posted
How do people fall asleep, anyway? Is there a gradual build up of "sleep points" and when you cross the barrior, you fall asleep? Or is it a random chance at any moment, with an increased chance when you're lying down?
--> questions from an insomniac
Posts: 3060 | Registered: Nov 2003
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posted
Yeah, if anyone has any pointers, please let me know. It takes me at least (and I really mean at least, meaning it usually takes me much longer) 2 hours to get to sleep. It's horrible.
Posts: 1789 | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
As a tried and true insomniac, there are a couple of ways I've found to fall asleep.
One is to do math in my head. I try to do a budget, rent, food, transportation, miscellaneous, fun, etc. I've found that this will knock me out in about 10-15 minutes flat.
The other sure fire way to fall asleep is to do so much during the day that there is no way you could stay up a second longer. Physical activity is always great, but I also get tired if I read a book for 3 hours straight.
Good luck and good night. Posts: 511 | Registered: Mar 2006
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The only way I've found to reliably get to sleep earlier is to force myself to get up a lot earlier than necessary. I've had absolutely no luck trying to manage things from the falling asleep side. Controlling when I wake up is a little easier, but not by much.
Posts: 2437 | Registered: Apr 2005
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I never have trouble falling asleep. Except tonight. It's 3 am and I am totally keyed up. I don't get it. What's different?
I wonder if the 90 degree temperatures and lack of air conditioning are contributing to the problem. But I always feel that in the heat, I sleep uncomfortably. Tonight, sleep eludes.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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Currently, I pop in a dvd of Farscape, and watch another episode. When the episode is over I either watch another one, or I turn everything off and go to sleep. (Good night, I'm popping in a dvd )
Posts: 1132 | Registered: Jul 2002
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posted
I pretty much just daydream until I fall asleep. Like I try to set my mind in "dream mode." So I daydream, usually about comforting, calming things, like cuddling with my boyfriend.
posted
My friend says he trains his brain to realize when it's time to "really sleep now". He doesn't read in bed or do anything else in bed for that matter. Once he's in bed, he falls asleep.
As for me, I either put some white noise on or listen to ambient soundscapes until it starts keeping me from falling asleep because I'm paying attention to it.
Posts: 1236 | Registered: Mar 2002
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A key factor is to avoid thinking "I need to sleep, I need to sleep". I just try and make my mind go blank, let it wander where it will. If I dwell on the fact that I can't sleep, or if I keep looking at the clock, I end up staying up longer.
Posts: 3852 | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
The icepack worked! I guess I was just too hot to sleep. You know how it is -- your pillow is too hot, the other side of the pillow is too hot, the fan is stirring, but the air that it is stirring is too hot, you are sticky with perspiration. I plunked an icepack on my head and fell asleep within about 10 minutes.
But by that time, around 4 am, it was too late to get a good night's sleep. My alarm clock goes off at 5:30. Tonight I'm bringing the icepack to bed much earlier.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
Even with the A/C last night I had to have a fan blowing on me to get to sleep. I think our A/C isn't as efficent as it used to be...
Anyway, even more than heat, what keeps me awake is having a restless mind. When I'm thinking of something interesting, especially something creative, it can keep me awake for hours, then wake me back up in the middle of the night to think some more.
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I don't know if this has already been said, but after ~17 hours awake the brain starts to reorient itself from handling daytime activities to handling sleeptime activities (i.e dreams)
posted
I'm not asking "How do you fall asleep when you have insomnia?" If I was, my post would have something like: "I'm having trouble falling asleep...give me advice."
I'm asking how do people fall asleep. What is the "falling asleep" process made of?
Posts: 3060 | Registered: Nov 2003
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posted
For me, the falling asleep process is made of equal parts beer and whiskey. Well, not anymore actually. But for about 2 years there was no sleep unless preempted by booze. That is probably not the best way to go about it though. I think they have a word for it, and people go to classes or something? I'm not sure.
Or
Sleep is what happens when your brain's temp folder fills up. Then you have to sleep in order to transfer what has been saved to the hard drive and delete the rest. If you can't sleep, it's because you haven't accumulated enough data yet.
Posts: 2596 | Registered: Jan 2006
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Heh, I was about to say that when you go into an inn, night falls, and you just have to hop into the bed and you automatically sleep.
Posts: 1735 | Registered: Oct 2004
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