The Shrine

So I thought about going to a doctor for this, but I figured I'd rather ask around a bit before doing so.

I've been suffering from a really weird form of Insomnia lately, at least, I think it's weird due to the nature of it.

Basically I'll be in bed, and my mind will be racing 1,000 MPH on some random...subject in my life. It can be huge(finding work, love life, replaying scenarios which would result in a better outcome) or something really trivial(Marvel vs Capcom 3 Dante target combo tonight's example), and this replays over and over and over. The latter is rather amusing, it's like light medium hard, launch, medium medium air jump medium hard launch, repeat over and over, and even if I try to like change my mind's channel to something else I end up going straight back to thinking about that combo again and again, and I don't even play MvsC3 that much! If you're still with me at this point and thinking "Geez, that's kinda weird." YEAH I know. lol

I can be in bed, physically tired, like exhausted my body doesn't want to move tired, and my mind will be racing, which in turn gives me a mild headache.

My combat to this has been to for example wake up extra early 5AM-6AM, and crash @ 11PM-12PM, and get 6ish hours of sleep, this works about..half the time, and if I put off waking up I'll easily be up until 2AM or later with the non-sleeping mind, sometimes it FEELS like I've gone an entire night with no sleep because my mind kept racing.

So any thoughts? Aside from drugs, because I dislike drugs X_X.

I'm right with ya, drugs are an absolute last result.

Here's a silly question: have you tried to concentrate on something that may take your mind away from whatever? Like football, hot women, etc? I find that if I concentrate on sports (or sometimes women :-) it allows me to sleep. If think about anything else, it's like an avalanche. It just keeps leading to more and more things to think about and gets too big. For someone who hasn't had insomnia in the past, that may be a solution you can try. But you have to pick something you can just enjoy and not have to analyze / think about more.

I tried counting sheep, but then the sheep ended up in a 60 hit+ Dante combo. -_-

Eric wrote:I tried counting sheep, but then the sheep ended up in a 60 hit+ Dante combo. -_-

lol, I'd probably end up with a Crossover Combination Uncanny combo w/ Iron Man, Dante, and Deadpool :-)

But seriously, try thinking about something that's just enjoyable and doesn't require additional expansion on points, more thought, etc. It really helped me when I could never go to bed before 2am. That's actually why I suggested sports, it's usually just going over the game....unless you're a huge analyzer. Or women, since we only think of one or two things with them....as long as they're not your long-term GF or wife, of course :-)

Bachelor insomnia is fairly common and can be easily treated:

http://www.literotica.org

I think you'll figure out the rest.


Otherwise:

Try working out during the day. Exercise different muscle groups around a weekly schedule. Cardio can be done daily. This can also help a lot with the sleep. Even 15 minutes of Wii Fit can help.


Don't eat anything past a certain time either, stuff like fruit and anything else with simple sugars in it will provide your body with fast-easy energy; this can keep you awake for longer. It's probably not good to eat within 3 hours of going to sleep.

I dont like prescription stuff, but this issue is why ive been smoking pot more and more before going to bed. Empties the mind.

Pot usually completely dicks over your sleep cycle just the same as any other medication. I have issues falling asleep sometimes, as well. If you're lying awake thinking about problems then fixing them is basically the only way around that. Concentrating on breathing is also the poor man's meditation technique that I use to get to bed when I'm just having general issues. When it all goes to shit, though, I find that sleeping for 3-5 hour spurts as often as I can is the only way to get through the day. Sooner or later you'll revolve all the way around to sleeping at a normal time again.

I sleep pretty late too. Working out seems to help some, but not significantly.

I definitely have issues falling asleep because my mind just races. I find I can fall asleep in front of the TV very easily, since the tv drowns out my brain. However when I drag myself to bed I usually lie there wide awake for an hour.

That's messed up. I used to have the same shit back in the day when I played DDR all the time, or when I was big into SF3 - Third Strike. Happened a LITTLE bit with guitar hero/rock band, but not nearly as much.

I've always been a heavy sleeper, however, so it didn't keep me up for very long. Seems like what you are experiencing is a little deeper, however, since it isn't all flashy/repetative video games keeping you up.

My fiance has this problem, but it's all the time. She just can't shut her brain off, and if she gets something semi-serious stuck in her head before bed, she won't sleep all night.

Sleeping pills are bad, yes. I would look at them only as a last resort. If I were you, I'd have some routine blood work done and get it checked to make sure all of your minerals are lining up right, and that you aren't experiencing some major deficiency. Who knows, you may just be getting older and your body might not be producing something as well as it used to. Could find out that a simple vitamin or supplement could help you.

I honestly would stop playing videogames after a certain hour just like not eating past a certain hour before bed. I've found things that get me involved usually I end up dreaming about intensely. Also, for me, I've had trouble staying asleep but this is more because of my job and interruptions during the night (I'm a pretty light sleeper). I've found that if I am on my back I fall asleep faster than if I am on my side or stomach though I often end up waking up and moving to one or the other off my back at some point in the night.

Thanks for all the feedback friends.

Drugs are like any other treatment, so don't immediately discount them. Sometimes weird mental stuff like this calls for them, especially when it's something like this being barely controllable.

I'd keep an eye on at-rest heart rate to see if it's abnormal. It's always a good idea to have a good BP cuff around the house.

I am not joking when I say this; an orgasm or two does the trick.

+1 to Seeker. That does help.