Help me get back to sleep

October 12, 2005 5:00 AM

My insomnia is driving me nuts...

I don't have a problem falling asleep, and frequently manage to sleep for 6 or 7 hours. But sometimes, like this morning, I wake up after three or four hours and simply can't get back. I feel awake, but exhausted, when this happens, and I pretty much have to write the remainder of the day off mentally. Taking various tinctures (lemon balm, catnip, passion flower, etc.) right after waking up used to work, but not any more. It's rarely an issue of being woken up by external influences; I wear earplugs at night which block out most sounds.

Any tips on how to get back to sleep?

posted by cmonkey to health & fitness (21 comments total)

Exercise during the day. You'll be dead tired at night.
posted by Rothko at 5:04 AM on October 12, 2005

Have you drunk alcohol in the evening? It has an effect of making it easier to fall asleep but causing you to wake up when the effect wears off after a few hours. If you frequently sleep normal nights, is there anything that distinguishes the ones where you don't? Eating, drinking, napping during the day, whatever. There will be a reason why you wake up on some nights but usually sleep well. Anything racing through your mind when you wake up and can't go back to sleep?
posted by keijo at 5:19 AM on October 12, 2005

Regular exercise seconded. It was my own miracle cure.
posted by negatendo at 6:14 AM on October 12, 2005

I do excercise, I walked several miles yesterday for example. And while I do drink alcohol in the evening, I stop an hour or two before bedtime to let things settle down a bit.

Since it seems to happen randomly, I'm mostly interested in techniques to get back to sleep when my brain is awake but my body really isn't ready to be up and about. Would taking an over the counter sleeping pill just leave me in worse shape for the rest of the day?
posted by cmonkey at 6:25 AM on October 12, 2005

I've been fighting insomnia for years, and with the same problem..waking up around 3 or 4 am. As keijo said, I had that "mind race" thing, along with a panicky "ok, if I fall asleep right now I'll get X hours before work." Between those two things and then random worrying about the future/debt/whatever, I was up for the rest of the day.

I basically just started trying to accept it, and staying up. I'd crack open a book (preferably something not too absorbing) and start reading. Invariably, instead of lying there obsessing about not sleeping, I'd read for 10-45 minutes and pass out. You may have to do this on the couch if you have a spouse, which may ruin its efficacy.

Some other things that I think contributed: no caffeine/alcohol, going to bed the same time every night, not watching tv in bed, an occasional antihistimine. I've also heard exercise does wonders, but I'm a lazy bastard.

What I eventually noticed was that I was obsessing about not getting sleep, and got into this pattern of being terrified every night, thus guaranteeing it. Once I accepted that I was definitely not going to sleep the whole night through, I actually started sleeping.

That, and my creation of a whole other personality through which I began a revolutionary fighting gang bent on destroying the credit industry, and I was cured. But I can't talk about that.

On preview: try the reading thing. Try meditating. I've also just gotten up at that time, and spent the day wiped out. The next night, I was so tired I slept fine.

I don't recommend taking a sleeping pill or anything unless you have 6-8 hours to really sleep it off. Otherwise, you'll be groggy all day.
posted by nevercalm at 6:38 AM on October 12, 2005

I too suffer. I have an iPod and a subscription to audible.com. My iPod is by my bed, and when I can't sleep, I listen to audio books. The stories keep my mind from racing and they eventually help me get back to sleep. Actually reading doesn't work, because I have to do it with the light on.
posted by grumblebee at 8:18 AM on October 12, 2005

There are prescription sleeping pills with short half lives that you may be able to take in the middle of the night without feeling hungover in the morning. A half an Ambien in the middle of the night (say, 3 or 4 AM) has quickly put me back to sleep without making me wake up groggy. Ambien's half life is about 3-4 hours, I think, but there are sleeping pills that have even shorter half-lives, maybe even as little as an hour. On the flip side, though, taking one of these pills before you go to bed may not take you through the night. Ask your doctor.

Taking an antihistamine before you go to bed may also help keep you asleep, and antihistamine is the active ingredient in most over the counter sleep meds, even though they often charge more for it in sleep meds.
posted by walla at 8:22 AM on October 12, 2005

Find a sleep clinic or a doctor who specializes in sleep disorders. Interrupted sleep could be a sign of apnia or any other medical issues.

Advice like "exercise" and "eat properly" are good ideas for everybody, and they certainly promote good sleep, but sleep disorders can often be MUCH bigger than that and a doctor who knows what he's doing can work wonders.

My problem was falling asleep in the first place and a doctor was able to help me without medication, diet change, or lifestyle changes. For me it was mostly patterns that needed tweaking.

