I dont like to go to sleep, even when I'm tired...

[thefed]

I feel like I'm missing something. Like I'm being counter-productive.

A saying that's always stuck with me since I was a child :
"Sleep is the cousin of death"

What the heck is my problem?? IF I were to close my eyes right now at 8pm, sitting upright in my chair, I would certainly be dead asleep within 10 minutes. I CAN sleep anywhere at anytime, but I often choose not to....often until 2 or 3am....aimlessly searching the net....researching ideas, looking stuff up I'm curious about, organizing my finances, planning my next day/job/vacation...whatever...


Anyone else like this?

 

[harley]

DW. It's not that she can't sleep, it's that she's got a brain that spins all the time, even when she's asleep. This causes problems for her, especially when something big is going on. On the other hand, she tends to consider all aspects of a situation, which helps her make pretty decent choices much of the time. I, OTOH, have a well developed shutdown process. Over the many many years we've been together, she's learned a bit of layedbackedness from me, and I've gotten better at thinking situations through. I have a solution for her, but it tends to give her anxiety attacks. I suspect it would be an even bigger problem for you.

 

[thefed]

DW. It's not that she can't sleep, it's that she's got a brain that spins all the time, even when she's asleep. This causes problems for her, especially when something big is going on. On the other hand, she tends to consider all aspects of a situation, which helps her make pretty decent choices much of the time. I, OTOH, have a well developed shutdown process. Over the many many years we've been together, she's learned a bit of layedbackedness from me, and I've gotten better at thinking situations through. I have a solution for her, but it tends to give her anxiety attacks. I suspect it would be an even bigger problem for you.

yeah, sometimes that's all that helps, but i try to avoid

 

[FIREd]

I usually go to bed at 2:00am. Not that I am an insomniac or anything like that (I usually sleep very deeply for 7+ hours every night, no problem). But I can't bring myself to go to bed any earlier unless I have to. I am the most productive late at night and always have been.

 

[audreyh1]

I don't have that problem! It's 8 p.m. and I'm ready to go to sleep - I even had an early evening nap already......

Of course I did wake up around 6 a.m. and drove the motorhome 6 hours in driving rain today....

In general, since retiring, I tend to go to bed earlier. I also get up earlier too. Now DH - he's the one who will stay up late working on stuff (hobby stuff that is).

Audrey

 

[W2R]

I feel like I'm missing something. Like I'm being counter-productive.

A saying that's always stuck with me since I was a child :
"Sleep is the cousin of death"

What the heck is my problem?? IF I were to close my eyes right now at 8pm, sitting upright in my chair, I would certainly be dead asleep within 10 minutes. I CAN sleep anywhere at anytime, but I often choose not to....often until 2 or 3am....aimlessly searching the net....researching ideas, looking stuff up I'm curious about, organizing my finances, planning my next day/job/vacation...whatever...


Anyone else like this?

This is why I think continuing to work would have killed me. I get all wound up like that and didn't want to go to sleep. Fine. But then the alarm clock kept me from getting enough sleep. NOT fine! I think I was really sleep deprived.

Now that I am retired, I am having much less of a problem with this. That is because I know I can continue whatever-it-was in the morning, right away, after a long, satisfying night's sleep.

Retirement so far is like a string of Saturdays, end on end.

 

[bbbamI]

Fortunately since DH retired in February, I've been able to sleep a bit better, but my head still spins with two or three subjects at once.

I usually play a monotonous game, pop a couple of OTC sleep aides then go to bed. If I can't get to sleep after about 20 minutes, I've gotta get up.

I'm a night owl...

 

[Orchidflower]

Have you tried 3 mg. of melatonin that you buy in the vitamin section of Walgreens and similar stores? Induces natural sleep.

 

[thefed]

Have you tried 3 mg. of melatonin that you buy in the vitamin section of Walgreens and similar stores? Induces natural sleep.

no. the thing is, even when I'm exhausted, mentally I force myself to stay awake. I AM tired often. And once I'm out, I'm OUT!

I didnt mention that on a regular basis I'm waking up at 7:30 am at the latest, usually around 6:45 or 7. Throw in 10 hour work days, a little alcohol, and 2 kids into the mix and I KNOW I'm not getting enough sleep.

 

[CoolChange]

I'm doing the same thing right now.

 

[Rambler]

DW is home in the states now. When we are together, we tend to have a bit more structure in our sleep patterns. When we are apart (business, her visiting kids, etc) Both of us tend to be less structured.

All that said, I tend to not want to go to bed when I am by myself...kind of like a kid who is falling asleep but crying and trying desparately to stay awake, almost as though it were a fear of falling asleep.

When I am really busy though, I have trouble falling asleep because my brain keeps tossing things around. I find that I sleep better if I put the PC away, stay away from numbers and calculations, difficult topics, etc, for an hour before going to bed, otherwise sleep will evade me even if I am physically tired.

Interesting that you brought this up, however, since I was just thinking/pondering about the topic last night.

R

 

[brewer12345]

Give some of it to my wife. Seems like she sleeps all the damn time. Started with the honeymoon when she slept like 12 hours a day and continues to this day.

 

[happy2bretired]

thefed, maybe you just need to think a little more about what you may be doing to your health. You know you are tired and you know you COULD sleep, but, you don't want to. Think about your future health and what could happen to you and your family if poor health starts affecting you and your businesses. Getting a good nights sleep is very cheap health insurance. So, go to bed and SLEEP!

