I Have Insomnia
Hey everybody! I have had really bad sleep insomnia for 4 weeks now, going on 5. I go to school full time (obviously, I'm in high school), and I'm doing basketball right now as well, so my days are definitely busy and stressful. So it's usually not till late at night that I have the time to do homework, or anything fun for myself. So I don't get any sort of "off time" or "me time." I suppose that might be part of the problem with my insomnia, is that I just don't have a break or anything to unload with. I also just recently got super depressed, and my best friend's going through some crazy stuff right now too, which makes me stressed and worried all the time, on top of my own stuff. So yeah, things have been really crazy insane the last month or so, which when my insomnia started up.
I don't fall asleep before midnight, even if I try. I can turn everything off and just sit in my bed as early as I want, but I won't fall asleep before midnight. Guaranteed. Usually I will fall asleep between midnight and about 1:30. My standing record for the longest I've been awake is till 3:20 in the morning. Boy, that was a lot of fun!! My mind just doesn't shut off. When I finally get peace and quiet, which is in the din hours of night, that's when my mind is the most awake and running through all these thoughts of stuff that happened in the day, stuff about tomorrow, myself, my friends, or whatever all else. It's really annoying because it doesn't go away unless I sit and think about it and try to solve it all. I can't just say, "No. I'll deal with it tomorrow." I have to deal with it at night, when I'm trying to fall asleep!! It's so annoying, but actually not so bad. Since I've had it for so long now, my body is already getting used to only getting 5, 6, or sometimes 7 hours of sleep. I guess that's good, but my body is getting used to only going to asleep at like 1 in the morning, which isn't going to work for long. Right now I'm on Christmas break, so my sleeping issues haven't been much of a problem, but when school starts back up in a few days, this is not going to work well at all.
Because I barely sleep anymore, and even when I am asleep, it's only really light, I don't have dreams anymore. I hate that too because I love having dreams! They are so fun, and it's like the only way that I can escape myself and have a little fun, or have a good laugh. But with this sleep insomnia, I barely dream anymore. Usually I will only dream once a week or so, when my body gets so tired that I have to sleep a bunch, and it's actually deep sleep. That happened just last night. I had been sleeping badly for a few days, and last night I was so tired that I actually ended up falling asleep at 10, which I haven't done in over a month! I didn't wake up once during the night and I woke up this morning at 10. I got twelve hours of sleep!! That was the most amazing feeling ever! I haven't been tired all day, and I had two different dreams last night which were really funny. So yeah, I'm happy about that, and I just wish I could sleep like that all the time.
I don't know how long this sleep insomnia is going to stay, but I guess I am getting used it. I know it's a problem, and I should be getting more sleep, but it is literally impossible. I haven't taken melatonin, even though I've heard that it helps. I don't want to take meds unless I absolutely have to. At this point I'm not that desperate. I don't want to have to rely on pills to make me sleep. A few nights ago when I was sitting awake waiting to get tired, I tried a new strategy. I don't know if this will work for anyone else, but it worked for me like a charm! What I did was listen to my iPod for about 6 or 7 songs, with my eyes closed, and the volume up just high enough to drone out the noise of my fish tank, and I was all warm under the covers, just like I was going to sleep, and after about 6 or 7 songs, I got really tired! So I quick turned the iPod off and just set it on my nightstand, then rolled over, and within minutes I was asleep!! I couldn't believe it worked, but it did!! I couldn't believe that I had never thought of trying that before, but now I have a backup plan if I really can't sleep but I need to. So yeah, that worked really well for me, but I don't know if it will help for anybody else. It's worth a try! So yeah, I'm still waiting for this insomnia to go away, or maybe it never will, but either way now I have a way to combat it.
I don't fall asleep before midnight, even if I try. I can turn everything off and just sit in my bed as early as I want, but I won't fall asleep before midnight. Guaranteed. Usually I will fall asleep between midnight and about 1:30. My standing record for the longest I've been awake is till 3:20 in the morning. Boy, that was a lot of fun!! My mind just doesn't shut off. When I finally get peace and quiet, which is in the din hours of night, that's when my mind is the most awake and running through all these thoughts of stuff that happened in the day, stuff about tomorrow, myself, my friends, or whatever all else. It's really annoying because it doesn't go away unless I sit and think about it and try to solve it all. I can't just say, "No. I'll deal with it tomorrow." I have to deal with it at night, when I'm trying to fall asleep!! It's so annoying, but actually not so bad. Since I've had it for so long now, my body is already getting used to only getting 5, 6, or sometimes 7 hours of sleep. I guess that's good, but my body is getting used to only going to asleep at like 1 in the morning, which isn't going to work for long. Right now I'm on Christmas break, so my sleeping issues haven't been much of a problem, but when school starts back up in a few days, this is not going to work well at all.
Because I barely sleep anymore, and even when I am asleep, it's only really light, I don't have dreams anymore. I hate that too because I love having dreams! They are so fun, and it's like the only way that I can escape myself and have a little fun, or have a good laugh. But with this sleep insomnia, I barely dream anymore. Usually I will only dream once a week or so, when my body gets so tired that I have to sleep a bunch, and it's actually deep sleep. That happened just last night. I had been sleeping badly for a few days, and last night I was so tired that I actually ended up falling asleep at 10, which I haven't done in over a month! I didn't wake up once during the night and I woke up this morning at 10. I got twelve hours of sleep!! That was the most amazing feeling ever! I haven't been tired all day, and I had two different dreams last night which were really funny. So yeah, I'm happy about that, and I just wish I could sleep like that all the time.
I don't know how long this sleep insomnia is going to stay, but I guess I am getting used it. I know it's a problem, and I should be getting more sleep, but it is literally impossible. I haven't taken melatonin, even though I've heard that it helps. I don't want to take meds unless I absolutely have to. At this point I'm not that desperate. I don't want to have to rely on pills to make me sleep. A few nights ago when I was sitting awake waiting to get tired, I tried a new strategy. I don't know if this will work for anyone else, but it worked for me like a charm! What I did was listen to my iPod for about 6 or 7 songs, with my eyes closed, and the volume up just high enough to drone out the noise of my fish tank, and I was all warm under the covers, just like I was going to sleep, and after about 6 or 7 songs, I got really tired! So I quick turned the iPod off and just set it on my nightstand, then rolled over, and within minutes I was asleep!! I couldn't believe it worked, but it did!! I couldn't believe that I had never thought of trying that before, but now I have a backup plan if I really can't sleep but I need to. So yeah, that worked really well for me, but I don't know if it will help for anybody else. It's worth a try! So yeah, I'm still waiting for this insomnia to go away, or maybe it never will, but either way now I have a way to combat it.
By:
skyhook2612
Age:
16-17
,
Female
