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Aw, aren't you cuties :wub: So much insomnia TLC here, haha! 😆
M0NK3Y – I understand 100% about the daytime crankiness and irritability. In fact, I had gotten used to thinking that my middle name WAS “daytime crankiness”!
I'm not entirely sure how I have moved away from there during the past 3 weeks, but I have… It's been one step at a time – no magic trick…
First of all, having support and understanding here has helped. And being taken seriously. I think for me, part of my crankiness was the feeling “No one understands how hard it is just being here and not screaming/ crying/ sleeping/ etc” right now….
So knowing that Tired Ted was standing on the sidelines in a pyjama cheerleader costume with insomniac pom-poms in hand and going nuts with encouraging posts whenever I made it through the first hour of my day without having a tantrum or giving up and heading back to bed made a huge difference.
That someone knows how painful starting the day on next to no sleep (and that for weeks or even years on end) – that was a huge relief already and stopped me feeling so alone and misunderstood in my daytime exhaustion.
And I guess with that support, I gave myself more and more room to figure out what it was I wanted and needed to help me cope.
I'm not sure if I can describe it better than that…
This morning I had a new revelation… I have been reading up on the theory behind Neurofeedback (which is something I'm doing at the moment and Martin has asked me to post about in another thread) and there was quite a good explanation about our brains having different states – the way a car has different gears.
The slowest states are for deep sleep (1st gear) then there's light sleep and drowsiness (2nd gear) then there's relaxation (3rd gear) and then there's concentration and alertness (4th gear). The info I was reading was saying that most of us switch only between 1st gear (asleep) to 4th gear (alarm rings, hectic and stressful day starts) and then try shifting straight back to 4th gear at the end of the day.
This morning, getting up, I tried going slower – from 1st into 2nd and then into 3rd for a while. It was far calmer and more gentle to start the day like that – and it didn't even take up much time… It was just allowing myself to spend 15-20 minutes getting started SLOWLY and bit by bit.
That's the sort of stuff I mean – you just figure it out for yourself on bit at a time – and I think that makes sense, cos you will need an insomnia solution that's tailor made to you…
I agree that night time TV is tricky. Sometimes it helps put me to sleep but sometimes it also helps keep me in the “awake” loop for hours.
Here too, I started using the idea of “shifting down gears” at night. If I'm still in 4th or 3rd gear (my mind is still quite revved up with the day's issues…) then TV “feels right” – it gives me something to focus and concentrate on.
But it's not going to help me get into 2nd and 1st gear much… Maybe half an hour or an hour of TV will help to switch my attention from the day's events to some mindless banter on TV… So that is good and helpful.
But after a while, I think it's good to switch it off and to give your brain something to DO that will help it shift down into 2nd gear. I have started leaving totally inane household tasks (which are quiet) for that time of night… I find that for example doing the dishes then or sorting out the recycling is just the kind of “braindead” activity that helps my mind SLOOOOW DOOOWN… (Which is quite useful, cos during the day when I'm at my “peak” (whatever that is for an insomniac, haha!!) I find those chores will BORE me to death!!)
So yeah, doing an activity which is so BORING that it helps your brain slow down (possibly against its will) is helpful. It can be any boring creative activity too – you don't have to pick housework, like me!!
And then you can keep moving down the brain activity scale… Maybe you can find some gentle stretching exercises to do, lieing down or download some good guided meditations to do…
Or just come on here and vent… Tell us how you are doing. EXPRESS yourself. Let your feeling out – cos I think as an insomniac we have to keep our feelings “pent up” most of the day – cos who wants to hear us whining at the top of our voices that we NEED sleep and we need it NOW!!! 😆
So allowing your disappointment, frustration, exhaustion etc to flow into your posts here might also be a soothing thing to do (being careful that it doesn't upset you too much and hence get you non-drowsy again….)
Anyway, that's kind of my advice I guess!! 😮
Look forward to hearing your progress, which I'm sure you'll have!
XXX
Groggy
Hey,
on another note – what “device” do you use to tape your shows?
I tried buying a “media recorder” late last year, but it turned into a bit of a debacle (will explain if you want) and I returned it.
I'm still hoping to get a new one, but those machines are confusing me and I have no idea what to get and what is useful…
Thank you if you will give me an insomniac's technology lesson!!!! 😆
XXX Groggz
Hey there Teddy,
I am SLOWLY returning to a semblance of my usual self (not that I have not written “normal self” – cos I don't think I *do* normal, even with maximum sleep 😮 )
I have just done a run around the forum inviting everyone to join the Insomnia 2013 thread… so we'll see what comes of that…
Other than that I'm still relatively incommunicado…. When (severe) tiredness hits, my communication skills are always the first thing to fly out of the window and the last thing to return when I recover…
I woke up at 7am today, but rolled over and slept til 10am. Oops. I am vowing to better myself tomorrow.
I'm so happy for you that your nightly waking sessions are being spent as luxuriously as possible. And taping your favourite shows is such a great idea!
Sending you a big insomniac hug, best-cyber-insomnia buddy!!
XXX
Groggy
Hi Deanka,
Sleep is such a strange thing…!
And yeah, stress is a huge sleep killer, I think!
Since the forum is a little quiet at the moment, I'm trying to gather people together in the “Insomnia 2013” thread, so we get a bit more conversation and discussion going 😉
Come by if you like! 🙂
XXX
Groggy
Hi Mindoverall,
did you get any interesting news from the sleep centre?
If you're still sleeping poorly, want to come along to the “Insomnia 2013” thread in the “Insomnia Help” section?
Look forward to chatting to you and hearing how you're progressing!
