Insomnia blues

[ilovemyjoggler]

I wanted to share my joy in the little things.

I've noticed, this year more than ever before, how daylight is affecting my mood.

I don't like February. It's cold, dark, the fun of Christmas is well and truly over and the heat of summer (if we get one) seems a million miles away. But as we head out of Feb, for my intermittent but ever increasing insomnia, this time of year is probably the best. It's awful trying to get to sleep as the sun is rising. It's just as bad getting up in the dark when you feel like you've only just closed your eyes. But right now It's still dark when I finally drift off and daylight when I wake I up so even though I've just about managed 4 hours sleep it seems like I've had a full night and I feel much better.

[qwerty]

My sympathies. I haven't had a full night's sleep in years. Parenthood will do that to you.

[pete]

ilovemyjoggler,

We had a bit of snow here yesterday (8" or so) and on this morning's early "errands" (WAF stuff) saw an interesting place (very close by) to take a picture.

So I just went back a few minutes ago to take the attached picture; mostly I had you in mind while taking this picture just to bring a bit of "Christmas" cheer...even though its March already....

Initially I was going to set up the tripod for the picture and found that I really didn't...no traffic there....

[ilovemyjoggler]

Pete, the fact that you thought of me at all while taking this lovely photo gave me the warm and fuzzies!

Wow, it's beautiful where you live (even if it is cold at the moment). What strikes me is that you say that 8" of snow fell yesterday but your roads are clear. With that amount of snowfall here in the UK, the road would be impassable. That's why my heart sinks when it snows - we don't have the infrastructure to cope with it and the disruption drives me nuts.

Thank you for the belated christmas cheer!

[pete]

ilovemyjoggler,

The road pictured above was pretty snowy at 0800c time; by 1000c time it had been cleared and the sun came out melting the snow some with temperatures rising. Two years ago we had a major blizzard here in March. The snow blizzard did cause some major snow drifting. In the morning when I went to open up the garage door the snow had cover it creating some wall maybe 8 foot high of snow. In order to get out of the garage we had to tunnel through the snow. Many folks did get caught commuting in their vehicles and they left them mostly on the road buried in snow to return the next day to dig them out.

The weather here is the midwest and most likely due to the Great Lakes is always different. Folks here watch the weather report because of the every changing unpredictable weather. The winters here sometimes have temperatures which just sit around 0 degrees fahrenheit for weeks and summers with temperatures which hover between 80-90 degrees fahrenheit for weeks.

The topic of the "Windy City" came up during breakfast last week. The debate was weather (pun) the name came from politics (wife said that) or real weather. I did google it and the term was "coined" in a popular Chicago newspaper sometime in the 1870's. That said though reading out loud the historicals my wife still didn't believe it to be true.

I do recall on one morning walk to my old work company's office in London there having about 1/2" of snow and noticing a kind of shut down of the commuter transportation infrastructure. I was told though that snow was really pretty rare in London. I did notice that weather did have an effect on a "project" in Wales; mostly though it was just high winds and rain that dinged efforts there.

[Mevi]

Considering we get a bit of every type of weather throughout the year, we are still unprepared for any of it in the UK.

I like the snow. Great photo, Pete.

As for the insomnia, my sleep is more and more disturbed as the months go on - either wide awake and don't sleep at all, or wake up often throughout the night. I asked my GP very nicely and he prescribed me 14 zopiclone to take 2 a day. One a night was OK for me to sleep soundly through to 5 or 6 am, so I have stretched it out to nearly 2 weeks now. This drug is only good short term as people often report that they become tolerant to it quite quickly and have to up the dose to get the same effect. GP said that was as much as he'll ever prescribe me. I know my sleeplessness will return as soon as I stop, but it's been a nice holiday.

[dwl99]

Considering we get a bit of every type of weather throughout the year, we are still unprepared for any of it in the UK.

I like the snow. Great photo, Pete.

As for the insomnia, my sleep is more and more disturbed as the months go on - either wide awake and don't sleep at all, or wake up often throughout the night. I asked my GP very nicely and he prescribed me 14 zopiclone to take 2 a day. One a night was OK for me to sleep soundly through to 5 or 6 am, so I have stretched it out to nearly 2 weeks now. This drug is only good short term as people often report that they become tolerant to it quite quickly and have to up the dose to get the same effect. GP said that was as much as he'll ever prescribe me. I know my sleeplessness will return as soon as I stop, but it's been a nice holiday.

Try this http://www.sleepio.com/

[pete]

Pictures do relax me a bit as I have a mindset while taking the picture and looking at them afterwards takes me back to a point in time when I took the picture and why and where type stuff.

Personally; and that is me though; I stay up sometimes too long and lately its with playing with the Joggler; where the options are literally ruled out such that I cannot keep my eyes open. Years ago it was reading a book until I would just fall asleep with the book on my lap. I cannot do this say with a tablet; that is partly a WAF thing though.

In the last few years I do sometimes fall asleep at the dinner table (Christmas time at the wife's family's house). I get kicked awake under the table and typically startle everyone when jolted away. (its an old age thing I guess for me)

I've not utilized a synthetic means of inducement of sleep other than aspirin because when I wake I feel the after sleep wake up effects different than a non sythetic means. That is me though.

[Mevi]

I have tried most of the "sleep hygiene" techniques and got advice from a psychologist. The one that gets me sleeping, but is just horrible is those white noise / alpha & theta wave meditative things. I made my own using 200hz & 208hz sine waves. One in the left ear, the other in the right. The brain is supposed to 'beat' at the 8hz difference.

