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Blazinghand
United States25550 Posts
Sometimes, I don't go to bed until 3 am, even when I have to be up at 7 the next day. Sometimes I pull all-nighters for no reason, and my sleep cycle is eternally screwed up and out of whack with what would be normal for a guy who works 9-5. During the day, when I'm awake, I'm frequently exhausted, and rarely do I wake up without wishing I had gone to bed on time the night before.
This sort of thing seemed pretty normal to me in college. Sometimes I'd be up late playing Mariokart or something with my friends, or I'd ladder until it started to get light out, sleep briefly, go to class exhausted, then sleep again after class, and generally feel kind of tired. I'd need to pull all-nighters and study late sometimes just because that's what it takes to pass some classes.
On the weekends, or when I partied, it also made sense that I'd be up late. Nobody wants to go to bed at 11:00 pm on a Friday night! Live a little! And when I'd finally drag myself into bed at 3:00 or 4:00 I'd sleep like a rock until the morning light woke me up again, bringing me to curse even considering being up so late.
And when school was out, it made sense to have an irregular sleep cycle. If I don't have work or school, I don't need to conform to society's standards for sleep-- I'll sleep when I want, between hanging out and partying with friends, job interviews, and family business. A lot of the that meant only sleeping 5 hours a night and being drowsy the next day, and taking a nap.
Even when I was working part-time, this wasn't really a problem. I'd stay up until 1 am Laddering, and well, at that point I might as well browse TL a little, and then it's 2:00 and I don't want to miss GSL, so I'm watching that, and then I need to hurry up and go to bed so I can get an hour of sleep before I go to work.
It never occurred to me that I might have insomnia, because it's relatively rare for me to want to sleep, but be unable to. Is it just the case that my sleep cycle is boned? Or maybe I'm just irresponsible about getting the right amount of sleep? (I can't rule out the "I'm an irresponsible idiot" theory of sleep deprivation) Insomnia, I always assumed, had to do with some physiological problem preventing sleep. However, intellectually, I believe that I would be much better off of every night I went to bed around 11 pm or midnight and got 7-8 hours of sleep. I wouldn't be tired all the time, and I'd be able to get more done with my waking time than I do currently. I'd rather do this, but I can't/don't/am too lazy to.
Is this insomnia? My initial thought is "no" because, however dumb the choice is, I am making the choice not to sleep until 4 in the morning, and when I do make that choice, I fall asleep very easily. But I don't know. Does anyone else have this problem?
  
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your sleep cycle is just screwed
try to keep a normal rhythm
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I'm in the exact same situation, its horrible. What's really weird is that despite having an unordinary night last night, where I fell asleep on my couch right after dinner 7 pm, I was still tired waking up 13 hours later! Writing this post right now I'm just thinking of when I get a chance to sleep, even though I know that once I get home and am in-front of my computer, I wont be tired until 4 am tomorrow.
I think in my situation, it's a combination of being stubborn and not just going to bed, but also because I should really be wearing glasses - I just can't despise the look and am too sensitive for contact's. Despite having perfect sight, I strain extra to focus to get that proper vision according to my eye doctor. When I relax and look out into nowhere, thinking about something, everything blur's up as if my eye's were in a relaxed state. So I am actually +1.50 on both eyes, but my focusing "fixes" that if you get what I mean
It might be worth a shot checking your eye-doctor to see if you have the same issue, as having "tired" eyes can trick the body into thinking it actually is tired.
This is just a suggestion by the way, there can be many other reasons as I'm sure some other people will come here and elaborate upon. As simple as sleep sounds, it is actually quite complex 
Something else which is just food for thought, what do you do throughout your day? My hobby is gaming and I work with computers full-time aswell, in other words my typical day consists of extremely little physical movement/strain, which I'm sure results in the body not tired when it should be. Ask yourself if you are physical enough during the day as this may be a factor as well.
Another thought, which might help you; I had a friend who found out that because of some serious shit he had experienced in life, he hated going to bed semi-tired, since his mind would inevitably start thinking about the negative stuff that he had experienced. He therefore made it a habbit of being extremely tired before hitting the bed, so he would fall asleep instantly, avoiding those thoughts. It was not something he did consciously, but a defensive-strategy his body just did to avoid dealing with the past - something that his psychologist helped come to that conclusion, maybe it's the same for you?
Anyway, hope at least something here can point you in the right direction towards a better sleep-rhythm. Good luck 
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Go to bed and set your alarm so you're getting at least 8hours of sleep a day. If you don't have a regimented sleeping pattern and merely a sporadic one you'll find yourself being tired/fatigued quite often. The goal is to try to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.
Beyond that I'd suggest exercising somewhat regularly and not doing anything to mentally stimulating before hitting the sack.
