[AdrianBua]

Hi. Im new to the forum, my name is Adrian – I am spanish/english, I am 26 and am studying for a phd in political science at the University of East Anglia (UK). (Any other academics on the site by the way?).

I wouldn't say I am an “imsomniac” in the chronic sense of the word, as I do think it is an overused term, but I've had problems with anxiety and sleeping throughout my life (sometimes Im not sure whtehr the anxiety brings the imsomnia or the other way round).. anyway, ever since I was a kid Ive had trouble sleeping, and when I was around 16 or so I guess, I started developing 'routines', not necessarily to get to sleep, but things I felt I needed to do before going to bed in order to be able to relax and sleep. These range from mundane things like making sure all the doors are locked, or checking my wallet is the correct place etc, and, up until I was about 22/23 Id would HAVE to smoke a joint before sleep – until the marijuana itself started making anxious as a side effect, and I decided to kick it (which was surprisingly easy considering how attached Id become to it) once I realised I slept better without it….

since being 23 until starting phd, Ive had relatively good sleep (with some dodgy patches) … but my sleeplessness has come back with a vengeance during the phd (started sept 10), and Ive gone back to developing almost obsessive-compulsive pre sleep routines ….

After finishing work (generally 3-4-5 am) I must have a camomille, a cigarette and watch some documentary or a politics show or something not too engaging, interesting and relaxing – if I dont have camomille handy, and then when in Bed i read my novel …

So far I wont blame you for thinking “OK, great … sounds pretty normal” … but I feel I have to go through these steps in order to sleep, to an obsessive degree … Ive never heard of camomille addiction, but If I realise theres no camomille in the house, i will go to extraordinary lengths to find some … I walked out into the saturday (4am ish) nightlife of bethnal green to find a shop that sold camomille, and found one surprisingly, full of drunk students buying more alcohol …

I get very worried about any potential obstacles to these little routines … if theres a guest in the house say, in the sitting room …

What also used to happen (ironically mostly during this 2 year period when I was sleeping relatively well) was that I'd to lie in bed and, for some reason, start worrying about the most mundane things – like checking the lights are off downstairs, or the door is properly locked… over and over again (all the time telling myself – Adrian its OK you seen everything is off and the door is locked 3 times now … but I still cant shake it off) … at one point I got obsessed with checking the fridge door was shut …. so, in order to register everything is shut Id walk round the bottom floor of the house, at 5 am ish, saying out loud “firdge is shut”, “door is locked”, “curtains are shut”, “tv is off” etc etc so that Id register it …. crazy right? and the funny thing is I know its crazy while I am doing it …

I used to live with a sleep-walker, and had bumped into him countless times whilst going through my “checklist”, he'd creep up one me … “fridge, shut … “tv, off” … “oh, lee. sleepwalking right?” …. and lee would answer with some amusing non-sequitur, my favorite (re-ocurring one actually) was “where's grandma” … so seen from the outside, I guess a bit of madhouse.

Then, once in bed, I sometimes get the feeling I have to pee … and ahve gotten up and out of bed reapeatedly, to go to the toilet to find I dont have to pee, but it still feels like it!

theres countless ones..

There are some extreme examples here, which don't happen every night (thankgod – I generally make sure I have camomille and cigarettes to hand!), but I was wandering if any of you have similar obsessions or whatever we want to call them, to share.

Actually, just writing these down has been therapeutic, makes me see how silly they are and I guess they can be quite funny also.

[Martin Reed]

Hi Adrian. Firstly, welcome to Insomnia Land and thanks for sharing.

I think a lot of our members have different routines that they try, but I think yours may be the longest one! That being said, if you find the long and strict routine works for you, then that's a good thing.

Do you think the obsessiveness of your sleep routine is related to your insomnia? Perhaps you find it hard to switch off your brain (as evidenced by finding you're needing to do certain things and in a certain way and worry when they're not) and that's resulting in sleeping difficulties.

Have you seen a doctor about your insomnia and mentioned the sleep routine to them?

—

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The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.

