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Post by joanne28 on Dec 4, 2011 16:00:59 GMT
I would say that 364 days out of 365, I read in bed. What I find occasionally happens is I get drowsy, put the book down, take off my glasses, turn off the light and BAM! I am wide-awake. It can be seriously annoying. Thank God it's only once in a while.
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Post by rikita on Dec 4, 2011 20:55:04 GMT
oh yes, that has happened to me before too...
what i found helps me to fall asleep too though is listening to audio books... and they usually turn themselves off after a while when i am already sleeping...
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Post by Kimby on Dec 8, 2011 0:28:14 GMT
I think I've said this before, but it is imperative to NOT let light shine on your retinas unless you want to wake up. This means no computer, no TV at bedtime. No light in the hall, or nightlight. No bright alarm clock on the nightstand (I turn mine away so it doesn't shine on my eyes). and if you must get up to go to the bathroom, don't turn on the lights. I close my eyes to a slit so that the nightlights can't sabotage my sleepiness.
On the other hand, getting up/waking up requires light. Open the curtains at bedtime, so the sun can shine in and wake you gradually the next morning.
If you want to sleep at night, don't sleep too much during the day (sleeping in or taking long naps) and don't fall asleep in front of the TV. When you give up and go to bed, you'll be wide awake.
To aid sleepiness, I've used warm milk, and benadryl, a mild antihistimine with a side-effect of sleepiness.
Hope this helps.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2012 17:26:13 GMT
I follow all of the aforementioned advice and still have sleep problems. I struggle with not taking a nap, and, sometimes succeed but, resort to one when I can no longer take it, as in stay awake no longer and have early evening plans to stay awake for. Even, on the days when I've been active all f'n day,little to no caffeine,no nap,etc. and even with benadryl, still have insomnia....
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Post by Kimby on Jun 9, 2012 18:42:25 GMT
Naps aren't ALL bad, casi. Have you heard of "power napping"?
Calculate the midway point between your bedtime and your arising time then change the AM to a PM. (E.g. Bedtime = 11 pm, waking = 6 AM, midpoint = 2:30)
This is your ideal time to nap. It also often coincides with that afternoon/after lunch drowsy period so falling asleep often isn't a problem. Set an alarm or a timer for 1/2 hour and nod off.
Power napping doesn't interfere with night-time sleeping, as long as you don't overdo it and sleep for hours.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2012 10:40:04 GMT
Thanks Kimby. I'll give it a try. I see my internist for a check up sometime next week I believe and am going to chat with her more about this. I definitely don't want to go the Ambien and other sleep aid medication route. I also need to ask her wtf she was talking about when she told me a year or so ago not to read before going to sleep. Maybe there really is something to it. (And,if computer screen light and the like deter sleeping, what are all the people using Kindle etc. ebooks going to do btw? I am not one of them also btw.)
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Post by Kimby on Jun 10, 2012 14:51:28 GMT
I read before dropping off. (Usually during dropping off.) Unless it's a very exciting, can't-put-it-down story, I can't see why reading would be a deterrent. (Non-fiction can be especially sleep-inducing at bedtime.)
If you have a busy mind when you lay down to sleep, reading could distract your brain from your worries long enough to let you get dozy. Works for me.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2012 17:36:59 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2012 12:08:28 GMT
That's a lengthy piece there Kerouac. I read most of it, interesting information. Thank you. I am poised and ready to ask my physician about the reading before bedtime when I go see her today. To be continued... ( Maybe I heard her wrong the first time... )
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Post by rikita on Sept 25, 2012 6:10:27 GMT
waking up a lot at night lately... wouldn't be a problem if i could sleep in afterwards, as i always sleep well in the morning... but these days, just the time i get comfortably back to sleep, my alarm rings...
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Post by htmb on Sept 25, 2012 13:19:37 GMT
That's really unfortunate. Just when you probably feel you need MORE sleep, you are unable to get the sleep you need. You will find it gets harder and harder to sleep well the closer you get to your due date. Missing sleep was the hardest part for me, both during pregnancy and afterwards when the babies were small. There were many days I felt like a sleep-deprived zombie. You just have to do the best you can, even if it means taking "cat naps" here and there.
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Post by rikita on Sept 25, 2012 19:49:32 GMT
well i am looking forward to the non-working weeks before the due date though... then i can nap whenever i want, if i didn't get enough sleep during the night... right now, with work, it is kind of difficult to take naps... ah, but i have a four day week this week and next week, so i am getting more sleep, yay!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2012 20:03:54 GMT
I was reading today in an article that any light source, including computer screens, TVs or any other light is bad for sleeping -- you are supposed to sleep in the dark.
Frankly, I have my doubts about this, although I am sure that it is true for some people.
