Never really been a great sleeper but with an intense uni course that will lead to an intense working life I’d like to get on top of it. People have said about having a routine and not eating late but what have folks here done and what worked?

ta

I saw a thing on TV not so long ago where an insomniac journo (I think it was Dominic Diamond) was “cured”. He had to spend 6 hours in his bedroom, in the dark, whether he slept or not. ie go to bed at twelve, get up at six…no matter how he felt. He wasn’t allowed to leave to watch tv, play xbox or read. After a few weeks, the transformation was impressive. He was getting 6 solid hours a night and felt much better. Might work for you?

yeah gf watched that but i missed it

im not an imsomniac really, just struggle to get consistent good sleeps

I sometimes take Melatonin, which I think helps

Other than all the usual warm bath, drinking chocolate before bedtime advice – I think the best advice I ever got was don’t worry about it & the sleep will come
I know it’s easier said than done but if can can be a bit more pragmatic about it, it can help

don’t worry about it & the sleep will come

yeah i think you’re right becomes a bit of a self fulfilling prophecy but as you say hard to actually do

Your intense uni course may lead to a less intense existence. You may also find that working for a living is all you need…

Relax. Lay off the caffiene.

ill confess not really understanding crikey (and still affected me when i was working annoyingly)

don’t drink that much caffeine, although i guess could cut down on my tea intake

trying the wine technique tonight…

cut out the booze.

Draw, that will definitely help, especially when you first start. Later on when you become adept, you’ll find you can use it to pull all-nighters if you need to.

Booze doesn’t work for me

I go off OK but then wake at 3:30 or something

cut out the booze.

spoilsport 🙁

draw? as in pencils and paper? never tried that. in fact haven’t properly drawn in years, 2 birds 1 stone…

Crikey knows everything!

Pencils and paper? No, WTF would you do with them?

I meant draw

Well, I was out on the town in Luxembourg on Wednesday and got completely and utterly spangled on Leffe. Within 1 minute of getting back to the hotel room I was out cold. So, get on the Leffe!

I generally only get about 4 hours sleep max in any one go, more often less, but I am the king of the catch up/ power nap. In a half hour break at work I can squeeze a good 25 mins in, seems to keep me going. If your problem isn’t getting to sleep, I would recommend napping.

awwwwww draw ok yeah. I used that back in the day but not now wouldn’t go down too well tbh

i believe crikey may be hinting that im a layabout stoodent, the truth is far more worrying

yeah its getting off to sleep, once im out im generally not too bad

being on the internet last thing is the worst thing you can do. 😀
honestly it is.

I think the best advice I ever got was don’t worry about it & the sleep will come

Well this thread has been remarkably quiet so far but normally I find the instant I say the word ‘insomnia’, every single man (especially women) and their dog, have a cure that they guarantee will work. I’ve heard a thousand.

Tried plenty, it’s all bollocks. I find the people recommending things have absolutely no idea what insomnia actually is. It’s like the people who say ‘I’ve got a migraine, it’s killing me’ while still walking and talking. Nope, if you had a migraine you’d be bed-ridden, it’s a debilitating condition, it’s not a bad headache. Same with insomnia, it’s not waking up early or struggling to nod off, it’s just not sleeping, for days on end. You’re tired, oh so tired but no matter what you do, you won’t go to sleep.

Well, at least you don’t bang on about it 😉

Get a manual job and stop mincing around at school. That’ll sort the sleep problem out.

Well, at least you don’t bang on about it

I keep it very low key.

I was suggesting that even the most intense university course is hardly going to take a great physical toll, and that, once a student, you may find things a little less intense than you expect. In addition, working at a full time job should tire you out sufficiently enough to rest well.
I’m going to bed now after working nights, ‘ ooh I can’t sleep ‘ is, strangely enough one of those phrases that could cause me to commit a serious crime….
Al, I don’t know everything, I just think I do.

Tried plenty, it’s all bollocks. I find the people recommending things have absolutely no idea what insomnia actually is

Maybe that’s because the OP said he wasn’t an insomniac & was just looking for advice to get a better night’s sleep than he already gets?

You’re obviously too tired to read 😉

You could try valerian root or Vervain, I slipped a disc in my lower back a couple of years ago, Spent 4 days and nights on my living room floor sitting in the same possition or in the bath without any sleep at all.

It’s hard to sleep sitting and sleeping in the bath isn’t a good idea, after calling my doctor and being told to come down to the surgery and get stronger pain killers and asking what with a F@cking block of flats glued to my arse with gravity?

I hobbled through to the kitchen and had a rummage about, while the pain started to mount I found some Vervain and took quite a lot. It relaxed my muscles enough for me to get 6 glorious hours of sleep.

I woke up with a very dead leg from the nerve being trapped and I have to admit I hate doctors, a fact I was happy to share with my old ones but have kept quiet from my new ones.

But I did get some sleep, valerian is probably the best for getting you to sleep.

