What the hell is wrong with me?
Discussion
The last couple of weeks for me are what can only be described as a giant mindf
k. Off uni, so am working all the hours they'll give me to make sure I'm nowhere near my overdraft for the start of next term, but this isn't the problem, I work with a great bunch of people, even if we're on the late and there's nothing to do after 9. But it's after work, or my days off, that are the problem. I simply can't get to sleep until about 5am, and then because I'm not at work till around 4 most days, I will stay asleep until about half 2 in the afternoon. Except for Saturday night, where I do my utmost to go to bed early as work starts at 6am on a Sunday. Only half the time this is a success and I go to bed at around 9, then wake up at 5 and get ready for work. But others I won't get to sleep until past midnight, still waking at 5 but am like a zombie until I get to work and tank myself up with energy drink, then at 2 I will come home, stick the F1 on iplayer, and unless it doesn't look like Vettel will walk it, I'll fall asleep then wake up with 2 laps left. Other times I haven't slept at all, finish work at 7 on Saturday evening, get home, cook dinner, try and sleep then fail, go and smoke, then try and fail at sleeping again, then drink coffee until work time, and repeat the whole energy drink thing.
There's more. On my days off, I have no drive to do anything constructive. It used to be simple, catch up with some uni work, go to the gym and tire myself out, but these last few weeks I just haven't had the drive to do it. So I sit here, gorging on doughnuts, playing Call of Duty until the OH pops over, spend the evening with her, but when she stays over, I still find myself unable to get to sleep till about 5am, and it's starting to bug both of us, she struggles to sleep if for whatever reason I'm somehow completely wired at 2am, without energy drinks or coffee. Even now, she's half awake as I lay here, still wide awake, typing away on the iPad.
I'm pretty sure I'm not depressed, but there's something not right which I can't put my finger on, and sometimes it shows at work. Outside having a smoke with the boss the other day, she asked what was up, and I really didn't know, but there was something. I should be pretty damn content with everything right now, I'm earning decent money, I've managed to drop 3 stone since joining the gym at the start of the year, I fulfilled an ambition the other day of seeing Roger Daltrey play live, I have a great OH who didn't go mental when I suggested (on PH advice) that moving in together is perhaps a little too soon yet, I've got a great bunch of friends around, and I'm off to Spain a week today for a well deserved break with a few mates. But still there's something wrong, for example the only remotely worthwhile thing I've done today is go to the shop, buy some ciggies and have a chat with my mate who works there. Surely the wealth of PH knowledge can help?
Edited to fix some dodgy iPad autocorrect, just noticed the autocorrect in the title, should say hell, who designed the ithingy dictionary/spellcheck?
k. Off uni, so am working all the hours they'll give me to make sure I'm nowhere near my overdraft for the start of next term, but this isn't the problem, I work with a great bunch of people, even if we're on the late and there's nothing to do after 9. But it's after work, or my days off, that are the problem. I simply can't get to sleep until about 5am, and then because I'm not at work till around 4 most days, I will stay asleep until about half 2 in the afternoon. Except for Saturday night, where I do my utmost to go to bed early as work starts at 6am on a Sunday. Only half the time this is a success and I go to bed at around 9, then wake up at 5 and get ready for work. But others I won't get to sleep until past midnight, still waking at 5 but am like a zombie until I get to work and tank myself up with energy drink, then at 2 I will come home, stick the F1 on iplayer, and unless it doesn't look like Vettel will walk it, I'll fall asleep then wake up with 2 laps left. Other times I haven't slept at all, finish work at 7 on Saturday evening, get home, cook dinner, try and sleep then fail, go and smoke, then try and fail at sleeping again, then drink coffee until work time, and repeat the whole energy drink thing. There's more. On my days off, I have no drive to do anything constructive. It used to be simple, catch up with some uni work, go to the gym and tire myself out, but these last few weeks I just haven't had the drive to do it. So I sit here, gorging on doughnuts, playing Call of Duty until the OH pops over, spend the evening with her, but when she stays over, I still find myself unable to get to sleep till about 5am, and it's starting to bug both of us, she struggles to sleep if for whatever reason I'm somehow completely wired at 2am, without energy drinks or coffee. Even now, she's half awake as I lay here, still wide awake, typing away on the iPad.
