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Disclaimer: my english is pretty bad on a normal day and seeing how little I've slept in the last few days don't expect too much from me.
So this started last week. I just can't fall asleep and it's just getting worse. Last night after work I went to the gym to burn off some energy thinking that would help me to fall asleep. Oh how wrong I was, when I got home I was physically very tired but mentally I was not tired at all. I fell asleep at 5am this morning and got up at 8am. Night before that I got around 5 hours of sleep. That's pretty "normal" for me right now, I avarage about 4 hours of sleep each night.
I've been thinking alot during all this freetime I've suddenly gotten to figure out what the hell is wrong. First of all its the fucking midnight sun. When I tell people about it they say "oh wow, sun 24/7 that's gotta be nice" and no... no it isn't. I'm a person who prefers my room to be pitch black when I sleep and I dont mind if its really fucking cold in my room aswell. but imagine trying to fall asleep, with just a thin sheet covering your window, while you see this outsite:
![[image loading]](http://www.folkbladet.nu/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/midnattssol1.jpg) Not me or anything near where I live, but that's what it looks like
The second thing I've identified as a problem is that a friends husband to be died last week. they're a young couple and have a 2 year old son. I don't know how much this has affected me subconsiously but I don't feel like this is the problem. I dont find myself worrying for them while trying to sleep, even if I might think of them a couple of times during the day.
So here I am at work, I've got 7 hours until I'm done for the day and if this night is like every other night I'll fall asleep for 30 minutes tonight, wake up and then beeing unable to fall back asleep. Shit sucks >.<
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Aye, I hear you. Two night ago I fell asleep at 5am, woke up at 8am due to construction work on the street down below. Yesterday I again fell asleep at 5am, today the construction work started at 0650. Made myself go back to sleep, woke up at 8am and was unable to sleep any longer. Good times.
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how are you possibly complaining if thats what it looks like out your window
i have the view of my neighbors trashbins and there's dead bugs on my window. while you're sporting women, blue skies, green lush fields and lens flare.
personally im jealous. try some nyquil and a doctor.
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I totally thought midnight sun is only visible way up north, where noone lives.
I know I'm not helping, but to me it's kinda awesome, almost like in movies when they have a second sun rise up when the first one goes away.
Do you have birds singing the whole night? Coz that would be annoying too.
Just put the shades on the windows, or put a blanket over it.
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On July 06 2010 17:46 niteReloaded wrote:
I totally thought midnight sun is only visible way up north, where noone lives.
I know I'm not helping, but to me it's kinda awesome, almost like in movies when they have a second sun rise up when the first one goes away.
Do you have birds singing the whole night? Coz that would be annoying too.
Just put the shades on the windows, or put a blanket over it.
Actual midnight sun only occurs pretty far up north, but even a lot further south it only sets for a couple of hours and it never gets really dark.
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I had Insomnia A while back from doing the grave yard shift at work. I found Hypnotherapy helps.
But the most important thing is have a routine.
For me its dinner, shower random TV show bed that takes me an hour half each night and I'm out like a light which is good considering I start work most days at 5 30AM and I go to bed at about 10 30 11.00PM.
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On July 06 2010 18:18 Bartiemus wrote:
I had Insomnia A while back from doing the grave yard shift at work. I found Hypnotherapy helps.
But the most important thing is have a routine.
For me its dinner, shower random TV show bed that takes me an hour half each night and I'm out like a light which is good considering I start work most days at 5 30AM and I go to bed at about 10 30 11.00PM.
Basicly what he says, routine does so much for your sleeping, specially if you actually go to bed before midnight and do it consistently. And if you can't sleep, try reading a book, eventually you'll
start getting drowsy so just try sleeping again.
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I feel you. Stress + midnight sun + my hot appartment and bad sleeping habbits during the weekends makes me fall asleep at around 4-5 every night, then I get up at 7.
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@mOnion
dude it might look idyllic and all but sleeping in it is a nightmare, i'd trade for you any day of the week 
@niteReloaded
well there's not alot of people living up here, but we are a proud kind. its sun 24/7 right now.
@Hittegods
but you still have it easier down there, I lived in Västerås for 1½ years and I've never slept better in my entire life (during the summer)
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Exercise and get plenty of sunlight during the day.
Get off the computer a few hours before going to bed.
And sleep naked.
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Problem lies in your thinking. Dont listening to your babbling inner voice all the time. Its not thinking its ruminating whats appearing there. Listen to good music or work with every part of your mind on something you like. If you go in 100% and stop talking to yourself you will get a lot better. glhf
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Try to either make your room darker or wear one of those eye-masks.
Eat something before you try to go to bed.
Turn your clock away so you can't see what time it is.
Stop worrying about it; sleep is something that only happens easily when you aren't concentrating on doing it.
That's my advice to you. I doubt it'll be as bad tonight now that you have a "sleep debt" to catch up on. I'm sure it's a common problem with your midnight sun so your medical professional would likely be able to provide loads more help than any of us.
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I know what you mean. Sleep deprivation and insomnia are the worst. Whatever you do, don't get hooked on pills, because then you'll really have a problem.
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make sure you eat a fair amount of time before going to sleep, as you'll still be digesting the food
don't rule out the subconscious though, just the fact that you thought of it while writing the post should lend some probability to that idea. were you close to the husband? are you close to the spouse/widow(is that the right word?) have any issues arisen in the past between you and either or both of them? sorry if i'm getting too personal, don't have to answer of course
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@MangoTango
Yeah I was thinking about buying sleeping pills but I really hate taking any kind of pill. but I heard there were some pills were the only function is that they make you fall asleep, if you're not tired you'll wake up pretty soon but the thing is that I am really fucking tired.