You could also try some relaxation techniques, a very simply one is to clench your hands and feet while you lie there then simply let them relax and pay attention to the process. It’s the same process of letting go that your whole body needs to learn.

Once you relax your hands an feet, just relax all the other parts of your body start at your feet then your ankles then lower legs and so on and so forth. Once you get to relaxing your head you will probably find that you tongue is at the top of your mouth, let it drop down.

Another technique is to focus on your breathing and simply direct it without forcing it, you should breath with your stomach and abdomin not your chest and it should be reasonably deep but relaxed. Another technique is to count or do a mantra, I LOVE HOOTERS, works for me.

Good luck with the sleeping

Like most things there’s no magic cure. It’s the same old common sense stuff.

Routine – probably the most important.
Lay off the caffiene during the evening (and the booze).
Stay off the internet, xbox etc. before bed.
Wind down for 30 mins before bed.

It’s easy to say, I’m not sleeping well at the moment either, been promoted recently to take over a failing department, despite doing 10 to 12 hours every day and being knackered I keep waking up worrying about stuff. I am trying to implement the above although it’s still not easy. Ironically the more knackered you are the less self control you have and the more knackered you get, vicious circle.

Get a manual job and stop mincing around at school. That’ll sort the sleep problem out.

i do have a manual job, just 2 days ago I had my fingers up an arse*

yeah crikey i thought thats what you were suggesting (and cheers for the sweeping generalisation) but tbh I it’s the mental toll that keeps me awake, Im in my 2nd year and I’m doing work 6 or 7 days a week. It only gets more intense then we graduate and it gets more intense. I’ll do exercise twice in a day and still not sleep because the brain keeps ticking over, in fact when I’ve done manual labour work in the past it didn’t help because my head was empty from a day of monotonous work.

cheers guys i shall start implementing routines and see how i go

don’t worry samuri my step dad had migraines i wouldn’t wish them on anyone, im not a insomniac and I don;t have the flu (thats my personal peeve)

*prosthetic (this time…)

I was suggesting that even the most intense university course is hardly going to take a great physical toll, and that, once a student, you may find things a little less intense than you expect. In addition, working at a full time job should tire you out sufficiently enough to rest well.

yeah university is not tiring or stressful at all. Everyone who’s never been knows that 🙄

What uni course is it?

I cant think of any that are intense all the way through til graduation and when you graduate it gets even more intense. I would also say that if you are, as a lowly 2nd year, finding it so intense that you cannot sleep then perhaps you are not cut out for, or clever enough to pursue whatever career you are studying towards.

Exercises daily.
Don’t drink too often.
Don’t lay in even when tired, getup with very little variance.
Go to bed at a reasonable time, i.e before midnight.

cheers zulu, are you a motivational speaker?

my 1st year results suggest im doing better than ok, its a graduate medicine course so we condense 1st and 2nd year of a 5 year course into 1 year. Start clinical phase in March and when we graduate, well it gets pretty hardcore

EDIT:

Don’t lay in even when tired, getup with very little variance.

yeah been trying that today and yesterday, i think you’re right seemed to work yest. fingers crossed for tonight

Surrounded By Zulus – Member
What uni course is it?

I cant think of any that are intense all the way through til graduation and when you graduate it gets even more intense. I would also say that if you are, as a lowly 2nd year, finding it so intense that you cannot sleep then perhaps you are not cut out for, or clever enough to pursue whatever career you are studying towards.

bollocks.

TheBrick – Member
Surrounded By Zulus – Member
What uni course is it?
I cant think of any that are intense all the way through til graduation and when you graduate it gets even more intense. I would also say that if you are, as a lowly 2nd year, finding it so intense that you cannot sleep then perhaps you are not cut out for, or clever enough to pursue whatever career you are studying towards.

bollocks.

+1

I always find reading something just before I go to sleep is good, just keep reading until you can no longer keep your eyes open. A couple of times last year when I just couldn’t get to sleep I found putting a dvd or something on really helped because I focussed on watching that rather than the fact I could’t sleep and consequently woke up many hours later!

What about a w**k.?

its a graduate medicine course so we condense 1st and 2nd year of a 5 year course into 1 year. Start clinical phase in March and when we graduate, well it gets pretty hardcore

How many episodes of Casualty have you actually watched? Lol…

Hardcore? FFS.

Hardcore is having to have 3 menial jobs, all just above the minimum wage to pay for your kids, or being 65 and still having to work because you’re the carer for your grandchild.

You’re a medical student, it’s hard work at times, but hardly a sisiphyean task..

Like I said, crikey knows everything. How could you doubt this?

The examples he cites are clearly comparable to the op’s situation. He doesn’t have a chip on his shoulder at all.

I’m more surprised at your lack of cynicism, tbh, Al.

What about doing a degree, two jobs and looking after kids?

I’ve recognized that you really are a god and bow down before you.