Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Sleepy Time

For the past few weeks I wake up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. I’ve tried going to bed early no dice. Tried staying up late until I was passing out on the couch and still I will wake up.

The strange thing is I always wake right before 4am. I wake up and I look at the clock then my brain turns on. The first thing I do is check my BG since I figure it is a good idea. Then I shut the light off and try my hardest to fall back asleep.

I will lay there and think. What do I have to get done tomorrow? What happened yesterday that I should learn from? What is going on this weekend? What is my obsession with Smart Cars all about? What ever happened to Lauryn Hill?

On and on I think.

If any of you in the OC have any ideas I would love to hear them. A coworker told me to stop drinking soda. After I finished chugging down a Diet Pepsi I told her that falling asleep is never the problem. It is always after hours of sleep that I wake up and cannot fall back to sleep.

The problem is that I am a wreck the following morning. Like today. I doze off typing sometimes and realize it when I hear my PC beeping at me due to holding down a keyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

Anyone have an issue with this?

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lauryn Hill went a little crazy - or eccentric as some say. There was an article in People magazine a few weeks ago about her. Which is really a shame because I love(d) her music.

I say that because I have no idea how to help you with your actual problem.

Allison said...

I had insomnia for a while in college and I tried melatonin, and it works really well. It's a supplement, so you buy it where the vitamins are. It just helps induce sleep. It's non-addictive, at least for me it is. I took it for about a month and then I started getting sleepy on my own at the right time. Try it out. They aren't expensive. You only need the 3 mg ones.

Araby62 (a.k.a. Kathy) said...

I start telling myself to stay awake...and somehow I manage to reverse-psych myself into going back to sleep.

Personally my problem with sleep is fur-coated and meows a lot ;) He's up every day at 5:30 to greet the birds! Ugh (:-X

Anonymous said...

I have sleep issues when I am excited, when I am coming down with (or fighting) a cold, when I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to get up at a certain time for a particular reason, and when I have way too much to do (the anxiety won't let me stay asleep).

Also the usual issues: full bladder, low temperature, low blood glucose, other half steals the blankets...

Any of these sound familiar?

meanderings said...

I've gone through the awake at 4 thing. For me, I try to go back to sleep for 15 or 20 minutes. If it doesn't work, I get up. I usually read for awhile and then find I can get back to sleep fairly easily. I do not eat or drink at that time (well, maybe some water). I do not get on the computer. Most of the time, it works. Good luck, I know it can be frustrating.

Scott K. Johnson said...

I almost hate to ask, but how are you feeling mood wise?

Sometimes those early AM wake up troubles can be a sign of depression creeping its ugly head in...

I really didn't want to even bring it up, but I would be doing you (my friend) a dis-service if I didn't mention it.

k2 said...

G-Ninja:
When I'm stressed, I either can't sleep at all, or want to sleep all day! Depends on the type of stress. When the non sleep issue starts to take it's toll on my day activities, I go for the Tylenol PM.
Take only 1 and take it an hour b4 you go to bed - sleepy time shouldn't be a problem. Take a Tylenol PM @ 4a.m., and you'll never get up for work!
k2

Anonymous said...

I am hooked on ambien. My whole family has sleep issues, plus I think fluctuating bgs don't help either.

Andrea said...

Hi. Massage therapist here. Here are my ideas:

1. Go get a massage. I promise that night you will sleep through the night.

2. Take a HOT shower (not warm- hot) for 15 minutes before you go to bed. The hot water will relax your muscles making your body completely relaxed. Right as you put your head on the pillow- concentrate on relaxing each part of your body (it's actually a pretty neat trick). Do this twice. What is most likely happening is your body is retaining the stress of the day and it's waking you up. Muscles have memories. They are pretty much like mini brains. And then- once your awake, your real brain goes "HEY! I was waiting for you to wake up!" and gets a-going (like me). This second method really worked for me when I was having this problem. Try it- it might work for you.

Minnesota Nice said...

George, I agree with Scott. Waking up early can be a sign of clnical depression. You might want to get it checked out.
Also, there is a product called "Simply Sleep" which contains just the sleep ingredient in Tylenol PM minus the tylenol. Why take a pain killer if you don'tneed it? SS is available at Target and most other drug stores.

Anonymous said...

To dig a little deeper on the depression comment...when I am particularly sad, I can't sleep. For days on end, I wake up all throughout the night. If I'm not sad, I'm overly worried about everthing. I'm taking a Simply Sleep pill as I write. Once I talk out my fears or problems, my sleeping patterns are restored. A pill may be a quick fix but therapy can have positive lasting effects.