Insomnia

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IntlSet

IntlSet

Bonjour!
Jan 29, 2006
12,369
63
#1
Do any of you suffer from this?

I can't turn my brain OFF. These past few months have been the most stressful months of my life. I'm taking a huge, huge load to finish two majors in four years, I'm job-hunting in a competitive market that rarely hires outside of the ivy leagues, I'm recently single, and I just feel like I have a lot on my plate.

So when I lay down at night my mind is buzzing and I seriously think I have like a whole string of anxiety attacks throughout the night.

Should I take sleeping pills? How do you stop worrying about all these things you have to do at night?

ALSO, big million dollar question: how do you stop worrying about the things you have no control over?

Sorry to rant... :sad:
 
#2
I hate stress, I've had a lot of stress lately too. I'm not a normally stressed out person so it kinda sucks.
I've been shopping online for stress relief. ha.
but also, exercise helps (a great feeling of accomplishment), as well as piano pounding and bad food (I'm talking 3 pints of Ben & Jerrys in a week, and when you watch calories as strictly as I do, that doesn't leave much room for healthy food).

and I'm a prayer, so that helps me too. those are all really personal...I guess you just have to find your own emotional outlets. writing in a journal used to help me alot but I don't do it anymore.

try nyquill or whatever, if you get desperate.
 
#3
i don't know how to help but i'm pretty much the same. you know how i posted that thread about how i don't sleep? well even when i get a chance to sleep for 1.5 hours or so i just CAN'T like it's impossible i just lie there trying to sleep and i end up don't sleeping. sometimes listening to my "sleep!" playlist on itunes helps. i worry too much...i hate making mistakes and can't forget about them. i vividly remember something i did wrong in the 3rd grade...agh!
 
#4
I think women generally worry too much--there have even been scholarly books on the subject... I'm guilty of the same thing. I've learned that there's only so much I can control and only so much that actually is benefited by my worrying...

One good litmus test is to figure out what you're worrying about will really matter a week, two weeks, a month, a year or a decade from now. Sure getting an A in a particular class is good for a year or so from now while you're job hunting. But in the grand scheme of things, your grade in a class isn't as important compared to other things in your life....

It might help if you had some warm milk or chamomille tea at night to calm you down. Then try relaxing instead of thinking when you're falling asleep. There's nothing wrong with talking to a therapist about taking something to help you sleep. But be careful since some of them can be addictive, even if it's a mental dependence rather than a chemical dependence....
 
#5
Natural light really helps to sync one's sleep cycle with a day, I find that a dark room really helps, but also if you open the curtains and let the sun in, in the morning, that'll really wake you up. I believe this has been medically shown that the body adjusts its internal clock to natural light, there have been all these sleep remedies based on lights (there was this really funny looking light hat for the perpetually jet lagged, but I bet it worked !). So even just a minute of your day to bask in the sun can help, don't stay nose to your books forever !

Also, I would personally highly recommended against sleeping pills. I find that the most unrestful sleep every comes from this, I hardly had any really good level 4 sleep on pills. Exercise helps as well, as long as you're not doing it right before you go to bed ! But if your body is tired, your mind will know that it's time to take a break !
 
#6
I agree w/ Ayla about the sleeping pills- don't take them. It is easy to become dependent on them, and the same amount of pills can become less and less effective over time.

Instead:
- Try a glass of warm milk.
- Exercise during the day
- Don't watch TV or use the computer late at night; the light
inhibits your body's production of seratonin.

Hope you'll feel sleepy soon! :smile:
 
#8
I am SO there with you. I haven't been able to sleep properly since I've started this spring semester ( and the fall semester wasn't that much better). I have the exact same problem- my brain just doesn't want to shut off! It's about 2:35 am here and sadly, I think that's early!

I think it's just a matter of having a million things to do- and the stress of being in college and thoughts of graduation are severely underrated. You try to shut your eyes at night and it's like, "what do I need to get done for class?" "is there anything wrong with my paper?" "I need to get a better job this summer!" "I need to work on finding the perfect internship." "how will I afford car payments..." etc!

My boyfriend thinks I worry too much about long-term things, but while I'm a short-time procrastinator, I'm crazy about planning ahead for things. I can't stop thinking and planning out my life over the next year.

