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Ask a Geek! insomnia?
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Author | Topic: insomnia? |
neotatsu Highlie Posts: 564 |
posted July 28, 2002 01:14
Hrm...Okies, heres the deal: I don't sleep at night. I don't sleep during the day. I sleep about 4-5 hours a week on average(which normally is at about 5/6am till 10ish on one day), too much more than that and I can't get me brain to work properly. Yet I've always got plenty of energy, I've got a clean bill of health(except for a knee problem, which is the result of my cousin stabing me in the knee with a paintbrush(yes, a paintbrush. One of those sponge brushes on a plastic handle. He stabed me knee with the sponge part, and the plastic inside just happened to wedge itself into my knee), and low blood pressure, which just means that I have to slowly work up to a fast paced workout, and have to work harder to get my bloodpressure to a 'work out' pace..). Also, rather than start a second thread: I don't think my brain functions like a normal persons. I tend to think of it as everyone else thinks 2-D I think 3-D. In other words, most people have their concious thoughts and then the unconcious thoughts which keep the heart beating etc. I can keep two strings of concious thought going at once. I can actually think about two different subjects at the same time, it's really quite nifty. I'm sure there are plenty of people who can do the same, I just find it weird is all...just thought I'd mention it and see what everyone thinks.. Third note: (this one is just a pointless rant, but I figure what the hell) I got my senior photo done today for the color section of the yearbook... Uterly pointless if you ask me. I'm in running start, thus don't go to the highschool, so why would I give a dingle berry if my photo is in the color section as well as the black and white? It's not like I plan on getting a year book, and not like I plan on going back to the highschool in general..I only know a couple people there worth hanging out with, and don't really give a dingle about hanging out with them anyway...*sigh* oh well, that's about it, just wanted to rant, hehe....now that I think about it this could go in 'clemmies rant' thingy, but oh well, too late now.. ------------------ IP: Logged |
LifetimeTrekker Highlie Posts: 642 |
posted July 28, 2002 05:59
Insomnia, eh? Welcome to the club! I'm a long-standing veteran of the Sleep Wars. I've found it helps to settle into a routine. Since my work schedule is fixed, I have found it necessary to arrange my sleep times around that, obviously--as sleeping on the job is frowned upon for some unknown reason. But my routine helps train me for whatever sleep I can get, and I must stick to the routine. For me, I aim to going to bed at around the same time each night to allow sufficient time for my middle-of-the-night awakenings--generally after a four-hour sleep, I'm up for two hours, another two-hour or so nap if I can and then the day starts. I tend to read or log onto the net and play some games to wear my mind down. I've removed television, computer, etc. from my room--a clock radio is the only working piece of equipment. That room is my sleeping/dressing only; otherwise I'd begin working there and never get any sleep. I've mentioned this in other posts, but developing the ability to focus your thoughts will help; a side-effect of that is the ability to quiet your mind. That will help you sleep more than anything else. You might look into learning meditation techniques. The body can go with limited rest, but it's the mind that requires sleep. IP: Logged |
Xanthine Highlie Posts: 785 |
posted July 28, 2002 07:28
Neo, I'm impressed. I wish I could do that. I need a four hour minimum/night. Otherwise I might as well just stay up 'cuz I sure won't wake up. But that fours/night everynight costs me, and I usually spend my breaks between semesters trying to make us for it. I've gotten pretty notorious for my lack of sleeping habits during the school term. When I screw up at work the first thing they ask is whether or not I got enough sleep. Bleh. Sleep. Such a bad habit. ------------------ IP: Logged |
SpikeSpiegel Highlie Posts: 504 |
posted July 28, 2002 08:16
wow despite how different i am seem from neo i also can think about two different subjects and need virtually no sleep... freaky aint it ------------------ IP: Logged |
MacManKrisK Super Geek Posts: 234 |
posted July 28, 2002 08:43
I'm glad that I'm not the only person to have a multitasking brain. But it's kinda' annoying sometimes. Any time you get a song literally STUCK in your head it's annoying, but when you get TWO of them stuck there, both playing at the same time, that's REALLY annoying. Granted, there ARE advantages to being able to effectively multitask. The world loves you; "oh he's such a hard worker." If you don't learn to control it, however, it can cause some serious physical (and probably mental) health risks. For more info, do a google search on Type A personality, if you're like me, the Type A model will fit you to a T. Most of all, learn to meditate. I'm trying to learn, it's hard, it's like trying to get a 5 year old to sit still after giving him 35 Hershey bars and 3 cups of coffee, my mind just wants to think and move and be dynamic and here I am trying to turn it off. If nothing else, though, the meditation can help make up for the lack of sleep, although I think it'll probably help the situation. Where was I going with this post? If you remember, tell me, okay? IP: Logged |
