

Maybe you should become nocturnal as much as possible and try to sleep during the day? Working with your body’s needs?

Move into a city air conditioned flat, high up above street levels and pollution?


These are genetic issues cheese my body doesn’t produce a couple of neurotransmitters that tells the rest of the system how to cope with everything else. Also, I’m a super-smeller and a chronic migraineur. We’re soooooo lucky that science has advanced sufficiently for us to understand all this, so I don’t need to be as chronically unwell or in pain as my ancestors were, or some of my current relations! I don’t have the full blown diabetes, rampant rheumatism, cancers or cardio worries they’ve had (just a touch of psoriasis and what’s above). It’s all linked, though. 
And, as author says, as we age then sleep becomes more problematic too.

I’ve been able to catnap, for most of my life. And lucky enough to work shift work. Graveyard suits me as I’m a night owl, but these days I really need to grab my sleep at night so I can drive safely during the day. It’s also better for my slow mental processing. 


MASSIVE storm broke here 45 mins ago, huge winds with immense thunder and lightning starting about 15 mins before. It was as dark as an eclipse (it was 2:30pm).

Golf-ball sized hail all around for over 20 mins; at first it sounded like someone was lobbing cement bricks onto the roof. The poor ducks stuck the lake didn't know what to do: a few tried to outswim the hail and rain (patently useless), most eventually tried swimming underwater and hid under lily pads or near the houses/trees; at least one pretended to be a 'decoy duck' and just sat motionless in one place, hoping not to be hit. 

Then the razor-sharp angled icy fast rain came, driving in at about 60degrees and shredding all in its path. 

All over by 3:05pm, and now it's muggy, glary and the smoke is starting to build back up. The breeze still feels fresh though. I hope the firefighters got some benefit! 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-17/queensland-bushfires-pechey-ravensbourne-mt-lindesay-focus/11711290


joanne said:

These are genetic issues
cheese
my body doesn’t produce a couple of neurotransmitters that tells the rest of the system how to cope with everything else. Also, I’m a super-smeller and a chronic migraineur. We’re soooooo lucky that science has advanced sufficiently for us to understand all this, so I don’t need to be as chronically unwell or in pain as my ancestors were, or some of my current relations! I don’t have the full blown diabetes, rampant rheumatism, cancers or cardio worries they’ve had (just a touch of psoriasis and what’s above). It’s all linked, though. 
And, as author says, as we age then sleep becomes more problematic too.

I’ve been able to catnap, for most of my life. And lucky enough to work shift work. Graveyard suits me as I’m a night owl, but these days I really need to grab my sleep at night so I can drive safely during the day. It’s also better for my slow mental processing. 

 So sorry to learn you are dealing with such on going medical issues, Joanne. I have been dealing with the worst cold ever over the past five days, and I am feeling so depressed!

If I sounded flippant earlier, please blame the cold in my nose which clouded my brain! Take care.


wink sounds like you need a steaming bowl of my mum’s chicken & veg soup, that has a hint of fresh ginger to lift the flavour. Our cousin Alec was a dedicated GP, and regularly prescribed this soup around the family whenever someone was under the weather or just felt low cheese The ginger is the secret ingredient to wellbeing; 

The Chinese would also add crushed dried mandarin peel (no pith, just zest). The grated ginger and peel add essential vitamins to the wafting steam, that help to soothe the sinuses and Eustachian tubes while soothing your throat. 

I hope you make a speedy a full recovery! 
pits just after 9pm, I’m in bed. I hope to sleep, despite the wind.  My plan is to meditate for 20 mins if I wake too early. 


I slept! 

Well, passed out might be more accurate - I think D turned off my bedside lamp long after I was dozing. Varying stages of slumber awareness and none truly refreshing, but I didn't wake or get up until 15 mins ago.

Woohoo!! *happy dance*


Perhaps, tomorrow I’ll breathe!

Let’s party!


I found this technique to work for me:

Before starting the breathing pattern, adopt a comfortable sitting position and place the tip of the tongue on the tissue right behind the top front teeth.

To use the 4-7-8 technique, focus on the following breathing pattern:

  • empty the lungs of air
  • breathe in quietly through the nose for 4 seconds
  • hold the breath for a count of 7 seconds
  • exhale forcefully through the mouth, pursing the lips and making a "whoosh" sound, for 8 seconds
  • repeat the cycle up to 4 times

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324417.php


You could try listening to this New Zealand radio station. It sends more than 40,000 listeners worldwide to sleep.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/117425987/a-te-aroha-radio-station-is-sending-more-than-40000-people-worldwide-to-sleep


I use a similar breathing technique as Jamie for sleep. Often my wandering thoughts keep me up, but when I concentrate on my breath I fall asleep. I breathe somewhat deeply, maybe 5 breaths per minute, sometimes counting to 5-6 for each in breath. I sometimes visualize the breath going in my nose and down through my chest into my abdomen, and then slowly out back up to my nose and out. The more I focus on my breath rather than thoughts, while relaxing my body, the more I sleep. Meanwhile, I usually do sleep about 6 hours per night, and may need a brief afternoon nap, I try to accept it rather than fight it if I wake up early and can't go back to sleep. 


Thanks for the breathing tips! Reports to follow.


I love it when science helps explain old tips we've known to work forever!

Remember being told to keep a notepad and pen by the bed, and to just write down down those lists and thoughts that don't let you sleep?? Here's the neuroscience/sleep science behind it all:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-26/insomnia-study-sparks-tips-for-getting-to-sleep,-health-warning/11734486

Also, I highly recommend Henning Beck's wonderful book Scatterbrain on how your brain works, what is memory, and how making mistakes makes us more creative, innovative and successful



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