I'm pretty sure I'm not depressed, but there's something not right which I can't put my finger on, and sometimes it shows at work. Outside having a smoke with the boss the other day, she asked what was up, and I really didn't know, but there was something. I should be pretty damn content with everything right now, I'm earning decent money, I've managed to drop 3 stone since joining the gym at the start of the year, I fulfilled an ambition the other day of seeing Roger Daltrey play live, I have a great OH who didn't go mental when I suggested (on PH advice) that moving in together is perhaps a little too soon yet, I've got a great bunch of friends around, and I'm off to Spain a week today for a well deserved break with a few mates. But still there's something wrong, for example the only remotely worthwhile thing I've done today is go to the shop, buy some ciggies and have a chat with my mate who works there. Surely the wealth of PH knowledge can help?
Edited to fix some dodgy iPad autocorrect, just noticed the autocorrect in the title, should say hell, who designed the ithingy dictionary/spellcheck?
Edited by DanB7290 on Saturday 9th July 03:16
Edited by DanB7290 on Saturday 9th July 03:17
Welcome to the real world of work. st isnt it.
What you have described is almost exactly my week, every week.
Think of it this way if you were working 9-5 you would only be getting up about 2 hours before work so 7am. Why if you are working at 4pm should you be wide awake all day before going to work. You wouldnt be up 6 hours before a 9-5 shift so why should you be up 6 hours before starting work at 4?
t isnt it.What you have described is almost exactly my week, every week.
Think of it this way if you were working 9-5 you would only be getting up about 2 hours before work so 7am. Why if you are working at 4pm should you be wide awake all day before going to work. You wouldnt be up 6 hours before a 9-5 shift so why should you be up 6 hours before starting work at 4?
sherman said:
Welcome to the real world of work. st isnt it.
What you have described is almost exactly my week, every week.
Think of it this way if you were working 9-5 you would only be getting up about 2 hours before work so 7am. Why if you are working at 4pm should you be wide awake all day before going to work. You wouldnt be up 6 hours before a 9-5 shift so why should you be up 6 hours before starting work at 4?
Good point, although we finish around 11-12 and everyone is 'too tired' to do anything. Just feels like a wasted day when I've just been lying in bed, got up and gone straight to work, came home and can't be arsed with doing anything but can't get to sleep for the life of met isnt it.What you have described is almost exactly my week, every week.
Think of it this way if you were working 9-5 you would only be getting up about 2 hours before work so 7am. Why if you are working at 4pm should you be wide awake all day before going to work. You wouldnt be up 6 hours before a 9-5 shift so why should you be up 6 hours before starting work at 4?
You sound similar to me, except ive been full time since September. I work in a bar/club so lots of late finishes (getting home at half 3/4 am.)
Get off energy juice. I was on about 8-12 small cans of monster a day and it fks you up properly. I still drink it but not as much.
I know it sounds daft but it's the energy drink. I finished work at 1am today, I'm still awake. Why? Energy juice, was on it from 4pm yesterday now I'm not hyper but my body is wide awake. And I'm screwed for getting up before 4pm!
Lay off the juice, maybe have a couple milky coffees throughout the day. Then go onto softer drinks 9pm>
Trust me, I'm 18 and I'm a chain-smoking energy juice drinking mess!
Get off energy juice. I was on about 8-12 small cans of monster a day and it f
ks you up properly. I still drink it but not as much. I know it sounds daft but it's the energy drink. I finished work at 1am today, I'm still awake. Why? Energy juice, was on it from 4pm yesterday now I'm not hyper but my body is wide awake. And I'm screwed for getting up before 4pm!
Lay off the juice, maybe have a couple milky coffees throughout the day. Then go onto softer drinks 9pm>
Trust me, I'm 18 and I'm a chain-smoking energy juice drinking mess!
