Life as i know it: What not to do to Fall Asleep

I am facing another old problem of mine (again), which is sleep d

isorder. No matter what I do (sorry, but I am against sleeping pills), it seems like I can not sleep for more than 4 hours a day. And that gets really tiring if it continues for 10 days straight.

The things which I’m doing (or have done) to fall asleep are probably the wrong thing to do as they are not working at all. In fact they are working in the opposite direction. So, I’m pointing out those things, so that you don’t make the same mistake…

5 not-to-do-things to fall asleep:

1. If you are suddenly awake at the middle of the night, never ever play games or use net on your phone to pass time until you fall back asleep. This will never work. The bright light of the phone near your eyes will devastate whatever sleep you have left in you.

2. Don’t think about what your next blog post is going to be about. This might be beneficial to your blog, but I don’t think this will be any help to fall asleep. I read in some book that if you concentrate on a matter your brain gets tired and you fall asleep. But I don’t know why, but concentrating on a serious matter at night, evaporates my sleep completely.

3. Don’t change your position too quickly and too fast.

4. Don’t watch too much television before going to bed. This will definitely hamper your sleep.

5. I did this thing for a few days which didn’t work. I tried to work out before going to bed so that my body gets tired enough to fall asleep. But later I came to know that you are not supposed to work out in atleast 3 hours before bed time. If you get too tired it’s often hard to sleep.

I want to sleep so badly, but I am not sleepy… oh! :’(

If you liked this post and think that more people should know about this, please share it with others. If you want to stay connected please subscribe to this blog’s feed.

10 comments:

Color PrintingJune 18, 2009 at 11:27 AM
I agree with number 2! It's hard to fall asleep when you are thinking of something else. What I do is I imagine a big black hole while keeping my eyes shut. It's a way to focus myself into not thinking about anything. Works 80% of the time for me. :)

I also find it hard to sleep sometimes, especially during summer breaks. I usually fall asleep at 4 a.m., which is of course, not a good sleeping habit.
S.A.L.June 18, 2009 at 1:46 PM
Okay, let me share few tips which I try if I can't sleep.

1. Old trick. My mom used to say when I was little. Keep your eyes shut, sleep will crawl into your eyes mechanically.

2. Try to countdown from 99 to 0. If it doesn't work in one attempt, repeat until you forget what you've been doing.

3. Try to read a book, why not a text book, sleep will win over studying! :D

4. Last but not the least, don't over-pressurize yourself saying that you're suffering from insomnia. Just take it easy. It happens that we can't sleep sometimes. Whenever you'll distract your brain from "that fact", may be you'll find yourself dreaming!
irtizaJune 18, 2009 at 9:00 PM
@CP, during my summer break i have been on the computer almost all night... :)

@MW, thanks for the tips. Comments like these brightens my day, as they enrich a blog post.

reading text books is a great way to fall asleep. it's not like that i haven't tried it, but it is just too boring to do.

best wishes.
Color PrintingJune 19, 2009 at 11:14 AM
Sadly, reading doesn't help me sleep at all, especially if the book that I'm reading is something that I'm really into. It just keeps me awake.
Maybe I should read boring romance novels instead...
irtizaJune 19, 2009 at 12:03 PM
@CP, yap, if the book is interesting, i usually stay up until i finish it. but with "TEXT BOOKs" i never ever face this, as they are boring. :-p
irtizaJune 24, 2009 at 4:48 PM
@Dr.Josheph, i have visited the link you suggested, and i must say that it is very helpful. thanks for your advice.
Online PrintingJune 25, 2009 at 12:17 PM
It's really not advisable to work out a few hours before you're supposed to go to sleep. Your body ends up really pumped and energized after a workout so you'll have even more trouble sleeping. This is one of my main problems since I go to the gym at night after work. No time in the mornings or afternoons. So whenever I workout at night I usually have a hard time falling asleep.
CadenJune 29, 2009 at 9:03 AM
That sucks I'm sorry about your sleeping problem. My sleeping has been off lately too and it sucks. I can usually sleep for more than 4 hours though.

I'm so tired as I comment this I can't wait to go to bed :P

It's funny because all the things you've listed in this post I've done and they definitely don't work.
Southampton dental implantsJuly 15, 2009 at 4:26 AM
I've had the same problem for years and luckily it only happens occasionally these days. I had to skip sleep for a day sometimes, can you imagine how stressful it is? Then I resorted to drinking alcohol before sleep, which made it worse after I stopped drinking. The best that worked for me is watch tv shows that bore me to death and lie down on a super soft pillow and bed!
irtizaJuly 15, 2009 at 6:43 PM
@Online Printing, i didnt know this before, but later found about this fact. now i dont work out in the night. If you can maybe you can find some other time too, like morning.

@Caden, This happens to me too. I feel tired, but i can not go to bed leaving the internet alone. I guess i'm an internet/blog addict. :(

@SDI, I am very happy to hear that your sleeping problems are going away gradually. I can perfectly imagine how it feels to totally skip sleep, i have been there to. TV shows work for me too, but there are two problems when doing that.

1. if you light up the light in the room while watching TV your sleep will be hampered.

2. if you dont light up the bulb, your eye will hurt.

:(