Can't fall asleep?

Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by -LT-, Apr 1, 2008.

Can't fall asleep?

Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by -LT-, Apr 1, 2008.

  1. -LT-

    -LT- New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 7, 2007
    Messages:
    3,210
    Likes received:
    1
    Trophy points:
    0
    I sometimes can't sleep. No matter how hard I try I just can't. When I read this guide it helped me a lot.
    So I hope you read it and learn something from it. :thumbup:
    _________________________________________________

    We live in a 24-hour society with little regard for rest or its well-known benefits. A solid night’s sleep contributes to greater mental acuity and serves us in almost every aspect of life. A lack of sleep leads to poor work performance, irritability, greater risk of injury, and overall poor health.

    A poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation revealed that three out of four adults in the U.S. have chronic trouble falling asleep, and that one in three suffers from fatigue due to a lack of sleep that is severe enough to inhibit their daily activities.

    So, what’s keeping us up? Work stress and relationship conflicts can contribute to a restless, preoccupied mind, but one could also argue that when trying to fall asleep we don’t respect the process; perhaps because we’ve been doing it so long, we take it for granted. The truth is that falling asleep is not a trait we’re privileged with -- it’s a skill we must develop.

    The following four steps have been geared toward developing the fundamental skill of falling asleep. Keep in mind that trying to fall asleep doesn’t begin the moment you climb into bed; plan ahead to accommodate the time you know you will need to fall sleep.

    Here are four steps that will help you through the process of trying to fall asleep.

    Take care of pressing business

    First things first: The smallest issues, such as responding to an e-mail, can keep your mind alert enough to prevent you from relaxing.

    Before you try to fall sleep, make certain you have addressed anything -- any issue or pressing business -- that has the potential to nag at you. In short, if there is anything that might cause you distress and prevent you from relaxing when you climb into bed, take care of it now.

    If there are issues you simply can not tackle before going to bed, jot them onto a piece of paper, including any additional thoughts you might have on the subjects. Doing this lets you feel as though you have acknowledged the issues and have taken nominal steps to address them that night -- a reassuring belief that can pay off as you try to fall asleep.

    Hide the alarm clock
    We all know what it’s like to lie in bed and, every so often, glance at the clock and do the math: “1:00; I can still get five hours of sleep,†but that optimism soon turns to negotiation: “1:30; four and a half hours. If I skip a shower and don’t stop for coffee, I can still get five hours.†Two big problems accompany this: It is not the kind of mental activity that contributes to relaxation, and by trading away aspects of your morning routine, you severely compromise your entire day.

    In any given 12- to 24-hour period, you need your alarm clock on precisely two occasions: at night when going to bed to set the alarm, and in the morning when that alarm goes off. Between those two occasions, you have no use for the thing, so position it so that you can not see the clock face. Taking such a step will also prevent you from knowing what time it is if you wake up in the middle of the night. While it may be reassuring at times to wake up and learn you still have four or five hours of sleep left, there will be other times when you wake up to less reassuring news.

    You will benefit in the long-term from eliminating all the distractions associated with going to bed, including watching television or listening to music. Reliance on these stimulants to fall asleep sets a dangerous precedent for those occasions when you’re not at home and don’t have access to them, as well as those times when you awake in the middle of the night and can’t fall asleep again without them.

    Quiet your mind
    Filtering out all the rambling thoughts from your mind when trying to fall asleep may be the most important step in the process. It may also be the most difficult.

    In order to quiet your mind, get ready to fall asleep with the firm conviction that whatever might be bothering you and causing your mind to race will be there tomorrow, and can wait until then to be addressed. If that thought doesn’t bring you peace, you will need to assume a selfish approach and assure yourself that losing sleep over it does nothing to help the situation, it only serves to hurt you.

    Experts recommend avoiding stimulants like caffeine, nicotine or alcohol within six hours of going to bed, since they can exacerbate your restless mind and keep you alert. They can also mitigate the value of the hours you do manage to sleep.

    Follow a single image to sleep

    Pick a soothing image -- something that brings you peace. It needs to have sufficient detail to keep your attention; it’s OK for your mind to be active in this process -- just don’t let it be overactive. Your mind’s focus should be dedicated to the colors, shapes and slow, easy movement of this image. Best case scenario, your mind will succumb to the image and it will hypnotize you into sleep.

    Everyone’s relaxing image will differ, but ideally it should omit people, or at least people you know. Thinking about a quiet meadow under an easy breeze is fine, but inserting your ex-girlfriend is only going to stimulate a host of other distracting thoughts and emotions.

    Source: http://www.sleepfoundation.org/

    Feeling sleepy already... :baby:
     
  2. Psionicz

    Psionicz New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2007
    Messages:
    2,271
    Likes received:
    2
    Trophy points:
    0
    From:
    Under Your Bed
    Lol nice mineral post.

