Sleep deprivation and patterns

The past couple of months have been extremely busy. I travel a lot so I basically stay busy due to my work. Usually I would get 4-5 hours of sleep at least and feel fine the next morning. Lately consulting is starting to take its toll on me and I can see patterns recurring. While traveling isn't that bad because I can get a few hours of sleep on the plane easy actually sleeping in a bed is impossible and I hate not being able to sleep.

I am used to running on two to three hours and I have gone 29 hours without sleep once which was rough but the circumstances were strange. Now that I actually have some free time I thought that I would try and rest up. The past two weeks have been hell. Started off great by getting 15 hours of sleep last Monday and did pretty well the next week until the weekend. Then I find myself waking up between 2:30 and 3:00 every single night and I can't get back to bed. I live in the city and always have so sounds aren't a problem. Its actually quiet most of the time around here. My body is worn out and I know that I am tired but I just can't sleep. Normally I don't drink that much caffeine or sugar so that shouldn't be an issue (sure I have had a few espresso's and cups of coffee every now and then).

I need to get back to where I was getting a stable 5-6 hours of sleep at least. 2-3 hours isn't cutting it and staying up all night lying in bed sucks. I even tried using my headphones (I have 5 different pairs) with noise canceling and the works but it doesn't work. Out of the 3000+ songs on my iPod even the most mellow ambient songs or my favorite Massive Attack can't put me to sleep even though they used to. I have another two or three weeks left on vacation so it is imperative that I recover because its probably going to be hell when I go back.

I know people who can just close their eyes and fall asleep. I think a lot when I sleep. I even do the inner monologue thing from Scrubs (strange but its a habit). I work out and basically destroy myself and that doesn't help it just adds on the fatigue. Previously it would take about an hour for me to fall asleep and I would never wake up in between. But I can't take this waking up at 2:30 after going to bed at 12:00. My body is worn out but my mind is always active. How do some of you people do it? :bnghd:

reply to post by nastalgik
Try taking meletonine with a cup of hot Sleepytime / Chamomile tea about 20 minutes before bed.

Just one ity bity little tiny meletonine pill (can buy them over the counter) 3 mg should do the trick.

Drinking alcohol is counter productive to sleep if you want a really good night of snooze.

Maybe you are worried about something in which case I don't know what to tell you because when I have a problem sleeping good becomes harder.

As you get older getting a good nights sleep becomes more elusive.

Sometime though if you take a long power walk, really fast push yourself, exercising and eating regularly helps.

One last thought, if your sleep pattern gets really funky maybe you should ask your doctor if you could be tested at a "sleep center" one connected with a large reputable hospital. They will do a "sleep study" on you which means you come there in you pj's and bring a extra comforter, the center I went to was cold.

They will hook you up to wires (not painful) and find out what is going on it might just be something simple.

Good luck.


[edit on 27-12-2008 by ofhumandescent]

I have had success with melatonin as well. I find that I quickly become dependent upon any sleep medication though, purely psychological but it affects my sleep just the same.

I work a messed up schedule. 12 hour shifts starting at 8pm. Then I flip back to being awake during the days for my weekends and back to nights again for work. It is starting to catch up to me now (7 years later :!

The last few weeks have been hell on me. I need 6-8 hours to function properly, but lately I have been waking up after 3-4 hours. Wide awake.... and unbelievably irritated.

Melatonin has been the most reliable option for me. Occasionally, I will take real sleeping pills just to ensure that I get 8 hours and get on track. I never take the real sleeping pills more than two days in a week though. I do take melatonin or "rest EZ" by melaluca on practically a daily basis.

Other things that help me get to sleep are breathing exercises. Then again, falling asleep isn't my problem. It is staying asleep that I struggle with.

Well good news I managed to get in 13 hours so I feel great for the first time in a few weeks hopefully I can keep this up I woke up this morning and felt great and I haven't done that in years.

[edit on 28-12-2008 by nastalgik]

And how did you do it? Curious minds would like to know...

I was extremely tired last night so I just kind of passed out when I got in the bed. But I will have to see if I can do it when I don't feel like I am nearly dead.

I work 12 hour shifts also and do half nights and half days. When I am sleeping during the day I sleep with ear plugs in and one of those night masks. I actually really like sleeping witht the ear plugs in. I even use them occasionally on a normal night.

I am to the point now where I can't sleep without earplugs. I have to pack extra pairs of them if I travel. Thoroughly addicted to them.

When you wake up around the same time regularly, it's usually a physiological issue. Things like sleep apnea (which at a depth of sleep can get so severe your body wakes you up to make you breathe), or blood glucose issues (if it drops too low after a few hours, the reaction of the body kicking it back up can give you a rush as if you'd eaten something sweet so all the sudden you have energy and wake up). Sometimes avoidance of a recurring dream can cause that. Anyway it's usually something you can deal with. Suggestions (aside from Melatonin) include getting more exercise during the day and at least a few minutes as hard as you can, and making sure you're not eating many carbohydrates close to sleep. (As that'll rocket your blood glucose up, and then crash it.)

Best,
PJ

Zombies are very misunderstood people.
As a fellow member of the ambulatory dead I understand what you are saying.
I do 5pm to 8am shifts on a 7 and 7 rotation. It's like having a permanent case of jet lag.
I've been sleep deprived for 13 months and now can only vocalize in growls, clicks and whistles.

One big thing that seems to help me is catnaps and drinking lots of water.
Strange but our bodies become stressed and excessively dehydrated with a lack of sleep.
Another trick is to use herbal teas like a redbush chai (no caffeine) to get you through those last few hours before sleep.
Eating apples also will help keep you awake. I can't remember the details as to why but it does work.
A low dosage b-complex vitamin when you wake up will help some . I break mine in half though because you want most of it out of your system before bed.
Interesting fact, Taking B6 will cause you to remember more of what you dream.

If you do the red eye marathon much, you can get a b-12 sublingual complex in a dropper bottle for about 5 dollars from the pharmacy. It has 46 doses that are as effective as an energy drink without the caffeine/gaurana/rat poison cocktail and exceedingly high price.
Good luck.
Us zombies gotta stick together.

Grr, argg.