What activities do you do during sleepless nights?

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack I fall asleep early but often wake up at 1-3am and can't sleep. I go watch TV, that always puts me to sleep in an hour or two, especially what's on at that unGodly hour...

TV is terrible at that hour, isn't it! It's amazing that there aren't even good re-runs at that hour. Instead many stations send us off to the abysmal Land of Informercials and Endless Pharmaceutical Commercials.

[mystang52]

I am literally a lifelong insomniac. I can recall trouble sleeping as far back as 8 years old. Like OP, my insomnia comes on a periodic basis (going through it now, as a matter of fact). Here are my tips to help mitigate the problem:
No eating past 7:30 PM.
I NEVER go to sleep at a designated time. Unless I'm very sleepy, I won't go to bed, even if I have a set time to get up in the morning. I don't dwell on how many hours of sleep I'll be getting.
If I go to bed and can't sleep, I won't toss and turn for too long. I'll just get up and read, go on computer etc. and wait for the next sleepy feeling.
An occasional 100% sleepless night won't hurt you.
Several years ago my doctor convinced me to try Ambien. I use it very rarely, but when I do it's a Godsend.
Finally, here's a recent "discovery" I made. Using one of those "husband pillows" has been a big help for me. I'm semi-reclined, semi-sitting up, but for some reason I'm able to fall asleep easier. At some point in the middle of the night I'll just toss that pillow and sleep "normally."

[chilkoot]

I rarely experience this (actually not at all since retiring). When it happens I usually just channel-surf or read something for awhile. I seem to remember hearing that just laying still and acting like you're asleep provides the body almost the same amount of rest.
Someone will probably contradict that now.

[MRG]

Been a lifelong issue. Too much visual activity, Internet, TV can be a problem for me.
Melatonin can help. Wouldn't be worried about valarian either. There may be other opinions. Prescriptions, trazadone seems to be easily accepted. Some folks have issues with ambian, some don't. I'm sure there are many opinions on all prescriptions. I've found self hypnosis to be an effective drug free solution.
Best wishes,
MRG

[redduck]

I would suggest you don't involve yourself in anything that seems even remotely interesting to you. When I can't sleep, I stay in bed reading a book that is painfully boring to me. This usually gets me to sleep in a pretty short time. If you don't have a painfully boring book at hand, you might try reading some of Wahoo's/ REWahoo's old posts. That should do the trick.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by redduck If you don't have a painfully boring book at hand, you might try reading some of Wahoo's/ REWahoo's old posts. That should do the trick.

It is humbling to know my efforts serve the greater good...

[daylatedollarshort]

I take Milk of Magnesia. When I have it insomnia it seems to be from a magnesium deficiency.

Peppermint or chamomile tea also work for me.

[6miths]

I am surprised that no one has mentioned the obvious. Unless I missed it as I read through all of the posts. There is only one form of exercise that is recommended before sleep.

[bjorn2bwild]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 6miths I am surprised that no one has mentioned the obvious. Unless I missed it as I read through all of the posts. There is only one form of exercise that is recommended before sleep.

Cricket?

[6miths]

Precisely!

[redduck]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo It is humbling to know my efforts serve the greater good...

Thank you for graciously submitting yet another wonderful example of what I was referring to. Predictably, I now find myself becoming sleepy... but it seems that I may have 3-4 hours of cricket yet to go. Ya' gotta' love those big cricket paddles.

[Ready]

I have definite periods of sleeplessness. I used to think it was stress related, back when I was working full time. But life is not very stressful these days, and I still wake up after just a few hours of sleep and then struggle to fall asleep again. I can go several days to a week without a problem, and then it reappears. It usually lasts for 2-3 nights and then returns to a normal sleep pattern again.

My doctor prescribed Ambien CR, which works quite well, but I don't like to take meds if I can avoid them. I also use an herbal remedy called "Deep Sleep" that seems to work quite well. I buy it at the local health food market.

And when all else fails, I keep my iPad by my bed and either play games or surf the internet until I get tired again. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. But I generally feel fine in the morning, so my body may be telling me I just don't need that much sleep.

