Comments on: Insomnia

By: Attack of the Insomnia | The Official Kaleb Nation Website

Attack of the Insomnia | The Official Kaleb Nation Website — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 08:33:45 +0000

[...] I am up now instead of lying in bed like I have for the past 3 hours because I am trying out Justin Larbalestier’s advice on it. However, it doesn’t seem to be working, and I am only getting more tired by the [...]

By: Mahek

Mahek — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 16:05:36 +0000

I have to stay up doing homework and coursework and sometimes I have to revise so I get to sleep really late. Then I am tired the next day and teachers complain that I am always sleeping in their classes and say I should get to slep earlier.

I would get to sleep earlier if only they would stop giving me so much work to do. And I have reallu bad sleeping problems. My characters talk to me for hours. My mum says I’m lying when I tell her I have problems sleeping. Sheesh!

By: Liz hand

Liz hand — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 19:34:22 +0000

The site is through Columbia Presbyterian’s Chrobobiology Laboratory, which compiled data regarding sleep patterns and seasonal mood disorders (so, not insomnia, but still interesting). Not sure if the questionaire is still available but here’s their info:

http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/dept/nyspi/sad/

For the record, I slept like a baby until I had two of my own, and have not had a good night’s sleep in the last 18 years.

By: Ellen Kushner

Ellen Kushner — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:19:46 +0000

Elizabeth Hand once told me about some big academic study that figured out what an individual’s perfect sleep patterns might be (I’m with Margaret – stay up late, sleep in – miss half the day, but work all night!) – it apparently varies wildly, and if you fill in a complicated questionnaire online, it will tell you what regimen is best for you. I’ll ask her to drop by with the info. Anyone else?

(Oh, and a note to hillary! & friends – I used to be a Champion Sleeper. No kidding. I could win prizes, if there were any. No trouble falling asleep, much trouble waking up; easy to fall back asleep if disturbed. It changes with age. Now I wake up too early and am grouchy. It’s hell on my self-image. Like being a show dog with mange.

However, lisbet – I’m still always hungry!)

By: Margaret Crocker

Margaret Crocker — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:01:39 +0000

I wasn’t getting any guilt here, btw. Just sharing my particular sleep-related bugaboo.

By: aden

aden — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 05:14:15 +0000

Is “circadian rhythm” the nebulous term you’re looking for? Otherwise, I’ve got nothing, and need to dress up my store of obscure medical terminology I don’t have any real need to know.

By: Justine

Justine — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:13:18 +0000

I should point out the obvious: I’m not a doctor. This is what worked for me. I really can’t answer any questions about how to make it work for you. Medical opinions may have changed over the last seven years. Plus, like I said, I’m not a doctor.

Janet: Sex in bed was not forbidden.

Margaret: I, too, am not a morning person. But when I wasn’t sleeping it was kind of a moot point. Also the early rising was because there’s supposedly some kind of thingie that happens with dawn light. But I’m blanking on what it is right now. The getting up early was not a moral thing; it was a reset your internal clock thing.

Now that I’m sleeping normally I do not wake up at 5AM! Left to my own devices I’m also a 10-11AM kind of girl, who needs at least eight hours of sleep to function properly.

By: Margaret Crocker

Margaret Crocker — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:09:27 +0000

Sleep is so stressful. I have never been a morning person, and I am so f*cking tired of the guilt. I mean, it bugs people that I sleep until 10 or 11 every day (even though it’s only about 7 hours sleep for me). Yeah, some people are envious, but most people just think it’s lazy and self-indulgent to sleep late. Grrr!!

By: Liset

Liset — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 23:17:39 +0000

is sleeping 12 hours a night too much?
…just wondering…

By: Liset

Liset — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 23:17:13 +0000

hillary I sooo smell what you’re stepping in!

My problem is that i sleep WAY too much.

When I was in highschool, my mom thought i had mono!!!

Also, I’m always hungry. Always hungry and sleepy…. hmm

By: dragonfly

dragonfly — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 21:46:37 +0000

i think i might be able to do this. not until my husband leaves for iraq (our schedules are so messed up right now because of getting ready for deployment)…but it might be possible. the most difficult thing will be the morning walk, since i’d be getting up before my son…do you think it would be as effective to do jumping jacks or run in place or something on my balcony?

it will be yucky to give up reading in bed, but usually i read in bed because i cannot sleep, so i’d do it willingly.

i’m not kidding you, this gives me hope. i haven’t had a full night of sleep in…well, years. even when i was taking sleeping pills i woke up after a few hours. *sigh?*

By: hillary!

hillary! — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 19:22:21 +0000

I don’t mean to gloat, but I’ve never really had sleeping problems, if anything I’ve had trouble staying awake.
But I am such a horrible person that last year, in my psychology class, I taught myself to fall asleep. And only because I hated the teacher sooooooooo much!

By: emmaco

emmaco — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 19:20:57 +0000

I think I was one of the ones asking for your cure. Not because I need it right now but just in case the insomnia sneaks back and I need a new method to beat it, so thanks! (The best thing I ever did was stop having a clock I could glance over and see. It just made me more aware of the sleep I was missing and the decreasing amount of time until I had to get up)

By: janet

janet — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:26:24 +0000

It sounds a little like re-booting a computer.

Is part of the regime that you’re not allowed to have sex in bed? Don’t mean to pry, but when I’ve seen this kind of regime described, sex is the only exception to the first bullet point on your list.