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Post by htmb on Sept 25, 2012 20:28:35 GMT
I always charge my cell phone next to my bed at night. Even though the phone is off, there's still a pretty good glow coming from the power indicator light. I've started putting it on the floor just under my bed and that's helped to make the room darker. Rikita, I know it's hard to get enough rest when you are working, and it's miserable to miss sleep and then have to work a full day. On the bright side, it's easier to nap now than it will be when you are pregnant with your NEXT child. I know you've mentioned it before, but your due date is in late December, early January, is that right?
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Post by rikita on Sept 26, 2012 5:23:54 GMT
yeah, i imagine being pregnant with a already having a small child must be very stressful - also because the child wants to be carried and all that, and doesn't understand when you are tired or hurting or sick... my mom said though that she was less tired during her other pregnancies - maybe just because she didn't have a chance to be...
yeah, the due date is early january...
well, had to get up early today as i have to be early at work today - but the good thing is, i slept through tonight so i am feeling alright so far...
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Post by rikita on Oct 5, 2012 5:41:39 GMT
feel a bit right now like i am getting into a circle of having back pain because i am exhausted and stressed, and not being able to sleep well due to the back pain and due to the lack of sleep getting more exhausted and stressed... fortunately it is saturday tomorrow...
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Post by lagatta on Mar 29, 2013 7:33:14 GMT
I just had a doozy of a nightmare. Was living in a French city during the War. Seemed like Paris, but could have been Lyon. I was in liaison with a group of Italian antifascists who had fled to France and now were caught up being hunted down by French collaborators (the Nazis were around as a shadowy menace, but the real enemies we faced in the dream were collabos). Lyon would have made more sense, but nightmares aren't necessarily historically accurate. I'd been rounded up in a street rafle but somehow the miliciens let us go, however at the same time someone was reading off my name and saying I was terribly dangerous because of the Italians (ha, ha) so I had to walk away as unobtrusively as possible, while appearing calm. I was in pain (this is true, but minor - arthritic pain, as it seems very damp tonight - it had been a beautiful sunny day, and I got in a good bicycle ride, but it started to rain this evening and the rain was melting some remaining piles of snow in shady areas, leftover from our big Equinox snow).
I know being on the computer is not good for insomnia, but I felt the need to get awake and get that terror out of my mind, and already am feeling a bit sleepy again (took some ibuprofen for the arthritis, that will help).
I must have been younger than I am in the dream, as my hair was still black without colouring it. Not a teenager, I'd say around 35, and it is true that I was studying in Italy around then, and always passed through France as the flights were much cheaper between Mtl and Paris, and I had friends there.
I went to bed really early - was falling asleep by 9:30 pm. Perhaps that is what set this off. I'm yawning now, so off to bed!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2013 18:30:40 GMT
I love dreams like that even though they are exhausting. I have sometimes been hunted down -- sometimes for weeks -- all in one night's dream. If the pursuers are nearby, I have "dream paralysis" and can only creep forward, no matter how hard I try.
One time I even spent about a year as a castaway on a deserted island -- all in one night of sleep. I still treasure that dream because I remember so many things about it, finding shelter, finding food... It's almost as though I got a bonus of an extra year of my life for free -- and as a complete adventure.
Naturally, intense dreams are considered to be a factor in "poor" sleep since you are supposed to drift into deep sleep sooner or later. But every time I have had intense and vivid dreams all night, even when I wake up exhausted, I would not give them up for anything.
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Post by htmb on Mar 29, 2013 21:16:13 GMT
Lagatta, that dream must have been exhausting to experience, but I applaud you for writing down the details. That's one regret I have, especially not recording dreams in which I experience a sense of victory over a situation. I will remember powerful dreams for awhile, but ultimately they become lost memories.
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Post by lagatta on Mar 29, 2013 23:51:16 GMT
I remember even more than I mentioned - the specific tone of notices posted in the city, the light or lack of it (it seemed to be in wintertime) how my hair was arranged (rather long, but in a simple version of a 1940s style, not any decade I'd actually lived in, my clothing. Hair a bit like the Italian lady on the left: genova.erasuperba.it/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/donne-partigiane.jpg but I had on a warmer dark jacket or short coat and a dark skirt. And alas I wasn't toting a gun! But I really woke up thinking I was about to be shot, which I really don't recommend every night as it makes your chest constrict in terror. Wow.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2013 21:21:34 GMT
We should probably start a dream thread if there are enough people here who have vivid dreams.
Frankly my most recent dream was pretty incredible because I was walking (why?) out to the suburbs for some reason (can't imagine why) and ran into a former colleague who retired about 5 years ago and whom I never appreciated although I always remained civil. One thing that I have never forgotten about him is that when my department had no contact with his department, they had a "Secret Santa" event one year and he received deodorant as a gift. And he did not appreciate it at all. In fact, after retirement, I was the only person he ever contacted to ask about retirement benefits (but that was kind of normal since I was the elected employee representative and in charge of all such things). Anyway, there we were and he was annoyingly friendly in the mode "I'll walk along with you no matter where you are going."