I used to take naps in the middle of the day pretty frequently, but ever since I stopped eating gluten, I have found that I don't get tired in the middle of the day any more. I try to avoid carbohydrates in general for lunch as they seem to make me very sleepy. Eating really simple foods like raw nuts and cheese during the lunch/afternoon period seems to work best for me. It keeps my energy level high so that I can get a lot of exercise in, which in turns helps me to be more tired in the evening before I go to bed.

[omni550]

I take Calm (Amazon.com: Natural Vitality Natural Magnesium Calm (1x16 OZ): Health & Personal Care) every night before bed. I sleep like a log. Highly recommend.

omni

[34rlsa]

Alcohol



Just kidding.... I actually sleep much better since I quit drinking 3 years ago.

[sheehs1]

I usually sleep well. Always read a few pages and when I start to nod off, cut out the light. Occasionally I might have a hard time, usually when something is on my mind. When this happens, I don't fight it. I get up, get on the internet for a few minutes, may have some protein to eat, drink some water and take a short acting (4 hr) antihistamine like chlortrimeton. Go back to bed, read a few pages, turn off the light. Works for me.

No caffeine after noon and no worrisome conversation or drama after 8:00 at night. I couldn't always do that from all the stresses of work, raising children and the years when both parents were ill. Much more control over what comes my way later at night these days!

[Moscyn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by omni550 I take Calm (Amazon.com: Natural Vitality Natural Magnesium Calm (1x16 OZ): Health & Personal Care) every night before bed. I sleep like a log. Highly recommend. omni

Thanks, everyone for their input and interesting suggestions. I will also check out Magnesium Calm. I had trouble all my life with sleeping and so do my siblings (can this be genetic?). However, the first year after I retired, I really enjoyed the beauty of sleep as there was a sudden release from stress. As I added more activities into my retired life, my mind gets busy and can't rest at night. Sometimes I do take naps esp after hot showers and that helps to keep fresh along the day despite deprived sleep. I guess I have to accept my sleep modes but when I am awake in the middle of the night and DH is sleeping like a baby, I really wish there's a sleep button I can press and activate immediately!

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by happy2bretired I read or play Scrabble on my iPad. I try to keep it on a dim setting so it doesn't affect my going to sleep. I usually go to bed between 7:30 and 8:00 then read for about an 1-2 hours or so. I usually awaken about 3:00 am then, again use my iPad..take my thyroid med about 4:30 (must be on empty stomach,so no night eating for me) then I must wait a half hour before eating breakfast. I get up about 5:00am. Works for me. I wish I could sleep longer...but I can't. So, I just accept my new sleep schedule.

What scrabble app do you like?

My sleeping habits have gotten really bad since I got AB iPad!

[braumeister]

Sleeplessness is rare for me, but when it occurs, I pick up my Kindle Paperwhite with the brightness set very low and read for a while. 20-30 minutes is usually enough to send me off to sleep again.

[happy2bretired]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 What scrabble app do you like? My sleeping habits have gotten really bad since I got AB iPad!

I have EA Scrabble, it appears to be the original Hasbro game from the App Store. It has the little banker guy logo. It looks like there is a free version and one that costs $9.99. I can't remember if I paid or not..but I'm guessing I did. I love playing it - very addictive. I play against the computer. You'd can also pass the iPad around and play with others. You can play with others across the web too but that's not my cup of tea. There are 3 levels of difficulty and more than one dictionary to use. Is there a way for me to tell if I have the paid version? It didn't tell much when I looked at the "about" page.

[mpeirce]

I play EA scrabble a lot on the iPhone.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/scra...501724085?mt=8

It works, but it's prone to various bugs. Each version that comes out seems to be a case of one bug fixed / a new bug introduced. (login issues were big for long time last year, crashing happens at times, sometimes it seems to lose track of games, and the darn tap target area for the x to close a message window is sometimes way too small). It seems better lately, but I get nervous every time a new version comes out - just waiting to see what they screwed up.

Yet, I still play it a lot. I started playing against the computer, but have since moved on to playing others. Mostly random folks, but also a few friends/relatives. (Oh another annoyance is that I since I don't do Facebook, I can't play against people who log in via Facebook. bah)