5 years ago I was like this the common factor was energy drinks , what I did was take a 2 week chill holiday and bin them I now am really carefull with soft drinks as well as energy drinks, lots of the diet ones have sugar substitutes and other chemicals that dont agree with me. I feel so much better and can sleep at will . Try it we cant all be wrong!
Balance yourself by eating little and often so you are never hungry but never full. Eats lots of fruit and use the natural sugars (not these insane drinks which give you massive dips). If you are still having problems go to see a dietician, you may have an intolerance to a perfectly standard food type and not realise it.
Feeling physically and mentally well is all about balance. These energy drinks bring your sugar and energy levels up rapidly but then the drop will be the polar opposite. Stay off them and get your diet in a good and consistent rhythm and you will see the difference.
Feeling physically and mentally well is all about balance. These energy drinks bring your sugar and energy levels up rapidly but then the drop will be the polar opposite. Stay off them and get your diet in a good and consistent rhythm and you will see the difference.
I think your problems are due to an iregular sleep pattern,accented by energy drinks.You really need to cut out stimulants.I went cold turkey when giving up caffeine and was back to normal within aweek. Another thing to consider is fitting black-out curtains in your bedroom or wearing a night mask, as at this time of year the extra light will stop you sleeping properly. I hope this helps.
Cheers guys, I'll try and lay off the Red Bull, Monster etc, have succeeded today, the most caffeine rich thing I've had is a small glass of Irn Bru. I woke up at 11 today to try and bring some normality back to my sleeping patterns, I've worked from 1-7 (only a half shift available today, but plenty of work to be done in it) and I'm still wide awake now! Tis really annoying, I need to sleep at some point soon as I've got to be up early tomorrow for a 500 mile drive to Leicester, which annoyingly means I miss the F1. But so far tonight I've cooked a pizza and done housework since I got home, loaded up the car for tomorrow, and I'm still wired! Hopefully returning to my family tomorrow will restore the balance a bit, sleeping in my own proper bed instead of this cheap n' nasty student flat one.
And boozy, I did take PH advice on that, but only because I had my doubts on whether it was a good idea to move in together early, and the advice given helped me decide that its not happening for a little while yet, but I'll never say never!
And boozy, I did take PH advice on that, but only because I had my doubts on whether it was a good idea to move in together early, and the advice given helped me decide that its not happening for a little while yet, but I'll never say never!
Well guys, it's been a couple of months now, the holiday was epic, and I'm back in Aberdeen trying to work my way as far into the black as I can before uni starts again. Had some great times since I've been back, the nights out with thenguys have been fun, things better than ever with the OH.
But I've still got the same problem, even without the millions of cans of Red Bull. I've not touched energy drink since the holiday, and even then it was mixed with a near lethal measure of vodka! Work has dried up slightly, but not too much, I'm still getting 30 hours a week minimum. And I'm still wired at stupid times, it's unreal. Had an extra long day at work, so much to get done, including a 5 mile round walk to another store to get supplies we'd ran out of. Most caffeine I've had was a cup of tea this morning, I felt shattered as I was leaving work, but since getting home I've been wired again! Tried everything to get to sleep, but even my usually sure fire method of a couple of bottles of Peroni and half.a pack of Marlboros hasn't got me any more tired.
I need sleep, I'm working at 6 tomorrow, but the way I am right now there's no way I'm gonna be asleep in the next couple of hours. Sleeping pattern this week has been screwed as ever, late shift finishes around midnight, I get home, have something to eat, then end up wired until about 5am when I can somehow force myself to sleep, then not waking up till half 2 or 3 in the afternoon, then heading to work, or if it's a day off, pretty much doss about until midnight, then try to sleep and fail, then the process starts all over again. I do have other stuff on my mind as well, like what am I gonna do at uni next year as despite having more than enough credits for 3rd year, I don't quite have enough for Honours, which is pissing me off so much. I want to go back and get the credits to do Hons, but some of my mates and family are saying why bother, just do the regular degree and get out to the real world, however the job I want requires a minimum of 2:1 Hons so this isn't an option, but it's doing my head in thinking about it, keeping me awake.
