Insomnia, oh my!
January 10, 2024 4:42 AM Subscribe
I know sleep is good. I need it. It's very bad that I can't sleep.
Do I stay up until morning or force myself to sleep for 3 hours before I need to wake up?
I'm so wired. I have not been able to sleep the last few days very well. But I'm afraid if I fall asleep now with only 3 hours til I need to be ready, I'll sleep in accidentally and miss my alarm.
I'm so wired. I have not been able to sleep the last few days very well. But I'm afraid if I fall asleep now with only 3 hours til I need to be ready, I'll sleep in accidentally and miss my alarm.
More things that will help sleep - have a hot shower. Helps sleep onset, and relaxation.
Then, worst case, get your bag ready to leave and go to sleep in fresh clothes - wear your work clothes, or at least the underlayers, put shirts next to bed.
So that literally all you have to do is roll out of bed and walk out the door. If you can get another half hour of sleep, good.
Also, if you need to call in sick, or cancel plans, then you need to call in, it is what it is.
And final note: It's not great that you aren't sleeping, but it's not morally bad, it just is what it is. Feeling like this is a big deal is probably not helping, but you're unlikely to remember this that well in a year.
posted by Elysum at 4:56 AM on January 10 [2 favorites]
Then, worst case, get your bag ready to leave and go to sleep in fresh clothes - wear your work clothes, or at least the underlayers, put shirts next to bed.
So that literally all you have to do is roll out of bed and walk out the door. If you can get another half hour of sleep, good.
Also, if you need to call in sick, or cancel plans, then you need to call in, it is what it is.
And final note: It's not great that you aren't sleeping, but it's not morally bad, it just is what it is. Feeling like this is a big deal is probably not helping, but you're unlikely to remember this that well in a year.
posted by Elysum at 4:56 AM on January 10 [2 favorites]
If you can get even a couple of hours of sleep, get that sleep. Set multiple alarms if you need to.
That said, yes, if you have the option to call in sick or otherwise cancel whatever you have going on today, it might be an okay time to just go ahead and do that, and take today as a rest and reset day, if you're going on several days of minimal sleep.
posted by Stacey at 5:27 AM on January 10 [3 favorites]
That said, yes, if you have the option to call in sick or otherwise cancel whatever you have going on today, it might be an okay time to just go ahead and do that, and take today as a rest and reset day, if you're going on several days of minimal sleep.
posted by Stacey at 5:27 AM on January 10 [3 favorites]
Some sleep is better than no sleep. Lying down in the dark with your eyes closed while fully awake is better than staying up doomscrolling. Listening to gentle ambient music in a dim room while letting your gaze drift is better than focusing on reading a book or being “productive”.
If the thing you need to wake up for is absolutely mandatory, cancel anything else you can afterward. Sleep deprivation is dangerous and leads to accidents. Just do the thing you can’t get out of and go home.
posted by Mizu at 5:36 AM on January 10 [11 favorites]
If the thing you need to wake up for is absolutely mandatory, cancel anything else you can afterward. Sleep deprivation is dangerous and leads to accidents. Just do the thing you can’t get out of and go home.
posted by Mizu at 5:36 AM on January 10 [11 favorites]
Some sleep is better than no sleep. Lying down in the dark with your eyes closed while fully awake is better than staying up doomscrolling. Listening to gentle ambient music in a dim room while letting your gaze drift is better than focusing on reading a book or being “productive”.
This says exactly what I was going to say. Insomnia is all about picking the "least bad" option, and getting some rest is a lot less bad than getting no sleep. Set multiple loud alarms if you need that, but get some rest.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:56 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]
This says exactly what I was going to say. Insomnia is all about picking the "least bad" option, and getting some rest is a lot less bad than getting no sleep. Set multiple loud alarms if you need that, but get some rest.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:56 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]
Hm, did I write this post? Frankly, it can go either way. I have such paranoia about sleeping through an alarm (note: I did this ONCE) that losing consciousness 3 hours before the alarm goes off almost never happens for me. If you are tired enough to be able to lose consciousness, you should probably try to do so. But if you are super wired, there might not be much point in trying to just lie there.
I'll say this: 6 hours seems to be the effed-up Rubicon for me. If I get less sleep than that, I'll still be wired all day anyway and not need caffeine. If I get 7-8, things will probably be normal. 6 hours of sleep is somehow both too much and not enough and that's where I will be tired throughout the day, conspicuously, and need the caffeine.
I recently had a class in sleep and they suggested just getting up and doing something else for a half hour in between attempts to go back to sleep.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:57 AM on January 10
I'll say this: 6 hours seems to be the effed-up Rubicon for me. If I get less sleep than that, I'll still be wired all day anyway and not need caffeine. If I get 7-8, things will probably be normal. 6 hours of sleep is somehow both too much and not enough and that's where I will be tired throughout the day, conspicuously, and need the caffeine.
