Do you get to sleep easily?

[PsiKik]

For my whole life I have never been able to get to sleep quickly, I will always
lie there for at least a half hour to an hour before I get to sleep - mainly because I am always thinking and can't just shut down.
Any simmilar experiences? or do you know of a way to get to sleep easier?

[Melody]

me2

i get to sleep quicklier the more busy my daily life is

[Utopmk]

Yeah, especially if I have to be up bright and early for something important, that's when insominia strikes the worst.

I have learned something to help in emergency situations:

Starting from the toes, tense up every muscle in you body for 15 seconds, and then let it go.

Find any object in your room to fixate on, and start counting back from 500, outloud.
By 300 your body should be limp, and you will lose track of your counting, and if you can make it all the way to 0, then you will roll over and fall asleep instantly.

[lauriep]

I also have a difficult time going to sleep. I've tried the counting thing and it doesn't seem to work much for me. I've also tried reading before bed but that usually wakes me up more, especially if it's a good book.
I've found that thing that works best for me is to stop the soda after 5pm and try to get some fresh air before bed. I've found going for a walk around the block a couple of times just before going to bed helps relax me and clear my head enough to get to sleep in less than an hour. Except when the insomnia hits, I haven't found anything to help that yet.

[Ckyzxr]

Exhaustion and a good meal. But if I'm ruminating on something big forget it, nothing helps.

[Oblivious]

I've had trouble sleeping for as long as I can remember. My mind just won't stop. On occasions if I perform some "before bed" rituals I get to fall asleep easier, but I have to really work on it.

Similar to Utopmk, if there's something important the next day, I won't sleep.

I always wonder if it's gonna be like this for the rest of my life.

[Melody]

yes

u r eternally screwed

[PsiKik]

Maybe my problem sleeping is because I prefer night time, I am more alert and can think and concentrate better late at night - the conventional world demands that you live and work during the daylight hours.

[greenintp]

no

[Melody]

Maybe my problem sleeping is because I prefer night time, I am more alert and can think and concentrate better late at night - the conventional world demands that you live and work during the daylight hours.
i agree

[cloakable]

I will always lie there for at least a half hour to an hour before I get to sleep down.
That all? You're lucky. I'll lie there for about 3 hours before I fall asleep.

[Melody]

yah, ive been lying here at my computer trying to sleep for the last five hours

[Arioch]

Oh I used to have problems falling asleep but not now. It's lights out before I even realize it.

My secret?

Sleep four hours per night. Your body will sleep whenever and whereever you want it... ok maybe not the latter but I can go to sleep quite quickly now.

Yup... no flaw in this plan....

[Avengardh]

Oh I used to have problems falling asleep but not now. It's lights out before I even realize it.

My secret?

Sleep four hours per night. Your body will sleep whenever and whereever you want it... ok maybe not the latter but I can go to sleep quite quickly now.

Yup... no flaw in this plan....

:P

Always...I lie half asleep half awake, just thinking.

But when I am really tired, it helps.

[shaytana]

Yup, it take me a long time. And if the alarm is set it takes twice as long.

[Melody]

Oh I used to have problems falling asleep but not now. It's lights out before I even realize it.

My secret?

Sleep four hours per night. Your body will sleep whenever and whereever you want it... ok maybe not the latter but I can go to sleep quite quickly now.

Yup... no flaw in this plan....

*wakes up*
You are right! I feel like I can go to sleep whenever I desire. XD

[Claverhouse]

I will always lie there for at least a half hour to an hour before I get to sleep down.
That all? You're lucky. I'll lie there for about 3 hours before I fall asleep.

Same here. So I put off going to bed as long as humanly possible...




Claverhouse :ph34r:

[Johnny]

I will always lie there for at least a half hour to an hour before I get to sleep down.
That all? You're lucky. I'll lie there for about 3 hours before I fall asleep.

Same here. So I put off going to bed as long as humanly possible...

I concur.

[SensEye]

Fortunately, I do not share this somewhat common INTP foible. Sleep is one of those things I do pretty well. I can't sleep sitting up though (a real pain when travelling overnight).

I've had that "mind won't stop spinning" thing once in a while though. Usually I can just quiet my mind or at least deflect it from whatever it's chewing on to some idle daydreamy topic. That seems to work for me.

You sleep deprived/sleep whenever types are going to be in trouble if you ever get a day job.

[crule81]

I couldn't get to sleep before exams in school. Tried counting sheep and numbers backwards and some yoga relaxation techniques I half-learned. My mother suggested saying the rosary as many times as it takes. Believe it or not, that was the only method that worked, and I'm not even religious.