So what do I do to restore some normality to my life, sleeping pattern and everything? I've only got so many DVDs to get me through the night until I can sleep, although watching Quadrophenia tonight is pretty good, Peroni in one hand and OH in the other, but I need sleep!
But I've still got the same problem, even without the millions of cans of Red Bull. I've not touched energy drink since the holiday, and even then it was mixed with a near lethal measure of vodka! Work has dried up slightly, but not too much, I'm still getting 30 hours a week minimum. And I'm still wired at stupid times, it's unreal. Had an extra long day at work, so much to get done, including a 5 mile round walk to another store to get supplies we'd ran out of. Most caffeine I've had was a cup of tea this morning, I felt shattered as I was leaving work, but since getting home I've been wired again! Tried everything to get to sleep, but even my usually sure fire method of a couple of bottles of Peroni and half.a pack of Marlboros hasn't got me any more tired.
I need sleep, I'm working at 6 tomorrow, but the way I am right now there's no way I'm gonna be asleep in the next couple of hours. Sleeping pattern this week has been screwed as ever, late shift finishes around midnight, I get home, have something to eat, then end up wired until about 5am when I can somehow force myself to sleep, then not waking up till half 2 or 3 in the afternoon, then heading to work, or if it's a day off, pretty much doss about until midnight, then try to sleep and fail, then the process starts all over again. I do have other stuff on my mind as well, like what am I gonna do at uni next year as despite having more than enough credits for 3rd year, I don't quite have enough for Honours, which is pissing me off so much. I want to go back and get the credits to do Hons, but some of my mates and family are saying why bother, just do the regular degree and get out to the real world, however the job I want requires a minimum of 2:1 Hons so this isn't an option, but it's doing my head in thinking about it, keeping me awake.
So what do I do to restore some normality to my life, sleeping pattern and everything? I've only got so many DVDs to get me through the night until I can sleep, although watching Quadrophenia tonight is pretty good, Peroni in one hand and OH in the other, but I need sleep!
Hi Dan
I'm quite worried about you.
Your situation is one that is very familiar as I have also had experience of chronic insomnia. Sometimes it can be constructive but the long term outlook is not a positive one if you don't take steps to address this now.
The sleeping in the day will ultimately destroy you when it later comes to trying to do a day job. That unhealthy pattern of too many hours awake then too little sleep will drain you and impact circadian rhythms in a terrible way i.e. eroding your motivation and energy when you do wake up, feeling unrefreshed I'll bet.
Can I make a suggestion? Have you ever had your Cortisol level checked? Without going into masses of detail, Cortisol is crucial for sleeping/waking cycles and there are conditions like Addison's Disease that will send people into the pits of despair for years with sleep and other issues, before diagnosis. I'm not saying you have this, by no means, but it would be worth asking your GP to run some Cortisol tests (it should be at its highest in the morning) and if it is too low then it can cause sluggishness then make you wide awake at night.
The energy drinks and caffeine will cause you severe harm in the long term and make your issues worse. Whilst you are getting away with this just now, when you get into your 30s or long hours, chronic bad sleeping will make you ill, aching all over and battered feeling. You appear to be setting up in the classic psychological fear of not sleeping then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, where every night is laden with anxiety and clock watching and worrying about being tired next day, etc.
You need professional help with this, not only to rule out underlying medical issues but because left unchecked, it will have a dreadful mental and physical impact on you and diminish your quality of life and stop you being all you can be. Avoid sleepers like the plague - another double edged sword that will lead you down the path of prescription drug addiction and quickly lose effect anyway but then when you try to stop, severe rebound insomnia results.
I know and understand the black path you are on, but it can be fixed. There are several excellent books with constructive advice and one thing I notice from your posts is that you do have that classic chronic insomniac's pattern building up - that of poor sleep "hygiene" - the DVDs at 5AM etc. This HAS to stop for you to resolve this.
