Reasons you can't sleep

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ReenieHJ
ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
in Chit-Chat
Things that go bump in your night? Looping thoughts? What keeps you awake?

So last night, I fell asleep reading, which is pretty normal for me.
I found myself completely awake 2 hours later and these were my thoughts:
I need to remember to clean the bugs out of my kitchen light. D@mn and the bathroom light.
I need to throw away that pack of 3 week old spinach.
Do I dare buy another box of Swiss Miss and can I *really* limit myself to 1 a day?

The stupid places our minds go when there's nothing else to do. :/
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  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,467 Member
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    Visions of sugar plums kept dancing in my head!
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
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    @KosmosKitten You probably have already tried these but what about melatonin and weighted blankets? CBD gummies? My sister also uses an app called Calm.
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
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    chuckle_bunny wrote: »
    A couple nights ago I couldn't fall asleep because of a tingling itch in my leg. You know the kind that makes you kick like a Rockette. So naturally I went on my phone and started googling the cause of itchy legs. It pointed to liver dysfunction. An hour later I was cracking open a second beer and watching endoscopy procedures on YouTube. Other than that time I usually fall asleep fast. I suggest a mood light, meditation, sound machine and herbal tea.

    Sometimes your posts crack me up. :)
  • Miz_Owl
    Miz_Owl Posts: 3,026 Member
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    chuckle_bunny wrote: »
    A couple nights ago I couldn't fall asleep because of a tingling itch in my leg. You know the kind that makes you kick like a Rockette. So naturally I went on my phone and started googling the cause of itchy legs. It pointed to liver dysfunction. An hour later I was cracking open a second beer and watching endoscopy procedures on YouTube. Other than that time I usually fall asleep fast. I suggest a mood light, meditation, sound machine and herbal tea.

    I kid you not !
    I have googles stuff instead of going to the doctors to get the right diagnosis . :D
  • Miz_Owl
    Miz_Owl Posts: 3,026 Member
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    For me I am a light sleeper .
    I need a sound proof room .
  • KosmosKitten
    KosmosKitten Posts: 10,476 Member
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    ReenieHJ wrote: »
    @KosmosKitten You probably have already tried these but what about melatonin and weighted blankets? CBD gummies? My sister also uses an app called Calm.

    I have tried and sometimes take melatonin.

    Have not tried a weighted blanket, but like to weigh my bed down a bunch with blankets anyway, so I imagine it's similar?

    Cannot take CBD gummies or anything related to marijuana paraphernalia. The military has very strict rules and my spouse can actually be punished should it ever become known that there is anything weed related in our home, regardless of its legalization or the fact that numerous people take the non-THC varieties to help with anxiety, pain, etc.
  • FourWindsWalker
    FourWindsWalker Posts: 143 Member
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    KosmosKitten wrote: »
    I have diagnosed insomnia related to an anxiety disorder, so any small noises will wake me up, even from "deep" sleep. I also have issues getting my brain to quiet down at night enough to sleep. Any perceived issue I'm thinking about will keep me from sleeping.

    Usually, the noises issue from my cats being crazy (they are young) or my husband screaming at a video game downstairs. My son sleeps like a bear in winter once he sleeps, so he's never been a noise issue.

    I, too, have similar issues with sleep. An hour of gentle yoga before bed helped. Lately, I have begun taking magnesium an hour before bed. Kicks me in the butt.

    Hope sleep finds you soon.
  • KosmosKitten
    KosmosKitten Posts: 10,476 Member
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    FourWindsWalker wrote: »
    KosmosKitten wrote: »
    I have diagnosed insomnia related to an anxiety disorder, so any small noises will wake me up, even from "deep" sleep. I also have issues getting my brain to quiet down at night enough to sleep. Any perceived issue I'm thinking about will keep me from sleeping.

    Usually, the noises issue from my cats being crazy (they are young) or my husband screaming at a video game downstairs. My son sleeps like a bear in winter once he sleeps, so he's never been a noise issue.

    I, too, have similar issues with sleep. An hour of gentle yoga before bed helped. Lately, I have begun taking magnesium an hour before bed. Kicks me in the butt.

    Hope sleep finds you soon.

    Tell me more, please. How does magnesium help you?

    Also, I keep meaning to try yoga, but I get caught up by feeling silly + the fact that I live in a house with other people. I don't feel like fielding questions about why I'm doing something, even if it comes from a place of curiosity, not judgment.

    Did you use a program, a class or YT videos to learn?
  • JessBbody
    JessBbody Posts: 523 Member
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    I have trouble falling asleep sometimes. Usually it's because I've stupidly forgotten or ignored the fact that if I drink coffee past 2 or 3, I'll be wired at night. If I haven't had 10 measuring cups of coffee before 12, I'll be tired all day. My dependence on caffeine for energy is that strong.

    Sometimes I get wired if I workout too late in the day, or take a shower. I did all 3 of these things today, hence the time of this post.

    Unless I'm really knocked out from a long day of doing something productive that is physically or mentally taxing, I tend to have an overactive mind at night. I tend to go over things I said and did, sometimes second-guessing myself and wondering if I made the right move. This kind of self-doubting behavior is something I'm working on. I have to use self talk to convince myself to be confident in my choices and stand behind them. I also have to convince myself that I will be able to handle the consequences if I blundered.

    I'm trying to get my "monkey mind" under control, to a degree. I was doing pretty well with meditation for a long time and I've got to get back to it. It was really good for my sanity. I think that when you can slow down your thoughts and observe them, you have a better chance of being able to choose some thoughts, which gives you something akin to control. Believing in the thoughts you choose is a step beyond.

    Unfortunately I can't just tell my mind to shut up. It has to be trained, and the training never ends. So it's 2 am, and I'm focusing my thoughts by writing, and hopefully I'll wear myself out. Now if only I could do this without the blue light.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    My baby, the book I'm writing, worrying about stuff, planning my life
  • KosmosKitten
    KosmosKitten Posts: 10,476 Member
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    Noisy cats eating through plastic bags to get at yarn.
  • The_Elephant_Man
    The_Elephant_Man Posts: 202 Member
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    Many reasons.... Shoulder pain, can't quiet my mind, thinking about everything. 😕

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