MetaChat - insomnia insight?

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26 January 2009

insomnia insight? →[More:] It seems when I wake up, I can only do two things if I want to get back to sleep. Three is touch and go, and four, I am awake.

My ding dang cat wakes me in the night for food. It's too cold right now to shut him in the laundry room, so, he gets the food.

1 - feed cat
2 - get new soda out of fridge to take back to bed
3 - pee
4 - take off pyjamas

I'm screwed. My mind is racing. And I was so half awake/tired when the cat woke me. If I had a full beverage on the night stand, I could have done feed the cat and pee and probably even take off pyjamas and I'd be asleep right now.

Somebody tell me this is

a - Science!

or

b - how to fight this thing

post by: rainbaby at: 02:49 | 15 comments

Does the soda have caffeine? That might be your problem right there.

posted by YouCanCallMeAl 26 January | 02:51

Doesn't matter if it does or not or is in fact water. It's like the act of opening the fridge and looking and getting is One Thing that tells my brain to be awake.

posted by rainbaby 26 January | 02:55

What are you doing up, Al?

posted by rainbaby 26 January | 02:55

this not working thing means that i tend to sleep from 5am to 1pm. it's kind of nice, actually.

posted by YouCanCallMeAl 26 January | 03:05

As you get older you just sleep less and less. Get used to it.

posted by arse_hat 26 January | 03:10

Tap water is also water. And it contains no sugar.

posted by Eideteker 26 January | 03:48

heh. The four things theory. I'm pretty close to the "one thing" theory b/c of what arse_hat said. But I'm lucky that I can almost always take a nap in the afternoon if I want to.

posted by taz 26 January | 04:03

Dammit Rainbaby!

Why did you post this?

Now I can't sleep.

*big sigh*

posted by jonathanstrange 26 January | 07:31

As you get older you just sleep less and less. Get used to it.

How old do you have to be? I'm 45 this year and still need at least 7 hours of sleep a night and 8 is better.

posted by octothorpe 26 January | 08:19

Light from the fridge will cause your pineal gland to stop secreting melatonin, making it less likely that you'll get back to sleep. vit d + calcium seems to help me get to sleep and stay asleep.

posted by stavrogin 26 January | 11:21

octo, I am in my 40's and I've found my sleep time has dropped slowly every year starting in my mid 20's. I am going for a sleep study next month.

posted by arse_hat 26 January | 12:27

Ah HA! stavrogin says about SCIENCE! Light from the fridge and/or bathroom may need to be avoided. That's worth a try.

posted by rainbaby 26 January | 12:35

I do the same thing if something wakes me up in the middle of the night. For some reason I will automatically go grab something to drink or eat and sit in front of my computer. It's almost like my brain is TRYING to wake up and function against my will. I don't have any real advice, but it is interesting to note that others seem to do similar things.

posted by evilcupcakes 26 January | 14:32

As for peeing (can't believe I'm writing about this) I always try to drain off the last little bit right before lights out. Helps to prevent the 3 AM trips.

Yes, lights are a signal to the brain to wake up. Avoid or minimize. Sometimes I even squint to reduce eye-photon exposure.

What I do to keep the mind from engaging when I wake up too early is to focus on two things: external sounds (to minimize internal dialog) and my closed eyelids (to minimize internal visualization). Sometimes this leads to interesting WILD (Wake Induced Lucid Dreaming) which is fun.

This is a Three Minimize Post.

posted by trinity8-director 26 January | 18:37

Ok, granted I was strung out from a sleep interrupted night previously, but I kept my eyes shut as much as possible on the nightly pilgrimage, and it worked! Thanks!

posted by rainbaby 27 January | 10:52

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