When You Can't Sleep, What Do You Do?
 

When I can't sleep at 3:00 AM...well, I often conjugate with Muse.
And when he visits, he prompts my creativity to surface...I respond, then I get tired and go back to bed.
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Some temp gauge I've had sitting around for years; it seemed like it wanted a presentation, of sorts.
Hmm...what to do? Let's see...some hardwood, Brass stock. some stain and Tru Oil,...Hmm.
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http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1457297627.jpg
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That little round-looking Brass thingy is an old fashioned lock key, like a skeleton key.
I've had it in my jewelry box for decades, cut it down and threaded it and then threaded a Copper insert into that block of hardwood.
A piece of leather is on the inside tip of the key and binds against the Brass vertical rod to hold the temp gauge at various heights.
Why do this? Who knows? Muse told me to do it...ask him.
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http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1457297725.jpg
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A close-up of the block - - notice the drilled-out Brass washer around the Copper insert...aesthetic appeal. ;)
Hey!, I had fun doing it and it tired me out.
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So, what do y'all do when you can't sleep?

When I can't sleep, I generally play solitare or Mahjong on my Kindle, or form lists in my mind....kinda like counting sheep.

I read in bed. I make sure the reading material is not too exciting. Short stories, a weekend newspaper or even poetry works for me. Laptop produces light so not good for me plus forums wind me up!:)

Read the Bible. You'd be amazed how well it works. Don't even have to be a Christian.

If I can't sleep, I usually change environment. Mostly I head for the couch, where I seem to be able to fall asleep. I usually wake up again in a few hours & trundle back to bed where I fall asleep again pretty quickly. I get to feeling too warm on my back side if I lie there too long without getting to sleep. If I need a boost the next night after having after not sleeping well the night before, there is always the magic pill (Lorazepam) at bedtime. I don't like taking something to sleep & seldom do that, but they really put me away.

this may work for me. thanks for posting.

That's pretty sweet, Don. Well done!
To answer your question, I turn on a podcast. Usually The Moth or something. I tune to one I've already heard so I don't miss anything, because I'm out in 5 minutes.

That would do it too!
I'll try that next time.
"Sweety? Are you awake? I can't sleep. We need to conjugate."

Now you can raise the temperature any time you like!

Modern!

If I'm not mistaken all who have posted here are in the 60 -70 age range ? Waking up at 3 or so is getting to be a real problem amongst us OWGs so it seems. I'm with Marv, I settle into the recliner and read something light and if that doesn't work it's the magic pill for me also although I use them as a last resort.

and Conjugating at 3 most likely ain't gonna happen... :rolleyes:

3 am is when I go to sleep.

Conjugate.
I meant the other meaning.
But then, different strokes...err, .........whatever. ;)
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There's something about being able to fall asleep on a sofa...never figured that one out.

I wake up at 4:00am, almost on the dot. REALLY annoying.

I just remember the M word.

I used to a lot before I met my present GF. But she just laughs at me and says meditation is rubbish. But it really works for me and gets rid of my minor anxiety attack.

Bourbon?

"I just remember the M word."
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Makes my mind race...mostly with paranoia.
Always envied those who could relax with Mary Jane.

I subscribe to the belief that you should keep your bed times the same everyday- I get up the same time every morning even if no work that day- I may get the dog fed and pottied and then go back to sleep for a few hours, but I always get up at the same time. Go to bed roughly the same each night as well.

My muse is my bladder, so usually it wakes me up a few times a night, but I go right back to sleep after using the toilet- very important that you don't just wake up and pee, but that you use the bathroom!

Fast forward to 2:00 in:
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jAmPfEMI16g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Trick is to sleep when your tired. If your not tired then do something along the line of enjoyment or work. Do that until your eyes are heavy - then go to bed. Simple.

I have a few episodes of Top Gear recorded. I make sure they're ones I've seen before so I'm not too interested. I don't know why but I usually fall asleep about half way through.

I don't generally have that problem. If you do, try being more active during daylight hours. If I am tired and go to bed too early, I wake up early and get up.

Rarely happens - if it does I wake up my wife. . I'm averaging 1+ hours cardio a day and generally sleep too little. That combination has me unconscious 8 hours straight. On weekends I can still sleep 10 - 11 straight.

But I am a lot younger than most you farts. Good news is that my famy all are
soumd sleepers into high age.

