Insomnia why?

[systemdefault]

I am not a nervous person, I have a good job and a relaxed lifestyle. I am new to these forums but i got here from Keith Mcnally. I know he also suffers insomnia. My question is why? can anyone come up with a plausible reason as to why people from all walks of life and lifestyles suffer this. I have been spending my time reading these forums, i would hate to see the chat rooms etc, but it appears alot of people have this , what could be described as an affliction.
Firstly does anyone have a reason for this, and secondly how do you combat it.
It is strange as no matter how little I sleep I am never tired. Do you have insomnia and are always tired?
I am just curious.
ps
sorry if there is a rule that says you cant start a thread if you have under a certain amount of posts, like the fuck you policy I didn't get the brochure.

[dazmania83]

I have suffered only a few times from insomnia, it is usually only short lived in my case during periods when I am feeling highly stressed, first time being my university exams in my final year.

The last time however it was brought on chemically, took me a week to realise the decongestant tablets I was prescribed might have had a side effects, how nice of my doctor to warn me about that.

Also I find that when I'm stressed I've suffered from sleep paralysis/waking dreams, I'd take insomnia over that any day. being unable to move and being awake is very frightening, it always scares the shit out of me.

From the little research I have done on sleep disorders (when I say research I mean watching TV documentaries) stress, anxiety and alcohol are often associated factors.

[HanSolo69]

Have you ever considered the fact that maybe you're a bad person? Perhaps this is weighing on your subconcious. Maybe if you were to just come clean you could sleep more easily. Like they say, 'no rest for the wicked.'

[RachaelBachael]

I suffer from insomnia as well. I tried Ambien which didn't really help. Here are some things that have helped.

-Stick to a schedule. This has been hard for me, but I've found that if I try to wake up the same time everyday and get into bed at the same time every night I'll sleep more/better.

-Keep your room pitch dark. I have super sleep curtains, no electronics or any lights that are on all night in the room (light up clocks, laptop plugged in, etc.).

-Don't watch tv in bed.

-Don't use your laptop right before you go to bed (I struggle with this one). The light makes your brain think you're outside in the sun and keeps you up.

-Exercise daily (I also struggle with this one)

-Keep your room cold.

Arianna Huffington, the editor of the Huffington Post, is doing a year long sleep challenge because she also struggles with sleeping. Here's one of the articles:Dr. Michael J. Breus: Sleep Challenge 2010: Lessons Learned

I am always tired when I have my insomnia bouts, and I've found I sleep less when I'm stressed.

[marina]

When I was younger it seemed like I never slept and I never needed to, but I realized that the harder I worked during the day, the more I tired myself out, and the more I was likely to sleep. So, I started being more active, got much better grades in school, and finally got some sleep.

Stress definately brings back my insomnia. It got so bad in high school that I did basically every trick in the book. Turning the clock around and meditation helped me. Now I can pretty much sleep wherever I want (perfected that in college). Now my problem during times of stress is to stay asleep. If I'm stressed out, I'll just keep waking up and waking up all night long, it's like torture.

My new thing is that if it's obvious I'm not going to get a good night's sleep I'll just get up and stay awake all day. It kind of messes up the next day for me, but after that I'm so beat I stay asleep. It's preferable to trying to sleep for several nights in a row while my performance gets shittier and shittier, in addition to more dangerous. I fell asleep at the wheel of my car a few times, I'd rather not do that again ever.

[McNally]

Hey, it's 6am and I'm up right now! I've been up for hours!

No matter how exhausted I am, I usually only sleep in 2, 4 or 6 hour bursts. Afterward I feel fine, but it's not enough rest to keep me going for the whole day. At some point I have to crash again. I've tried setting schedules and every other thing, but it's been about 14 years of weird sleeping, and I don't think it's going away any time soon. I guess I could go see a sleep doctor, but it's amazing how easily you can put something like that off, for years on end.

The only time it's been a major problem for me is when I have a normal 9-5 job, which is rarely. It made that kind of lifestyle very unlivable. I would just get more and more tired as the weeks went on until I finally had to quit. Working differing shifts at a 24 place worked best for me. Having everything be all mixed up just tended to work out.

I wish I had better advice. But hey, when my house burned down earlier this week, being awake at a weird time totally saved my ass. So some good can come of it.

[systemdefault]

Originally Posted by HanSolo69

Have you ever considered the fact that maybe you're a bad person? Perhaps this is weighing on your subconcious. Maybe if you were to just come clean you could sleep more easily. Like they say, 'no rest for the wicked.'

could be, never looked at it that before.

[Yetisoldier]

Biologically some believe that a lack in melatonin can cause sleep problems. You can get it almost anywhere (walmart, target, ect..). Take it regulary about a half hour before you want to sleep and use the various techniques descride earlier. It won't knock you out like ambien, but over time will help your body to regulate sleep better.

[systemdefault]

fuck this is better than the doctor, and even the therapist helped me stop cheating on my taxes

[McNally]

A while back I bought some valerian pills, where they take the root and just put it in pill form. It's one of those herbal remedies, so I don't know if it actually worked, but I think the placebo effect did help, at the very least. Usually when I took one, I seemed to fall asleep a bit easier. I still used them extremely sparingly, but I felt better about it than actual sleeping pills.