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RE: Insomnia... - 5/17/2009 11:48:33 AM

Jeptha

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I'm curious about the soundtrack things that people mentioned, but I used to be a musician, so when I hear just about any music I tend to focus on it and start sort of "playing" with it somewhere in my mind. Or I start envisioning how it was made, etc.

I was considering trying to make my own "white noise" CD, though, which would be like the noise a fan makes...something where I could adjust the pitch and speed to whatever worked best for me...

Meditation: either I really suck at it, or I'm doing it wrong, or something. I can focus on my breathing, for example, but it isn't particularly relaxing.

I wonder about hypnosis or even acupuncture - two mysterious modalities that I sort of respect even though it's at a distance, since I've had no actual experience with either.

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RE: Insomnia... - 5/17/2009 11:55:42 AM

DemonKia

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FR, after read thru

I learned self-hypnosis & deep relaxation techniques when I was 11, & I've added to them over the years since. I sleep well & I attribute a big chunk of it to the self-hypnosis, I've used it to get to sleep ever since . . . . . . Even times I can't get to sleep (cuz my 'clock' is too off), if I spend an hour or two in meditation / deep relaxation using the various self-hypnosis techniques, I feel relatively refreshed & rested . ... . .

I generally avoid all the sleep medications out of concern for the rebound effects they can have on my sleep cycle . . .. . . I do use cannabis, tho', which doesn't have much of an effect on my sleep, but it does dampen down my recall of my intense dreams . . . . .

I have routines, too, that I follow; I have to watch out for activities & interactions that get me 'wired up' in the hours before I go to bed . . .. . .

& people can have what are sometimes referred to as 'paradoxical effects' from meds & other interventions. For instance, caffeine doesn't necessarily keep me awake, I can pretty regularly fall asleep after drinking coffee or tea . . . . So what is powerfully effective advice for one person can be useless for another . . . . .

My ex had terrible insomnia, much like many have described here, & it helped sensitize me to this issue . . . . .. One of the things I've noticed is that I like to sleep, & my ex did not -- he resented the time 'lost' to sleep, he felt like he was missing out on stuff when he was sleeping, & that seemed to me to be part of what was interfering with his ability to get to sleep . . . . .

Don't know if any of this will help the OP, but hopefully somebody reading this might get something out of this. I do feel deep sympathy for all you insomniacs. I love to sleep & it's an important part of my life, I look forward to being able to go to sleep. If I had a magic wand, I'd share it with you all . .... . .

< Message edited by DemonKia -- 5/17/2009 11:56:34 AM >

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RE: Insomnia... - 5/17/2009 12:07:04 PM

Rule

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quote:

ORIGINAL: DemonKia
One of the things I've noticed is that I like to sleep, & my ex did not -- he resented the time 'lost' to sleep, he felt like he was missing out on stuff when he was sleeping, & that seemed to me to be part of what was interfering with his ability to get to sleep . . . . .

Perceptive, spiritually.

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RE: Insomnia... - 5/17/2009 7:40:18 PM

NuevaVida

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One more chime in, since I read about someone's inability to sleep after a divorce.

I've had sleep issues most of my life, since I was pretty little. I had such bad nightmares that I wouldn't allow myself to fall asleep, as a youngster. Then I moved into a marriage in which intentional sleep deprivation occurred.

I was telling my therapist that I just knew my insomnia was emotional related for me. I had trouble even bringing myself to go to bed. He said "Is there some law that says you have to sleep in your bed? Sleep wherever you're comfortable, as long as you can sleep." I started making my bed on the couch in the living room, and spent a year there sleeping soundly. Then, I got my own bed (my other was a leftover marriage bed). I got cool bedding and pillows and comfy, high thread-count sheets and turned it into my own little luxurious place to sleep. Finding sleep now is no longer an issue. I worked through other things as well, which helped, but for me the emotional attachment to sleep was what was tripping me up.

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RE: Insomnia... - 5/18/2009 8:43:22 PM

scarlethiney

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If none of the above help, there is an herb called Valerian Root that will relax you and help you fall asleep. You can find capsules in most health food stores. The only down fall is it smells like dirty socks! It does work though and there is much good information about it and its usage on the internet.

Good luck,

scarlet

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RE: Insomnia... - 5/18/2009 11:50:14 PM

camille65

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Jeptha this is taken from the back of one of my sleep cds:
(It makes a difference when you use surround sound or put speakers on each side of the bed, it is not actual music but it isn't white noise either)

"....has developed unique ways to embed these Delta pulses into carefully crafted musical soundtracks. After a few minutes of listending your own brainwaves naturally 'lock' onto the Delta pulses and lead you easily into deep, restful sleep."

After having used 2 of his CDs for the last month it only takes a few minutes of hearing them, once asleep it is really hard for me to wake up in the middle of the night. The only reason I do is because my cat howls LOUDLY for food every 90 minutes lol, otherwise I think I would be sleeping the night through. As a matter of fact that is the only reason I am awake at 1:50am right now. A hungry 21 year old kitty that has learned demonic howling will indeed pull me from bed.

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RE: Insomnia... - 5/20/2009 9:27:20 PM

Jeptha

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I will make a note of that, Camille, thank you.

Random note: I was looking into possibly making a strobe light or something and gathered this little bit of info that I thought I'd tack on here;

Delta : 0.5 - 3.5 cs (cycles per second)
Theta: 4.0 - 7.0 cs
Alpha: 8.0 - 13 cs
Beta: 14 - 30 cs

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RE: Insomnia... - 5/20/2009 9:42:32 PM

servantheart

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I have insomnia, too. I just get up and find something to do - read, watch tv, crochet (with several women in the family expecting, this can end up being useful

), chores. Anything to avoid laying in bed tossing and turning. One sleepless night, I got hungry while watching tv and found some hickory smoked turkey in the refrigerator, so I had a few slices. A little while later, I started feeling really sleepy and was able to sleep the rest of the night.

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