Feeling stuck in the insomnia struggle? Get the free insomnia sleep training course!
- This topic has 197 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 11 years, 10 months ago by .
-
Posts
-
Me too Grogz . . . Mind you I have been asleep most of the night so I am quite happy with it . . . That is why God invented the sleep bank !
I am just watching Revenge that I missed earlier ( whilst in the land of nod ) and will then reply properly
Keeeeeep talking . . . I am here!
TIred Teddy x
PS LOVE THE EARRINGS
Well Grogz . . . I am on the edge of my seat . . . Don't know if you can get Revenge where you are but it is FANTASTIC. it is on E4 so have a look if you get chance. There are soooo many twists and turns, which is a bit trixy for an insomniac but by does it wake you up when you are half in and half out of sleep !
I did laugh at your Etsy story . . . Good to know I am not the only one in the village with Menopawsal Memory Loss !
How is the snow where you are ? I went for my usual walk with my friend at lunch and it was a bit snowy but not the type that looked like it would settle but within an hour it was really settling and by the time I got to my car c 3.40 pm there was almost 3 inches of snow on the roof ! I am only short ( short and stout ! ) and my new car is tall so it had a bit of snow stuck on the roof which would have been no good once it melted in its basket ( the garage ). The snow has turned into ice now so I am going to walk to work to work today as my new car has magic parking and I am trying to limit the chances of a bump on the bumpers as this is where the parking sensors are, plus sometimes it is gridlock here and it will probably be quicker to walk . . . A few inches of snow and the UK comes to a standstill ! I am lucky as I am only 6 minutes from work on a good day, with no traffic or 25 minutes when walking and I do love a nice walk . . . Thank goodness I bought some snow boots a few weeks ago !
Try not to worry about your sleep / work ratio . . . You are in the fortunate position of working from home so you can sleep and work as your body dictates. You have started getting up early, which is a major achievement when there is no reason to have to get up so early. If I were you I would continue to get up early for the time being and then just go with the flow as far as what happens next.
Just before Christmas I would have been devastated at being awake at this time of morning, especially as Inhave work today and have to be there until 4.30 pm as I have to work formalised hours, rather than the flexi I had been working ( very helpful to a girl with insomnia ! ) but heigh ho . . . I am taking my own advice and just going with the flow ! At least you are able to bob off tomorrow, if you need to . . . at this rate I see me face down on my desk mid morning tomorrow !
Please don't worry about sleep, or the lack of it . . . The sleep police are on you case now ( I am the Chief Constable of The Sleep Police and would look great in uniform ! )
Oh well, time to close . . . Remember . . . No sleep worries . . . It will come, or it won't . . . One step at a time sweet Jesus which at this early stage means getting up at the same time every day . . . 'Ello, 'Ello, 'Ello . . . Your body will soon fall in line !
The Chief of Sleep Police x
Morning Teddy,
I must say, Chief of Sleep Police sounds a little scary 😆
Especially since I may be living a life of insomniac crime… :ph34r:
But I know you mean well, so I will not be scared – even if I'm not sure if some of my napping and staying up late is not highly illegal… 🙂
Well, I'm awake, after 2 hours of sleep and feeling surprisingly fine… just got to take the last hurdle now and get UP (am cozy in bed with the laptop right now…)
So what's this magic parking your car has got – is it that thing in the adverts, where it truly parallel parks on it's own?!?! If so, that is SOOO cool.
I dunno what the snow situation is here at the moment – haven't looked outside yet, cos it's still so dark out there… It was just half an inch here yesterday, max, when I was outdoors… so not much of a problem really…
But I am someone who quite likes a bit of chaos… I think it's so funny that things will grind to a near halt, just cos nature is doing it's normal thing… So I will gladly suffer some inconvenience for the entertainment of watching that whole spectacle… It warms my heart to think that nature can grind our oh-so modern and powerful society to a halt with a few snowflakes… (But as you say, I'm lucky to work from home and to not have to ferry any kids to school or other urgent things… so I can be frivolous and enjoy the mini-crisis unfolding outdoors….)
Well, I think I must head into the kitchen and try to make a coffee without scalding myself… 😮
Have a lovely start to your snowy day!!
Oh dear . . . Oh dear . . . Oh dear . . . The sleep police was to help you not worry, or scare you ! I really do think you should be pleased with how far you have come so far. . . You have been up early for a whole week now . . . That is Phase I . . . How about taking the pressure off this week and just concentrate on that . . . You could then implement Phase II next week, which could be to say stay vertical until mid day for 2 weeks and then set Phase III for the following 2 weeks etc ?