    If I feel I won't sleep quickly I'll just put on some music and I'm out by the 4th song. Or workout and get rid of the stored energy to allow sleep.
     
  3. furrer

    furrer New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2007
    Messages:
    2,531
    Likes received:
    6
    Trophy points:
    0
    From:
    Denmark
    Good guide! Great find!
     
  4. kuvasz

    kuvasz Corrections Officer

    Joined:
    Jul 26, 2007
    Messages:
    5,143
    Likes received:
    15
    Trophy points:
    38
    From:
    Hungary
    The only reason I'm not powering you down for the umpteenth copied text is that levels will be reset. Seriously, you must have at least 10 such threads now where your personal remark spans for the incredible length of 1 sentence. This is not the way to start a discussion, and this is not the way to get minerals.
     
  5. Fenix

    Fenix Moderator

    Joined:
    May 21, 2007
    Messages:
    6,769
    Likes received:
    11
    Trophy points:
    0
    Yeah, and it's funny, cause we've done our mineral counts. Guess ya shoulda waited till the move for this ;)
     
  6. LordVampire

    LordVampire New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2008
    Messages:
    48
    Likes received:
    0
    Trophy points:
    0
    Insomia is a really hard sick :(
     
  7. Godrey

    Godrey New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2008
    Messages:
    55
    Likes received:
    0
    Trophy points:
    0
    i watch horrible tv till i get disgusted. or if i cant sleep still choke down some meds and conk out!
     
  8. -LT-

    -LT- New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 7, 2007
    Messages:
    3,210
    Likes received:
    1
    Trophy points:
    0
    I'm not doing this for the minerals. I only got about 20-30.
     
  9. Space Pirate Rojo

    Space Pirate Rojo New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2007
    Messages:
    3,067
    Likes received:
    6
    Trophy points:
    0
    From:
    Canada, eh?
    Oh jeez I'm one of the clock-math people.
     
  10. LordVampire

    LordVampire New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2008
    Messages:
    48
    Likes received:
    0
    Trophy points:
    0
    Some people says the good medicine for the people who have insomia or cant fall sleep try to READ A BIBBLE, surely you will be fall sleep :)
     
  11. Space Pirate Rojo

    Space Pirate Rojo New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2007
    Messages:
    3,067
    Likes received:
    6
    Trophy points:
    0
    From:
    Canada, eh?
    Sometimes I just read until I black out for a second, and then look at the clock and see it's a couple hours later.
     
  12. Darktemplar_L

    Darktemplar_L New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2007
    Messages:
    1,052
    Likes received:
    0
    Trophy points:
    0
    From:
    Bay Area
    I have trouble falling asleep because when I try to clear out my mind, something just pops up out of nowhere. I try to keep one image in my head, but then something else pops up as well! RAghhhhh I can't fall asleep easily!
     
  13. Meee

    Meee New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2007
    Messages:
    3,551
    Likes received:
    2
    Trophy points:
    0
    From:
    Poland
    I would have the same problem as Darktemplar, but nowadays I'm just too tired to stay awake long, no matter how many thoughts I have
     
  14. Space Pirate Rojo

    Space Pirate Rojo New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2007
    Messages:
    3,067
    Likes received:
    6
    Trophy points:
    0
    From:
    Canada, eh?
    It's almost 4 in the morning.

    I'm such a bitch.
     
  15. AcE_01

    AcE_01 Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2007
    Messages:
    2,289
    Likes received:
    5
    Trophy points:
    38
    From:
    Australia
    llol, i have the same problem with meee and darktemp.

    what i do is read a book or play some PSP until my eyeslids cant stay open anymore =]
     
  16. Meee

    Meee New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2007
    Messages:
    3,551
    Likes received:
    2
    Trophy points:
    0
    From:
    Poland
    I wouldn't risk falling asleep while playing on PSP
    Now course books are different story ;D
     
  17. AcE_01

    AcE_01 Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2007
    Messages:
    2,289
    Likes received:
    5
    Trophy points:
    38
    From:
    Australia
    both are pretty crazy if u ask me.

    if u fall alseep in the PSP game...you would srely die.

    books are also interesting...say your reading fantasy book (i love fantasy book) and you get soooo hooked up into that you dont wanna sleep. and then u accidently sleep.........gg
     
  18. Space Pirate Rojo

    Space Pirate Rojo New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2007
    Messages:
    3,067
    Likes received:
    6
    Trophy points:
    0
    From:
    Canada, eh?
    I love it when you're reading a good book, fall asleep, then dream about the book.

    But it angers me when I wake up before something wicked happens.