Can't sleep...

[Royal Dragon]

Why is it that at 3:00 PM I am so tired I can barely keep my eyes open, but if I force myself to train I will be up till 1:00 AM?

Why can't this amount of energy be avalaible to me during the day when i NEED it, and not be when I need to sleep?

[Oso]

stress, dude. I'm the same way...nothing seems to work for me either, need to quit the job, quit the school and go live on a beach somewheres.

I just had the worst night of sleep in months...

[MasterKiller]

So train at 6 AM and you should be set for the day.

I sleep like a baby.

[Royal Dragon]

LOL, at 6:00 am I am studying the markets. No way I'd be able to do something that physical at that time anyway. I'd have to wake at 4:00AM, and tripple over dose on stright Mahuang to work out that early.

[BruceSteveRoy]

i was going to say somethign similar to MK. your circadium rythm determines when you have the most and least energy in the course of the day. yours is a little out of whack probably and its not an easy thing to adjust.

also consider that the reason that you probably have trouble sleeping after you work out is that the increased blood flow to the muscles and the production of endorphines gives you a "2nd wind" right when you dont need it. if you can manage to work out before work or right when you wake up you can see if that gives more energy over the coarse of the day. if you are attending a class though you are kind of reliant on their schedule in which case you might want to go to a cvs and pick up some melatonin. i have heard mixed reviews on its effectiveness but whether it works for you or not it won't hurt to try it for a few weeks. also some studies indicate that people that work under flourescent lights have difficulty with insomnia. so if you do you might want to try to get more natural light. also of course no eating late, no caffiene after the middle part of your day. if nothing else helps go on medication (which i am opposed to unless its a last resort do to side effects and what not) bc sleep is very important.

o the other thing that is important for people that have difficulty sleeping is that no matter what time you go to bed make sure you wake up at the same time every day (even the weekends) . sleeping in is terrible for your circadian rythm and can worsen the problem. from a biological / neurological perspective you can not "catch up" on sleep. although on sunday i sure do try. but yeah eventually your body will start to respond appropriately to the schedule you set for it if you are strict about waking up at the same time every day.

[BruceSteveRoy]

if you are taking mahuang than you should stop. that could be the cause of your restlessness.

[bodhitree]

taking a ZMA supplement has greatly increased the quality of my rest and my energy levels. I take it once a day before bed.

[Black Jack II]

try taking a simple calicum supplement before bed, its a natural calming agent and has been known to help.

[GeneChing]

...that's one reason I became a writer.

I get fair results from melatonin and a shot of Jack. I have to take it before midnight or I'll be drowsy in the morning.

You'll find an insomnia thread here.

[BruceSteveRoy]

thats ok. the alcohol might increase the effect of the melotonin. for an insomniac any sleep is usually good sleep but one of the problems with taking alcohol to induce sleep is that it cuts the REM period short. which means you are not getting the kind of sleep you need. however the other cycles of sleep do rest the body and that is nothing to scoff at. have either of you ever contemplated the old saying 'no rest for the wicked'?

just a thought.

[neilhytholt]

My grandmas take naps in the afternoon and then stay up late at night -- until 1am or so. Supposedly a some countries with hot climates have a siesta in the afternoon.

[Royal Dragon]

Funny you should mention seistas. My sister reacently went on vacation to the little villiage in Italy that my family is from. It seems every dy about 2-3:00 they all nap for an hour or so, but then are up later at nite.


It seems no matter what I do, I allways want to Nap about that time, and it really takes somethinge xtraordinary not to, like taking some sort of stimulant.

maybe this is genetic, since *Evryone* in my acestrial villiage does this as well.

My mom and Sister are also this way.

I have been through long periods where I had no Job (Long lay offs every summer etc...), and I noticed that when I don't have an alarm clock, I will sleep a little bit later every day, and stay up a little later every nite untill I am up all nite, and sleep all day. It takes about 6-7 weeks for my sleep cycle to slowly switch over, but when I go to sleep when I am tired, and STAY in bed untill I just can't anymore and have to get up because I have too much energy to lay down anymore, I generally feel stronger, healthier, and perform my best Kung Fu with the least effort.

I have also noticed that in winter, I tend to nap less, but sleep longer at nite (9-1/2 hours on average), but in Summer, I sleep less at nite, and tend to want to nap longer in the mid afternoon (7-8 hours a nite)

I honestly think I am just in a more nocternal phase of my bio rythum...it's just my work schedual does not agree with that.

[GeneChing]

Yea, that's often a mantra of mine. I hear you about ETOH & REM, but sometimes you just got to do what needs to be done.

On another note, there are some yogic and qigong methods to induce sleep. Yoga recommends forward bends, particularly halasana. You should also avoid back bends for the opposite reason. Halasana works well if you have a halasana bench. In qigong, some recommend standing zhuang zhang with your chin lowered and your eyes looking slightly above the horizon. Both have helped me in the past, but neither produced significant enough results for me to recommend it as a curative.

[Chief Fox]

Many people who can't sleep don't have a proper environment for sleep set up.

What do you do while lying in bed?

Do you read?

Watch TV?

Work?

All of these things require you to be awake. If you are doing these things, you are training your body to be awake when in your bed.

Make your bed only for sleeping and the standard adult activities and you'll sleep better.

[Royal Dragon]

My bedroom is dark. i don't belive in anything like TV in bedrooms. I don't even like to date women who do that because I can't sleep if the TV is on. I have foound a lot of women like to have the TV on while they sleep at nite....it's weird...I can't do it. of course I rarely watch TV anyway, so those that need it on as a constant comapnion confuse me.

I think OSO's comment about stress may be the key though. I just started a new business, and i have been a bit over loaded with all the administrative issues.