Unfortunately, I have forgotten where I was trying to go, but he cheerily accompanied me (yuck). We walked by an Auchan hypermarket (WTF?) which confused me, and then we walked by another one (or maybe the same one) after much more walking (and boredom from his uninteresting company). Finally we arrived, totally unexpectedly, at a sort of B&B operated by the lawyer that I used to fight the company during the redundancy programme. She was having a dinner party which was attended by a number of people including my former boss and also the only employee who remained in my department (6 out of 7 left) and with whom I have remained very close. I must admit that it is less from affinity than solidarity -- we were on the employee committee together and we went through hell during the whole termination process. Anyway, the unwanted former colleague and I were accepted at the party by the lawyer and we had a good time although I really wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
After the meal, though, I was sitting on a sofa with the remaining employee (now department head of 2 employees after the previous department of 1 person in charge of 6 other people) to talk with her about the latest developments at the company and how she was faring. And then she started nibbling and licking my ear. Actually, I must confess that this was quite pleasant, but I kept thinking about her husband and her three children, and I ripped myself away from her and said "this can't continue." She was a little embarrassed and said, "you're right" and we both went back to talk to the other people.
I was in a hurry to leave, and about the only thing that I remember was that the lawyer gave me her new business card with new phone numbers on it, and I left as quickly as possible.
Anyway, this is just to say that quite a few of my dreams are quite detailed and often unsettling, but I absolutely love vivid dreams and wouldn't give them up for the world, even if they sometime bother me.
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Post by htmb on Mar 30, 2013 21:51:45 GMT
Certainly a most interesting dream, Kerouac.
I think a dream thread is a good idea, though I'm not sure I'd want to post many of my dreams. I often dream in great detail, too. I wonder if I will dream about former co-workers once I retire. I doubt it.
For me, dreams are a good indication of my current well-being and state of mind. They seem to reveal a lot about my unconscious thoughts and feelings. As I mentioned earlier, I've had some very triumphant dreams, and later woke up feeling great all day because I felt like my dream was an indication I'd made the correct life-changing decisions. I've also had dreams involving conversations with now deceased loved that were both disturbing and exhilarating all at the same time.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2013 22:17:22 GMT
I wonder if I will dream about former co-workers once I retire. I doubt it. This was a major surprise for me. I have no interest in any of those people but I have regularly dreamed about most of them in all sorts of weird situations. Interestingly enough, I have dreamed about all sorts of people who left the company 15, 10, 5 years ago even if I barely noticed them at the time, but I have not dreamed about certain people whom I saw every day for 35 years. Concerning the deceased, I dreamed constantly about my grandmother for years after she died. It should probably be mentioned that I looked after my grandmother in her retirement home for 8 years and I have only been looking after my mother for 6 years, so I would say that we can expect the worst for the future. Basically, when I dream about my grandmother, she has come back from the dead, which kind of disturbs me but which also pleases me. The prime disturbing element of a lot of these dreams is that I see her in better shape than my mother and I worry about how she will feel when she sees what shape my mother is in. My father has also come back from the dead a few times, causing me to worry about the same kind of stuff.
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Post by htmb on Mar 31, 2013 2:06:27 GMT
I can relate to those dreams.
For what it's worth, based on the character of your grandmother (as reported by you) I could only imagine she'd be very proud of the amazing care you've given your mother.
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Post by lagatta on Mar 31, 2013 2:58:14 GMT
The dream thread is interesting, but the fact remains that I was utterly terrified of being shot, and didn't accomplish much the next day.
Personally, I think it is important not to overextend one's caregiving, in particular with dementia patients. A friend became severely distraught with that (husband) and has never really recovered.
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Post by htmb on Mar 31, 2013 3:08:10 GMT
I guess that's the point about some dreams, Lagatta. They feel real. I'm sorry yours was so vividly horrible.
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Post by htmb on Jun 1, 2013 14:15:35 GMT
I've haven't been sleeping very well for the past four weeks, due almost surely to my current work schedule. I tend to process either the previous days events or the upcoming days schedule during my dreams, finding it fairly exhausting. For about ten days I had one uncertainty hanging over my head, but now that's been positively resolved. Two more weeks to go and this period will be over. I'm looking forward to getting back to sleeping well and having less vivid dreams. Last night I dreamed I was standing quite calmly, and completely undressed, in the middle of a crowd of (clothed) people while two individuals off to the side sprayed me with water hoses. What's up with that? Water hoses are definitely not on the schedule, and certainly being naked is out!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2013 15:26:51 GMT
Don't worry, you'll be able to sleep 18 hours a day during your holiday.
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Post by htmb on Jun 1, 2013 15:42:52 GMT
I hear it's fairly quiet and peaceful along Euston Road.
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Post by spindrift1 on Jun 1, 2013 21:05:34 GMT
I rarely dream. I can't remember the last time. Nutritionally this means that I don't have enough vitamin B6.
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