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I do this sometimes.
Get a "high" off the staying up.
It sounds to me like you are deciding to stay awake.
Try lying in your bed with your eyes closed for the night at a certain time every night for 2 weeks if you want to sleep better.
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Smoke some pot around 9PM. Falling asleep at 11:00 should be np.
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the circadian rythym has been interrupted.
in your own time you will be corrrupted.
without the solution, there is no conclusion
to your ever ending no sleep explosion
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Personally if i don't get atleast 7-8 hours of good sleep i'll feel like fucking shit and go into zombie-mode. Sleeping is important and 3 hours really is bad for you.
I suggest you start either going to bed earlier or working different hours so it doesn't interfere with your sleep schedule. If you have troubles staying asleep then try physical activities or running/walking outside before you go to bed, i guarantee it'll fix your problem.
Good luck
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Had the same exact problem.
I came to a conclusion that staying up late causes me to have some sort of insomnia. Thats why I started to sleep for 8 hours a day. It was hard to do the first week or so, but after that I could sleep like a baby and nothing in the world would wake me up.
Have you thought about changing the way you sleep? By that I mean you could try to sleep in another room or just putting your pillow on the opposite side. That usually helps me. I also try my absolute best not to attempt thinking about anything when I'm in bed even though it can be hard.
Just make sure NOT to oversleep. get an alarm clock if you don't have one and try to get your subconscious to wake you up at the exact time you need to be up. This is done by simply persuading yourself that you need to wake up at an exact moment.
This needs practice so you need to force yourself to sleep early every time even if you can't. Eventually you'll be able to do it fairly easy.
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MMY ADICE WAS GOOD U SHOULD TAKE IT I CONCENTRATED SO MUCH TO CHURN THAT SHIT OUT IM DRUNK AMONG OTHER THINGS DUDE SRSLY I KNOW WHA TIM TALKING ABOUT FUCK LISTNE TO ME
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No, you don't have insomnia. You just are interested in doing too many things like playing SC2, watching GSL or browing teamliquid that your brain is forced to stay awake for. If you actually went to bed when you are tired at a consistent time every night you would be fine.
I would know. Countless time's I've screwed up my sleep schedule where I'll go to bed at 6am and sleep till 2-3pm. Then summer ends or w/e and I have to stay up all night to get back on the normals 9pm - 7am sleep cycle. You just need to force yourself to turn everything off at a set time and go lay in bed.
The hardest part is when you lay in bed but aren't tired and are unable to fall asleep for several hours. That's insomnia.
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Ihve never gotten the 9 to 5 thing, i'hve always had to work 7 to 4 or 8 to 5, and americans complain about short vacations T_T
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If you claim that if you try to go to sleep, you fall asleep easily, then no you do not have insomnia.
I have mild insomnia. I have ever since I went to Iraq. They really fucked up my sleep schedule over there and two years later I can't sleep normally.
If I try to sleep at a reasonable hour I lay in bed for hour after hour awake. It's like my mind is just thinking and thinking and I can't shut it up. So what I do now is every night I stay up till like 3am and write like crazy. I've got hundreds of pages of writing, some of it is very good and some of it is shit. Maybe one day I will sort through it all.
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Have a 3 hour map at around 4-5 pm. It will get your sleep up to 7 hours and will keep you fresh until you sleep at 3 am. The ability to take quick naps is a very useful skill to have.
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On June 25 2011 01:28 Blazinghand wrote:
Or maybe I'm just irresponsible about getting the right amount of sleep?
Sounds like you have it figured out. In order to get enough sleep you need to learn a very important word: "No"
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mine's been really screwed up since I've been watching GSL........................... T__T
staying up till 4-5am, wake at 9...etc ._. makes me wonder what's going to happen to me next week when I have to get up at 6am..
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i never go to bed before 4, and i never book a job before lunch.
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Don't eat for a 16 hour period BEFORE you want to wake up, eg if you want to get up at 8 (AM hopefully), you would eat something at 4 PM the previous day and nothing onwards until 8 AM. This will reset your circadian rhythm so that your body will wake up naturally at that time every day. Then go to bed at a reasonable time, EG 11 PM - 12 AM. Force this bed time on yourself, don't be an idiot. If you are person who who only needs 7 hours then adjust accordingly, don't go under 7 though. If you really aren't tired you should still wake up at 8 PM until you get tired by 11-12 PM. 1-2 days of sleep deprivation in order to reorder your sleep schedule can help a lot if you are too lazy to sleep (lolwat)
You now sleep properly and wake up without missing half of the day's sunlight. You are welcome.
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no you are not an insomniac.
I have delayed sleep phase syndrome and i love my life, except for early mornings!
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EPT