XXX
Groggy
Hi Williek,
I too often sleep better away from home.
Want to join us in the “Insomnia 2013” thread in the “Insomnia Help” section?
Are you trying Martin's 2 week email programme?
I have been finding this incredibly helpful in dealing with my insomnia.
Hope to hear more from you!
XXX
Groggy
Hi Elfin,
wow – with 8 children it's a wonder you're getting ANY sleep, huh? 🙂
Nonetheless, why don't you pop by the “Insomnia 2013” thread in the Insomnia Help section.
Come and chat to us, when you're up in the wee hours and sleep is nowhere to be found!
XXX
Groggy
Oh, forgot to say: that thread is in the “Insomnia Help” section…
That's my insomnia-related forgetfulness kicking in, yet again!! 😆
Hi Rhonda,
Want to join us in the “Insomnia 2013” thread?
The forum's a little quiet at the moment and that's where most of the action is 🙂
Look forward to hearing more from you!!
XXX
Groggy
Hi Justis,
want to join us in the “Insomnia 2013” thread in the “Insomnia Help” section?
The forum is a little quiet at the moment, so it's nice to gather together in one spot 🙂
I too have had Insomnia for many, many years and struggled with it badly.
Are you doing Martin's 2 week insomnia email programme?
This has helped me HEAPS and made a big change in my sleep/ insomnia patterns.
Hope to hear more from you!
XXX
Groggy
Hey M0NK3Y
Welcome here!
I just replied to your post in the “Insomnia 2013” thread.
XXX
Groggy
Hey M0NK3Y,
Love your name!!
I'm crossing my fingers for you too.
Are you trying Martin's 2 week email insomnia program?
It's seriously helped me and Tired Teddy cope with our insomnia!
You learn a lot and I think it helps you get your head around the topic of sleep and insomnia so much better.
Wow – I bet data entry with little sleep is pretty difficult!
Do you have flexible hours, so that you could go in when you are feeling productive or go home early if you feel yourself getting too slow?
If that was possible, then it would be a great job to adapt to the wonky sleeping patterns of an insomniac 😉
If you can't sleep at night, why not come online in the forum – it can be so relaxing to vent and find other insomniacs (or I should say “sleep-challenged people” as Martin doesn't like the word “insomniac” I think, haha) who understand and can related to your frustration at lack of sleep.
In fact, finding some understanding about it here can help you to let go of the frustration and anxious thoughts about sleep – and then sleep often comes so much easier, compared to when you're waiting for it on your own… (You know that saying “A watched kettle never boils….”)
Also, Tired Teddy and I have found it an EXCELLENT tool to do have some creative projects on hand for the wee hours… She was icing her wedding cake a few weeks back and I have a sewing project to do…
It makes the insomnia hours FUN – which really annoys good old insomnia!! Haha… Some nights insomnia gets so pee'ed off about you having a fun and relaxing time, that it goes away to sulk in a corner and suddenly you can just get some sleep, no fuss at all!
Anyway, just wanted to let you know that we're here and ready to celebrate every hour of sleep with you, that you manage to sneek in…!
XXX
Groggy
Hey there…
I am now finally snuggled in bed… It's been a strange couple of days… Don't even know if I can make heads or tails of them!
Sunday night was the all-nighter… I didn't end up working all night – I was too tired to concentrate at some point – but at about 4:00am, I decided to stay up, rather than risk getting into a really deep sleep and not being in a fit state after 2 hours of sleep…
So Monday I was working and ended up mailing the last documents off at 2:30 pm, which was well inside my deadline.
I did some odds and end then, had something to eat etc, cos I couldn't go straight to sleep with that much deadline adrenaline in my blood.
I fell asleep at about 4:30pm and had a 2 hour nap (deep, comatose sleeping) then trundled off to the supermarket and had dinner. Fell asleep at about 10pm, maybe – but that's a guess. Got woken up by my boyfriend when he got home at 2am and talked a bit and fell back asleep at 4am.
Had my alarm clock set to 6am (trying to stay regular with my wake-up time!) but I slept through it and woke up just after 9am, which I was pretty pleased with. (Got woken up by the phone ringing)
Today was a really weird day – I can't remember much of it. I felt like I was sleep-walking through the day. I didn't do any napping – I managed to avoid that, tho don't know how, really. (At least I *think* I did, but I'm not entirely sure… Maybe I did have another nap during the course of the morning?? But I can definitely say that there were no naps past noon…)
I got some really important stuff organised in the afternoon, which is great – so it wasn't a totally unproductive day… But still a very weird one – definitely massive sleep-withdrawal symptoms still…
What I'm pleased about is that it hasn't felt stressful to be without the “necessary” sleep… Apart from Sunday night, where I freaked myself out, feeling certain that I wouldn't sleep and that I would hence feel crap the next day… Yeah, apart from that it's been amazingly smooth sailing. And felt calm and positive…
So there's definite progress. And the 6am wake ups are getting easier too. There's still a way to go with them, but they are nowhere near as painful as they were at the start…
Right – I should sign off now and get some sleep.
Hope I'm a little more conscious tomorrow!!
Take care and sweet dreams :wub:
Groggy
DONE! DONE! DONE!!!!!
(Well almost…) :wacko:
I have to tidy up 2 pages of stuff for another customer too, but my HUGE deadline is met and is now behind me… YAY!!!!
Sofa or bed, here I come for a snuggle… :wub: (will try not to nap!!!)
Hope you're having fun in the snow Teddy and you're feeling like your old self again now, with normal amounts of sleep in your sleep bank!
XXX Groggy (who was SO tired today from zero sleep, that she got REALLY pukey from sleep deprivation for a while…!) 😮