Well I decided to sleep on the sofa last night so Mr M could get a full night in the comfty bye bo' s . . . He shouted down c 3.40 am to see if I wanted a cuddle . . . Well as usual . . . The cuddie was going soooo well ( he didn't want to play eye spy surprisingly ! ) and then . . . Yes . . . You have guessed it . . . I started snoring ! He stomped off ( won't fall into the cuddie trap tomorrow ! ) and I was left totally confused . . . Couldn't decide if I was awake, or asleep ! Anyway I bobbed off and then my mobile alarm woke Grumpy Drawers up and I bombed out of bed after a slight roll over Rover.
We are having Cassoulet for our meal tonight so I had to make it this morning so it would cook in time as Mr M likes to eat early. Anyway this went down like a lead balloon as the kitchen was a tip when he came in ( he has got OCD as far as tidy kitchens are concerned ! ) and he snapped at me and I snapped at him and we ended up ignoring each other ! Trouble was we were both running behind because we were later than we would like due to Cuddiegate . . . He has called to let me know how dangerous the roads and paths are today so I will take that as an apology !
Oh well, I had better close as I am late for humping in the bath and need to set off earlier today as I am walking. Enjoy watching the chaos from your lovely warm room and think of me on my way to the North Pole on foot. Luckily the MENOPAWS means I am grateful for the cold weather . . . I bet I was the only person in the UK with the sunroof and windows open and cool blowers blowing last Thursday when it was frosty !
Yes my car does park itself and is amazing . . . Trouble is it gets you in a much smaller spot than you would try to get in yourself and you have the embarrassment of trying yo get out of it . . . My friend and I love doing jazz hands when Bianca ( the name I gave my car ) parks without us !
Have a snugly, warm and guilt free day . . . Have yourself a slight snooze part way through . . . It will probably help younstay awake longer into the afternoon and early evening.
Hi Ho . . . Hi Ho . . . It's off to The North Pole I go !
Grumpy Drawers x
Ach, poor Teddy…
Getting snappy with each other with the partner sucks… It's one of the things that I get truly angry at my insomnia for… I figure it's one thing for it to turn my life upside down, but when it starts impacting on my relationship, that's just unwarranted, in my books…
So – I have a question – why… if Bianca can park herself – can't she “unpark” herself….?! I would surely have thought that it goes both ways automatically – in and out…?! Surely those onboard computers would just have to do the “reverse” of whatever they do to get you into the gap…
But I can already sense what you're going to say… No, those cars don't do that… Ugh! Why are they always putting products on the market than only do half the job they are supposed to?! Honestly!!
Well, I have spent most of the morning out and about and need to dash off again in half an hour, but then the afternoon will be a bit quiter, which will be nice…
Right now I'm having a snuggle on the sofa, getting a few minutes of peace and quiet, before storming off again…
Nothing else to report here, really.. With being out and about, there was obviously no NAP ATTACK stuff going on, so all's calm on that front…
Hope you're breezing through your work day – and I bet you're looking forward to that Cassoulet – it sounds very yummy – especially if it caused the whole kitchen to go topsy turvy – that is always a good sign for yummy cooking, I reckon…
Byebye insomnia friend, talk later… 🙂
ITS YOUR PARTY SO NAP IF YOU WANT TO !
Just about to set off home now . . . all geared up with snow boots and 45 layers to put on !
Message to you later
TT
Haha, yes it is, and yes, I did…
Very welcom nap – and I gave myself permission to have it, so all was fine 🙂
The evening turned out ridiculously stressful – so my adrenaline levels are currently at about 300% so not sure how I will go about getting some more sleep tonight 😮
But never mind… I am going to relax now and make the best of the evening and night…
Sleep tight, Teddles…!
XXX
BUGG*R . . . Apologies if I have offended anyone here but I had typed a reply to Grogz and went to the previous page to see if I had missed replying to anything from the message before last and got back to find my reply had gone. If you're have picked up anything about me from my posts you will know how much I will have typed and why that rudey doodie word was appropriate !
Well Grogz my eyes are closing so this will be shorter than usual, especially as it is my second reply as the first went AWOL !
What fantastic progress having a nap, enjoying it and not feeling guilty . . . Phase II well under way me thinks . . . Another industrial G&T to celebreat for me then ! Sorry to hear you have had a stressful night and I hope you can get at least a few zzz's if the ZZZ's are not forthcoming.
Mr M and his pillows have just cleared off to his wee ' quiet ' room . . . Naughty Tired Teddy . . . Snoring again and not feeling guilty . . . Take a leaf out of my book . . . I can't even spell Guilky these days, never mind feel it ! 'Ello . . . 'Ello . . . 'Ello . . . wots goin on ere then !
I am closing now as my eyes are going and I don't want to miss the sleep boat.
