Sleepless In Seattle or Anywhere Else
For anyone who has ever watched the minute hand creep past 3:00 AM, praying for sleep. For each of us who have struggled through the daylight hours, drained from lack of rest. For every one of us who has tried repeatedly to close our eyes and snooze, unsuccessfully, sometimes for days on end - this place is yours.
What's Here?
- Racking up the Sleep Debt
- Before We Go Any Further...
- What Works for You May Not Work for Someone Else
- What's Worked for ME
- Aromatic Cures
- Environmental Cures
- Stress Cures
- pzizz™ to De-Stress and Sleep
- Behavioral Modification Works Too...
- Sleeplessness Has Many Causes
- Only You and Your Doctor Can Tell
- Tell Us About Your Sleep Situation
- Helpful?
Racking up the Sleep Debt
One or two sleepless nights? Nothing to worry about. It happens to almost every one of us, at almost any age, under almost any condition. I recall one sleepless night when I was about five years old. I was just too excited to fall asleep, and I just KNEW if I did that I was going to miss something important like Santa Claus.
It doesn't take much lack of sleep, though, to start racking up an enormous sleep debt, at any age. As that sleep loss increases, serious health concerns rise as well and, like a vicious circle, those health concerns can trigger further sleep interruptions.
It doesn't take much lack of sleep, though, to start racking up an enormous sleep debt, at any age. As that sleep loss increases, serious health concerns rise as well and, like a vicious circle, those health concerns can trigger further sleep interruptions.
Before We Go Any Further...
read this - it is important
Before we go any further, let me emphasize a few things.
1 - I am not a doctor nor trained medical professional, nor am I an expert in sleep disorders. I'm a fellow sleep deprivation sufferer just like you may be.
2 - I am not licensed to recommend any sort of treatment or medical resolution to sleeplessness. I will tell you what I've tried in order to break the sleep disturbance cycle, and I'll refer you to some websites where you can gather more information that may help you decide how to handle a problem you are experiencing.
3 - Sleep disorders are serious stuff with a wide range of effects and implications. Don't take my experience as common or typical or any reflection of your own. Only you can know your lifestyle and patterns and take advantage of the resources I'll be providing.
Now that we're clear on the above, we can move on to the reason we're here.
1 - I am not a doctor nor trained medical professional, nor am I an expert in sleep disorders. I'm a fellow sleep deprivation sufferer just like you may be.
2 - I am not licensed to recommend any sort of treatment or medical resolution to sleeplessness. I will tell you what I've tried in order to break the sleep disturbance cycle, and I'll refer you to some websites where you can gather more information that may help you decide how to handle a problem you are experiencing.
3 - Sleep disorders are serious stuff with a wide range of effects and implications. Don't take my experience as common or typical or any reflection of your own. Only you can know your lifestyle and patterns and take advantage of the resources I'll be providing.
Now that we're clear on the above, we can move on to the reason we're here.
What Works for You May Not Work for Someone Else
There are as many recommendations for getting a good night's sleep as there are cures for hiccups. Just like cures for hiccups, some work for one person and not at all for another. Don't feel that you must take someone else's advice on blind faith.
Above all, if you are taking prescription medicines, DO NOT SELF-MEDICATE. Seek your doctor's advice before adding any non-prescription supplement, herbal supplement, teas or vitamins to your intake. I'm serious... serious enough to repeat this several times.
Above all, if you are taking prescription medicines, DO NOT SELF-MEDICATE. Seek your doctor's advice before adding any non-prescription supplement, herbal supplement, teas or vitamins to your intake. I'm serious... serious enough to repeat this several times.
What's Worked for ME
Over the years, my sleep needs and patterns have changed dramatically. T'was a time I could easily sleep ten hours a night and be quite happy with it. There were also a couple of decades where I got by on 5-6 hours a sleep, intermingled with jet lag, and didn't do well with it at all.
As I get older, I've found that sleep is difficult to come by, and I've had to get creative in resolving my periods of insomnia. When I absolutely must sleep, I try the following approaches, depending on the severity of my lack of sleep.
As I get older, I've found that sleep is difficult to come by, and I've had to get creative in resolving my periods of insomnia. When I absolutely must sleep, I try the following approaches, depending on the severity of my lack of sleep.
Aromatic Cures
I find that lavender scent
has a slow but gentle influence on my ability to sleep. It calms me enough so that I can drift off to sleep, assuming everything else is just right. If I can't sleep, a lavender scented bath will often do the trick, and I will frequently add a lavender candle as well. Nothing like a personal spa treatment to relax! Soft soothing music and a long warm bath, followed by scented oils will quite often put me out like a light. Environmental Cures
Light and noise interfere with my ability to sleep. I've found that a well-constructed sleep mask does wonders, and masks with earplugs solve both the light and noise problems quite well. Try to find a system that works for you on both fronts. Stress Cures
One of my favorite cures is a cup of chamomile tea when I'm unbelievably stressed. The scent is, to me, the promise of sleep, and I recommend it to those who have restless times.If tea just isn't enough, I've found that a quiet session of meditation
may bring me closer to a restful night.When I used to travel extensively (and suffer from terrible bouts of jet lag), I would often find that melatonin
would put me back into a nice sleepy state and help me rebalance my time zones as well (read the ingredients and instructions before going this route). pzizz™ to De-Stress and Sleep
I admit.. I was skeptical when I started reading their website after gkygrl recommended this in her guestbook entry below. Then I downloaded it and tried out the samples.I am no longer a skeptic.
