Friday, September 15, 2006

Eyes are damn wide open

Count sheep.
Count backwards from 100.
Soak feet in warm water.

They're not working! I still can't get to sleep.

Isn't it just the pits when you can't fall asleep even when you're bone tired? There are times when my body craves sleep, but my mind just won't cooperate. So I toss and turn, and toss and turn some more for a couple of hours until sleep finally claims me. Or worse, just when I'm falling asleep, something in my subconscious wriggles--and I'm wide awake again. So I toss and turn until I feel like some damned salad. *sigh*

I used to be a sleep champ. All I needed to do was to crawl into bed whenever I felt sleepy and presto! I was dead to the world. My sleeping hours used to be quite lengthy too. Nowadays, I get a lot less than the recommended eight hours.

Sometimes I think my insomnia is taking its toll on me. I'm starting to have memory lapses. I feel like I'm Dory, that blue fish in...what was the name of that Disney film again? The people here should thank their lucky stars that I don't drive.

I'm so up to my eyeballs in sleep debt. I really need to pay it off soon, because the interest rates could be deadly. Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it's off to bed (again!) I go, yadda yadda.

Many things--such as loving, going to sleep, or behaving unaffectedly--are done worst when we try hardest to do them. --C.S. Lewis

17 comments:

Mimi Lenox said...

I suffer from insomnia quite a bit myself. My mind is turning turning and I can't turn it off. Maybe you should try a natural sleep capsule from the health food store. Most of the time reading helps me fall asleep.
Lizza? Are you awake? I hope not.

Sony said...

I sympathize, Lizza, I do. This week I'm right there with ya. Here's wishing you some slumbering.

Wonderful quote, by the by.

Anonymous said...

Sorry about the sleep issue, I feel your pain. I have an artificial heart valve (at 32 freakin years old) and you can hear it tick. I also have permanent ear damage in one ear so that ear rings constantly. I share this because it is a horrible pain trying to tune it all out and fall asleep at night.

The nights when it is all too loud for me, I stumble downstairs in my sleep deprived stupor and post comments on other people's blogs.

The only problem is that I'm so tired that I'm not paying attention when I comment and usually end up making lots of folks mad at me...

Ian said...

Finding Nemo. My kids love that movie. I like it too.

The problem with insomnia is that it becomes a vicious cycle. You can't sleep; then you worry about why you can't sleep; then the worrying keeps you up. All I can say is this too shall pass.

Like Dorrie (or however you spell it) sang, "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming..."

Ian

Anonymous said...

Yeah Finding Nemo. a very good animation movie to watch.

It is really bad not to be able to sleep. If it is not serious and doesnt happen consistently, not to pay attention could be a good way to keep it far from you. Like bees. When you just walk and don't touch or do something which attracts them, they don't touch you but if you try to make them far from you, they attack! Sometimes it is better not to pay attention. But of course i talk for problems which aren't enough serious to care ;)
Hope you wont have any problem related to that.

See you!
Osman

H said...

yeah. those days when the sheet just refuses to stay on, and it's in this perennial I'm-on-a-roll mode. literally all balled up and bastardly. when the tossing and turning not only screws with the sheet, literally again, but also with your back.

yes yes. I know what you're talking about.

insufferable insomnia.

flamin said...

I love Finding Nemo!

Reading this post was like finding a lost paper in my diary. I felt like you were talking about me. I have major sleep issues. What I have started doing lately, is to recite a few prayers and then I crash. And thankfully, it's working :)

Earlier, my problem wasn't only insomnia but if luckily, I managed to sleep, then quite soon, I'd find myself awake because of recurrent nightmares.

n.g. said...

in fact, when ur bone tired, thats when u dont get sleep. you gott to be that right amount of tired to get touch-the-pillow-drop-off sleep.

you as in, i speak for myself.

Anonymous said...

I read if your having trouble falling asleep clench all your muscles and hold for a second and repeat that about 5 times. That usually works for me. Another one I read is to breathe deeply for 5-10 times and then relax.
Hope you sleep soon
Last minute Lyn
Still won't let me post comments with my account..this is getting frustrating

Lizza said...

Thank you, everyone, for your wonderful comments! Yes, I did get some sleep. This kind of insomnia doesn't happen too often, thank heavens. Usually it's just regular insomnia. :-)

Mimi: Reading sometimes wakes me up even more! Maybe I'll try drinking warm milk next time.

Sony: Somehow I knew you'd relate. :-) Thanks!

Michael: Now I feel like a total ass, complaining about my kind of insomnia.

Aww, how could anyone get mad at such a friendly and funny bloke like yourself?

Ian: I like that! Just keep swimming, haha. Or maybe I can learn to speak whale when I can't fall asleep.

Osman: Lovely advice. You're right, maybe I make it worse sometimes by focusing too much on it. Thanks!

h: Yep! that's one messed-up bed. Been there, done that too. *sigh*

md: I'm sorry about that. As if having insomnia isn't bad enough! I really hope your nightmares stop recurring. Nightmares suck.

n.g.: Hello and welcome! Sleeplessness is a weird thing for me. It can come whether I'm bone-tired or not so tired. I've given up trying to figure it out. :-)

Lyn: Thanks for the advice! I'll be sure to give it a try next time. Sorry about the comments problem, I wonder what's causing it? I haven't switched over to Blogger Beta yet.

Lizza said...

Hi Gale! Thanks! I actually try to avoid commercial pharmaceutical formulations as much as I can, since I'm afraid of becoming dependent on (or immune to) them. Have a great weekend!

Kiyotoe said...

I think the last time i got eight hours of sleep was in high school. Like you, back then i could sleep all day at the drop of a dime. These days, not so much. There's one thing guaranteed to knock me out everytime and probably the rest of the male population, BUT if you figure out another non-carnal method that's effective, please share.

Lizza said...

Kiyotoe: Boy oh boy, that's a tough assignment: finding a sleep-inducing method besides self-carnal methods or consensual carnal methods. In case I do stumble across an alternative, I'll be sure to let you know.

Anonymous said...

Hi Lizza,

Avoid caffeinated drinks. I used to have insomnia for years (literally becoming nocturnal). Then I started lessening my intake of coke (my addiction). I'm now fully human (I assure you).

Of course coffee & tea have it too.

Do take care!

Lizza said...

I ♥ coffee. :-(

Gumby said...

I hate the nights when I wake up and can't get back to sleep. And if I get out of bed to try to occupy myself in something to make myself sleepy, I just feel so alone. It's like there is absolutely nobody else on the planet and it's a ghastly feeling.

Lizza said...

Gumby, you're never really alone. Whenever you feel that way, and if you're so inclined, log on and go blogsurfing. :-)