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Ah, Teddy, I am about to trundle off to bed to see if I can catch an early night…
I was just in the “Insomnia Help” forum overview page – don't you love how it says HOT next to our thread?!
I love it!!!!!
Sweet dreams!
Groggy
Hiya Grogzzzzz
'Ello . . . 'Ello . . . 'Ello . . . Whose been getting 12 hours sleep then ! Don't worry about that . . . Sleep is sleep and I bet 90 % of the insomniacs on this forum would kill to have that complaint. The way to look at it is you have been doing really well with your early get ups and nap attacks but your body will rebel and revert to type when it can so just go with it. Remember how we overcame the frustration of not sleeping by not getting bothered by it and having a plan to do something nice when we couldn't sleep . . . Enough said!
I can't tell you how many people have said that they have bouts of trouble sleeping since I announced I was a lunatic . . . Oops . . . I mean insomniac ! Non-insomniacs suffer from bouts of not sleeping and just accept it and move on so why shouldn't insomniacs feel the same about sleeping for big slugs of time ?
Good idea on getting more than 1 comfy bed . . . We have a 3 bedroom house but the people who lived here before us had 2 grown up children so the did them beautiful fitted furniture ( especially the girl ) and this means that there is only room for a single bed in the 2 spare rooms. We have one room as the computer / Mr M's games room and the other is the one poor old Mr M trots off to when I am snoring – it is a comfy bed but perhaps not so comfy when you are over 6 foot and broad ! Apparently my snoring has got so bad that the night I slept on the sofa ( I prefer the sofa to the small bed as I end up fighting with the wall ! ) he could hear me upstairs ! I am going to try to lose weight ( de ja flaming vu ! ) as I did go through a phase of not snoring when I lost weight last time.
Have you managed to get much sleep from your early night ? I came upstairs to listen to my enhanced Solfeggio meditation app for the first time c 6.40 pm but my headphones were only playing through 1 ear so I took them out and next thing I was asleep. I woke up a few times thanks to Menopawsal moments ( thank goodness for the spitfire fan I have got ) and bladder requirements but each time I just rolled over, Rover and clocked 7 hours in the sleep bank in one go . . . Not exactly in the right time of day buy am I bovvered ! . . . I would have rolled over again but don't want another too many hours sleep headache . . . Get me . . . Complaining of too much sleep . . . Wouldnt have believed that would happen 4 weeks ago !
I am laid here in the all together with the spitfire blasting ( even though it is quite thick snow outside ! ) with my wedding fascinator on . . . Not a pretty picture let me tell you but I want to see how the fascinator feels as it is on a very delicate headband and I don't want to wear it in front of Mr M. I got it yesterday with my mum . . . We had a fantastic day. We had a personal shopper in Debenhams and got her a great outfit with 2 skirts so she can decide on the day which she wants to wear with the beautiful blouse and jacket. It is a Jaques Vert skirt and top that looks like a dress in a beautiful purple Devore with a very pretty flower pattern and the jacket is very stylish, it was great that she could also get a matching plain skirt with a bit of a rar, rar effect ( older lady rar, rar you understand ! ). We were supposed to get my wedding underwear but we trumped right across town to a very salubrious new restaurant for a very decadent lunch instead . . . we felt a bit under dressed in our wellies and snow boots but we had obviously gone prepared for the forecasted blizzard later on . . . unlike our fellow very glamorous diners ! We were eating later than usual and there was a 20 minute delay and I could see my mum wasn't happy ( thought she was going to start chewing in my arm at one point ! ) but I pacified her with a bottle of wine and all was well . . . See where I get my drink problem from !!!!! Mr M won't go to this restaurant for some reason so I was really pleased to try it and will certainly be going again but just not with him ! Anyway after a lovely lunch and successful shopping trip we got a taxi home c 3.40 pm as the snow had started to come and we were both glad to get home before gridlock took hold as the UK does come to a halt when a few snowflakes fall !
