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Sleepless Nights

soupcan Sep 27 2005 10:43 AM

Over the past several months I've had a really, really hard time sleeping through the night. I'll close my eyes anywhere from 10:30pm to 12:30am and I'll sleep until about 3:30am -4:30am when I'll be wide awake. I've reached the point where I've taken Ambian and now Lunesta, both of which keep me snoozing until about 5:30am or so. I've talked to people about this and it seems that I am so not alone in this dilemma. The perception I'm getting is that more people than not my age (40) are experiencing this problem. What say you guys? Do you sleep through the night?

Yancy Street Gang Sep 27 2005 10:50 AM

I'm 42, and I sometimes have a similar problem. I don't feel like it's age-related, but who knows? Some nights I dream a lot, and tend to wake up for a little while after every dream. I probably end up getting my hours of sleep in, but they're not as restful as they should be. And sometimes I go through periods where I'll always wake up for an hour or so at around the same time. I might go a week or more when I'm always wide awake between 3 and 4 a.m. Then, as suddenly as it started, it ends. We have a couple of magical couches that seem to help when we're all tossy-turny. Sometimes when I'm not sleeping well in bed, I move to the couch. (My wife sometimes does the same.) I did it last night, and I was thinking about why it might work. When you're in bed, there are many potential comfortable positions that you can sleep in. But on the couch, there's only one or two, and fortunately, those positions are pretty darn comfortable. When you have fewer options, you seem to toss and turn less.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 27 2005 11:01 AM

On occasion I'll find myself up in the middle of the night and be unable to settle myself back down. I'll sometimes go downstairs and play on the computer for a little while, and that settles me down so I can get some more sleep. On average I'd say this happens once or twice a month. What kind of exercise are you getting? I think that, on the whole, I sleep better now than I did before I started running.

soupcan Sep 27 2005 11:03 AM

ScarletKnight41 wrote: What kind of exercise are you getting? I think that, on the whole, I sleep better now than I did before I started running. None lately. You think that's a factor?

ScarletKnight41 Sep 27 2005 11:08 AM

I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on tv. But I think that it's worth giving it a shot. I only run three days a week (any more and my knee would balk too much), and the running I do is tortoise speed. Even so, I find that my overall stamina is much, much better than it used to be, and in general I tend to sleep better than I used to. I also don't get as many colds as I did in the past - maybe one or two per winter now, as opposed to 4 or 5. So, based on my sample size of one, I'd say that adding some aerobic exercise to your routine is worth exploring.

cooby Sep 27 2005 11:09 AM

I've never been a good sleeper. I takes me 2 or 3 hours every night to get to sleep but then I sleep like a log. In the summer I wake up when it gets light, around 5 am, in the winter it doesn't get light until after my alarm goes off, so I guess it must have to do with the daybreak. Sometimes I take half a Xanax and that works like a charm

ScarletKnight41 Sep 27 2005 11:10 AM

You guys are such druggies! For me, I'm usually on the fence about taking a Tylenol PM (and I usually decide not to).

cooby Sep 27 2005 11:11 AM

ANd half a bottle of hootch

Iubitul Sep 27 2005 11:35 AM

soupcan wrote: ="ScarletKnight41"]What kind of exercise are you getting? I think that, on the whole, I sleep better now than I did before I started running. None lately. You think that's a factor? Soup, that's a huge factor - I'm 42, and was having the same problem this summer - I started jogging, and doing some light lifting, and I'm sleeping like a baby.

soupcan Sep 27 2005 11:49 AM

Hey man at this point I'll give anything a shot. I haven't ridden my bike in a few weeks so I'll get back on and see if that helps. As to being a druggie - it was a last resort. I never used to do that stuff but I was getting desparate. I took an Ambien because we had some in the medicine cabinet but knew wenough not to keep taking them every night. My father-in-law the doctor gave me some Lunesta samples. I've been taking them maybe once a week. I hate doing it but waking up in the middle of the night wide awake and not being able to get back to sleep is just awful.

