Chuck

Well, my clock reads 4:46 a.m. EST. This is the fourth or fifth night in a row that I've seen this time.

I've watched the whole first season of Six Feet Under on DVD. That is a wonderful show. I watch NYPD Blue from 3-4, usually. I read Crime and Punishment in 3 days. Greatest novel ever conceived. My MP3s cannot be further organized. My dog is pissed off because the light is always on while she wants to sleep.

So yeah, I'm having some insomnia problems. I'm writing this post half to kill some time and half to solicit ideas for getting rid of this. I've tried knocking myself out with Nyquil. It works for one night, the next night I'm up again. I think I'm going to try a new strategy this weekend: drink myself into a nice sleepy state and pass out nice and early.

I do eventually fall asleep, usually between 5-6 a.m. It's not a really good sleep though. Fortunately, my insomnia doesn't interfere with any of my schedule.

Any ideas? Before I settle in to watch all five DVDs of Ken Burns' The Civil War. Again.

At least I'm learning.

Chuck

ieyeasu

Don't self-medicate, it's a bad idea in general.

Try some mood music in a dark room--something relaxing--maybe the Flaming Lips, or some Vivaldi. Try eating turky and drinking milk.

After that, I'd recommend seeing a doctor if it persists.

kwigibo

Turkey doesn't work apparently, it doesn't contain enough tryptophan (sp?) to have any effect.

The only thing that ever works for me is audio, but not musical. Spoken Word or Comedy. It has the same effect that reading used to have, except i can fall asleep while doing it. With a book, i have to put it down, turn off the light, and then i can't clear my head. Once i'm in bed, eyes closed, i can't slow my brain down. I'll put on an hour long track, and i'll be out in under 30 minutes. It works for me, but i don't know if it'd work for anyone else.

NonHomogenized

Isn't insomnia fun? Personally, I have found nothing that helps much, but one of my friends got diagnosed with some form of clinical insomnia, and, within a few months, his insomnia was gone. It hasn't made any reappearances in the last 3 years. So, yeah, if it persists, try a doctor. It might help you.

RevDahlia

Read some scripture. Preferably the bit with all the "begat"s. Be sure to play close attention, and you'll drift off in no time.

tribalbeeyatch

I have battled my own crippling insomnia for about ten years now, so I can certainly sympathize. Here are some things that help me, but I have yet to find anything that I might describe as a cure (in no particular order):

Get some exercise. Make sure that it isn't too close to bedtime, though.

Stick to a schedule. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same times every day, even on the weekends.

Don't watch TV. At least don't watch it as a means of putting yourself to sleep. Maybe it's different with others, but I find that it puts me into a sleep-inhibiting trancelike state. I also try not to read too close to bedtime as I'll often get so involved in the book that I'll skip sleep in order to finish it.

Don't spend waking hours in your bedroom. You need to train yourself to associate your bed and bedroom with sleeping, not doing other stuff.

Make your bed comfortable. Make the room as dark as possible. Make it as quiet as possible. A fan generates a lot of white noise and helps to mask distracting sounds.

Breathe slowly. Concentrating on breathing as if I'm asleep seems to help me get there sometimes.

Prepare to sleep. A half hour or so before bed, I like to drink a cup of herbal tea (no caffeine!), take care of brushing and flossing and whatnot and begin to wind my self down for sleeping.

If I'm still not getting to sleep, then it's time for some pharmacological assistance (in increasing order of effectiveness):

Melatonin - 1+ mg a half hour or so before bedtime.

Antihistamine - half of whatever dosage of OTC my wife has laying around.

Ambien - This requires a doctor's prescription, but it is worth having a few on hand just in case. It is a short-acting benzodiazepine, which means that it really works, doesn't leave you drowsy in the morning, and shouldn't be used too frequently. My doctor only prescribes them 10 at a time (10 mg), but I can usually stretch these over an entire year by breaking them in half or thirds and only using them when I absolutely have to.

FoE

I work nights which is nice but when i have to rearrange my sleep schedule for vacations and such i just force myself to stay awake through the day and take one and a half Gravols that night.

Julie

Really silly but free mmorpg

www.runescape.com its brain numbing but kills the time

Paul2

unisom works wonders.

Starbug

I found quitting my shitty job and leaving my shitty city & state did wonders for my insomnia!