I think you can help =]

[Madi Fink]

HeyHiHello fellow insomniacs!

My name is Madi! I'm 15. And I wanna make some insomniac friends =], cause you all seem very relatable and such!

So basically, I have had trouble sleeping for roughly 3 years. I never get more than 3 straight hours of sleep and I never dream. And I promise that it's not just that I don't remember my dreams, I legit don't dream. I guess it's better than some of the horrible nightmares others with Insomnia have =/.

I've tried everything to. From medetation to hypnosious. From herbal remedies to hardcore addictive sleeping pills. All of which haven't helped whatsoever. And this may sound horrible - but you get used to insomnia after having it for so long.

But there is one thing I hate - sleep clinics! My parents take me to one usually every month to get evaluated. They're always too cold, they smell like antibiotics and gauze bandages and the sheets are crisp. It doesn't feel like home.

Now it's your turn - share your sleep story with me my night owls =]. Let's be friends!

[Vincent D]

Hi Madi,

Sounds like you have it pretty bad. I have been much the same since I was 15, I am 30 now, simply nothing has worked for me. Some things work for a short period and some just don't work at all.

I have never been to a sleep clinic, not even sure where to find one in the UK, but have you told the people at the clinic what the experience is like. If they are serious about helping people with insomnia then they should take it into account.

I try meditation from time to time but my brain just doesn't stop properly. That said I do like certain aspects of my insomnia such as when I can't sleep I am at my most creative or productive, i run a small marketing business called "insomnia marketing" because I can get work done whilst others are asleep. Yes I would love a good nights sleep but I love the creativity it gives me and the quirky view of the world.

As for the not dreaming that must be a pain, i love dreaming and infact i have had "lucid dreams" from time to time.

Do you spend a lot of time in your room?? It can be hard to sleep in an area you spend lots of time in, just a thought.

Anyway speak to you soon

Vincent

[Amy-Maria Pelayia]

hey to both of you!

My name is Amy and I've been insomniac from the age of 14.(!)
I don't really know the reason,but I know how much trouble I caused to everyone around me.Now am 16,and I've been taking Xanax for quite a long time.
Although in Summer I stopped them for a while ,when school started I fell into that circle of sleeplessness again.Last year, I lost so many days from school that I almost had to re-do the year again.
& it really sucks when everyone around me,keeps asking me what my problem is,but I simply have no answer to this,and of course I wouldn't as they would not understand and most probably think that am a psycho(yes thats the way it is in Cyprus).
Here in Cyprus we don't have sleeping clinics and sleeping problems are not as popular as in other countries,so no help at all.
Last year was hell.I would do ANYTHING to sleep,pop-up any kind of pills and drugs that cause dizzyness,even sometimes alcohol.But this wasn't the major problem,I had to see my mother worried and desperate all the time seeing me like this,my father thinking that I was a drug addict(:p) until it became a whole new obsession "Will I sleep tonight?"

xx

[Hikori]

My name is Hikori.

I've had insomnia since i was around 4 or 5. Partially self-induced, partially natural. There is a big difference between the two, but i literally have both. Currently I'm 19 years old and literally can never sleep for more than 5 hours. Ever. By that I mean, if i even wind up sleeping at 9, i wake up at 2 am. if i sleep at 10, i wake at 1, if i sleep at 2, i wake up at 7. It sucks when I would have relationships over, because i either have to stay up longer than them, or lay awake for around 4 or 5 hours waiting for them to wake up.

But hon, as for the dream thing, I've actually done loads of research on different dreams studies when i should be sleeping. An interesting fact is we all have rem and non rem sleep. Rem is rapid eye movement, when we are actually "dreaming," non-rem is when we aren't. Quite literally, a high percentage of sleep is rem, so it's literally you brain doesn't recall what it is before you even wake up.


As for why you're accustomed with 3 hours of sleep- I have two things to say. Our body/mind needs sleep to convert short term memory to long term memory. The average person is "suppose to" have 8 hours of sleep. Of that sleep, the first and last hour is devoted towards memory conversion. 4 of those hours in the center is rem sleep (each bit of rem sleep lasts roughly 15 minutes) and the remainder is non-rem.

With that said, when it comes down to someone with insomnia, their body is forced to accommodate that in what little time is given. quite literally, everything becomes scaled down. in my case, the reason i wake up at the 5 hour mark is because that's all my body needs at this point. No- it's not fully healthy, however my body doesn't think it's going to get any more, so i run off 5 hours of sleep perfectly fine from time to time (not always, but for long periods of time, it roughly works)

However, an interesting fact, if you read one of my other posts here, I was up over 72 hours before. An interesting phenomenon happens at this point with a lot of people. Your body starts to require sleep to the point it's willing to force it on you, if even for a brief amount of time. With that said, it completely bypasses the 8 hour cycle. you literally have all 8 hours of sleep in a small span of something like 5 minutes.

Don't get me wrong, it's NOT healthy, and like i said, i actually snapped out of that hallucinating, spasming, and in a great deal of pain. But yeah, Just interesting stuff to know.

[anthony]

insomnia suckkkss. ive never really been able to sleep but the past year i dont sleep til 5am ish. my dad passed this year also so that doesnt help staying up all night. nthng really gets me to sleep unless im already tired from somthng tht made me tht way that day. im on this insomnia site an theres no one on an its only 1 45 am.ha...

[Amy-Maria Pelayia]

well there is no one online cz our time zones differ,I think.:p

anthony said:

insomnia suckkkss. ive never really been able to sleep but the past year i dont sleep til 5am ish. my dad passed this year also so that doesnt help staying up all night. nthng really gets me to sleep unless im already tired from somthng tht made me tht way that day. im on this insomnia site an theres no one on an its only 1 45 am.ha...

[Vincent D]

went to sleep around 3am woke up at 6am, stayed in bed until 9am trying to go back to sleep, you would think that i would have learnt by now and got up a did something useful but............:)

[Nina]

Everyone have some kind problems with health..there is no perfect man in this world..someone have problems with some other part of their body we have insomnia..
The cure for me was when I changed my life...I said to my self..this life is just one..I don't give a shit for credits no more, for money, trouble, everything will be good in the end...I go aout, travel, eat what I want, drink what I want, kiss who I want I left my boyfriend..he always was to hard on me...change bed and I'm sleeping now...And drink beer, go to loune bar, easy, nice music, smile on the face and slowly beer is cool for sleeping disorder...but no medications with it...2-3 beers and I sleep like a angel...Hard medications did not help but beer did..