Edgy DC Sep 27 2005 11:50 AM

Quitting coffee (or switching to decaf) might be a plan. Or at least not drinking it after noon. When I can't sleep, I read. If I still can't sleep, I read really really dense impenetrable stuff.

soupcan Sep 27 2005 11:59 AM

="Edgy DC"]Quitting coffee (or switching to decaf) might be a plan. Or at least not drinking it after noon. ...I read as I sip my black coffee at 12:00pm. Quit? God no. I have a very special relationship with my espresso machine. Caffeine has never been a problem for me. I'm the guy that can drink a double espresso aftrer dinner at 10:30 and still have no problem falling asleep within an hour. Or at least I used to be that guy. Falling asleep is not the problem - it's staying asleep.

cooby Sep 27 2005 12:05 PM

soupcan wrote: My father-in-law the doctor gave me some Lunesta samples. I've been taking them maybe once a week. . That's the problem, that little moth is keeping you awake

holychicken Sep 27 2005 12:09 PM

Soup, I think excersize will help. However, I have read the excersize in the morning when you wake up is the best at helping you sleep at night. They don't know why, but there appears to be some correlation.

Elster88 Sep 27 2005 12:10 PM

Probably because you have to get up earlier in order to work out before going to work, so you're exhauseted by 4:30. At least that's how it works for me. _____________________________ This post had the designation 145) Cal Koonce

Iubitul Sep 27 2005 12:11 PM

holychicken wrote: Soup, I think excersize will help. However, I have read the excersize in the morning when you wake up is the best at helping you sleep at night. They don't know why, but there appears to be some correlation. Good point - that's when I do it, when I first get up - it's also a better way to wake up than coffee..

KC Sep 27 2005 12:33 PM

I've gone through fazes where I wake around three, usually because of a dream or something on my mind, and then not be able to fall asleep for an hour or two. Really made for a rotten night's sleep because I found it really hard to get up. I'd ask my doctor if it kept up. And if your forty and don't go to the doctor, like I didn't until last summer - go NOW!!!

ScarletKnight41 Sep 27 2005 02:13 PM

soup - you know that I was kidding when I called you and cooby druggies, right? If not, I apologize. But give the bike a try - it can't hurt. Good luck.

soupcan Sep 27 2005 02:16 PM

Oh please. Don't give it a second thought.

Johnny Dickshot Sep 27 2005 02:42 PM

]Caffeine has never been a problem for me. I'm the guy that can drink a double espresso aftrer dinner at 10:30 and still have no problem falling asleep within an hour. Or at least I used to be that guy. Yeah, I used to be him too. Most recently I've had to cut my post-noon coffees to a small cup usually no later than 3 unless I'm especially sleepy during the day. Even then, any real infusion of Joe (especially, coffee-shop coffee) after 3 seems to be capable of affecting my sleep. However, mine usually isn't an issue of waking early but staying asleep once I fall asleep -- IOW, I fall asleep, then wake frequently before going down for the night.

cooby Sep 27 2005 02:49 PM

How about cola? That is supposed to keep you awake too, but I often have one of them in the evenings. With my drugs

ScarletKnight41 Sep 27 2005 02:51 PM

I jog first thing in the morning because, if I wait until my brain is awake, it's going to fight me and try to convince me not to do it. I need to get out there while my brain is still too fuzzy to fight back ;)

cooby Oct 17 2005 08:32 AM

Has anybody had any success with Benadryl? I have had doctors recommend it to me and my daughter. My autumn allergies are kicking in, so I took one last night thinking it would help me sleep too, but instead, I had 'flippy legs' for a couple of hours. (although my eyes did stop feeling like they had cotton in them) I just wondered if it worked for anyone else.

ScarletKnight41 Oct 17 2005 09:15 AM

Benedryl is one of those things that can either make you sleepy or, alternatively, make you jumpy. Different people react differently to different things. For me, I can't take Sudafed - I'd rather be stuffy then all jumpy.

cooby Oct 17 2005 09:24 AM

I get the same restless results from Simply Sleep, Tylenol PM, and wine

soupcan Oct 17 2005 09:37 AM

I've now been alternating between Lunesta and Sonata. Sonata helps you fall asleep but doesn't keep you sleeping. Lunesta keeps you comatose once you drift off. Made me oversleep and miss my train this morning, Getting old sucks.

cooby Nov 15 2005 08:29 AM

I have found some help with this: I used this stuff a few years ago and forgot all about it. I've been taking one every night about 10:30 for about three weeks, and though I can't say I've been sleeping like a log, it does seem to help most nights. And it's not a drug at all, it is a natural hormone found in our bodies.

Nymr83 Nov 15 2005 10:58 AM

i've found that a large dose of this helps you sleep to, though i don't suggest it ifyou have to get up early the next day:

Johnny Dickshot Nov 15 2005 11:32 AM

I'd agree with nymr, but be careful when you mix with ginger ale -- a little too sugary for instant rest, I've found.

cooby Nov 15 2005 11:56 AM

That's what I like about the melatonin, I don't feel groggy at all when I wake up!