Monday, December 12, 2005

Keep them coming...

Come on guys and gals.

What are your tried and true remedies for acute insomnia, aside from chemically induced sleep like Tylenol PM or 'Sleepy Time Drops'. I have some great responses so far;

Nancy: a hard workout...melatonin in the evening?
Bunny Girl: Valerian root and a dull book.
Cliff: his comments mimic my own thoughts, don't rest the body the training will come.
William: Sensory depervation

All great ideas. To make this nut a bit harder to crack, it is normally very difficult for me to fall asleep and when I wake up its wide awake, no stirring or struggling (unless drugged), I am Mr. Good Morning. It is almost impossible for me to nap during the day. Even when extremely sick, unless drugged, I almost certainly will not nap. I fall asleep during the day maybe one time per year...maybe.

Lets here some more ideas on supplements or okay even medicine that has worked for you; alka-seltzer, Robotussin, L-triptophan, I can't do warm milk but a warm cookie would be great.

9 comments:

Nancy Toby said...

Well, there's always hot chocolate.... or better yet, a nice de-caf tea with honey and whiskey. :-)

mipper said...

nyquil... that's all i got. since having mono at 18 and kids starting at 21, i never have problems falling asleep. this is a good and a bad thing. good luck Comm!

ZAG said...

DUDE if you simply cant sleep at all:

a 12 pack will always get you there...

Keryn said...

Sleepytime tea sometimes works. While alcohol might get you to fall asleep, you won't rest very well. '

Nyquil is dangerous for me...I need 12-14 hours after taking it to be human again. Most allergy medications knock me out.

As for non-medicated methods, a looooong, hot shower may help. A relaxing massage. Sex...that usually works. ;)

Papa Tweet said...

Com,
I feel your pain bro. I never nap, and when I do, I wake up feeling way worse than when I fell asleep. If I wake in the night, I have a really hard time falling back to sleep.

On nights when I can't sleep I just open a GRE (Graduate Records Examination) study book. Seems to do the trick. Be careful with drugs. It usually doesn't provide restful sleep and you can wake up feeling really groggy. I only use them when I'm backpacking. Sorry I don't have any better ideas. I struggle with the same problem sometimes. Good luck.
Benny

ZAG said...

OK my serious perscription: the Old Testament. Dude...I fall asleep every time.

Steven said...

"Quality Time" with my wife always works for me.

Bolder said...

in addition to the above... especially if your mind is racing, take a notepad, and write down all the things you NEED to think about... TODOs, reminders, etc... do it conciously, as in a clearing of the slate event, when you put those items down on paper, you are freeing yourself from being responsible for them until tomorrow morning...

if that doesn't work, just read my blog from start to finish... clunk!

Sixteen Chickens said...

Hey, I like the new blog look! I too suffer from insomnia, I think it's stressed induced. My friend sent me a novel to help me get through it, Insomnia by Stephen King. Seven hundred pages later I hadn't slept much but I did learn that Mr. King is a very odd man. Now when I want to sleep I exercise to the point of exhaustion and then have a bowl of tomato soup. Works every time. Staying asleep... now that's another story.