 

[Orchidflower]

For years I walked around like the walking dead as I never got enough sleep. Bad for your physical health, bad for your mental health.
Trust me, I get the workaholism thing, but I wouldn't go back to that lifestyle for nothing now. Forgetaboutit...not worth it.

 

[grumpy]

Incompatible sleep patterns are a real problem for DW and me. I need alot of sleep and am most productive in the morning. I try to get all my errands done before noon. I go to bed by 11:30 and usually get up by 8:00. DW has a lot of trouble falling asleep and staying asleep and she is most active late at night. Now that we are both retired she goes to bed between 3:00 and 4:00 am and sleeps til noon. By the time she is showered, dressed and had breakfast it is often 2pm. That's about the time I usually finish my daily lap swimming and am ready to settle down to read and relax.

Needless to say, this makes it difficult to plan joint activities. The problem is worse when we travel. I can either sit in a dark hotel room for hours or go siteseeing on my own. Thank god for cell phones that let us figure out where and when to meet up.

 

[fisherman]

Brewer,

My wife did that for years. She finally got bad enough that she had her thyroid checked. Low Thyroid was the problem and with replacements she is better.

 

[FinanceDude]

You are headed for some health problems if you don't SLOW DOWN a little. Are you getting enough exercise? Maybe that would help.

My DW can get to sleep at the drop of a hat. I only need about 6-7 hours a night, while she needs 8-10.

 

[ls99]

Just to throw some more ...... er stuff into the thread.

Since having had a cataract surgery on one eye, my curious mind went into normal overdrive to find out about the new lens and it's properties.

So here is the short version of findings:

0. The new lens provides near perfect light transmission to about 420nm, then cutting off fairly sharply into UV region 380 nm and shorter wavelengths. nm=nanometer
1. Humans loose ability to perceive blue color with advancing age.
2. By age 60 or so more than half of blue transmission is lost due to yellowing of eye lens, and its container. Blue, about 500 to 450 nm.
3. There are recently discovered receptors in the eye directly communicating with the brain, non optical image, responding specifically to blue light.
4. Said receptors "talk" directly to the brain, providing daylight, hence circadian information.
5. The brain using circadian information controls the body's master clock, which in turn regulates melatonin production. Oh, the blue light receptors output into the hypothalamus suppresses melatonin production, so you stay alert.

Thus, with reduced blue sensitivity, or not enough exposure to blue light (as part of the broader white light spectrum) does screw up circadian response, hence messy sleep patterns. Of course there are many other reasons for buggered up sleep, but that is beyond my miniscule knowledge.

For further info search for blue light response. Do ignore .com findings, they are mostly selling stuff with soime kernel of useful info. Look for .gov or .org endings.

Happy reading.

 

[Danny]

used to stay up but now I go to bed at 10 and get up 4:30..I think the early rising makes the early to bed easier...plus wearing myself out with exercise during the day..

 

[freebird5825]

My regular pillow, my body pillow (the dog named Patch ) and I are old friends. I sleep like a log every night. I may wake up for a kidney break but then it's right back to sleep again.
My day schedule is more attuned to natural daylight by waking up just a little before sunrise. I get to bed by 9:30 as a habit, 10 PM latest.

 

[harley]

I don't particularly like to sleep myself. I tend to stay up until 2 or 3 reading, watching tv, surfing, whatever. But sometimes it's channel surfing or waiting for the next new post on the various forums. That's when I know I'm bored and should just go to bed, but I have a hard time doing it. I don't know if it's left over from the nearly 30 years of weird hours and broken sleep patterns or what. I sleep like a dog when I do go to bed. Luckily I get by with about 6 hours of sleep and DW gets about 10, so our wake up times are pretty even. Sometimes I wonder if it's just a need to have some time to myself. I love DW and we have a lot of fun, but we're together most of the time. Staying up gives me some alone time, even if I waste it talking to y'all. Any of that sound familiar to you, The Fed?

 

[bbbamI]

I don't particularly like to sleep myself. I tend to stay up until 2 or 3 reading, watching tv, surfing, whatever. But sometimes it's channel surfing or waiting for the next new post on the various forums. That's when I know I'm bored and should just go to bed, but I have a hard time doing it. I don't know if it's left over from the nearly 30 years of weird hours and broken sleep patterns or what. I sleep like a dog when I do go to bed. Luckily I get by with about 6 hours of sleep and DW gets about 10, so our wake up times are pretty even. Sometimes I wonder if it's just a need to have some time to myself. I love DW and we have a lot of fun, but we're together most of the time. Staying up gives me some alone time, even if I waste it talking to y'all. Any of that sound familiar to you, The Fed?

It sounds familiar to me, bbbamI.

 

[mews]

Fed, go to bed.

Lack of sleep can destroy reflexes and thought as effectivly as alcohol.

Are you working exhausted? Would you let yourself or an employee show up after a couple of shots?

Are you driving exhausted? Really? Would you put your kids in the car and go driving after a few shots?

Go to bed.
First, turn off the TV about 45 min to an hour before.
Take a relaxing shower.
Darken the room.
It will take some time to re-set your timer, but do it.

ta,
mew

 

[Meadbh]

What mews said. Also, thefed, get your thyroid function tested. Maybe you have hyperthyroidism. Or an anxiety disorder. Anyhooo....repeat after me: [-]greed[/-] sleep is GOOD.