Sleep Advice

[Captain Loincloth]

I've found certain things help me get to sleep:

1. Getting exercise, like going for a walk.

2. Altering your sleeping temperature. Sometimes I can't sleep if I'm too hot or too cold.

3. Unreleased sexual tensions can cause sleeplessness. Unless you belong to a religious tradition which frowns upon it, releasing those tensions can help.

4. If none of the above work, there is always Nyquil. But a fair warning, NEVER take Nyquil if you've been drinking. You could get really sick.

 

[Pigeon]

Relaxation has always been the key for me. I've been told the "tense and release" (i.e. tense your leg, then relax it) isn't very effective although I've always found it so. The current thinking (at least in my workplace) is just concentrating on each individual part of your body starting with your scalp and working your way down (ears, forehead, jaw, neck, shoulders, ect). as you concentrate on them note their position in relation to your bed, and imagine them very heavy, pressing down towards the floor.

Relaxation tapes are good.

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

5) I have to second the thought of staying away from the sleeping pills unless a doctor tells you to try one. Trying it once though isn't a big problem, just watch how many and how much. Sorry, just saw some bad cases of over use.

A co-worker and I both would occasionally take an Aleve before going to bed if we thought we'd have issues going to sleep. Given that it doesn't have any side-effects of drowsiness, it worked sort of as a placebo.

Brad

 

[DaveStebbins]

Hey, where's Piratecat? Isn't sleep studies his day job?

"PIRATECAT, I INVOKE THY NAME!"

He'll be right along, any time now.

 

[MrFilthyIke]

He'll be right along, any time now.

Unless he is...ASLEEP!

 

[Hand of Evil]

I only sleep an average of two hours a night, three if I am lucky but I have been having some crazy dreams...never travel with the Marx's brothers!

This may sound crazy but I do think that the events of the last two weeks have a lot to do with things like this, it is not the images and the scope of the disaster, which can be on your mind, it is that the earth wobbled and shifted, sure not much but it did and it could be affecting people on an electro-magnetic level. Okay, it is crazy and sci-fi.

 

[Knoxgamer]

Sleep

I recommend only sleeping when in bed. Read and watch TV in a different room, when you get into bed go to sleep. Doing other things while in bed can upset your brain's signals. If you read for a while before going to bed or watch TV your brain doesn't clearly know that it's "sleep time". Obviously i'm not suggesting you start having sex in the kitchen, just that you try to eliminate any other activities you do while in bed.

Exercise, a good diet, and systematically relaxing your body are all excellent pieces of advice as well.

I would strongly caution you against taking sleep aids such as Nyquil. Nyquil isn't meant to be a regular sleep aid, and can cause problems if used as such. In general, sleep aids will put you to sleep but you will not get the correct amount of REM sleep and thus will be more tired and unfocused the following day than you should be. Please be sure to see a doctor before taking a sleep aid, your doctor may have excellent advice or may be able to prescribe special medicine.

 

[Glyfair]

Hey, where's Piratecat? Isn't sleep studies his day job?

"PIRATECAT, I INVOKE THY NAME!"

He'll be right along, any time now.

Yeah, I know he had a thread here discussing the best way to be well rested at GenCon.

 

[Arbiter of Wyrms]

The advice given above all sounds good to me. I rarely have trouble sleeping, but both my wife, and especially my sister, are severe insomniacs.

As for meditation, I prefer monitoring my breathing VERY carefully (in throught the nose, down the windpipe, lungs swelling appreciably, diaphragm begins to return, lungs deflating, air passing again through to mouth) to envisioning black or anyting else. Eventually, it gets to the point where you become aware of your circilatory system.

As for warm milk - yukky!. I'd recommendGood Earth brand "Tea for Sleep." (blue package) It's caffiene free, but it does have peppermint, which can be a stimulant.

Also, while caffiene and alcohol can keep you awake, nicotene can too. If you're a smoker, try not to indulge for the last two or three hours before bed.

If stress is keeping you up, and it might well be (I don't know), your doctor might prescribe an anti-anxiety medication. This can also be a BIG help. If you're sleepless for more than a week, I'd definately get to the doctor. Sleep is way underrated.

 

[Ry]

I had a similar problem, until I started working. Although I sit in a call centre all day, my workplace is exactly a one hour walk away from my home. 2 hours of walking a day makes you fit, and it helps you sleep.