Up All Night

[vash]

what about riding a bike? easy on the knees. you add in a few hill climbs and your respiratory and circulatory systems get what they need with respect to exercise. dont go pedaling around a lake or anything..you need to "suffer" some to gain any benefits. flip flops and coffee runs aint gonna get it done. sorry.

the days, i ride. i am in bed by 8:30; some light reading, and i am OUT!

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Tervuren

Scratch walking then, but there may still be some way to up exercise.

I thought you had just finished re-doing your old house?.

I get more exercise now than I did 4 months ago. It’s just the wrong kind - muscles all tense, “gotta get this done” kind of stuff. I know half an hour on the erg each morning would be better, but who has time?
I did “finish” the old house and it is beautiful, but there are things I lived with that needed attention to make the house really perfect. I’ve hired people for most of it, but you know how relaxing project management is.

Big changes here at the new place today, finally, which will help. Kitchen tile is going up and the barn has been framed for new doors. Doors go up tomorrow. I didn’t want to bring my cars here until the barn was more secure. I’ll feel a lot more relaxed when my truck, my 356s, and my Carrera are here under one roof. Just today Mrs WD remarked at how much we have accomplished in 3 months. Looking back, she’s right, huge changes. Its no wonder we are stressed and exhausted. Pics tomorrow maybe.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by vash

what about riding a bike? easy on the knees. you add in a few hill climbs and your respiratory and circulatory systems get what they need with respect to exercise. dont go pedaling around a lake or anything..you need to "suffer" some to gain any benefits. flip flops and coffee runs aint gonna get it done. sorry.

the days, i ride. i am in bed by 8:30; some light reading, and i am OUT!

I am so grateful for all the suggestions here. Thank you all. I did bike some, but my major exercise was a Concept II rower (erg). It’s easy on the feet and you can really lean into it. All I need is time. Spent a few hours getting my exercise room back together a couple days ago. I’m really looking forward to using it again.

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

I get more exercise now than I did 4 months ago. It’s just the wrong kind - muscles all tense, “gotta get this done” kind of stuff. I know half an hour on the erg each morning would be better, but who has time?

Yes, peak work load in a burst makes pain, pain doesn't make for sleep.

Something sustainable where you are able to move and exercise without pain is the path.

Hopefully you'll be able to get there soon.

[sugarwood]

[recycled sixtie]

pm sent.
Cheers, Guy

[RKDinOKC]

My doc says ignore bedtime. But get up at the same time and stay up. If fall asleep during the day and wake up in the middle of the night, try to go back to bed so you have at least an hour until normal wake up time.

Also found it helps to take some Co-Q10 during to day to keep from napping. And no TV early evening. The long commercial breaks will knock you out!

[wdfifteen]

Thank you all for the suggestions. As I told Guy, I'm taking this more seriously now - not just complaining - basically due to the comments here. Things will improve as the list of, "Got to get this done" gets shorter. Just this morning I hired a contractor to do a 1 day job that I am perfectly capable of doing, but want off the list. I'm essentially buying stress relief. Money well spent, I hope. Also, lowering expectations of myself. Life will go on if I don't get every single project finished on time.
Thanks again.

[vash]

W.

i forget. are you retired or not? sorry if it was mentioned earlier.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by vash

W.

i forget. are you retired or not? sorry if it was mentioned earlier.

I am retired. But we bought a new place that needed some customization and I'm impatient and cheap - not a good combination. Plus we need to get our old home ready to sell. There is a lot of stuff in my plate right now and it's stressing me out.

[vash]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

I am retired. But we bought a new place that needed some customization and I'm impatient and cheap - not a good combination. Plus we need to get our old home ready to sell. There is a lot of stuff in my plate right now and it's stressing me out.

preaching to the choir. there is no sleeping with a restless mind. aint gonna happen.

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Thank you all for the suggestions. As I told Guy, I'm taking this more seriously now - not just complaining - basically due to the comments here. Things will improve as the list of, "Got to get this done" gets shorter. Just this morning I hired a contractor to do a 1 day job that I am perfectly capable of doing, but want off the list. I'm essentially buying stress relief. Money well spent, I hope. Also, lowering expectations of myself. Life will go on if I don't get every single project finished on time.
Thanks again.

