insomnia

[w3bz]

...find a simple but familiar image or situation that takes your attention but doesn't stress you and visualise it and/or play it through.  Blocks out all the nasty wakey thoughts...

Also a really good idea

[SmallBlueThing]

Tordleback's idea is a good one. Ive used something similar for years, and so have an entire novel/film planned out in detail that's been my sometime aid to sleep.
Id write the thing up, but seeing as its expressly designed to send the 'reader' to sleep, i have a feeling it would prove massively unpopular.
Its a london-basd zombie invasion story, in case anyone's wondering. The supporting cast, and indeed sexual content, has changed over time, as work colleagues have come and gone ;-)
SBT

[mogzilla]

i'm curious about the gripe water.

[Professor Bear]

Is there an opposite to insomnia? That's what I've got.

It's called laziness.

If I have trouble sleeping for any length of time, I find cutting out sugar and caffeine from my diet helps, though you get withdrawal symptoms for a couple of days.  No tea, no coffee, no fizzy drinks, no chocolate, no sweets, no alcohol - you might get some sleep, but you'll probably wonder what you have to live for anymore.

Failing that, I find playing Where the Wild Things Are sends me off after a bit.  Not a bad game or anything, it's just that the pace is soporific if you're lying down in bed at the time.  Just remember to set your tv and PS3/Xbox to 'power saving' settings so they turn off after you fall asleep.

If all else fails, I find night is probably the best time to commit random knife crimes.

[TordelBack]

i'm curious about the gripe water.

As kids we used to be given the original alcohol-containing Gripe Water as (I imagine) both placebo and whiskey-alternative, and I loved it.  Having used Rescue Remedy (a homeopathic nonsense) to my shame to help me get to sleep for a while, I thought why not replace it with another more honest placebo, and one with nostalgic associations.  Seems to help.

[davethomson]

I still have occasional bouts of insomnia though I use some magical stuff called Calea Zacatechichi aka Mexican Dream Herb. Can be purchased through the web and is completely legal.

You can smoke it or make a tea from it. Absolutely fucking vile either way but the tea comes with a vomit risk. Smoking it tastes like potpourri so you need some heavy juice to help with coughing. After that, flat asleep, vivid dreams and awake refreshed the next day.

[Mikey]

I do a 'waking dream' (I said waking) thing similar to the image idea already metioned, except I let my minds eye focus on any part of it and let a new image come from that. It can be really great having a stream of images formed from association with colour and form! Can be derailed by Mrs Mikey snoring.

Taking excericse helps too - you'll forget your troubles when your doing it and be physically tired after. Get some weights!

Or have a toot on a doobie. That's a last resort, but it usually works for me too.

M.

[Emperor]

Is there an opposite to insomnia? That's what I've got.

It's called laziness.

Or narcolepsy - I knew someone with it, they kept nodding off at odd occasions, thankfully none of the times when I was in the car she was driving.

Or have a toot on a doobie. That's a last resort, but it usually works for me too.

Or make a cup of tea with a small quantity of resin crumbled in it (milk last after it has had a good time to brew). I often have trouble sleeping (not insomnia) and that can work a treat. Purely for medical purposes, of course.

[mogzilla]

I still have occasional bouts of insomnia though I use some magical stuff called Calea Zacatechichi aka Mexican Dream Herb. Can be purchased through the web and is completely legal.

You can smoke it or make a tea from it. Absolutely fucking vile either way but the tea comes with a vomit risk. Smoking it tastes like potpourri so you need some heavy juice to help with coughing. After that, flat asleep, vivid dreams and awake refreshed the next day.

gonna be tough from today if the news is correct.

[Peter Wolf]

gonna be tough from today if the news is correct.
[/quote]

What are you talking about when you mention the news ??

[Van Dom]

Or narcolepsy - I knew someone with it, they kept nodding off at odd occasions, thankfully none of the times when I was in the car she was driving.

I have this. But it ONLY happens when I'm in the car, be it as a passenger or a driver. Which, incidentally, is why I tend not to drive that much. I really can't control it, I can be perfectly alert, wide awake, just out of bed, but I get behind the wheel and within five minutes I am nodding off. Bloody dangerous nonsense. Windows open, radio blasting, air conditioner on, nothing keeps me awake. Either its some form of selective narcolepsy, or I find driving extremely bloody boring....

[Tiplodocus]

I made changes to my routine:

- Stopped drinking Tea and Coffee after 6pm at night.
- Avoided drinking alcohol just before going to bed
- Moved as much as I could out of the bedroom so that bedroom became very specifically a space to sleep
- Started a bedtime routine; doing the same things every night so my body knew it was getting ready to sleep.
- Writing a To Do list before I went to bed
- When in bed, stifling the urge to move even if I was having trouble sleeping
- If having trouble sleeping, getting up and doing something else for half an hour (watch an episode of TV, read comic etc.) Then get back to bedtime routine

and it all worked remarkably well with no need for chemicals of any kind.

Of course, now I'm married with kids I'm so permanently knackered that I could snort a bucketful of coke at 2355 and still be asleep by midnight.

[Dandontdare]

I once knew someone who'd faked narcolepsy and then changed GP a couple of times, thereby ending up with a continuous repeat prescription for 60 dexies a month (speed basically). He was a very popular chap when clubbing at the weekends!

[Buttonman]

Madam Palm and her five sisters will solve most ailments!

[Dark Jimbo]

Madam Palm and her five sisters will solve most ailments!

It's certainly the best headache cure I've ever found.