neotatsu Highlie Posts: 564 |
posted July 28, 2002 16:16
Well, on the subject of meditation, I've looked into it, but yeah, it's a fairly difficult to be do, at least for me... I dunno, calming my mind isn't exactly an easy thing to do...as for getting songs stuck in my head, heck yeah that sucks, especially when it's some crappy music that you happen to over hear in a store or some such...*sigh*, well, anywho, I was going to mention meditation in my first post but I forgot, anyone have any advice to that end? I've been told everyone has their own way of medititating, but I've yet to find one that works for me... IP: Logged |
daveyt Geek Larva Posts: 21 |
posted July 29, 2002 09:43
Well, I don't have the insomnia thing. In fact, I'm pretty much at the other end of the spectrum: I can sleep anywhere, anytime if need be. I made it through school by training myself to listen while sleeping. Prof would try to catch me out by asking me questions when they thought I was asleep, then my eyes would pop open, I'd take a moment to re-orient myself to the world of conciousness, and then proceed to give them the correct answer. If they weren't startled enough by my responding, they were doubly baffled by the fact that the answer was correct, and that I, apparently, had been paying attention. They only ever had to do that once and then they would leave me alone. As for meditation strategies, Neo, I've found that starting with some activity that requires focus for long periods of time is a great way to start. I've had good experience with yoga for training both mind and body, not to mention spirit. By working your body while concentrating on the postures and breathing, and then slowly working in some visualizations, you'll find that meditations become a little more achievable. But, like anything else, it requires a fair amount of dedication and commitment. You'll definitely need a teacher / guide, and it will probably take a couple of months of practice before your body and mind settle into it. Whatever path you choose to settle your mind, give it time, be patient and be sincere. ------------------ IP: Logged |
maxomai Super Geek Posts: 180 |
posted July 29, 2002 11:15
quote: I had to train myself to do this too, and I've found that it's very effective. I can't handle the day unless I have at least six hours of sleep. I need eight a night in order to be healthy; if I get less, I have to make up for it later. On weekends I'm known to sleep until noon, or sometimes spend all day (modulo shower and meals) in bed, in order to get back to where I should be. My natural sleep cycle is about four AM to two PM, which is what I did during grad school. Obviously I can't do that anymore, as I now work 8 to 5 like most of the rest of the working world. IP: Logged |
uilleann Highlie Posts: 613 |
posted July 29, 2002 14:33
Hrm...maχomai sounds like me actually... although my body is very strong and it doesn't need the sleep to be healthy, but my brain does need sleep to stay awake :) Actually, much of my perceived tiredness is actually my brain getting tired of having nothing interesting to keep it awake or, and this has been a real nuisance for many years and will remain so when I return from my placement to my final year, that my brain knows that what I have to do is boring or too hard, and it rebels against me and tries to put me to sleep, and I can't fight it, it's can be just like being completely knackered and about to collapse from it, and yet it is totally psychological. Now, this idea of listening when asleep... intriguing. On the surface, it sounds like nonsense (you're asleep, duh), but I know that I used to be able to drop into a level of light sleep (usually during car journeys (as a passenger ;) where I felt I could still hear, and certain loud sounds or speech would trigger me to come out of it, refreshed. Usually, I am incapable of napping - if I try, my brain tries to go to deep sleep, so when I wake out of the nap, I'm even more tired than before, and thus the cycle continues... I think I need more sleep than I get now to do into that special level - I still nap on the bus but body timing re-awakens me now as I can no longer hear anything. The idea that I could gain control of that sleep level and take in and process what I hear is an interesting one, though I don't know how I'd do it. I know I just slept during lectures last year :) I'd need enough sleep such that I could only use a light sleep, and then train my mind, though how I'd do that is unknown - how does one do that? Try and think back to the period asleep? Focus before the sleep? Even so, it's not the best solution - which is simple. We need more hours in the day. I propose strapping some rockets to the Earth and firing them to slow it's spin. The only disadvantage would be higher gravity, I guess we'd finally find out how Elaysians feel... - uilleann IP: Logged |
neotatsu Highlie Posts: 564 |
posted July 29, 2002 17:11
well, as I said, every three-four months theres a period of 2-3 weeks in which during the day I can't keep my eyes open, thus I too had to learn to listen while I slept, confused the hell out of my history teacher, he had a nasty habit of slaming a book on my desk to wake me up, then ask me a question, which i always got right, was actually kinda fun because that always pissed him off, hehe IP: Logged |
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