Good decision.

You like to keep your problems to yourself and take care of them on your own,
but the last few months you've been a bit different.

That indicates to me just how stressed you are. Likely the neighborhood sound was
the setting off point.

You are doing the right thing here unloading responsibility to someone else and buy yourself some quiet.
Once you get your quiet you can resume your habit of taking care of things on your own.

[wdfifteen]

It's 1:17 and I've been up since 1:00 - wait, DST ended today, so it's really 2:17, or I've been up since 12:00, or something. I know damn well I've been awake longer than 17 minutes.
I've been working on sleeping better. The stress load has dramatically lessened. House sold, current place in decent shape, the only current problem is foot surgery Tuesday and I've had to take it easy (off my feet) so not much exercise.
I put an app on my phone that reminds me to go to bed at 8 and wakes me at 8 AM. That has really helped me wind down earlier in the evening. I haven't inadvertently stayed up until midnight since getting the app. It also turns the phone off, so no interruptions from it. That helps. I also take melatonin and magnesium gluconate at bedtime and I don't eat or drink anything after 6PM. It all helps, but there are still occasional nights like tonight when I got to sleep at 10 and I'm up in the middle of the night, wide awake, no idea why. And and nights like last night when I can not get to sleep. Normally I do get to sleep by 10, but last night I could not get to sleep until 1 AM.

OK, I'm just rambling here. Time to (try) to get some sleep.
Carry on.

[mrbeverlyhills]

Exercise is vital, must get your heartrate up: swimming anywhere nearby?

Cut out processed foods and where possible eat fewer carbs; they break down as sugar and waking up is often hunger, even if you don't feel like eating. Thirst acts the same way if you haven't been drinking at least 2 litres of water a day.

Painkillers are the worst; murder on your liver. Be honest, could you loose 30 lbs? If you try a hi protein low (no) carb diet, I'll bet the arthritis would improve greatly.

In the meantime, try Melatonin from the health food store, take it after or with dinner, it will regulate your sleep patterns and is harmless, won't interfere with anything else you are taking. Great for jet lag too.

Looks like you have a really nice spread there; try meditation. It isn't for hippies and Bagwans, meditation is sitting on the porch looking at your fine place, thinking about your fine woman, smelling the manure and being quiet for 20 minutes. Listen to some music if you like.

All of the above will help but this is really pretty basic, if you are interested, I could post a link for you to a few short clips on youtube that would explain why you are having trouble sleeping as well as the inflammation causing your arthritis. As "Motion" states above, identify the cause and take steps to remove them. For sure; the remedy isn't pills from an MD.

(on the salt front, stay away from iodized salt. Eat as much pink Himalayan or sea salt as you like, put it in your grinder, it is very good for you. Iodized is poison)

[KFC911]

Mebbe OSU is keeping you awake at night....have you considered changing teams ?

[stevej37]

I found myself sleeping longer and more sound after eliminating all light in the bedroom.
Even a small amount of indirect light affects my sleep.

[PorscheGAL]

Maybe you should talk to your doctor about getting a sleep study. They may pick something up from that. Good luck.

[sugarwood]

It's time to let go of your 1980s party lifestyle

[wdfifteen]

^
Thanks Stephanie. I have had the sleep study done. Found out I have apnea and now use a CPAP machine. I used to have the same dream every night, that I was trying to sleep but something wouldn’t let me sleep. Turns out I was almost right, I was waking to the sleep level just below consciousness about every 20 minutes and never got deep or REM sleep. Got along fine for two years after I started using the breathing machine. This seems very different.

[cabmandone]

My dad says a nap in the early afternoon is the key!
As for stress, you mention fixing up your old home to get it ready for sale. You're retired and from what I gathered in other conversations, made a good living. Know when to hire someone else and reduce your stress. As for getting your new place a place you want to live in, you have a beautiful home from the pics I have seen. Relax, pick a project, take your time and finish that project, then stand back and enjoy that finished project for a short time before starting a new one. Don't put stress on yourself because life has a way of putting plenty of stress on you.
Just my .02..