As i said it works, but listening to white noise and a constant WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO is unpleasant.

There are alternatives. Maybe see if the local library has meditation or sleep CDs you can borrow.

[pete]

Tonight the Joggler has put me to sleep. I am typing in my sleep right now.

The above said.

Maybe a vacation?

I have fallen asleep on a beach not even paying attention to the waves.

I have also fallen asleep gazing at a forest high up in the mountains; trying to listen to sounds but actually not and falling asleep.

In the 1960's played a bit with a biofeedback machine.

[ilovemyjoggler]

Pete, you sound like a narcoleptic! I have an image in my head of you face down in your christmas dinner

I just ride it out knowing it will pass after a few nights as exhaustion takes over and knocks me out for a few nights. I quite enjoy the peace of the dead hours (if my partner isn't snoring - although I can fix that with a gentle elbow to the ribs).

What's more frustrating is waking up knackered even after a full night's sleep. I can wake up feeling happy/great but still tired. I can't remember what feeling refreshed is like.

[gegs]

I've found that exercise is the key. Since I started cycling to work (in all weathers) about five years ago, I've never slept better, although I should sleep more.

Like ilovemyjoggler, I too like "the dead hours" after the rest of the family has gone to bed. A lot of tweaking and tinkering goes on then and it's good to have some time that only belongs to me. The problem is that if I encounter a problem with the Joggler (or, more recently, the Raspberry Pi) I can't just shove it aside till another day. I keep on until I've fixed things or until defeat is blindingly apparent - usually too late to get a decent night's sleep, even if I conk out as soon as my head hits the pillow.

[roobarb!]

The problem is that if I encounter a problem with the Joggler (or, more recently, the Raspberry Pi) I can't just shove it aside till another day. I keep on until I've fixed things or until defeat is blindingly apparent - usually too late to get a decent night's sleep, even if I conk out as soon as my head hits the pillow.

Haha, that sounds familiar to me!

[hawsey]

Me too if I say I've got things to sort out my wife knows that's it until after midnight anyway.
I keep saying I need to get more sleep but at least this way when my head hits the pillow I'm out for the count.

[dwl99]

Like ilovemyjoggler, I too like "the dead hours" after the rest of the family has gone to bed. A lot of tweaking and tinkering goes on then and it's good to have some time that only belongs to me. The problem is that if I encounter a problem with the Joggler (or, more recently, the Raspberry Pi) I can't just shove it aside till another day. I keep on until I've fixed things or until defeat is blindingly apparent - usually too late to get a decent night's sleep, even if I conk out as soon as my head hits the pillow.

I'm usually knackered by 10pm but often get up around 5am to address my IT problems! It's amazing how often you wake up in the morning with the solution to a problem.

[gegs]

I'm usually knackered by 10pm but often get up around 5am to address my IT problems! It's amazing how often you wake up in the morning with the solution to a problem.

Thanks for sharing this. I'm going to remind myself of your wise words the next time I'm propping my eyes open with matchsticks.

[pete]

I talk to my computer (s) with my eyes shut. I did shut off the piece where it responds to me though.

That said I like to concentrate while I drive (don't sleep) and have been known to turn up the music to eliminate the "noise" in the automobile; can be very low though on the WAF.

Funny before going to bed last night I needed to redo some stuff with the firewalls taking down the internet connection. That said it was maybe midnight when I headed upstairs. I was just hitting the pillow when my wife asked me if I knew "the internet was down".

[gegs]

I was just hitting the pillow when my wife asked me if I knew "the internet was down".

Hi Pete, somehow I feel a whole lot safer knowing that you go to bed AFTER the internet

[pete]

And here I thought maybe with the quiet and peace that I assumed to not hear in the house; I could upgrade the internet modem.

I still had an older docsis 2.X modem. Updated it for a $67 USD Motorola docsis 3.0 modem. Took 5 minutes literally; now wondering what was going on 2 floors up in the house. Yup here we do have the option of owning or renting an internet modem. At $10 USD / month modem rental its worth owning your own internet modem.

Supposedly this will allow a "burst" rate of up to 60mps. I have tested it and speeds appear to be the same as before. That said though I probably have to call and tell them to provide to me what they have posted on my monthly bill for about a year now. I wonder if I could get credit?

Day before yesterday played with an AI program that would be interesting to integrate with the Home automation stuff. Fun stuff there.

[Mevi]

Back to ilovemyjoggler's original topic, I have been taking a 5-HTP dietry supplement (5-hydroxytrytophan) since I came off an SNRI a month or so ago.

5-HTP is a precursor/intermediate to seratonin and MELATONIN. I took it initially to boost just my seratonin, but when I take 100mg about an hour before bed, it does seem to help me get a decent night's sleep. I notice when I don't take it, anyway.

As a disclaimer, I don't know a huge amount about it that I didn't read on a forum/wikipedia somewhere. I also might be feeling the benefit of having started a new job that keeps me physically active.

Now it's being marketed now as a drug-free treatment for depression, which means that until the fad dies down, it's stupidly pricey..... The depressed and the insomniac are an easy mark.

60 50mg tablets for about £16 from your local Holland and Barrett, but you might get it cheaper from an independent health food shop or from a reputable online shop like healthspan.co.uk which sell 60 100mg tablets for under £14.