[Merkaba]

yes

[BritainOphira]

Normally it takes me quite a while to get to sleep, but I'm quite good at faking it so my mom doesn't complain too much. My best advice is, if you want sleep, take an econ. class. You're guarenteed to sleep most of the period without your grade suffering too much.

[Odyssey]

I don't have a problem getting to sleep... I have trouble GETTING sleep.
I want to do everything and be excellent at my commitments, and that requires time... thus what's left over is about 4-6 hrs of sleep a night o_O

My brain doesn't stop either as long as I'm not lying down, but when I do I'm instantly asleep.

~Odyssey [teenage male]

[jimkopelli]

I have to be just right, or there's no way I'll sleep. Pillow folded around head, blanket half on/off... tempature, almost total lack of light, and some sort of white noise (AC, ceiling fan, etc.) and there absolutely has to be air circulating.

Or I have to be dead tired.

[Seraph]

I also have a tough time getting to sleep. I have a million thoughts buzzing around my head. What I've found helps is to try to "force" a really good dream on yourself. I have a wild imagination, so this usually keeps my mind occupied while my subconscious takes over.

[snarled]

Quit the caffeine....a tiny cup of java at any time in the afternoon has a huge impact - that many hours later. Whisky is fine though...

[snarled]

Does anyone know much about what your actual sleeping position says about your personality? Do confident people sleep on their back...etc.? I know that I have to sleep with my head on one arm, on my side...feet over side of bed. Only thing that works.

[crule81]

DO NOT TAKE AMBIEN! It is evil.

[PsiKik]

Quit the caffeine....a tiny cup of java at any time in the afternoon has a huge impact - that many hours later. Whisky is fine though...
This is so true, I stop drinking cofee at around 4pm.

[InsurgentAlpha]

I have to shake my legs to get to sleep, so does my mom. Weird...

[snarled]

Quit the caffeine....a tiny cup of java at any time in the afternoon has a huge impact - that many hours later. Whisky is fine though...
This is so true, I stop drinking cofee at around 4pm.

Yeah, but it's not like I take my own advice or anything....I'm a coffee drinking fiend. Having one right now and its 7.45pm! :blink: Add that to the cigarettes...and well.

[flan2dave]

Does anyone know much about what your actual sleeping position says about your personality? Do confident people sleep on their back...etc.? I know that I have to sleep with my head on one arm, on my side...feet over side of bed. Only thing that works.

I guess they're confident because they're not afraid of drowning in their own saliva? A fine line between confidence and foolishness...

[snarled]

Does anyone know much about what your actual sleeping position says about your personality? Do confident people sleep on their back...etc.? I know that I have to sleep with my head on one arm, on my side...feet over side of bed. Only thing that works.

I guess they're confident because they're not afraid of drowning in their own saliva? A fine line between confidence and foolishness...

I really hope that Dolly Pardon isn't afraid of that....her life would be hell if she was.

[file cabinet]

yeah, I have that problem. I like staying awake for as long as possible then just going to bed. I don't have any set hours for work so I can sleep whenever I want(and do).

[Oblivious]

I tried counting backwards from 500 last night and it kind of helped... several times around 350 I found myself stopping and thinking of something else, because I was too dizzy to keep going. It was easy falling asleep after that.
I've also been wanting to try yoga for a while... anyone had good results with that?

[PsiKik]

Does anyone know much about what your actual sleeping position says about your personality? Do confident people sleep on their back...etc.? I know that I have to sleep with my head on one arm, on my side...feet over side of bed. Only thing that works.

I think this is significant. I have to lie on my stomach if I want to help the sleep process along. If I am on my back I will stay awake longer.

[crule81]

I can't sleep on my back unless I'm absolutely dead tired. If I do, I always wake up with a headache. Once in awhile, I can fall asleep on my side, but that is rare. So I have to sleep on my stomach. The problem is that it is supposed to be bad for your back - I often wake up with a slightly sore lower back. I think sleeping position has more to do with allergies for me rather than personality type, however.

[MacGuffin]

DO NOT TAKE AMBIEN! It is evil.

Explain?

[crule81]

DO NOT TAKE AMBIEN! It is evil.

Explain?

I've never taken it myself but one of my best friends and former roommate is a hardcore insomniac and took Ambien. Eventually he became completely dependent on it to sleep at all. Finally he could not sleep unless he had Ambien AND a few drinks. When he took Ambien, it sometimes affected him as if he were completely smashed. He would walk around and then suddenly collapse as if he had been shot. He then attempted to go outside and drive his car. I had to sleep propped up against the door to prevent him from escaping. Finally, on another occasion, he attempted to drive to the store to buy beer after taking it, and ran into a parked car. He said he couldn't control himself to prevent himself from driving.