One thing I see with oldsters is that they get bored and go sleep at 8 pm. Of course, nobody can sleep past 4 am if you keep that up.

G

Try to wake up the missus... ;)



In the last 6 months or so I find myself waking up around 3 or 4 to go pee, but I usually have no trouble getting back to sleep. I used to have terrible insomnia, but it's gotten much better in the last few years, only have trouble string to sleep once every few months now.

Don, next time muse gives you an audience ask him just what the hell he had in mind there.
nicely done, though. your work is pleasing to look at, in a weird way. knowing you, that beautifully polished brass rod is precision press fitted into that base.
btw, i'm one of you oldies who wakes up at all hours and can't sleep. i read - or watch tv. no "conjugation" (the other meaning) going on over here at 3 - 4 AM.
get this, it's now 2:30 AM and here i am, up and awake - reading PPOT.

Guess

When I can't sleep I sit up in bed and lean forward. Then I completely relax my neck so me head slumps forward... I hold this position trying to relax as much as possible.
Try this position for about 5 minutes and then lie down. You should be nice and relaxed with a "loose" neck ready for sleep.

That's like waking a bear!

Well I guess that is one way to avoid waking up at 3 AM ??

A beer and a baseball game on tv puts me out on the sofa. Hard to find a baseball game at 3 Am.

I rarely have trouble going to sleep. If I ever get to where I have trouble sleeping I will get the book Ivanhoe. I had to read that in high school. I swear it would put me to sleep in just a paragraph. I never could read the entire thing. I had to buy the cliff-notes version to pass the test.

I usually wake up a couple of times through the night and go back to sleep after the requisite bathroom trip.
If I have something on my mind, I have to deal with it. Sometimes it's a project I've been thinking about. If so, I may do drawings, materials lists, whatever (but I've never gotten up and gone to the workshop like the OP.)
Sometimes it's song lyrics. I have written parts of several songs which have come to me at 2 AM. The lyrics invariably get revised in the light of day, but I have several songs in my play lists which have come out of a sleepless night.
The last time I couldn't sleep was two months ago, the night after I received news a brother had passed. I couldn't return to sleep until after I had written a eulogy.
In any case, I find the act of recording my thoughts allows my brain to 're-set' and I can sleep again.

Best
Les

I used to wake up two or three times a night. I used to think I was laying there awake and couldn't get to sleep, but I would really wake up and realize it was 3 hours later and I had been dreaming I was awake. I did a sleep study and found out I had sleep apnea. I very, very reluctantly started using a CPAP breather. It took a few nights to get used to it. Now it's my best friend. I wake up maybe once in a night to go pee, and get back to sleep fairly quickly. I've never had another one of those dreams that I was awake and couldn't get to sleep.

Another thing you might consider are meds you are taking. I had a friend who took a mild antidepressant for about fifteen years. The last few years of that, he had problems getting to sleep or staying asleep although he said he didn't feel tired during the days. For some reason, he decided to kick the antidepressant and tapered off on it to nothing. He said he really didn't feel different and his sleep improved immensely.

I take some Benadryl every night. If I can't sleep, I take a couple more. Works every time unless I'm really stressed about something.

If I am really having trouble sleeping then I read Tabs economic forecasts. Then if that does not work then I read all about the theory of narcissistic behaviour. Could be a relationship between the two I am not sure. Correlation or causation? Nap time.......http://forums.pelicanparts.com/suppo...leys/sleep.gifhttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/suppo...leys/sleep.gifhttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/suppo...leys/sleep.gif

I used to have trouble sleeping, until our 2nd child was born. Now with 3 rugrats I'm so exhausted all the time that I can conk out at 9pm. If I'm allowed to, that is...

After going through the whole sleep study and CPAP thing I know more about sleep than I ever wanted to. There are 5 stages of sleep, and to get restorative rest you need to cycle through all 5 three or four times a night. Drugs make you unconscious, but they don't necessarily make you cycle through the 5 stages. It's best to avoid any kind of sleep-inducing drug if possible. They may make you unconscious, but you're not fully asleep.

Stages of Sleep

I said TRY... I didn't say it always worked!

I usually just crack open this book. After a few paragraphs I'm sleeping like a baby:

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Just kidding Lubey!!! :D SmileWavy

Ouch!!