I wish I could offer more advice & reassurance, but I figured it helps to let you know there are tons of other people ( including myself) in the exact same situation. I guess we just need to work on resolving our conflicts, plans, etc during the daytime, and learning that endless thought about them at night accomplishes nothing. :smile:

Some helpful hints that have worked for me in the past ( and were much more do-able when I lived at home) are:

*Definitly don't eat later at night.
*avoid going to bed too early- you'll eventually just get restless
* try drinking an herbal tea with natural sleeping aids ( this really does help, I can't remember the brand name, but I found it in the health food section of the grocery store and I believe it was called "sleepy time tea."
* try a sound machine. It sounds silly, but I was addicted to a sound machine that made ocean noises- once I got used to it, I fell asleep like a baby shortly after I turned it on.

:smile: I'm incredibly hypocritical because I'm sitting in my dorm room, watching TV, on my laptop, worrying about my future, amongst MANY other things!

:smile: I'm getting desperate enough to try sleeping pills too, we'll see.

Sorry to ramble, it feels kind of good to talk about it though!

hope things get better for you.
 
#9
I had this problems a couple of years back like worrying to much about things that might happen and anxiety attacks. I went to see a counsellor for 1 1/2 years and she really helped to see things more relaxed especially the ones you can't control. I learned how to say NO to people if I didn't want to do things. Slightly over the period of time I was seeing her my sleeping problems were gone. What helps is a Baldrian tea and bath at night (herbal) and may be you want to try out St. Johns herbs they help for depression and anxiety. It is harmless and non-addictive the only thing that can happen is that it doesn't work. I hope you'll feel better soon!!
 
#10
I suffered from insomnia after my mom passed away. I would recommend getting plenty of exercise and eating properly. Drink lots of water, too. Do you have any time to yourself? If you can, spend some time planning your days in advance. Use a calendar, so deadline dates or other important dates don't sneak up on you. If you can formulate a plan, you might feel more in control and be able to rest easy. Good luck, it stinks to not get enough sleep!
 
#12
Wow, and I thought I slept late. I usually wake up around 8 am. To get to work by 10 am. I usually don't fall asleep until 2 am. So I usually get 6 hours on a week night. By 2 am I'm so tired I just pass out. My job is stressful enough that I'm a zombie any time I'm not a work! I come here to destress.
 
#13
First off, there's not a whole lot anyone can do about worries while in bed, may as well try to put them to rest.

If you just aren't sleeping, get up and do something like read etc. it helps from getting you in the cycle of worrying if you can sleep or not, and then not being able to sleep, I hate that.

One of the best ways for me is prayer - if you have a spiritual side try that and it really helps the heavy feeling of things to be lifted, and even fall asleep during it sometimes.

Some other good suggestions above for sure.

Try Melatonin, its a non prescription that I find is very helpful. Also Dr. Weil has a sleep aid now in the Origins line that contains melatonin as well as things to help you be restful.

Prescription, I reccomend Ambien - its doens't matter what time of day or night you take it, you'll be sleeping in a half hour or so. Its also great for travel when you have to adjust to time zones, if your wide awake, it doesn't matter, you'll be resting shortly. It mostly keeps you a sleep, has a calming affect and is gone in the morning if you have a full nights rest.

I can relate to this, not that I am very busy or stressed, but my mind is often quite active when I go to sleep ... I like to think of all the chat from Purse Forum, or some shopping I'd like to do, or maybe design something, or ....... :smile:

Have a restful night tonight :smile:
 
#14
i used to have trouble sleeping (and i thought it was me worrying)and it turned out to be my mattress, it was old and lumpy! i bought a new one and now i sleep so well. might be something to consider, or even a new down pillow..anything to make your sleeping environment more comfy.

and i agree with the sleeping pill comments, please try not to take them, its just too easy to become dependent or at least that's what my pharmacist mom says.

hope you sleep soon!
 
#15
I also have a lot of trouble falling asleep due to "thinking" all the time. The best way for me to combat it is to read until I fall asleep. This way, my mind is preoccupied with something other than my personal thoughts.

I unfortunately have the problem of being a light sleeper, so when there is any bit of disruption or light, I wake up, and can't fall back asleep.
 
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