No matter how many happy things and positives you have, you will not get rid of that underlying anxiety or zombie like lack of drive, if you don't sort the sleeping. Sleep and good quality sleep at that, is absolutely vital for health. We can go without food, water etc a damn lomg time really, but not sleep - it is the foundation of repair and wellbeing. Exercise will help, when taken at the right time of day, as will spending less hours in bed. It is hard but setting a regular go to bed and get up time, 7 days a week to start, will help. Establishing a pattern is the start.
Let me dig out a book for you, it is really helpful, I will be able to get the full title tomorrow so please bear with me.
In the meantime, please think carefully about seeing your GP. Take a "sleep" diary in with you so you can fully explain the impact this is having on your life and future prospects and health. Please feel free to PM me if you want some more advice.
ETA - regarding Uni/Honours - you must live for YOU, not others as it is you who will live with/regret these choices later, not the others telling you what to do. Try not to worry about making big life choices at night - plan to set aside time in the day to logically sit down and weigh up the pros and cons and make a balanced choice when you don't feel exhausted, drained and anxious. If you keep up that pattern of letting all your worries and anxieties flood into your night times, lying awake will become a dark time and you won't sleep. Make an appointment to see the right people at Uni about these credits, assess what it entails then set your mind to what you want to do. What is another bit of slog if it gets you where you want to go, after coming this far and battling through the poor sleeping? Versus later on not being able to do what you really want and being unable to seize that chance back? Just keep the decisions for daytimes and don't make any big decisions about anything when you feel exhausted, stressed, anxious and awake at night. If you start doing that, you later realise you weren't fully in your sound, strong state for thinking things through properly and the easy route which can seem best when tired, is one which later limits your options and which you regret.
I'm quite worried about you.
Your situation is one that is very familiar as I have also had experience of chronic insomnia. Sometimes it can be constructive but the long term outlook is not a positive one if you don't take steps to address this now.
The sleeping in the day will ultimately destroy you when it later comes to trying to do a day job. That unhealthy pattern of too many hours awake then too little sleep will drain you and impact circadian rhythms in a terrible way i.e. eroding your motivation and energy when you do wake up, feeling unrefreshed I'll bet.
Can I make a suggestion? Have you ever had your Cortisol level checked? Without going into masses of detail, Cortisol is crucial for sleeping/waking cycles and there are conditions like Addison's Disease that will send people into the pits of despair for years with sleep and other issues, before diagnosis. I'm not saying you have this, by no means, but it would be worth asking your GP to run some Cortisol tests (it should be at its highest in the morning) and if it is too low then it can cause sluggishness then make you wide awake at night.
The energy drinks and caffeine will cause you severe harm in the long term and make your issues worse. Whilst you are getting away with this just now, when you get into your 30s or long hours, chronic bad sleeping will make you ill, aching all over and battered feeling. You appear to be setting up in the classic psychological fear of not sleeping then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, where every night is laden with anxiety and clock watching and worrying about being tired next day, etc.
You need professional help with this, not only to rule out underlying medical issues but because left unchecked, it will have a dreadful mental and physical impact on you and diminish your quality of life and stop you being all you can be. Avoid sleepers like the plague - another double edged sword that will lead you down the path of prescription drug addiction and quickly lose effect anyway but then when you try to stop, severe rebound insomnia results.
I know and understand the black path you are on, but it can be fixed. There are several excellent books with constructive advice and one thing I notice from your posts is that you do have that classic chronic insomniac's pattern building up - that of poor sleep "hygiene" - the DVDs at 5AM etc. This HAS to stop for you to resolve this.
No matter how many happy things and positives you have, you will not get rid of that underlying anxiety or zombie like lack of drive, if you don't sort the sleeping. Sleep and good quality sleep at that, is absolutely vital for health. We can go without food, water etc a damn lomg time really, but not sleep - it is the foundation of repair and wellbeing. Exercise will help, when taken at the right time of day, as will spending less hours in bed. It is hard but setting a regular go to bed and get up time, 7 days a week to start, will help. Establishing a pattern is the start.