[Baron]

bumping into the sleepwalker during your pre-sleep checklist is hilarious!

[MarinaFournier]

'AdrianBua' wrote on '19:

Hi. Im new to the forum, my name is Adrian – I am spanish/english, I am 26 and am studying for a phd in political science at the University of East Anglia (UK). (Any other academics on the site by the way?).

(snip)

since being 23 until starting phd, Ive had relatively good sleep (with some dodgy patches) … but my sleeplessness has come back with a vengeance during the phd (started sept 10), and Ive gone back to developing almost obsessive-compulsive pre sleep routines ….

After finishing work (generally 3-4-5 am) I must have a camomille, a cigarette and watch some documentary or a politics show or something not too engaging, interesting and relaxing – if I dont have camomille handy, and then when in Bed i read my novel …

(snip)

I get very worried about any potential obstacles to these little routines … if theres a guest in the house say, in the sitting room …

What also used to happen (ironically mostly during this 2 year period when I was sleeping relatively well) was that I'd to lie in bed and, for some reason, start worrying about the most mundane things – like checking the lights are off downstairs, or the door is properly locked… over and over again (all the time telling myself – Adrian its OK you seen everything is off and the door is locked 3 times now … but I still cant shake it off) … at one point I got obsessed with checking the fridge door was shut …. so, in order to register everything is shut Id walk round the bottom floor of the house, at 5 am ish, saying out loud “firdge is shut”, “door is locked”, “curtains are shut”, “tv is off” etc etc so that Id register it …. crazy right? and the funny thing is I know its crazy while I am doing it …

(snip)

Then, once in bed, I sometimes get the feeling I have to pee … and ahve gotten up and out of bed reapeatedly, to go to the toilet to find I dont have to pee, but it still feels like it! (snip)

If the obsessive/compulsive nature of this behavior really bothers you, consider seing a doctor for a recommendation to a psychiatrist for meds & a therapist. As for the urgency to pee, my MiL just had something prescribed for her, but went off it. I should ask her what it was so you might pursue it with your doctor.

PhD programs are rather stressful, and I'm not too surprised you're dealing with insomnia due to its stress. I do hope it gets better, and I hope you enjoy our community in any case.

[brayan]

Haha, I actually very likely do have obsessive compulsive disorder, I dnt have a particular routine before going to sleep, but I do have to check if the doors locked repeatedly, the patio door bar lock in addition to the actual patio door being locked, I turn off unneccessary lights in the house, a ritual that I normally do before going to sleep is taking a hot shower, then turning the ac real low, or if its winter open the window, but yeah I'm the same way, I will not invite anyone over when I have to sleep, its a 'must', I mean, if I plan on sleeping then I better not invite anyone over haha, cuz otherwise I won't be able to sleep until they leave, I mean, I don't do the whole 'checking the locked door' thing now, but when I was a kid, omg, for real, I would leave the house, turn the key, repeatedly, like 10-15 times, to make sure it was locked, then try opening the door, and sometimes I would walk down half the block, then walk back to make sure I locked it again, its not so bad now, I'm at ease just looking at the lock from where I am, and seeing its locked instead of getting all anxious and having to get up and check, i'd do the same with the stove and make sure it was off, anything that could result in a potentially unrealistic horrific event, i'd have an obsessive-compulsive tendency, locking the doors, to make sure no1 comes in and murders me or my family, checking the stove, so the house doesn't burn down or have a gas leak and explode, putting on the emergency brake in the car back on and off repeatedly to make sure it doesn't roll dwn the hill and hit something, my OCD tendencies, though, aren't something that prevent me from sleeping, just when I do them, I do them repeatedly, or clean things thoroughly, like I would literally handscrub my floors when I had tile flooring at my other apt, instead of mopping, but I have lil routines for everything, like when I get ready for work, I check that I do have my wallet, phone, keys, chapstick, and now that I started smoking last summer , a lighter and my cigarettes haha

[SuzyBelle]

I do… I have to make sure both my bathroom light are on and a lamp is on….

[Author]

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