Question
my question is about what i think is a fear of sleeping. I keep myself awake because im afraid of waking too late... also afraid of not accomplishing things that i can do during the night... it might be because of my schedule.. I work 32 hours a week at one job, i work about 8 hours a week at another, and attend 15 hours of classes each week... which are all broken up throughout most days... so im almost always in the car and on the go. I start my day by going to class.. coming home doing homework, going to class, coming home.. getting ready for one job, finish that job, and have about 10 minutes to change and getready for my next job. any suggestions?
Answer
The worst think one can do to not sleep is to worry in bed about getting to sleep.For insomnia you can try the following.However if after you have tried this I would suggest you contact a sleep center for further evaluation.Go to bed and wake up each morning the same time no matter how little you slept.Put the alarm clock on the opposite side of the room where you can hear it but have to get out of the bed to turn it on,this will alleviate your fear of turning over shutting it and falling back to sleep.If that is not enough set 2 clocks ten minutes apart but places where you know you will hear them ,but must get out of the bed to turn them off.Stay away from chocolate, coke,pepsi,caramel colored drinks,caffeine ,or exercise 3 hours before your bedtime. If youre in bed and cant sleep,after 20 minutes spend no more twisting and turning,get out of bed and do something boring like reading a book,if you find yourself nodding out,get up and and go into the bed.The bed must just be assiciated with sleep.Also if you take any meds alert your physician as many meds have insomnia as a side effect and you may have to adjust the dosage.Health food stores sell melatonin its a natural amino acid to produce sleep,but first ask your md,as I think the dosage is 0.3 mg,however im not 100% sure, and be aware, you cant take it everynite and if you do take it you may then get rebound insomnia if you stop ,so if you can do it all natural its best, and lastly,the old adage,drink a glass of warm milk is so true.Plain warm not cold milk,has tryptophan when heated which is the amino acid that produces sleep in our brains.So try a relaxing cup about l5-20 min.before bed.Try relaxation techniques, deep breathing,whatever helps you unwind,a warm bath,for me,its mello music.I put my radio on snooze where it plays while I go off to sleep.Hope it helps,feel freeto email again,and please if this problem persist contact a sleep center,but I do believe if you unwind a little bit and try to relax so will your brain so that you can get a good sleep.karel