Interrupted sleep is a common disorder that can be caused by a number of things, most of which can be fixed.

Forcing yourself to fall asleep only makes things worse. Lying there frustrated is the worst thing you can do. If you're awake for more than a half hour get up and do something relaxing or boring for a half hour. Read, play solitaire (with a real deck of cards), organize your sock drawer, etc. No bright lights, no TV, no computer. Lights will only make your brain think it's time to wake up. Then go back to bed and try again.

Relaxation tapes ("...now feel your fingers getting sleepy...") work for a lot of people but never worked for me.

Over the counter sleeping pills suck. They never helped me fall asleep and only left me useless the next day. The only medicine that helps me fall asleep is Nyquill, and that's not something one wants to take very often.

Don't have any caffeen after noon time, or 5:00 at the latest. Avoid soda and any other sweet stuff in the evening.

If you do decide you want to visit a doctor, start a sleep diary. Keep track of things like when you went to bed, aproximate time you fell asleep, the times you woke up during the night, when you got out of bed, etc. You also might want to keep track of what you ate for dinner or any night time snacks, caffeen intake, alcohol consumption, etc. This will help the doctor out a lot when you first go see him. He'll probably have you start one anyway.
posted by bondcliff at 8:29 AM on October 12, 2005

I've got this problem too. Waking up in the middle of the night is such a frustrating thing. Anyway, quick fix wise, I count. It relaxess me and eventually I space out and fall back to sleep.
posted by hopeless romantique at 8:41 AM on October 12, 2005

Find a sleep clinic or a doctor who specializes in sleep disorders. Interrupted sleep could be a sign of apnia or any other medical issues.

I second this. For years, I've been very tired all the time. I just assumed it was part of getting older. I would often wake up and be unable to get back to sleep. Then I found out I have sleep apnea. I'm still waiting to get my CPAP, but I'm greatly looking forward to taking part in the waking world once again.
posted by agropyron at 8:43 AM on October 12, 2005

Also, it may sound obvious, but re-evaluate your caffeine intake if appropriate - I've noticed, as I get older, the effects of caffeine on my sleep patterns have changed, sometimes just a little can wreak havoc, where I used to down it by the gallon and have little to no effects.
posted by kokogiak at 8:46 AM on October 12, 2005

Oh, and even if you're convinced that you don't have sleep apnea, a sleep clinic/doctor can probably help with insomnia anyway.
posted by agropyron at 8:50 AM on October 12, 2005

Melatonin. Natural sleeping aid. They sell it just about any pharmacy store.
posted by smoothie at 9:12 AM on October 12, 2005

My 2 neurological cents: Trying to get back to sleep is band-aiding the problem. You want to find out the cause of it, instead - waking up tired isn't normal. In addition to sleep apnea, there are other things that can cause it; alcohol and caffeine are the common culprits, but also chocolate and so on. Or a medical condition - heartburn, depression, parasomnias, seizures, sleep apnea, cardiac arrythmia, the list is pretty long.

Good luck!
posted by ikkyu2 at 2:32 PM on October 12, 2005

Talk to this lady.


posted by baphomet at 3:10 PM on October 12, 2005

I find if I have alcohol-maybe two beers-I sleep poorly. Typically I'll go to sleep but then wake up way too early unable to sleep again. This seems to have happened as I've hit my mid-20s. I would suggest avoiding alcohol for a week or two and see if that improves your sleep.
posted by 6550 at 3:48 PM on October 12, 2005

Seth Roberts' research suggests that watching life-sized human faces on TV in the morning, but never at night, will solve this problem.

Crazy but true.

http://repositories.cdlib.org/postprints/117/

http://repositories.cdlib.org/postprints/405/
posted by AmbroseChapel at 5:11 PM on October 12, 2005

I love listening to mellow music which is very familiar to me. Anything too upbeat or unfamiliar just makes me pay a lot of attention.

I got used to listening to music while falling asleep, and found that once I began to associate certain albums with sleep, I could really relax to that music and fall asleep halfway through it without realising it was happening.
posted by tomble at 11:24 PM on October 12, 2005

Increase your intake of vitamin B (specifically B6) and calcium.
posted by mtonks at 12:40 AM on October 13, 2005

Taking up tomble's suggestion, Tristeza's Dream Codes in Full Circles is a great sleep album, and also a great makeout album. No vocals, lots of dreamy bass melodies and dreamy, deep synth lines. If you want to check it out my e-mail is in the profile.
posted by baphomet at 9:33 AM on October 13, 2005

Tristeza's Dream Signals in Full Circles, that is.
posted by ikkyu2 at 5:46 PM on October 14, 2005