Quote:
Originally Posted by cstreit
I've tried less booze, more water, herbal aids, melatonin, etc.. ....but while I'm often tired at night- it is rare that I sleep for more than 2 hours at a time. I'll crawl into bed sleepy at 10:30 and just lay there. Eventually frustrated and not wanting to wake the wife I'll get out of bed at 1 or so - and fall asleep on the couch at 4A. Eventually I get a few hours. SOmetimes its in 2-3 hour stretches.
This has been going on for 2 months.
What do you do?
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Cut out booze!
Your situation sounds SO familiar! I had similar sleep problems and thought having a few drinks before bedtime helped me get to sleep. It did, but I woke up after 2-4 hours and couldn't get back to sleep. My sleep specialist had me try Ambien, Doxipin (great dreams, but expensive), and something else I can't remember. (She never mentioned the negative affects alcohol has on sleep - malpractice in my opinion.) It went on for years.
A couple of years ago I stopped drinking alcohol most days and
never after 5 PM. I sleep much, much better with NO sleep drugs.
One thing she did mention to me that was some help was to "let it go." Worrying about not sleeping causes stress that keeps you awake. Be grateful for what sleep you can get and move on. Just let your body/mind do what it wants and don't worry about it.
As mentioned above, exercise helps. It doesn't have to be only physical exercise. Sudoku, logic problems, and on-line jigsaw puzzles help focus your mind off of other things and also exercise it. Your brain burns a lot of calories. I tend to get sleepy after a 5 or 6 variable logic puzzle.