Let me dig out a book for you, it is really helpful, I will be able to get the full title tomorrow so please bear with me.
In the meantime, please think carefully about seeing your GP. Take a "sleep" diary in with you so you can fully explain the impact this is having on your life and future prospects and health. Please feel free to PM me if you want some more advice.
ETA - regarding Uni/Honours - you must live for YOU, not others as it is you who will live with/regret these choices later, not the others telling you what to do. Try not to worry about making big life choices at night - plan to set aside time in the day to logically sit down and weigh up the pros and cons and make a balanced choice when you don't feel exhausted, drained and anxious. If you keep up that pattern of letting all your worries and anxieties flood into your night times, lying awake will become a dark time and you won't sleep. Make an appointment to see the right people at Uni about these credits, assess what it entails then set your mind to what you want to do. What is another bit of slog if it gets you where you want to go, after coming this far and battling through the poor sleeping? Versus later on not being able to do what you really want and being unable to seize that chance back? Just keep the decisions for daytimes and don't make any big decisions about anything when you feel exhausted, stressed, anxious and awake at night. If you start doing that, you later realise you weren't fully in your sound, strong state for thinking things through properly and the easy route which can seem best when tired, is one which later limits your options and which you regret.
Edited by BladeMonster on Sunday 4th September 02:45
BladeMonster said:
Hi Dan
I'm quite worried about you.
Your situation is one that is very familiar as I have also had experience of chronic insomnia. Sometimes it can be constructive but the long term outlook is not a positive one if you don't take steps to address this now.
The sleeping in the day will ultimately destroy you when it later comes to trying to do a day job. That unhealthy pattern of too many hours awake then too little sleep will drain you and impact circadian rhythms in a terrible way i.e. eroding your motivation and energy when you do wake up, feeling unrefreshed I'll bet.
Can I make a suggestion? Have you ever had your Cortisol level checked? Without going into masses of detail, Cortisol is crucial for sleeping/waking cycles and there are conditions like Addison's Disease that will send people into the pits of despair for years with sleep and other issues, before diagnosis. I'm not saying you have this, by no means, but it would be worth asking your GP to run some Cortisol tests (it should be at its highest in the morning) and if it is too low then it can cause sluggishness then make you wide awake at night.
The energy drinks and caffeine will cause you severe harm in the long term and make your issues worse. Whilst you are getting away with this just now, when you get into your 30s or long hours, chronic bad sleeping will make you ill, aching all over and battered feeling. You appear to be setting up in the classic psychological fear of not sleeping then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, where every night is laden with anxiety and clock watching and worrying about being tired next day, etc.
You need professional help with this, not only to rule out underlying medical issues but because left unchecked, it will have a dreadful mental and physical impact on you and diminish your quality of life and stop you being all you can be. Avoid sleepers like the plague - another double edged sword that will lead you down the path of prescription drug addiction and quickly lose effect anyway but then when you try to stop, severe rebound insomnia results.
I know and understand the black path you are on, but it can be fixed. There are several excellent books with constructive advice and one thing I notice from your posts is that you do have that classic chronic insomniac's pattern building up - that of poor sleep "hygiene" - the DVDs at 5AM etc. This HAS to stop for you to resolve this.
No matter how many happy things and positives you have, you will not get rid of that underlying anxiety or zombie like lack of drive, if you don't sort the sleeping. Sleep and good quality sleep at that, is absolutely vital for health. We can go without food, water etc a damn lomg time really, but not sleep - it is the foundation of repair and wellbeing. Exercise will help, when taken at the right time of day, as will spending less hours in bed. It is hard but setting a regular go to bed and get up time, 7 days a week to start, will help. Establishing a pattern is the start.
Let me dig out a book for you, it is really helpful, I will be able to get the full title tomorrow so please bear with me.