I guess I shouldn't make a generalization based on one experience, but it was enough for me to recommend that one refrain from taking it.

[MacGuffin]

DO NOT TAKE AMBIEN! It is evil.

Explain?

I've never taken it myself but one of my best friends and former roommate is a hardcore insomniac and took Ambien. Eventually he became completely dependent on it to sleep at all. Finally he could not sleep unless he had Ambien AND a few drinks. When he took Ambien, it sometimes affected him as if he were completely smashed. He would walk around and then suddenly collapse as if he had been shot. He then attempted to go outside and drive his car. I had to sleep propped up against the door to prevent him from escaping. Finally, on another occasion, he attempted to drive to the store to buy beer after taking it, and ran into a parked car. He said he couldn't control himself to prevent himself from driving.

I guess I shouldn't make a generalization based on one experience, but it was enough for me to recommend that one refrain from taking it.

Man that's crazy!

[leaves to go get Ambien and quart of vodka]

[Boozer]

I've been doing a little meditation thing where I concentrate on deep breathing. Keeps the thoughts from going wild and that extra oxygen to the brain makes you sleepy. Seems to be working, but I still have the bad habit of not trying to go to bed until too late. So I have to try to go to bed at a normal time to see if it really helps.

[lauriep]

I've been doing a little meditation thing where I concentrate on deep breathing. Keeps the thoughts from going wild and that extra oxygen to the brain makes you sleepy. Seems to be working, but I still have the bad habit of not trying to go to bed until too late. So I have to try to go to bed at a normal time to see if it really helps.

Let me know if you have any help hints on meditation. I've tried it several times to help quiet the mind and mellow out. It seems to backfire and I just end up using the quiet time to get deeper into thought and more focused instead of less.

[Werdna]

I also have lots of trouble sleeping. Sometimes meditation helps keep the thoughts at bay, sometimes not. If I try to go to bed too early, before I'm tired, I can just lie in bed for hours. And normally I don't get tired until 2 or 3 in the morning, so I usually wake up tired as well. And all my math classes are in the morning. argh

[MacGuffin]

I've found about 5 anti-histamines does the trick!

[CloudofOlivia]

This has been my life-long torture and pleasure. Sometimes, I think of really insightful things or ideas. Other times, I think of issues that are bothering me, and the next morning, I wake up with the same continuing train of thought. It literally drives me insane, especially when I'm depressed about something.

[Boozer]

This has been my life-long torture and pleasure. Sometimes, I think of really insightful things or ideas. Other times, I think of issues that are bothering me, and the next morning, I wake up with the same continuing train of thought. It literally drives me insane, especially when I'm depressed about something.


Hehe I have to say that the rambling voice keeping you awake has been the most surprising thing about being INTP, I really thought it was just me. While I read all about the other aspects, this is a commonality I never expected.


As for the meditation, I find that actively trying to "clear your mind" never works for long. A song usually pops into my head, or the rambling continues. What I do is actually think about my breathing, and force myself to take larger breaths than usual. I probably fall asleep out of boredom. :)

[SheepDog]

I don't have a problem getting to sleep... I have trouble GETTING sleep.
I want to do everything and be excellent at my commitments, and that requires time... thus what's left over is about 4-6 hrs of sleep a night o_O

My brain doesn't stop either as long as I'm not lying down, but when I do I'm instantly asleep.

~Odyssey [teenage male]
That's me. I stay up doing things or reading until I'm too tired to continue. Then I fall right asleep. I HATE waking up as much as I hate going to sleep, as strange as that sounds.

The rare times that I don't fall right to sleep, I usually just lay there and enjoy the quiet time. I just let my mind wander and that's more fun than sleeping anyway.

[PsiKik]

As for the meditation, I find that actively trying to "clear your mind" never works for long. A song usually pops into my head, or the rambling continues. What I do is actually think about my breathing, and force myself to take larger breaths than usual. I probably fall asleep out of boredom. :)

When I try to meditate I find the hardest thing of all is clearing my mind, thoughts always seep in.

[BritainOphira]

I've found about 5 anti-histamines does the trick!

Yeah, or 100 mg of Benzonatate. (Why they gave me such a high dosage and so many pills with such vague directions I will never understand. :blink: )

[snarled]

I simply have sex and wait for impending ENFJ pillow-talk...............out like a light!

This method works so well, I miss Curb your Enthusiasm once the adbreak is over. ;)