I didn't realise our thread was hot . . . You obviously get the title HOT by the number of posts, rather than the number of postees ! Lets face our thread is really ON FIRE compared to the other threads !
Oh well . . . I have got my other headphones now so back into meditation I go.
Keeeeeeep sleeping and look forward to a post soon x
Hot and bovvered Tired Tedzzzzzz x
Hey Tedzzz,
well done on so much sleep!
And what a great day out shopping – that sounds so nice!!
Love the image of you and your mum in boots in a fancy restaurant 😆
Ah, that's a shame you can't conveniently add a 2nd comfy bed…!
I wonder whether an oversized single bed would be an option? 1,40m by 2,20m?
Ah, well…. I am sitting here in the kitchen at dawn on a Saturday… kind of hard to get up this early on the weekend!
I didn't end up falling asleep til somewhere between 2 and 3am, I'm estimating… my brain kept going over bothersome topics, which kept me awake.
I didn't really hear the alarm clocks til 7am and then was too lazy to actually get up until 7:40am but now I'm safely installed in the kitchen and about to make a coffee.
Rightio, I'd better add more later, cos my brain's not feeling very talkative yet, it says… 😮
Have a good start to your day!!
Groggy
Oh and I must watch out for bumbling fool Mr Napsy today… feels like just the kind of day that he would be a pesk… especially as he could argue “But Groggy, it's the WEEKEND!!”
Grrr Mr Napsy – BACK OFF!!
Just need to post this here, so I have witnesses: I am going to do my exercise video – and seeing as I fell asleep 3 out of 4 times doing it recently, I'm setting a loud alarm clock for the end of it, just in case.
And I WILL get straight UP afterwards. And do…. what?
Um… I will do some of the cooking preparations for tonight. Yes, that's it!
Ooh, well that was fun…
I am now installed snuggly on the sofa, with a comfy blanket and a heating pad under my feet to do half an hour's work on the laptop before I head outdoors to the shops to get what I need for the rest of tonight's cooking…
I have set a loud alarm clock for 45 mins, just to be sure I won't be having any naps… (Do you hear me, Mr Napsy!?!?!)
I've decided I'm making my own peanut butter today.
I've become such an addict of it lately, but I don't like the fact that the one from the shops has a) too much sugar and 😎 is made with palm oil, which is terrible for the environment and not particularly healthy.
I wonder how it will turn out??
I've mixed the sugar with some Tahini now, so that it will dissolve. And the Tahini should give it a slightly more bitter edge, which *could* be nice, but who knows?! I will keep you posted and let you know how it turns out!
Right – best get to work…
Cross your fingers for me that Mr Napsy doesn't win our battle for nap domination…
XXX
Groggy
Pfft… whenever I try listing a) b.) c) etc… the b.) turns into 😎 cos that's the code for that smiley… poop.
Guess I will have to add a fullstop to prevent it from happening?!
Mmm, my peanut butter has turned into a peanut + almond + hazelnut + sesame + honey butter…
Not quite as smooth as the ones you buy, cos our blender died a few weeks ago, so I've gone stone-age and used a mortar and pestle…
But definitely yummy!
I was thinking of adding some of the other nuts anyway, but then I found I had to. Cos the recipes I had looked up all said to buy salted peanuts (I was a bit skeptical, but the shop didn't have any unsalted ones anyway) and that made the peanut butter way too salty. So I had bought ground almonds and hazelnut, just in case, which was a good thing, cos it definitely needed it.
I'll be looking forward to making it with a blender too, once we've gotten round to buying a new one…
Right – more work to do…
It's nice and sunny here today – a pretty combination with all the snow outside…
XXX
Groggy
Wowie . . . What a busy, busy bee !
Great to hear how much you have cramed into your Saturday already. You will have to give me your peanut butter recipe, it sounds just my drop.