In the meantime, please think carefully about seeing your GP. Take a "sleep" diary in with you so you can fully explain the impact this is having on your life and future prospects and health. Please feel free to PM me if you want some more advice.
Thanks for the advice I'm quite worried about you.
Your situation is one that is very familiar as I have also had experience of chronic insomnia. Sometimes it can be constructive but the long term outlook is not a positive one if you don't take steps to address this now.
The sleeping in the day will ultimately destroy you when it later comes to trying to do a day job. That unhealthy pattern of too many hours awake then too little sleep will drain you and impact circadian rhythms in a terrible way i.e. eroding your motivation and energy when you do wake up, feeling unrefreshed I'll bet.
Can I make a suggestion? Have you ever had your Cortisol level checked? Without going into masses of detail, Cortisol is crucial for sleeping/waking cycles and there are conditions like Addison's Disease that will send people into the pits of despair for years with sleep and other issues, before diagnosis. I'm not saying you have this, by no means, but it would be worth asking your GP to run some Cortisol tests (it should be at its highest in the morning) and if it is too low then it can cause sluggishness then make you wide awake at night.
The energy drinks and caffeine will cause you severe harm in the long term and make your issues worse. Whilst you are getting away with this just now, when you get into your 30s or long hours, chronic bad sleeping will make you ill, aching all over and battered feeling. You appear to be setting up in the classic psychological fear of not sleeping then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, where every night is laden with anxiety and clock watching and worrying about being tired next day, etc.
You need professional help with this, not only to rule out underlying medical issues but because left unchecked, it will have a dreadful mental and physical impact on you and diminish your quality of life and stop you being all you can be. Avoid sleepers like the plague - another double edged sword that will lead you down the path of prescription drug addiction and quickly lose effect anyway but then when you try to stop, severe rebound insomnia results.
I know and understand the black path you are on, but it can be fixed. There are several excellent books with constructive advice and one thing I notice from your posts is that you do have that classic chronic insomniac's pattern building up - that of poor sleep "hygiene" - the DVDs at 5AM etc. This HAS to stop for you to resolve this.
No matter how many happy things and positives you have, you will not get rid of that underlying anxiety or zombie like lack of drive, if you don't sort the sleeping. Sleep and good quality sleep at that, is absolutely vital for health. We can go without food, water etc a damn lomg time really, but not sleep - it is the foundation of repair and wellbeing. Exercise will help, when taken at the right time of day, as will spending less hours in bed. It is hard but setting a regular go to bed and get up time, 7 days a week to start, will help. Establishing a pattern is the start.
Let me dig out a book for you, it is really helpful, I will be able to get the full title tomorrow so please bear with me.
In the meantime, please think carefully about seeing your GP. Take a "sleep" diary in with you so you can fully explain the impact this is having on your life and future prospects and health. Please feel free to PM me if you want some more advice.
I read that agreeing with everything, there's definitely something psychological about it, I'm especially worried on Saturday nights, with the need to be up and in work by 6 on a Sunday I'm always fretting about getting enough sleep and am always worried if my alarm clock is going to work. In all honesty, I'd not actually heard of cortisol before, so had to look it up. I will book myself in at the doctors and get it checked out, as you said levels should be highest in the morning, so I'm guessing I should be more awake at that time, but most of this week I've not been getting up until mid afternoon, last Monday the fire alarms in our block went off, and going down the stairs my eyes were almost shut, and I did come close to falling over. This was around half 9, so i had a quick smoke while the security people came to sort the alarm out, then went back to bed until around half 2. The rest of the week I've tried setting my alarm for around half 8, and the plan was to get up then and go to the gym, but I managed this just once, the rest of the time I just shut it off and went back to sleep until mid afternoon, except Wednesday, as I started work at 1 I got up at 12 with no trouble.