I recently had a class in sleep and they suggested just getting up and doing something else for a half hour in between attempts to go back to sleep.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:57 AM on January 10
Response by poster: Thank you everyone. I fell asleep! Now I guess this is hard too. Waking up!
posted by mxjudyliza at 8:11 AM on January 10 [7 favorites]
posted by mxjudyliza at 8:11 AM on January 10 [7 favorites]
As someone with lifelong insomnia who didn't get anybody to take it seriously (including myself) until I got about four hours of sleep across an entire week: I give you permission to take it seriously, up to and including: (1) calling out of whatever responsibility you have; (2) seeing a doctor; (3) seeing a different doctor if the first one you see doesn't take you seriously. The first (and perhaps) biggest challenge with insomnia is getting past the stigma – including the internalized stigma – that you're just doing something wrong and it must be your fault. It's not your fault. Take it seriously, take time off from responsibilities, and get some help.
posted by fedward at 8:44 AM on January 10 [3 favorites]
posted by fedward at 8:44 AM on January 10 [3 favorites]
Yeah, I never bothered to contact anyone about insomnia until Wellbutrin made me unable to sleep for days on end. They do have a few prescription drugs (clonidine and trazadone) you can get to put you to sleep the first time, anyway.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:05 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:05 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]
I agree with others that some sleep is better than no sleep. If I am getting less sleep than I know I will need, and am worried about missing an alarm clock, I will set multiple alarms. This gives me a little extra peace of mind to keep me from worrying, which ironically would keep me from sleeping.
You didn't ask about general strategies for dealing with insomnia, but as someone who has had problems with reliably falling asleep when I need to for most of my life, I've found melatonin has made a huge difference for me. Different people have insomnia for different reasons, and not all are treatable the same way. But if you find that yours is primarily associated with not feeling sleepy at the bedtime you desire, and is worse during the dark winter months, melatonin might help. It's marketed as a supplement, which is probably not a great thing, but means it's easy to get over-the-counter at most drug stores. I take 3 mg about 1 hour before my intended bedtime, and it works best if I do it regularly for multiple days in a row. Sometimes it doesn't help as much the first night I take it but usually makes a big difference the second night. It works well for me to "reset" my sleep rhythym when it gets out of whack for any reason, which otherwise I can have a lot of trouble recovering from.
posted by biogeo at 10:36 AM on January 10
You didn't ask about general strategies for dealing with insomnia, but as someone who has had problems with reliably falling asleep when I need to for most of my life, I've found melatonin has made a huge difference for me. Different people have insomnia for different reasons, and not all are treatable the same way. But if you find that yours is primarily associated with not feeling sleepy at the bedtime you desire, and is worse during the dark winter months, melatonin might help. It's marketed as a supplement, which is probably not a great thing, but means it's easy to get over-the-counter at most drug stores. I take 3 mg about 1 hour before my intended bedtime, and it works best if I do it regularly for multiple days in a row. Sometimes it doesn't help as much the first night I take it but usually makes a big difference the second night. It works well for me to "reset" my sleep rhythym when it gets out of whack for any reason, which otherwise I can have a lot of trouble recovering from.
posted by biogeo at 10:36 AM on January 10
If you can sleep through the alarm, get another alarm. I used to have one across the room. When I can't sleep, I get up, go to the bathroom, have a drink of water. Back to bed, make sure I'm warm enough, notice how cozy and snug my bed is, close my eyes. I have added some bad sleep habits, but one that works sometimes it to count backwards from various large numbers, by 3, 4, 5, etc. Start at 1003 and count backwards by 5, if nothing else, it was math practice. Or I build a dream house in my head. Good luck, lack of sleep is a misery. Take some magnesium, it may help.
posted by theora55 at 11:29 AM on January 10
posted by theora55 at 11:29 AM on January 10
If you're interested in getting some help, I recommend finding a therapist in your area who is trained in cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia. If you can't find a provider or don't want to see someone, I recommend the book Hello Sleep which will guide you through a behavioral sleep medicine protocol.
posted by soonertbone at 5:25 PM on January 11 [1 favorite]
posted by soonertbone at 5:25 PM on January 11 [1 favorite]
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
Put a cold coffee next to your bed to drink, put alarm across the room, whatever you need to.
You might not sleep, but resting, will help your body and your mind.
I like the guided relaxation from my Scottish Man, Andrew Johnson on Insight Timer (free app)
https://insig.ht/vviOQxRjfGb
posted by Elysum at 4:52 AM on January 10 [3 favorites]