posted on December 28, 2000 10:43:39 PM
I use a form of self-hypnosis:
Lie on your back & arrange your arms & legs comfortably.
Start with your toes and visualize them relaxing (almost as if you see knots being untied).
Move up your body--ankles, calves, thighs, hips, back, neck, arms--visualizing the same relaxation.
By the time you work up to your head, your body will feel like it's floating, or rocking. Visualize yourself floating on the ocean, being gently rocked by the water.
That's the point when I fall asleep. Works every time for me.
posted on December 29, 2000 12:28:46 AM
Go to eBay
Click on any category
Click on going, going, gone
Pick any auction ending in 1 minute or so
Click on it and watch the snipers go at it
posted on December 29, 2000 01:16:07 AM
My husband got the computer game Diablo II, while it is not a cure for insomnia it sure does give you something to do while you can't sleep.
That explains why I'm writing this at 3 in the morning.
Bunnicula : I was taught that relaxation technique but it never helps to put me to sleep. It is great when floating on your back in the pool though. Talk about calming..I could face both my mother in laws after 15 minutes of that.
posted on December 29, 2000 06:11:22 AM
From one who is sick for days if she doesn't get a full 10 hours:
NOT booze, which will knock you out but won't give you what's called "restorative sleep".
Any or all of a combination of:
No caffeine ever, at all.
Dark, quiet room at a comfortable temperature.
Comfy pillow. (When was the last time you invested in a new one of reasonable quality?)
No snoring bedmates (we had to move our Lab out of the bedroom; she can make the windows rattle).
Regular bedtime BEFORE midnight. Bodies like routine, and sleep studies show that the old adage that "a minute of sleep before midnight is worth two after" is true.
Bedrooms for sleeping and sex only. No TV or reading before bed. Your body needs to start associating "bed" with "sleep".
Swing shifts play havoc with diurnal humans' body chemistry. If you're an insomniac, avoid them at all costs.
A SMALL comfort-food (carbo) snack before retiring.
If possible, an alternate sleep site (guest room) on the seriously toss-and-turn nights. Sometimes having to lie still to not disturb your mate makes it harder to fall asleep, and sometimes a change of venue can really help.
If all else fails, a couple Benadryl will knock out just about anybody. This is the same med that's in e.g. Tylenol PM except without the Tylenol. Not chemically addicting, but you can get habituated to it behaviorally, so use judiciously.
posted on December 29, 2000 11:16:26 AM new
300 count clean sheets, proper pillow, no lights, and Enya playing softly (and doing what bunnicula said). Also, make your bedroom a BEDROOM. Calming, relaxing.
posted on December 29, 2000 12:35:20 PM new
My late uncle - the cat with nine lives - had a rather unique cure. When he couldn't sleep, he got in his car and drove until he became sleepy. One night, after a successful excursion, he found himself in someone's front yard with his car entangled in the shubbery. He had dozed off at the wheel. Luckily, nobody was hurt. (Myself, I prefer the benadryl solution.)
posted on December 29, 2000 03:59:56 PM new
Warm feet but a cool room. A glass of hot milk or a turkey sandwitch. Or cereal with the hot milk. Both make me as sleepy as can be.
posted on December 29, 2000 04:06:39 PM new
I know you said no pharmaceuticals, but Tylenol PM works really well and it's not habit forming.
Just take one pill about 30 minutes before you want to fall asleep and it will allow you to sleep deeply, but not cause any drowsiness in the morning. Many stores even carry a generic version of it and it works just as well.
I may use it once every few months and haven't had any problems. But I know how awful sleep deprivation is! Hope you can find something soon.
posted on December 30, 2000 04:22:42 AM new
Enjoy it! I've had bouts of insomnia since my teens, and I've learned to love them. It's quiet at 3-4am and it feels like I have the whole planet to myself. Curl up in the living room and watch videos of Twin Peaks, Xfiles, Forever Knight. Read a book. Get on the computer and plan the next 5 years of my life.
Warm milk and honey will knock me out if I have to be normal the next day. If not, I brew coffee, stay up, and just go to bed early the next night.
posted on December 30, 2000 10:24:09 AM newSadie, I usually make good use of the time as you do, taking time to at least unwind, catch up on reading, listening to music. The one thing I never do is get perturbed about it, that just worsens things.
My normal 'long' night of sleep is 6 hours, but during the insomniac episodes I may go for weeks at a time on 3-4 hours, and that is very fitful.
The Benadryl and Tylenol PM are good suggestions, but if you take a long enough course of it, it can actually have a paradoxic effect, that is it can cause the user to be agitated, and even more alert, similar to the effects of caffeine.
posted on December 30, 2000 10:43:52 AM new
sometimes I drink tea (with no caffenine) and read a dull book (in my case, college textbooks) before I go to bed.
use a massager, soak yourself (or feet)in hot water, or dress yourself warm and imagine quiet things.
sometimes I imagine myself falling backwards into black sea and let myself sink slowly towards bottom of the abyss...... let the quiet consume you....
posted on December 30, 2000 01:50:50 PM new
I've never suffered from insomnia but I have one sure way of falling asleep in a couple of minutes. I just stretch out on the couch in front of the television while a drama is playing, close my eyes and try to focus 100% on what is being said. I imagine the scenes as I concentrate on the words. Works every time.
posted on December 30, 2000 02:20:36 PM newnjrazd, all that's in Tylenol PM is diphenydramine (Benadryl) and Tylenol. If you haven't got a headache, just take the Bendaryl.
lswanson is absolutely correct, of course, regarding overuse.
