insomnia

So this isn't the best place to go for actual medical advice, but I'm not looking for actual medical advice right now, I just need to complain for a moment (it will make me feel a bit better).

I've been having problems with insomnia for the past 2 weeks or so. I just can't get on a decent schedule. I'll sleep for the or four hours, not be able to sleep for a while, and then all of a sudden need to pass out for three or four hours etc. It's incredibly annoying. Thursday night, I couldn't get to sleep until after 5 AM, and then woke up at 10.. and I haven't been able to get back to sleep yet. I tossed and turned all last night and by the time 7 AM rolled around I decided I might as well get up and see if I can make it until the evening(10 or 11 PM would be GREAT) to try and get on a normal schedule. The problem is, every time I try to get on a normal schedule, I end up only being able to stay asleep until 3 or 4 in the morning. If I make it until a "good" bedtime tonight without accidently falling asleep, then it will be the 3rd time in the past two weeks I've tried to "reset" my sleeping schedule.

I just needed an outlet for my frustration.. feel free to ignore everything I just wrote, or give advice, or take this thread completely off topic. Maybe if I whine enough about it I'll spend enough energy to make sleep tonight decent.

P.S. I'm doing everything I can to limit insomnia, no caffeine, moderate exercise during the day.. I suppose I could be eating a little better. Would eating less cause insomnia, because my appetite has been pretty dang small lately.

Have you tried anything Over The Counter?

Hey...this is just the place to vent about such things. Folks here love dishing out advice about all sorts of things! :P

Are there any unusual stresses in your life that would account for the insomnia? The stress doesn't even have to necessarily be negative. (ie: a new, exciting romantic interest can make sleeping difficult....or anticipating a move to a new home or whatever) Anything that is weighing on your mind?

Also....did the lack of appetite come along with the onset of insomnia? That could also be stress related. But the two issues together also make me wonder if there is something else going on....a chemical or hormonal imbalance or hidden illness. Have you considered going to see a doc for some basic bloodwork?

I also suffer from bouts of insomnia very much like what you describe....and it turns into a vicious circle because every day you get a little more out of synch and the more out of synch you get, the harder it becomes to fix it. Here is what I do when I find myself in such a cycle:

I force myself to stick with a very rigid bed-time routine and schedule. Choose a set bed-time and a set wake-up time. Go through whatever bed-time rituals you usually do....and get your butt into bed at that time whether you feel like it or not. Then just lay there quietly and try to sleep. If you sleep a few hours and wake up at 3 or 4....stay in bed with lights out and continue to try to relax and rest, even if you don't feel like it...until your set wake-up time.

I would recommend around seven hours or so....so if you go to bed at 11pm, set your alarm for 6am.

During the day, resist all urges to go lay down again. If you MUST drift off, try to do so sitting up so you only cat-nap for a few minutes rather than fall deeply asleep in the middle of the day or early evening.

It usually takes about three days of this to start getting a full night's sleep again....and I make sure to stick with it for at least a few more weeks to help it "stick" and avoid the next bout of insomnia for as long as possible.

Those are my wholly uneducated thoughts on the matter......take 'em for what they're worth. :P

Yup I've been trying the set-bed-time set-wake-time routine.

There's a bit of stress, but nothing major. I just made a move to a city where I don't really know anybody my age except my GF and a few of her high school/college friends, and she's been out of town for the past 3 and a half weeks so(at least she gets back in 3 days) so I haven't had much socializing. At least I have an uncle and a 1st cousin once removed here.

I can't remember what happened first, the lack of appetite or the insomnia. I just forget to eat because I haven't been feeling very hungry. Lately I've set alarms on my phone to remind me to eat at least small meal 3x a day. I'm even eating healthier than I have in pretty much my entire life: OJ, skim milk, oatmeal, lightly sweetened cold cereal, pasta going light on the sauce, a bit of fish or chicken, bananas, a little variety of veggies. It makes me wonder if I've lost any weight, or if perhaps a slowed metabolism has made me put on weight. I should get a bathroom scale and see (I'm just barely 5'8'', and have been pretty steady at 160-170 lbs for the past two years, not great shape but not too out of it).

The staying awake until bedtime has been tough a couple of times. I was meaning to go out and pick up some stuff at the grocery store(razors and shaving cream and i forget what else) one morning, and as soon as I sat down in the car to turn it on, I realized that driving would be a stupid idea and I would likely get myself in an accident from just how tired was feeling. Bleh.

If things continue I'll go see a doctor. I hate doctors, but at least I have pretty darn good health insurance(crazy expensive though, I'm so glad I have parents that are able to provide that for me!)

One thing I JUST thought of is that it's fall, and the trees are all having air sex and whatnot and giving me allergies. I never take OTC things just to get myself to sleep(I'm not willing to risk getting addicted to needing them), but if there's another symptom like allergies I'm more than happy to pop a dose of nyquil before bed. I think I'll walk to the local CVS and pick some up for tonight and give that a whirl. Although my allergies aren't severe, especially indoors, the timing is too close for me to disregard as coincidence.

Im going to end this rambling post here.. I can tell that I'm not thinking at full capacity just by reading what I've written in the past few minutes.