Monday, birds, felines, and insomnia

[lagilman]

Woke around 2:30 due to what turned out to be the sound of one feline vomiting. Thankfully, not into anyone's shoes or otherwise impossible-to-clean item. Finally decided to make use of the resultant insomnia and have been working ever since then. Writing, and replying to e-mails, and catching up on message boards, and just generally keeping busy to the soundtrack of birds going insane in the unseasonably warm temperatures outside.

I'm used to not getting what most would consider 'enough' sleep. But it's usually in a solid block from 1am to 6am. This broken-into-parts sleeping pattern is killing me. How many folk out there get insomnia? Not the 'wake up for five minutes, go back to bed" type, but the 'well, fuck, I'm up, might as well do something" kind. And how do you handle it?

Comments

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I haven't had a full night's sleep in a long time, and it's showing; on the weekends I can barely get out of bed until the cats start attacking me for breakfast. And when I wake up in the middle of the night, it's at least 45 minutes until I can get back to sleep.

What do I do? Listening to my own breathing is one that works a fair amount of the time; lying there thinking "in... out... in... out..." until I drop off from sheer boredom. That doesn't help with the tossing or the turning, though.

I don't get up unless it's so close to when the alarm will ring that it's moot. Getting up seems to be admitting defeat.

Fussing about it, particularly when you're trying to sleep, is a total killer, though; the whole "should I get up/I'm not getting enough sleep/maybe if I..." = bad.

[nick-kaufmann.livejournal.com]

I had some bad insomnia a few weeks ago, getting into bed around 1 or 2 A.M. and being unable to sleep until 4 or 5. I have to get up, watch TV or sit at the computer until I feel drowsy enough to try again. Just lying there in bed doesn't work for me.

I noticed it happens most on days where I've had a lot of caffeine in the afternoon and/or evening, on top of my morning coffee. If I drink a 20 oz. Diet Coke in the afternoon, I make sure everything I drink after that until bedtime is caffeine-free. And definitely nothing with caffeine after dinner.

[greeneyedkzin.livejournal.com]

This happens after intense creative work or if you have a lot to process in your daily life.

What I do is try to power down an hour or so before I go to bed.

If I wake up UP, the worst thing I can do -- and therefore the one I often do -- is go online.

The best thing I can do is meditate and do deep breathing, while trying to relax my muscles.

[unwrecked.livejournal.com]

This must be a common affliction with writers -- I get 6 hours a night on a good night. Usually to sleep around 10:30 p.m. and up at 4:30 a.m. to writer (I'm a morning person). But yeah, too much caffeine will make sleeping worse. I'm a light sleeper and usually wake up 2-3 times a night.

I blame the pets for my interrupted sleep -- my cat was up around 4 or so, puking as well! It's a conspiracy, I tell ya.

[nick-kaufmann.livejournal.com]

My apartment makes weird noises at night, little snaps and bangs that tend to wake me up and convince me that the stupid little ghost girl from The Ring is in there with me. Those moments when I get startled awake by a noise also lead to serious insomnia problems, since they make my heart beat fast and flood my body with adrenaline that can keep me up for quite a while.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

My apartment makes weird noises at night,

I got cats expressly so I could blame all those random house noises on them and sleep through the noises. That was the theory, anyway - in practice, something goes bump in the night and both cats stare at me from the foot of the bed all "What was THAT?"

from an older gal

[girasole.livejournal.com]

I slept like a rock from midnight till six almost every night of my adult life. Then came menopause. I am over it now (huzzah!) but I had terrible wicked interrupted nights for four years. These things worked for me.

Lying quietly in a dark room is good for you. It may not be sleep, but it is rest.

Still your mind. Concentrate on the petals of a flower, a line of poetry, whatever it gets to make the mental wheels stop grinding.

I never got up, except to pee. If I got up, it always seemed to be then the dragons won, and I didn't want them to.

I no longer have hot flashes or night sweats or any of those things, so I do sleep better.

Another point is your body is still adjusting to having less stress by not commuting. You have to give it time.

[vampry.livejournal.com]

I get it pretty regularly lately.

Sometimes I take a sleeping pill...especially when I know I have to work. Most of the time I get up and do something, like net surf or read for a while and then go back to bed. I'm not sure there's much else to do so far as handling it. If anyone else has any other ideas, I'd be pleased to hear them.