I have been banished from the kitchen while Mr M whips up a rabbit masterpiece ! I cant eat rabbit so I am doing my enchiladas when his rabbit is in the oven ! What are you cooking tonight as you have put a lot of effort in so far ?
We went to the local shops this morning ( c 20 minutes away ) as I wouldn't take Bianca out and Mr M had a right face on . . . You would think I had asked him to walk 2 days for supplies . . . All on his own ! I bought a bottle of Prosecco to celebrate our great shopping expedition so my fingers are not doing what they are supposed to do as it has all gone Ron !
Hope you are having a good day and look forward to your next post.
Tired Teddy
Hey Tired Teddy,
I am making vegetarian Shepherds Pie. I have just cooked special lentils for it and they are sooo yummy! They taste even better than meat! (And I'm not even really a vegetarian – I think it's called flexi-tarian… When you just reduce your meat consumption as far as you are able/ willing and hence go without meat on many/ most days.)
Plus I am making 2 savoury dips/ spreads to have on rye bread… Also very yummy…
I'm quite surprised, cos I'm not usually such a good cook (I get too impatient and it bores me!!) but my boyfriend, who usually cooks spectacularly for us has asked to have a fortnight off from cooking duties, so I am left to my own devices 😉
In fact, I'd better get back to it… I am only half way through yet!!
I will try and figure out my peanut butter recipe for you – I kind of just kept bunging stuff in, til it tasted nice!
XXX
Groggy
Oh dear, Mr. Napsy strikes again… Uh, think I was “out” for about an hour…
Not quite according to plan, but never mind, all is well…
Just put the shepherds pie in the oven and am doing the dishes…
Dunno about giving you this peanut butter recipe…! It's turned out a bit strange…
Not necessarily in a bad way! :huh:
Just not sure if I would “recommend” it as a recipe yet…
I think I may have to wait til we have a blender, so that I can refine the recipe a bit, before passing it on…
I even added a shot of rum to it earlier! 😮
Right – catch you later – unless Mr. Napsy catches me first… d'oh!
G
Oh my goodness me, it's only 9:30pm and I'm already struggling to stay awake! I guess the early-morning sleep deprivation is starting to work somewhat?!
Hm, seeing as I have a deadline to meet Monday, I was actually counting on working while insomnia was around… Hmmm…
I guess I'll just have to make it a really busy day tomorrow then…
😮 Haha – so now I'm COMPLAINING about evening tiredness?! My how times change…
Groggy
Ah, poop, I didn't snooze off after all.
At the moment I'm having that anxiety of “If I don't sleep tonight then how will I manage tomorrow?”
I feel tense and worried that I won't get the work I need to do done, that I'll miss my deadline because I'm so groggy that I can't focus and concentrate on the tasks. I worry I'll feel so exhausted and miserable, that I won't be in a fit state to work…
Of course, from Martin's emails I know that being anxious about that is the best way to PREVENT sleep, as I am getting myself into a state where I feel upset and the opposite of sleepy.
Ach, I was doing so well with this the past week – not freaking out about the potential lack of sleep at all. I don't know why it's suddenly reappeared tonight. I guess maybe because my deadline is coming closer?
With the work that I do, it's always very tight schedules – not much room for anything to go wrong, for getting sick or feeling unwell due to a lack of sleep. I get to balance that out by taking the breaks I need/ want, in between contracts – and that's a dynamic I quite enjoy. It keeps things interesting – I don't think I'm someone who likes life to be monotonous – the same pattern, day in and day out.
Having said that, I think that work just before a deadline can be pretty adrenaline fuelled. Sometimes that's nice – it can kind of make you feel alive, all that adrenaline… But sometimes it's really annoying – sometimes you don't feel up to so much pressure…
On the whole, I'm happy with it – I chose this line of work and I don't want to swap it, or anything. I'm just trying to explain the background of what my “average” working week is like…
I guess what I wanted to say is that seeing as adrenaline is a big factor in the days before a deadline, maybe I need to expect sleep to be more elusive on those days – and also for sleep to be sorely missed, as its restorative power is something I crave in those times of stress.
