I knocked out at my first birthday party (1981)
Ever since I was a kid, I thought I didn’t know how to sleep. Weird, I know. I compared myself to Lori, my younger sister, who I shared a room with. Our twin beds used to be separated by a nightstand. Even though we went to bed at the same time, it always seemed like it took me much longer to fall asleep. We’d be whispering secrets to each other and then suddenly I’d hear her soft breathing and snoring.
I hated lying in bed not able to fall asleep, especially because I was terrified of every little noise and the dark.
I still haven’t mastered the art of sleeping. I’m very picky about when and where I can sleep. I don’t nap in the middle of the day or in the afternoons. For the most part, I can’t sleep anywhere else beside a bed. The only exceptions have been when I was in a boring class after staying up late or all night. I can’t sleep for more than a few minutes in cars and planes which is a pain on long trips or redeye flights.
When I finally do get to sleep, it’s tough getting me up and going again. I’m notorious for sleeping through everything from a World Cup game to a midterm.
I haven’t been sleeping well lately. I don’t know if it’s the heat or all the thoughts racing through my head. Last night, I tossed and turned for a couple of hours. I even showered in an effort to cool down. I got a few hours of sleep but then awoke with the alarm clock at 6 something and wasn’t able to go back to bed before work because it was already too warm and there was too much light.
Any suggestions on how to improve my sleep patterns?
I have similar sleep problems… I go through phases where I’m fine for a couple of months and then I’ll go through several weeks of tossing and turning.
anyway, a doctor once told me that I should never watch TV or read or talk on the phone in bed. Make it so your body knows when you lay down in bed that it’s time to sleep… also, try to stick with a consistant sleep schedule and dont sleep in too late on the weekends.
I’ve never been able to follow through on all that stuff so it remains to be seen if he was full of crap or maybe had a point… I know one thing that works for me every time: Nyquil… never fails. If I’m in one of my no sleep phases and I know that I have something important that requires a good nights sleep, I break out the nyquil.
Hi Cindy,
I just came across your blog and I love it! I’m also a UCLA Grad 99 and I’m wondering if you were there in 99. You look familiar.
Ok here’s my tip: I’m a pretty good sleeper and yes I can sleep through ANYTHING even the crazy parties that we have EVERY WEEKEND in the neighborhood! What I usually do is when I am thrown out of wack on my sleeping pattern I go to sleep late, wake up really early and then I do a lot of physical activity (more than usual) for that particular day, then I take a bath before I hit the bed. By then I’m pretty tired. When I wake up in the morning I make sure it’s the time that I want to wake up every day and I go to sleep at the same time to get a pattern going. I read somewhere that patterns are good….and no it wasn’t from the senora who likes to sew:)
Hope this helps and happy sleeping, si se puede!
~Liz
this is one part of life i have no trouble with, i could fall asleep anywhere but the few times that i have tossed and turned. well i find that its best to just get up and do something. i find that i quickly feel tired and sleepy and go back to bed and drift off a little easier.
I thinking you had it right with your birthday pic. Hit the bottle and you’ll fall asleep quickly
I’ll revert back to what Joel said, but not as drastic. Try not to watch shows with drama on TV, the same for the phone – avoid drama before going to bed. And as for reading get something spiritual.
what kind of bottle did your parents give you to knock out????
Con todo lo que ha pasado en tu vida recientemente, no me sorprende que sientas que no puedes dormir. ¿Has tratado te tomar una taza de leche (entera, preriblemente organica) caliente (no hirviendo, pero suficientemente caliente para que te de sueño).? Si no te mejora el sueño, al menos de dará mas calcio, que es buenisimo para la salud.
Si alguein te recomienda Melatonin, no la tomes. Yo no la recomiendo.
Lunesta dicen que sirve, pero yo creo que es para gente mayor.
El Pycnogenol, al principio que se toma, da sueño, pero luego si te acostumbras, deja de hacerlo.
Un té (como Camomila, o Sleepy Time o Echinacea) tambien da sueño — pero no se si te guste.
O buscar el libro mas aburrido que puedas encontrar, para quedarte dormida del aburrimiento.
Avoid instant messenger at 3 a.m.
Joel,
I’m trying out the routine thing, but I don’t know how I could stop reading in bed.
Liz,
Wow, I know way too many Liz’s (from East Los too!) who went to UCLA. Thanks for the sleeping suggestions.
Irasali,
Yeah, I fall asleep reading all the time. Maybe I should keep some boring academic stuff by my bed.
Julissa,
Ooh, I sorta had drama (well, a serious discussion) before falling asleep. Do you think the Tao of Pooh will help? I haven’t read that in a while.
Brenda,
I only had milk…
Frances,
I knew you would have some great suggestions. Someone else suggested tea as well, maybe I should try that.
Oso,
If I do that, I’ll miss my friend Harry. I need to work on evening out the ratio.
Cindy, I just found out “Blue Scullcap” is used to relieve insomnia:
http://www.mothernature.com/shop/detail.cfm/sku/86027
and
http://www.herbalremedies.com/depression-herb.html