When You Cannot Sleep What Do You Do?

I dozed this afternoon until one little tike started barking up a storm. It felt good to get the nap in, however long it lasted. Tonight, hopefully, there'll be no itchy throat.

So sorry littlek. It is good you a long weekend to recover.

The milk worked like a gem. The night before and last night. Never thought of warm milk before.

And today I was just full of energy and got tons of stuff done.

good news JD!

Yeppers - everything is coming together. I have decided to by the Dodge Van, I have a show tomorrow and Sunday.

And I we have a lot of people who are going to be at the Cyber Art Salon chat. Everyone that subscribers to A2k is invited. I will send out a bunch of PMs tomorrow night inviting.

If anyone else is interested and not a subscriber there is a post in the Art Forum about the chat schedule with links to pertinent info on the A2k Chat room.

Well, hell, I go looking for the amino acid my brain can never remember, the one that is in both milk and turkey (I think) that starts with T (tyrosine? transcobalamin? thymine? tartar? no, no, I can't remember it, dagnabbit, and never can)

Anyway, in looking this amino acid up, yet again, since I can't ever remember it (it is sort of like Calodendron capensis, a tree I can never remember either, unless I don't need to) I ran across a bunch of links on melatonin in milk.

Here's one - http://www.mckinley.uiuc.edu/health-info/dis-cond/misc/insomnia.html

The thing is, the whole ritual of putting a mug of milk into the microwave, or on the stove ... the ritual part is additive. One should put on bunny slippers and a comfy robe. Ok, males should put on a comfy robe and scuffed flipflops.

I am only half kidding.

AHA, I REMEMBERED, it's tryptophan that I was trying to conger up.

Whew.

Thanks, gala! I figured too much of anything would be bad, somehow... And, I don't want to fool around with my liver.

Will look into Melatonin. Used to take it, but I stopped for some reason. (It did help, somewhat) I think it interacted badly with a medicine I took. (I'm not taking any meds currently--so maybe it'll be my answer!)

Feeling better, littlek? I hope so.

Sofia - hope it works for ya!

MsOlga, I am, thanks. I still have a bit of a stuffy nose, but I feel much better!

Another bout with the non sleeping bit on Friday and last night but am tired now. So I hope for sleep tonight - beautiful sleep.

What have you tried so far, Joanne? I do find that pre-dreaming always works... if I wanted to go to bed (it's 3 am here), I'd just pre-dream and then I'd be dreaming before I knew it... there are two approaches: you can dream of some boring task; or dream of something exciting but half-reliant on sleepiness to work... I always use the latter...

Drom I am not sure what pre-dreaming really is?

When I can't sleep, I sometimes pop out to The Big O, 24-hour diner, for a plate of bangers and mash. That usually does the trick.

I do the same; only, I usually try to haggle some French toast.




OK, there's a technique that I'll explain in full, all right Joanne? What you do, is you lie down on your bed, making sure that every part of your body is comfortable; try to loosen each joint, from top to toe. Put your head back (preferably on top of two pillows,) and close your eyes. Then think of something that is stimulating and interesting to you, but doesn't want to make you jump up and think-- preferably a scenario, rather than a fact, as your resting mind is obviously better equipped with the former rather than the latter.. (You can, however, try to recall facts before entering the pre-dream: I remember that I used to nonchalantly remember Dickinson poems without making a competition out of it... so that I didn't actually leap up and start leafing a book.

After you have found a scenario that's stimulating but not engaging your waking mind with fact, dream about it loosely. Don't stick yourself to one particular thing like, I have to go here and do that... just try to dissolve into the scene; notice the people around you, if there are any, or the colours that blend into the walls, and let your subconscious do the rest. A boon of the pre-dream is that one usually falls into the REM cycle right after it.

Wow that sounds great. I have learned some visualization and relaxation techniques that are quite similar. But I learned those to get stay out of a panic attack.

Now I understand how I can use that same scenario for a pre dream. Can you hear sound of my hand hitting myself in the head, saying, why didn't you think of that before.

My visual is to be at Coronado Beach, looking out over Pt. Loma and many other wonderful things but I can use my beach scene to sleep sure I can. Then move on to other relaxing scenes.

And I have had some success with the relaxation methods you describe. I use it to lower my blood pressure.

This is wonderful and the warm milk I will sleep well.

Get out of bed, go to the family room, and watch tv.

Bangers and mash...you silver-tongued devil, you!

Good for what ails you.....

Here's hoping that it worked for you, Joanne!

Yes, drom, I had a successful sleeping experience. Almost a straight eight. I went on a surfin' safari of sorts. I caught every wave and all the wave held my high above the water.

The best part was the memory of those days in my life when the center point of my life was about how much beach/surfing time I could squeeze in.

Yes! Oh, I'm so, so glad that the pre-dreaming thing worked. I was wondering whether it would; but it's failed no one who's tried it exactly as I've said. So, do you think that you'll use it tonight?

Good memories; you should take a break and try to relive them...