God Bless Insomnia (TM)

[Mr. SunburnMan]

I've never had such a bad case of insomnia my whole life. Of course I just started a job. My first job in a long while of relative inactivity. Anyway, here's the general situation: I have a 3 hour transit to do daily, and I am at work about 9 hours a day. I also have a disease where new job stress and missing sleep can make things go wrong. I was worried about that last week, but now it only slightly bugs me more than anything else.

Anyway, I've been having very small amounts of sleep in the last few days. I can't seem to disconnect away from work. As soon as I go to bed, all I can think of (and not voluntarily, it just pops in my head) are work situations, and they just keep coming (sometimes they come back over and over again). I'm pretty much hopeless, I gotta wake up in 5 hours.

Any tips? I don't have much spare time nowadays, given that as soon as I get home, I have to do some home-related tasks pretty much until I go to bed. I really can't relax and disconnect from work at all. Any tips for sleeping/disconnecting on a short amount of time?

[Matthew S.]

Go to the doctor. He knows your condition far better than any of us and can recommend more relevant ideas to help your stress-related insomnia.

[svosen]

Take this for what it's worth, as it may not appeal to you in the least. I'm inclined to offer it, however, because:

1) you asked for any suggestions; and

2) it works for me.

Depending on your faith (or "religion," if you like), you may be willing to consider these quotes from scripture. To me (and probably gobs of others) they are not just nice-sounding words.

If they help you out, that's great. If not, then I truly hope you're able to get over it by some other means. Matt's probably right that your doctor may be able to help you.

Anyhow:

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you." -- Isaiah 26:3

and

"Be still, and know that I am God." -- Psalm 46:10

~~~~~~~~~
The second one is probably my favorite scripture. In essence, it's saying "don't worry yourself - just know that I (God) am in control." I know, you say you don't have control over these thoughts; they're just coming into your mind on their own. The key to overcoming that may be in the last part of the verse: "know that I am God." In other words - focus your mind on God and you won't be worrying about other things.

Hope that helps you out, Sunny. If not, I wish you well with the doc, and I hope your new job turns out okay.

Oh, and another good one is in my signature

[Mr. SunburnMan]

Originally posted by Matthew S.
Go to the doctor. He knows your condition far better than any of us and can recommend more relevant ideas to help your stress-related insomnia.

He's on vacation.

Svosen, thanks for the thought, but I'll stick to my casual praying practices. :P

[svosen]

That's a bummer.

If he's gonna be gone for awhile, did he leave the name of another doctor for his patients to see in his absense?

[sabbas]

Hey Sunny, one thing that has worked for me in the past when I couldn't sleep was simply read a good book. If you're into reading at all, not only do you make progress in a good book, but you can actually get tired and fall asleep easier. Plus you'll have something else on your mind other than work! Oh ya, reading in bed when you're all comfortable helps things too. That or listening to some soothing music really quietly has helped me as well.... just some ideas.

[svosen]

Not sure why, but Sabbas' post made me remember what my wife has done a few times:

Take a hot bath using fragrant additives, turning on the heater in the room, and using only one or two small candles for light.

She hasn't done it often, but it does seem to do the trick.

Never would work for me - I'm too tall (and wide) to fit comfortably in a normal tub:P

[Gabriel013]

Originally posted by svosen
Never would work for me - I'm too tall (and wide) to fit comfortably in a normal tub:P

Me too.


Sunny, I'd go with the good book thing. Just laying there reading may help you brain to relax more than if you lay there and let your brain actively think.

Sex supposedly tires a lot of guys out so maybe that's what you need before going to bed?

[Mista]

Sex supposedly tires a lot of guys out so maybe that's what you need before going to bed?

Yes that's true, so true. A whole lotta before bed always tires me right the hell out. Sometimes when I can't sleep if I wake her up and get some it does the trick Everyone can't have that luxury though....

[Mr. SunburnMan]

I had tried reading that night (though not an actual novel), but I've been reading the Count of Monte Cristo everytime I went to bed since. It seems to work (no offense to the book).