In fact, maybe that's something we insomniacs all have in common – that during times of stress, we NEED sleep more than ever, but it's also the exact time when the experience of stress and the stress hormones involved make sleep so difficult to get?? (Mental note: ask Martin about that…)
If so, then that's a quite horrible paradox, isn't it?! That sleep is available only when you “don't really need it” – ie during calm and easy times. And it's not available uring the tims it's needed most desparately. Maybe that's why insomniacs the world over freak out when they can't sleep. Not so much because it's “just” a lack of sleep – but because the missing sleep is the last thing they need as an additional stressor on top of the stuff they're already dealing with…
Well, anyway, I think it's certainly true of myself….
So I guess, judging from Martin's emails, that I will have to try to get the stress levels/ hormones down tonight, so be able to have a chance of having “restorative” sleep. Which means forgetting all about the stress involved with my deadline.
Letting it go – which feels very counter-intuitive… I think I'm someone who likes to have a “firm grip” on my stressors – keeping a watchful eye on the at all times… But yeah – getting “shut eye” is hard, when you have a watchful eye open!!
Okay, I'm game… I will try anything once 😮
First step is to STOP thinking about work at all. Think about anything but work.
And then take it from there, in steps, getting my brain to shift down until I get to “sleep level”….
Okay, sorry this has been such a rambling journal entry post… Just need to make sure I keep on top of this insomnia business!!!
Thanks for hearing me
XXX Groggy
Hey 🙂 Did you sleep through?
I'm so happy for you, at the thought that perhaps you did!!!
I got to sleep eventually too (no idea when, to be honest… couldn't even really guess… I assume it would have been somewhere between 2am and 3am??)
I didn't hear the first few alarm clocks going off here, but heard the one at 6:20am so I'm awake (tho not up yet – still under the covers, typing this).
But I feel fine – feel rested – so I will get up in a minute and make myself a coffee.
Seems silly now, to have been that worried last night! 😕
But I guess that's how it goes.
Have a lovely, easy Sunday and a nice sleep-in without an excess-sleep-headache….!
XXX
Groggy
Well . . . This is my second attempt at a reply . . .
This flaming iPal and eye sight problems from my injections are driving me up the wall . . . Just got a post nicely started then scrolled up to see what you had put in your earlier posts and Voi Flaming la it had gone into cyberspace . . . Never to be seen again <<<<<<######%%%%%%$$$$$%%%%%%#######>>>>>>> that was a very naughty swear word spelt the Menopawsal Insomniac way !!
Good to read you eventually managed to get some sleep last night . . . I am Tired Ted By Name . . . .Sleepy Time Ted by nature . . . I drop off at the drop of a hat and stay asleep now and don't even seem to be bothered by the many Menopawsal moments / bowel / bladder breaks during play and just seem to be able to roll over Rover.
This isn't magic . . . I have consciously changed my attitude to insomnia and work and put myself first. I sleep when I sleep and I only do work when I am physically at work . . . This is much easier for me as I have the monotony of a 9 to 5ish job where I have to be in the office at certain times of the day so this keeps me on work and in situ. Why don't you try sticking to a standardised 6 to 8 hours working day, just until you sort the stress you are currently having so you can get this job finished for tomorrow ? As Martin says the more you try to sleep the less you are likely to. To save any more stress for this contract why don't you just work through until you either get this contract finished, or sleep takes over and then plan a strategy for when your next contracts come in ?
I too am typing under the cuvs and have to say I am totally frustrated with the 'Allo 'Allo mistooks so am going to clos now as Inwould hate to have to hurl it at the wall in frustration as I would be lost without my iPal !
Take care, be kind to yourself and I will make sure I check your posts more quickly so I am here for you.
Tired Teddy who is struggling to get out of beddy !
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