@Roe
no no I dont feel like its too personal at all, I wrote the blog so I might aswell explain myself
I wasnt at all close to the husband, we met a couple of times and I thought he was a really great guy we just didnt have that much in common but his journey really touched me (ex drug addict who cleaned up his act when he met the girl and they had a child). I was closer to the widow but not super close. we always talked a bit whenever we met and kept ourself updated on eachothers lifes mainly trough facebook.
@everyone else
I might go out and buy one of those masks, even though they're super gay ;P
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its extremely important to keep your room pitch black. even small amounts of light(like from a clock) can reduce sleep quality
also, artificial light from TV's and computers can hurt your sleep architecture via destruction of melatonin and also by stimulating your mind.
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I've had insomnia all my life and it still owns me sometimes, but here are a few tips I can give you:
1) Don't do your workout within a few hours of when you go to bed. Ideally, work out in the morning, but otherwise make sure to give yourself 4 hours or so between the time you finish your workout and when you want to sleep.
2) Is it just a problem falling asleep? That is, when you fall asleep finally, do you stay asleep (like me)? If so, you can grab some melatonin (an over-the-counter supplement) off the shelf at a convenience store. Take it for a few nights in a row, around the same time each night, about 30 minutes before you go to bed. I recommend the 3mg dose; they make 5mg dose but I've found it can make you feel disoriented and groggy in the morning. This might help you fall into a better rhythm and get used to going to sleep when you want. I advise not taking melatonin (every night, at least) for more than 2 weeks or so, though. I took it every night for a couple months and became dependent on it to get me to sleep.
Hope this helps. I know what a bitch insomnia can be. If it doesn't help, see the doctor.
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I have one of those masks and they work really well. Just make sure you get a black one. I once had a white one and it didn't help at all. The one I have now (cotton filling, silk outside) makes me feel like I'm sleeping in a gigantic black out. Just one big happy cloud of inpenetrable blackness. 
Also make sure it isn't to thick. You might think a thick mask would work better but that isn't the case. A good thin mask will work just as well and the thick mask will only add a lot of extra pressure to your eyes which will annoy you like hell after a couple minutes.
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i feel realyl bad for ppl who cant fall asleep. My friend would go to sleep at 2am and wont be able to actually fall asleep until 4am-5am.
For me, I can be out in 2 mins...seriously. And I can fall asleep anywhere.
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Here was a post I made in a thread a few days ago in response to someone else having issues sleeping.
On July 04 2010 03:02 QueueQueue wrote:
Look into melatonin. Melatonin is naturally created in your brain from serotonin when your body is preparing to sleep. It's essentially your body's way of telling you to sleep. Melatonin supplements can actually be purchased at any pharmacy.
Why melatonin?
-No side effects like sleeping pills (unless you take too much, in which case you can have grogginess the next day).
-Not addictive like sleeping pills.
-It provides your body with the full REM sleep that you need. While sleeping pills put you to sleep, that does not necessarily mean you're actually getting restful sleep.
Any night I have difficulty sleeping I take some, and I am sleeping within 20-30 minutes. I have recommended this to numerous people and each one has come back to me absolutely shocked with how effective it was.
One thing to note, a lot of the tablets you purchase come in doses much higher than anyone actually needs (the bottle I have contains 2mg tablets). To ensure I do not have grogginess the following day, I crush a tablet into fine powder, and simply touch the tip of my index finger into powder so that there is a very tiny amount. I place my finger under my tongue to dissolve the powder. 1 tablet can effectively last me 20+ doses this way, and still be very effective. Understand that people will require different dosages for effectiveness, but I recommend starting as small as possible.
Ensure you are doing the obvious like refraining from eating high amounts of sugar before bed time, or consuming caffeine after the early afternoon. Make sure you do things that are relaxing prior to going to bed. For me, if I am playing something like starcraft immediately before going to bed, my mind is far to stimulated at that point to sleep. I need to refrain from activity that keeps my body and/or mind very active. I tend to read a book to help relax. I know this is probably one of the most overstated things in regards to health, but it rings true... EXERCISE. Not immediately before bed of course, but vigorous exercise at least 4 times a week can be life changing in not only sleep, but in all aspects of your life.
Do whatever possible to avoid sleeping pills or drugs that induce drowsiness as reliance becomes a huge issue.
Also, note that it's not healthy to depend on any substance for sleep over extended periods of time, even if it is something like melatonin. Sleep problems tend to be the result of issues that need to be addressed. Make sure you are doing everything necessary to address them; for the sake of your health.
On another note. Ensure that your window is covered as much as possible. In short, the brain produces melatonin naturally when it is in darkness. As said in my quoted post, melatonin is essential for falling asleep. Even just a little bit of light can inhibit the production of melatonin, so much so that for a lot of people, the light from one's monitor can keep someone awake if they are on the computer prior to going to bed.
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Like I've been saying lately, excluding the last week and a half now, the seven weeks before that I was up literally 2-4 days straight without an ounce of sleep and then I would sleep the remaining days of the week before the cycle would repeat itself in a new week. By the seventh week of this happening I tried to strangle myself to sleep but i only ended up puking and being more awake than I was before I tried that plan. Went to ER saw that doctor and am now on stronger sedatives. I'm a drug addict that had a bad opiate addiction so sleep was impossible to get and real sleeping pills would never get prescribed to me but I did get some non-addictive anti-depressants (seroquil and remeron) and they let me sleep easily 30 minutes after I take them.
Before I was prescribed them though the first ER doctor I saw told me 50mg of gravol and 50mg of benadryll so I actually did do that for one night and it was decently sedating. I'm sure someone without true insomnia would be pretty tired from those alone so try it. If you have severe insomnia talk to your family doctor. I'm fucking nuts and the medications are definitely helping.
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EPT
