Mommy Zombie
*Yawn!*Oh sorry.
Just extremely tired.
Could be the vitamin and iron deficiency.
Or could be that I don't sleep through the night anymore.
Who knew that at 36 I would be digging up the old sleep habits books I had for the kids?!
Ferber can you hear me!?
I could totally cry it out at night but my husband might be annoyed and I don't want to risk waking everyone else up.
I hate waking up in the middle of the night.
My mind races, I can't. shut. it. up.
I replay events in my head, prepare phone calls I have to make the next day, mentally chew out the soccer coach's son for being such a verbal bully.
I obsess about the bills, try and remember if we closed the garage door, and lately listen for hubby's chest gurgle.
I'm annoyed beyond belief.
I will not take sleeping pills. Just won't.
My mom's advice: warm milk before bed.
Considering my lactose intolerance and just the fact that warm milk alone would make me gag, it doesn't sound very sleep-inducing.
Then just as I finally doze off, my body triggers the "have to pee" response, mostly because I had been up the last hour debating if I should get up and go, or if that would wake me up even more.
Take a nap during the day you say!?
Uh, yeah right.
K thinks that as soon as mommy's eyes close and she's in a laying down position it's time to YELL LOUDER, "Mommy are you awake?"
No I'm sleeping K, let mommy rest her eyes for a bit...
No mommy the sun's UP, the moon is NOT up, it's not time for bed.
She's probably right, I might miss a school pickup if I nod off anyway.
Anyone have some suggestions that don't require drugs, alcohol, or coma?
October 9, 2009 at 12:15 PM
Have you tried Alternate Nostril Breathing? No seriously. Take your thumb and fore finger. Use your thumb and close one nostril. Breathe through the open one for four counts. Then take your fore finger and close the other nostril (release the one held by the thumb) and breathe it for four counts. Alternate for four cycles. Then try to sleep. It's a yoga trick and if I hadn't tried it myself I wouldn't believe it.
October 9, 2009 at 12:50 PM
Try reading...this always puts me to sleep. I got nothing after that. The health food store has stuff too.
October 9, 2009 at 1:00 PM
get your thyroid checked....seriously.
October 9, 2009 at 2:19 PM
I was having insomnia for a while, but I just gave up and got up to do things. Hence, the blog. It kind of is fun having the house to yourself in the wee hours.
October 9, 2009 at 2:42 PM
My Mom takes melatonin! It is a hormone that humans actually produce. It is called the "hormone of darkness" because it is meant to help us sleep. She takes this now in place of Tylenol PM. She said that she gets a better night sleep than she ever has before!
October 9, 2009 at 3:33 PM
Hey Darlin,
I suffer from insomnia BAD!!
I have tried everything over the years, sleeping pills work, but I wont take them anymore either...
Funny, but just the other day a friend of mine on facebook suggested the strangest thing... the even stranger thing was that it actually WORKED!!! (for me, at least)
You go outside, in barefeet, or socks if it's cold (no shoes) and you stand in the grass. Close your eyes, and let yourself feel the earth beneath your feet. It apparhently clears your thoughts, and grounds you to "the universe"...
I gafaawed at that, but then I tried it, and slept like a baby. My friend tried it too, and same thing....
Worth a try! :)
October 9, 2009 at 4:07 PM
I'm right there with you.... I never sleep through the night. I blame it on the dog some nights, but that's not every night! Reading works to fall asleep initially, but after I wake up! If all else fails I get up and blog, and eventually my eyes get tired enough and I crawl back in bed!
Too funny about K, Tara does the same thing and she is 12. If my eyes are closed, I probably and sleeping.. or at the very least don't want to be BOTHERED!
October 9, 2009 at 4:26 PM
I have this really cool pillow speaker that fits under my pillow and I hook it to my CD player when I can't sleep. I set the CD player on a timer for an hour, put in a Relaxation CD and voila...sleepy time!
October 9, 2009 at 7:04 PM
My brain wont turn off unless I am on my side with the blanket over my head. It is my "I'm serious about sleep" position.
October 10, 2009 at 8:07 AM
I suffer from this too! It is so miserable!!! And teaching the next day is just plain torture after I have a night of little to no sleep. Please share any ideas that you try and actually work =)
October 10, 2009 at 8:40 AM
No great ideas. I am usually just exhausted because I can't make it into bed and stop what I am doing. Once I am in bed I usually don't have problems falling asleep.
Sorry!
October 10, 2009 at 2:52 PM
You mean short of hitting ourselves over the heads with cast iron skillets? Uh no, no I don't. But if you find something that works for insomniacs, let me know, cause I'm right where you are... well except that now, I just get the hell up and work on the 'puter. Luckily I got a laptop so I can nod off on the couch instead of with my forehead pressed into the computer monitor. ;-)
October 10, 2009 at 3:56 PM
leave a notepad and pen by the bed...when your mind is racing...write that shit down...then go to the bathroom, and get back in bed...Good Luck!
October 11, 2009 at 5:50 AM
It seems that many of us have the same problem. Nothing I've tried has worked for me. The best is turn everything off half hour before you want to go to bed, and either read or write. After lights off, you should fall asleep within minutes.
October 11, 2009 at 12:10 PM
I would recommend any milk product (can be ice cream, even--but not chocolate, that has caffeine in it) and TURKEY--for the tryptophan. So have a turkey sandwich and some vanilla ice cream, and then get ready to go to sleep. Get a foam pad for the top of your bed, get some warm covers and turn OUT the lights. Good luck.
October 11, 2009 at 4:30 PM
sorry to hear that. I am slightly narcoleptic- I can sleep anywhere, pretty much anytime, but I hear you on how naps are a precious luxury! Hope you got one in!
October 11, 2009 at 7:11 PM
You might think I am a bit of a nut but I do breathing exercises. This happens to me all the time too. I go to bed and think about everything under the sun or something that might be bothering me. I tend to run issues through my brain a million times prior to coming up with a conclusion or actually dealing with it. I have found in order to stop thinking and relax I do a deep breathing technique. I inhale and count and try to reach 10 and then exhale doing the same. You helps you focus on something else and before I know it I am asleep. Hope it helps!!!
October 12, 2009 at 8:32 AM
I feel your zombiehood as I too am a member.
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October 13, 2009 at 9:00 AM
More advice than I have time to read, but here's my bit - if it repeats anyone else, must be good advice.
Less sugar.
More exercise.
Barbara
October 14, 2009 at 9:53 AM
You sound like my clone....
You could try:
1. running a fan in your room for *white noise*
2. a relaxtion/sleep induction cd
3. turn on the weather channel
4. relaxation exercises where you start @ your feet making your way up your body tensing & releasing your muscles... feet, calves, thighs, butt...etc. you get the idea..
5. slow deep breathing