I think tomorrow I've got to turn over a new leaf with everything. I'm cutting out the energy drinks completely, am gonna have to be careful with soft drinks as well, a couple of nights now I've had a glass or two of Irn Bru with dinner, and I've ended up laying in bed a few hours later feeling like I was going to be sick, then coughing quite a lot and rolling onto my side seems to get rid of this feeling, but I struggle to get comfortable enough on my side to sleep properly.
Would it be best if I cut out all caffeine and switched to decaf tea and coffee? Usually whatever time I wake up, I always find myself making one, sort of drilled into me since high school days; wake up, get showered, have coffee and breakfast, then get ready. Things were much easier back then as I had more of a routine, these days I may have 3 or 4 days worth of working, then anything from a day to a week off depending on how busy it is. Wasn't much better with uni, it usually alternates between a full day with a 9am start and a day with a single lecture at 3.
I have gone to work on two occasions when I've not slept at all the previous night, both on a Sunday when i start at 6. The first time it happened, I felt like I had done a full shift when it got to my tea break, and by the time I finally got out, Sarah was waiting outside to pick me up, I got in her car and pretty much broke down, we ended up cancelling our night out and I just fell onto the sofa when we got in and sort of half slept while the nascar was on. The second time was more recent, again got back from my Saturday shift at work at half 7, had a bit of dinner, sat down with Sarah to watch tv, went to bed and then just boom, I was wide awake. Tried doing plenty of things to tire me out, think that night I cleaned down the kitchen, did the washing and ironing, and made breakfast for Sarah before I left (she gets up just as I leave). Worked the whole day, which wasn't a problem and I felt completely normal, go home, fell asleep watching the F1, which proves there's something wrong as usually I'd happily sit there and watch the entire race, woke up after about an hour and then stayed up till 3am Monday, because again no matter what I tried I couldn't sleep, ended up taking a detour to asda at 11pm, Sarah said I looked stoned when I was wandering round.
Cheers again, let me know if you find that book title, I'll look it up in the uni library next week. I'm considering opening the bottle of red wine that's in the cupboard, usually the stuff gets me out like a light, but 3 hours until work means this is probably a bad idea
I'm coming up to the end of my 3 months off. My sleeping pattern during those months is sleeping at 4am and getting up at 2pm.
It's not that I can't sleep, I just get distracted (PH, YouTube) and don't have to get up early in the morning so feck it (hence why I'm posting at half three in the morning).
A few weeks ago I had a flight at 7am, which meant getting up at 4am. I obviously didn't go to sleep. I hate not sleeping, I become this miserable, emotional, delusional idiot and struggle to keep my eyes open.
I start my course on Tuesday, so I'm quite buggered
It's not that I can't sleep, I just get distracted (PH, YouTube) and don't have to get up early in the morning so feck it (hence why I'm posting at half three in the morning).
A few weeks ago I had a flight at 7am, which meant getting up at 4am. I obviously didn't go to sleep. I hate not sleeping, I become this miserable, emotional, delusional idiot and struggle to keep my eyes open.
I start my course on Tuesday, so I'm quite buggered
dudleybloke said:
are you getting any exersize?
if i dont burn off some energy during the day i have trouble sleeping.
Might be the case but equally not. Has the complete opposite effect on me.if i dont burn off some energy during the day i have trouble sleeping.
I went out on the push iron Friday evening and then destroyed all the upside by guzzling a good amount of alcohol. Having not had much sleep during the week, I ought to have been sleeping like a little 'un at somewhere between 11-12, but actually ended up going to bed somewhere between 5-6 am.
Tonight, here I am again, more THF but no exercise today - a day on the couch!
OP - There could be an absolute host of factors, mental and physical. Assuming that stopping guzzling pop & Red Bull will give you the answer, probably isn't the answer. You mention Playstation and tabs, both of which possibly don't help one iota. Do you crack on with these only when you're already failing to sleep or beforehand?
I'd say that the best way is to address they physical side of things first - try not doing x or y and see if that helps. Then move on to z and a combination of. If all that doesn't help, chances are that there's a good element in your head, even if you don't realise it. The harder part is understanding what that is & the really hard part will be doing something about it.
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