Insomniacs, check in!

[MorningGlow]

Inspired by my thread from yesterday (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=245x96863)--it seems many of us are having a hard time sleeping. I haven't had a problem with insomnia since I was pregnant, so this is weird for me. And it seems like it may be shift-related, if many of us are experiencing the same thing, no?

Who's lying awake in the middle of the night these days? I'm keen to know! And what's your pattern? Mine is conk out at 10:30, wake up--WIDE awake--at 3:00 or 3:30, lie there fretting till 5:30, then fall back asleep till MG Jr. wakes me up, usually around 7:30. Anyone else...? Let's see if we can figure this thing out! :hi:

[get the red out]

1. Off and on for me

Mine is to have trouble getting to sleep, maybe sleep and hour or two then wake up, then an hour or two and wake up. This morning I woke up with a strange discomfort in my body at about 6:30 (when I wanted to sleep in). It was like a tension in my body similar to drinking too much coffee. I did manage to drift off for another couple of hours finally (thankfully).

I am not the best sleeper by any means.

[northernlights]

2. for me it's just plain fear and anxiety

It's not just that nothing is going as planned, or expected or hoped or wished for. It's just nothing is as it was sold or promised or supposed to be.

So I'm just plain scared. I was told getting student loans was a breeze. Certainly Chase was chasing after me for the last couple years. Other students just called them, package arrived, they signed the forms and voila! a check for however much money they requested.

Well that was then. This is now. Suddenly, I have learned this afternoon while researching different lenders to see my options, the school has to "certify" the cost of attendance and the school decides how much money I get to live on. I'm not sure if there is a single lender out there that will lend without the school "certifying" how much they have decided a total stranger about whom they know nothing, and about whom they care nothing, needs to survive.

That would be fine, except that last year the "school" decided I, as an unemployed independent, could live on $4,000/year. After much begging when I ran totally out of money, they awarded me an additional $2,000.

Folks, my property taxes are almost $2,000/year. My utilities are another $2500-3,500/year. My phone is $500/year. My gas driving back and forth to school -- in my 12 year old car that still gets 30 mpg -- is easily $500/year. Car insurance, with clean driving record -- $500/year. Homeowners -- never have filed a claim -- $500/year. My text books are $500/year -- that's getting them used off half.com and reselling those that are saleable.

God forbid anything, such as my 12 year old car with 180,000 miles on it, should break. Or my pc, which I absolutely *must* replace. This old one can't do much of anything any more without crashing. I couldn't even read the Dell site when trying to look at replacements.

And of course there are minor extravagances...like food.

All I can do at this point is call the financial aid office and start my begging early. That and prepare to find homes for all my animals. If it comes to that, however, be advised that I will also be saying good by.

[NJCher]

11. God forbid you should have to part with your animals

I couldn't bear it. I know how much you love them and how much they mean to you.

Is there any way you could work out some type of barter arrangement with a car mechanic in advance of any problems?

And as far as the computer goes, there could be a number of options there. Is the computer old or is it the software? What about craigslist in your area? Every now and then I see someone giving a computer away.

---------

well re insomnia, I've actually been sleeping pretty good. I'm up late tonight working but I'm through for the evening and will head off soon to read a book.


Cher

[Cleita]

3. For me it's old age and interruptions in my sleep from outside

influences. I don't think I've had a full and restful eight hours in decades. But I've learned to live with it.

[Sanity Claws]

4. Can't fall asleep

I'm staying up later than usual and not falling asleep. I toss and turn for a long time, maybe an hour. Once asleep, I tend to sleep fairly solidly for about 7 hours. Normally I sleep 7.5-8 hours.

This started around July 2 and has happened almost every night since. I attributed it to stress.

[Shallah Kali]

5. chronic sleep trouble still chronic but now having wird dreams

last night it was fighting vampires & their minions, night before it was zombies, night before that fighting w/my mother over not getting along with a sibling :P. Tonight will it be cylons, werewolves, or something else??? don't watch horror movies. the most I can stand is a few minutes then I change the channel so I don't know why this two night series chose this particular material :shrug: I go on and off melatonin to help me sleep as it starts stimulating weird dreams (or at least their rememberance) but I stopped it almost a week ago yet the vivid out of the ordinary dreams continue.