Tired Teddy x
PS . . . My Bianca can't get herself out of the tight spots magic parking gets her into cos some rotten bloke invented magic parking so he could laugh at women who can't park try to get out of the tight spots his invention got them in to !
Hi there Teddy,
so sorry your post disappeared! Obviously cos I can't read it – but also cos I know how frustrating that is!
I've had a bit of an odd morning. I will try to explain….
I had a really good night last night. I think I fell asleep around 2:00am – which is better than I managed the last 3 weeks…
But – more importantly – I had PROPER sleepiness going on at the RIGHT time – it felt totally brilliant and I fell asleep beautifully.
So…. there's another big milestone you can honour with a G&T – tho I worry I am driving you to drink!!
Now this morning has gone a bit oddly… I must have slept very deeply, cos I have a slight crick in my neck since waking up this morning and the last time I had this my physiotherapist explained to me that you usually get that if you sleep very deeply and hence don't “move about” the normal amount in your sleep, but lay for ages in an odd angle for your neck…
That and it also feels like I had a deep sleep – and I overheard my first 2 alarm clocks doing their thing at 6am. I had a backup one set for 7am – and I heard that one and got up to turn it off.
Since I was supposed to go to the Drs office this morning to have some blood work done, I figured I would allow myself and hour's lie-in til 8am and then get up to go to the Dr's since I had nothing urgent to do and it had been such a successful night.
I ended up extending the lie-in til 9am, cos I figured that was still early enough to go by the Dr's (you just have to get there before 10am for bloodwork) but then got so comfortable, that I decided to call the Dr's office to reschedule, cos the morning was turning so cosy that I couldn't be bothered turning it into a rush and annoyance just for some bloodwork…
So now I've been awake since 9:30am and it's just gone 10am and I'm still in bed, posting this on the laptop. But I'm about to get up and have a coffee and start the day.
I don't feel guilty or upset about the way the morning has gone – cos I did give myself permission to have a lie-in…
But I do feel a bit sceptical, whether it was a smart idea…
I mean – last night was finally a successful falling-asleep night – which was due to my getting up early. So isn't my getting up late rather defeating that progress, instead?
I don't know… on the other hand, I sort of think “Well, it's not a CRIME to get up a bit later…” but yeah, while it may not be a crime, it's also the opposite of helpful for my insomnia.
Anyway – I know that one morning of getting up later is not going to ruin my insomnia/ sleep schedule – what I'm more concerned about is that my brain will latch on to this as a perfect excuse to have a lie-in on lots of mornings now… like there will be a TON of “exceptions” to follow on from today… That does feel like a serious concern.
So I really need to make sure this doesn't happen more than once a week – which means that I will have to get up at 6am the next 5 days at least, to make sure my sleep schedule doesn't get wonky.
Anyway, I will get up now, enjoy the fact that I feel rested, celebrate last night's super sleep success and make sure I don't do any napping today and am on track for another 6am wake-up tomorrow.
Sorry to post about this in such (boring) detail… But it's important to me, to be clear and aware re my sleep habits… I need to analyse it, to stay on top of it… so it's very helpful here, to have a sleep forum and journal in which to reflect on such seemingly small, but also crucial sleep decisions and actions…
Thanks for your patience, Teddy…!
Hope you had a good start to your day and that it's going along nicely…
XXX Groggy
You never need to apologise to me . . . as a fellow insomniac who has turned the insomnia thing on its head I am more than happy to read and analyze all of the details !
I think you have done soooo well with this and lets face it 10.00 am isn't exactly late and you have been e-mailing but just in the horizontal, rather than vertical . . . I would call that a rather decadent wake up regime to be enjoyed on a 1 day a week basis . . . you have just had Saturday, or Sunday lie in a few days early.
You are really getting the hang of losing the guilt and going with the flow which is great news.
I had a bit of a strange start which was all beautifully explained in my AWOL message . . . fell asleep on settee c 7.20 pm which was great progress for me and then went to bed at what I thought was 11.40 but must have been 10.40 pm . . . must check the clock . . . meant to do it when I got in but that Menopawsal Memory Loss struck again and I forgot ! Anyway I managed to sneak in bed without Mr M realising ( or at least not moving to indicate he was awake ) All ways going swimmingly until . . . yes . . . de ja vu . . . see my previous post for details !
This will have to be short and sweet as I am at work . . . keep up the good work . . . celebrate your success and don't worry about me . . . keep up the good work as I am supposed to be on a diet and celebrating your success means I can enjoy a G&T !
Tired Teddy x
Well, I still don't feel guilty today, even though I have more napping to report…
I put the heating pad in my neck and shoulder area to do some stretching, cos my cricked neck is pretty sore and you'll never guess what that turned into… yep, a nap.