If stress is keeping you awake or contributing to sleep disturbance, give this a fair trial. Just a few moments of the quiet music, the soft yet compelling voice, gentle chimes... and I found myself drifting off to sleep.
One surprising added bonus: I found that the muscle cramps and spasms that wake me back up from a sound sleep nearly every night did not wake me up.
To put this in perspective, I have had significant difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep since my back injury in 1991, and sleep has become even more difficult since being diagnosed with DVT a few years ago. That's when the leg cramps started in earnest.
I slept, pain-free, the first time I tested pzizz™. For me, that is miraculous.
Go visit pzizz.com
Go to my pzizz™ lens
Behavioral Modification Works Too...
(sometimes)
When I get to bed, if I can't sleep after about 15 minutes, I get back up, go into another room, and read the most boring thing I can find. I avoid novels, historical fiction, biographies, even good computer books - I don't want my interest captured - I want to go to sleep!
If that doesn't work, it's time for more chamomile tea and a lavender scented powder on the pillowcase. However, I do not recommend candles at this stage. There is the real danger that they'll work too well, and nobody wants to wake up to a house afire!
If that doesn't work, it's time for more chamomile tea and a lavender scented powder on the pillowcase. However, I do not recommend candles at this stage. There is the real danger that they'll work too well, and nobody wants to wake up to a house afire!
Sleeplessness Has Many Causes
Stress is just one.
Below is a series of questions in the form of polls. Each possible answer is worth the points shown. On a piece of paper, keep track of the points next to the answers you give.
Be as honest with yourself as you possibly can when answering - nobody else can see your responses. The totals only reflect what everyone else has answered, and do not identify anyone as an individual.
At the end of the polls, add up your points and look for the answer that corresponds with your total score.
This is NOT A MEDICAL QUESTIONNAIRE. It is only designed to help you identify sleep problems that you may be having so that you can resolve them by taking your own actions, like cutting back on coffee during the day or looking for a new mattress, if you sense that you need one.
Be as honest with yourself as you possibly can when answering - nobody else can see your responses. The totals only reflect what everyone else has answered, and do not identify anyone as an individual.
At the end of the polls, add up your points and look for the answer that corresponds with your total score.
This is NOT A MEDICAL QUESTIONNAIRE. It is only designed to help you identify sleep problems that you may be having so that you can resolve them by taking your own actions, like cutting back on coffee during the day or looking for a new mattress, if you sense that you need one.
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Now comes the difficult part. Add up the points you got for each answer, and compare them to the point summaries below. If you wish to contribute to the total, please do so by selecting the range where your total falls.
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Only You and Your Doctor Can Tell
Polls and questionnaires aside, no matter what your results, only a licensed physician who is aware of your medications and condition can accurately assess what you need to do in order to get a good night's sleep.
Your physician may recommend any one or a combination of solutions, including non-prescription or prescription sleep aids. DO NOT SELF-MEDICATE if you are taking any prescription drug whatsoever. Many non-prescription drugs and substances can interfere with prescription medications in any of several ways.
Avoid herbal supplements and teas if you are taking prescription medications or are following a physician's prescribed treatment. Ask your doctor before adding any herbal or vitamin supplement to your intake.
You are the one who will know if you have a sleeping problem, no matter what a series of poll answers happen to give you as a result. If you are concerned with your sleep, or lack of it, seek professional help.
Your physician may recommend any one or a combination of solutions, including non-prescription or prescription sleep aids. DO NOT SELF-MEDICATE if you are taking any prescription drug whatsoever. Many non-prescription drugs and substances can interfere with prescription medications in any of several ways.
Avoid herbal supplements and teas if you are taking prescription medications or are following a physician's prescribed treatment. Ask your doctor before adding any herbal or vitamin supplement to your intake.
You are the one who will know if you have a sleeping problem, no matter what a series of poll answers happen to give you as a result. If you are concerned with your sleep, or lack of it, seek professional help.
Tell Us About Your Sleep Situation
Found any great cures? Resolution? Given up?
Do you find yourself staring at the ceiling at 4:45 AM, dreading the coming day, knowing you still have to get up and get to work, even if you are functioning on no sleep? Your turn.. tell us about it.
snoring wrote...
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Posted April 13, 2008
caseysellers02 wrote...
Great lens! Congratulations for a superb work! My husband has a snoring problem and that won't make me have a good sleep. This goes on for a long time even when his snoring is gone. This lens would be of great help to me gaining my appetite of sleep again. I was just so happy that the snoring was completely gone. Check out this lens snoring which tackle snoring problems and gives effective tips on how to completely cure it. Try it out and see for yourself.
Posted April 05, 2008
jasmineann wrote...
Very helpful and informative lens. Many of these tips I know work really well :) 5 stars! and lensrolling you.
Posted September 19, 2007
Helpful?
I hope this little poll survey helped you to identify any problems you may be having with your sleep patterns.
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Stress often keeps me from sleeping well, and over the years I've found different ways of coping with this in order to get a g... (more)