[Silver Gaia]

6. I think I'm basically just a night owl.

I've always had trouble falling asleep like most people do. My mom says I "fought sleep" even as a baby. I have to be reallllly tired or I'll just lay there all night. It's been no worse lately than at any other time, so I'm probably not very helpful as a measurement on this. My usual bedtime is sometime between 1 and 3 am. I often have to go on 6 hours or less sleep. Wish that wasn't the case, but it is. We live in a society that doesn't favor night owls.

[kentauros]

7. Isn't the the truth about society!

Companies set up "flex time" but it still isn't truly flexible for those of us that do our best work at 3 ayem ;)

As for my lack of sleep at the moment, I probably wouldn't be having much trouble if I could just hire one of you psychic surgeons to energetically remove the sciatic nerve in my left leg. Then I could sleep blissfully, whether during the day or night :P

[liberalmuse]

8. I'm having a hard time sleeping...

probably because I've just moved into a new place. And then my mom is dying of cancer and is refusing to get the treatment she needs. She has a tumor by her spine, and could end up paralyzed. She's supposed to have surgery Wednesday, but is now acting like she's going to put it off. Again. I lay awake wondering when I'm going to get the call that she's paralyzed. Or dead. :(

She really thinks Jesus is going to perform a miracle and heal her, even though she's not doing what she could be doing to prolong her life. Religion is worse than crack for some people.

[Sienna86]

9. Sending love, light and healing

to all who have come here.

[rosesaylavee]

10. At least one night a week.

Used to use Melatonin and it would take care of it. Not recently though. I wake up at 3 and fall asleep as soon as our alarm goes off at 5:30. Sort of a reverse alarm. :) Not sure if it's shift related or just worry and more exercise is needed for this aging body.

[I Have A Dream]

12. Last night was the worst night of sleep that I've had in a really long time.

I woke up approximately every 30-40 minutes. Usually, I was able to drift back to sleep in a few minutes, but it was fitful where I was tossing and turning a lot. Towards the end, I was waking up every 5 minutes. I went to bed at 12:30 and got up at 6:40. I'm thinking that I got around 4.5 hours of sleep total.

:hangover:

[gblady]

13. my turn.....

I did the waking up at 3:30 bit for several nights in a row...
then a few nights of sleeping OK...

now, tonight I went to bed at 11....it's 2:36 and cannot get to sleep.
Tossin' and turnin'.....fretting and trying to look at the bright side of things.
Funny, how they don't look very bright in the middle of the night.

[MorningGlow]

14. That is my biggest problem

Things look pretty bleak in the middle of the night, for sure.

Sorry to hear you've been bitten by the fidget-bug, G. It's a bummer. x(

I was awake from 2:45 last night (thanks to Mr. MG's pager going off) to about 5:30. I feel like crap right now, and I have three phone interviews scheduled for later this morning. Must...get...coffee...

[kentauros]

15. I think I'm ready to go to bed now.

All it took was a nice, hot shower, as if I was going to "wake up" even more. Now my energy is waning. I don't know where it all came from yesterday, but it was weird.

I'm still healing from this sciatica, so it keeps my normal amounts of sleep rather short. So, Tuesday morning, I wake up at 4:30am after only three hours' sleep and somehow have the energy to remain awake until 3:30pm. Thinking I was tired enough for a decent nap, I sleep all of 30 minutes, dammit! lol However, the energy wanes just a tad and I have a second nap from 6-7:30pm. And then I'm up for another 13 hours. Bringing me up to right now.

I'll see y'all again in 20-30 minutes :P

[gblady]

16. last night....

I slept for 10 hours straight...(after 3 hours the night before)
and I feel refreshed and ready to go this a.m.
totally wierd...is all I have to say about this crazy sleep stuff!

[MorningGlow]

17. Me too!

Last night I laid down next to MG Jr. while waiting for him to drop off to sleep and woke up two hours later, at 11:00! Went straight to bed and slept through till 7:00 despite Jr. finding his way into "the big bed" around 5:00. I'm putting it down to sheer exhaustion.

[northernlights]

18. almost me 3

I didn't sleep quite straight through, but that's because Jakey got up 3 times and left the room. And then decided later he wanted to sleep in bed after all. But because of his hips, I have to help him get into bed.

But still, it was a far better night the the 3 previous. Phew!