A four hour “nap”…
Anyway, as I said, I'm not upset by it, cos I had sort of given myself permission – it just needs to stay the absolute exception….
Well, I had better get some work done, else this Wednesday is going to turn into a Sunday for me, after all…
I'm so proud of your insomnia progress too, Teddy. I need to be praising and celebrating your daily progress too!
I think it's so brilliant how you are coping with it and how positively you are approaching it… You are definitely my insomnia-beating role-model!!
You must be very proud! Who would've thought it would be such a turn-around for you, so fast, huh?
So glad to have bumped into you here in this forum!! SOOO much nicer to put insomnia in it's place together with somone as lovely as yourself!!
Right – I'm off to work!!!!
XXX
Groggy Gal, feeling a little less groggy right now than usual
Ditto Groggy . . . posting to you and receiving your posts has been as valuable to me as receiving Martin's e-mails. Thank goodness we found each other, otherwise we would still be sooky / menopawsal insomniacs climbing the walls alone and we still appear to the be only insomniacs in this village !
Being the Sleep Police with you has made me keep looking at insomnia positively myself as I would be no Chief Constable if I didn't practice what I preach . . . 'Ello . . 'Ello . . .'Ello whose not sleeping ere then !
Your kind words have turned my celebratory G&T into 2 celebratory G&T's tonight . . . do you have a celebratory tipple, or am I the only alcholic in the Insomnia Village ?
I am not expecting to have kicked insomnia into touch just yet although I do seem to be doing rather well . . . it is quite interesting that I have gone from watching the forum pages during the wee small hours to having to make an effort to fit them in inbetween getting to bed / Mr M leaving the room due to snoregate and getting up for work ! Can't remember the last time I had a wee small hours project and I haven't touched the book since the weekend . . . could do with a spot of wee small hours insomnia to get my jobs done – hope I haven't tempted fate here ! Didn't I tell you insomnia would get fed up if we had a pleasureable project to do in the wee small hours when he inconveniently made us awake up and not be able to get back to sleep.
Take care and post to you soon.
Tired Teddy x
Heya Teddy,
Yeah, I'd been figuring that with all that sleep you're getting, that you don't have as much insomnia-time to surf the forum! 😛
That's okay though!! That's what forums are for…
It's been really cool to start this insomnia learning journey together but it's okay if you get cured!!
I started this thread out as my sleep journal on purpose – cos it seemed like the traffic wasn't so heavy at the forum at the moment and cos I wanted somewhere I could post, even if other insomniacs here came and went…
So as much as I am pleased to have a Sleep Police Officer checking on me, do make sure to use the forum on a needs-basis – ie as you need to deal with the issue of insomnia…
Anyway – with that “serious” stuff out of the way – let's get back to entertaining nonsense, huh??
Not that I know if I have any to report… let's see…
I got out the power tools and finished my building project – shelves etc… So I'm happy that's finally done – I got distracted by so much stuff from finishing it for ages!
Oh, and I copied my post from this morning here into Skype to explain today's sleep-in/ nap situation to my best friend… and she replied saying “Haha. Who's the G&T drinker? 🙂 “
(I think I had written something about giving you too many reasons to celebrate, or something??)
So there you go – I've unwittingly given you a REPUTATION!! 😮
Sorry about that – feel free to slag me off to your friends too now!! 😆
Well, I'm not very tired this evening so far (not unsurprisingly, after all that NAPPING going on – d'oh!)
But I will crawl under the covers shortly and get some Zzzzzs before my 6am wake up call…
Sweet dreams!
Groggy
Well, its 20 mins to 4am now and I'm still not sleepy. So now I'm a bit annoyed in retrospect about my napping today… I feel like that confirms that I shouldn't have napped. Tho, granted I usually have trouble sleeping even if I didn't nap, so…
I guess the reason that I am annoyed is that I am going for my weekly jog with a friend tomorrow and I feel like it's not good for my body to do so much exercise with so little sleep – but maybe I'm over-anxious about that, I don't know.
I guess I will just have to adjust how fast and far I run to how well I'm feeling – that probably makes more sense than stressing out about it now…
Ach, just some late-night frustraton, I guess…
Me being silly…
😮
Get involved in this discussion! Log in or register now to have your say!
Want help from a caring sleep coach?
My name is Martin Reed and I am the founder of Insomnia Coach®. Enroll in my free sleep training course and start improving your sleep today.
- * Get 1 email every day for 2 weeks.
- * Learn how to improve your sleep.
- * Pay nothing (it's free).
Over 10,000 people have taken the course and 98% would recommend it to a friend. Your email address will not be shared or sold. You can unsubscribe at any time. Privacy policy.
