Sleep? Please? Pretty Please?!?

[Peace of Mind]

Monitor your energy levels, if they stay normal...don't worry.

I hardly sleep. Most nights I only get about 3 to 4 hours of sleep…if that much. I don’t dream nor do I ever feel tired. It’s like my body is powered by some unseen mysterious force. I have other unexplainable physical experiences… but for the most part I feel great, healthy and sharp as ever. I no longer question such strange occurrences in my body simple because the “Pros” greatly outnumber the “cons”.

Also, when you have much on the mind, Insomnia is the normal result. However, seeing that tiredness isn’t one of the symptoms this just might be a good thing…well in my case it has proven to be.

Wish you well…

Peace

[AuCo]

I have friends that say black cherry concentrate helps. My wife is drinking it too. Something to try. May the sand man come your way tonight

[Lifebringer]

Try adding raw onions to you diet on sadwiches or other stews. This brings about the body's natural sleep chemicals. My husband was an insomniac when I met him and now sleeps like a baby.
Don't worry about the breath/odor use honey and watchit go away. It works if you work it. Sleep usually within thirty minutes if you take a 1/4 inch slice and put it on the sandwich.

Good luch and sweet dreams.

[Limor]

Hello TigaHawk,

My sympathy for you! I am sleep deprived for almost 7 years now.I have experienced almost all known Sleeping 'disease' and once did not had any sleep for full 14 days in a row.. (reasons combined with my spirituall awakening and suffering from an 'over awarness')

Like you,I am working night shifts and balance is difficult to achieve.

A few years ago I wrote a similiar post as you did with this one,on another forum and got a reply that I really liked.I printed it and kept it under the pillow,also saved it under 'drafts'.so here it goes,by "tj"-


"It is about light, physical tiredness, and letting go emotionally.

First, for at least one to two hours before trying to go to sleep,
make sure you do not eat anything, if you drink, make it hot green
tea,
or somthing with low amounts of caffeine...like hot chocolate
with more water and less chocolate....wink....

then lighting...
turn off TV, computer monitor, sit in dimly lit rooms,
calming environment....low noise levels....listening to
softer music...no Rock n roll to relax...but soothing....

Then make sure you are really "done" physically.
You've been up at least 12-16 hours, you've had exercise,
you've walked a little worked a little, danced a little...
and now you are ready to rest...if you do not move during
your awake time, you won't be ready to lie still....

the hardest and most difficult part is
"letting go emotionally...."

Everytime I lay down, my mind wants to dwell on the past...
mistakes I made at work, errors I made with relationships,
words i shouldn't have said...heck, if i let my mind
go where it wanted to, I would sit up for hours,
giving myself stress and grief over problems
I missed on tests back in school when I was 10 or 14....

it's just how the mind is like a dog on a meaty bone...
it will chew and stew and go over and over
the same issue and same ground...

Sometimes, we need to listen to those thoughts,
as they are keys to solving current troubles and avoiding
pitfalls that would make us stumble....
but at night, or just before we sleep...
it is a wasted exercise to chase down all those negative
things and replay them like a broken record.

Since I was 8 years old,
It has always taken me about one hour to fall alseep...
I would toss and turn and worry about all the times
i caused others pain...not recalling once when some one
hurt me or did me wrong, just all the things I did bad or naughty...

Anyways,
in prayer and meditation I found a solution that works.
First, state out loud that you are done with the day,
tell yourself it is time to let it go and fall asleep.
Then, i fyou beliee in prayer, ask God/Creator...
to release you from worries and fear....to give you
rest and soundness, wholeness/peacefull mind.

Then, as you close your eyes create a "story"
or meditiation place...for me, I create fictional
landscapes and place a princess in danger, or a helpful
girl who is rescuing friends or a big island party,
where there is friendship and comdey and so forth...
(Actually my mind thinks I am creating a "romance novel"
but by the time I set the scene, dress the characters,
and get some conversations rolling, I am so deeply asleep
that I never get to the romance part...hahahahaha...

so in that way it's not a "sexy fantasy" just something to
keep my mind busy, creating and designing and fillingin
the background details...while I drift off to a soft sleep...
without beating my self up for things I cannot change,
and without worrying away the few hours of rest I eke
out of this busy life....winks.

anyway...it takes mental gymnastics sometimes
to jump over what is blocking you from sleep...
and thatis how I dealt with it...

other than "tricking" our minds to keep it off
the worrisome bone....the only other way to find peaceful
sleep is to accept...
when a terrible or horrible thing comes to mind,
accept it...don't fight it or deny it or shoo it away...
just say, "yep. I did do that. Thank you for remembering.
People make mistakes all the time. If I hadn't done that
I would have never discovered....________ about myself
or about the boss or about that friend....

just accept the information, but step back and away
from guilt or sorrow or regret...
know that we seem to always hav eto choose between
two painful choices, and we usually are thinking our
choices are the best for us and those we love...
give yourself permission to live and learn...
and then give your self love and forgiveness
over the problem...

Not one of us can yet predict everything in the future,
not one of us can travel back in time, yet, to change or
fix it...so...knowing that hindsight is 20-20...
go ahead and allow your self to be imperfect,
and love yourself...faults and all....

Then your mind won't find any fun in the normal torture
routine, it won't hit the mark or sting as hard when the thoughts
arise...and you will be able to sleep "faster"
knowing that you know this world keeps spinning,
the sun will rise again...and you will have a chance
to do it right next time...you have already promised not
to get caughtin it again...so do not let your mind
or thoughts reach in and hurt your heart...
you know your intentions and you have already forgiving yourself.
As the mind tries to remind you and guilt you into sadness,
say it out loud, "I have already apologized, and that is enough."
and you can even say out loud, "Next topic"
or some such nonsense to move yourself into a new thought...
something with a bit of humor and love..or just light...
something where you know you have done your best,
and that is all you can do...

We are not handeld every tool to deal with life that comes at us.
We are always making decisions on the fly...
life is speeding by and we are pushed or have to jump in
feet first, and hit the ground running...

Relax and let it go
and grab hold of the rest that has been eluding you...
You are fine, the world will forgive you...
and life will go forward...

(Hey if any of this helps...
just thank God for me, okay?
He tapped me on the should and had me wake up to read this...
and I am really barely awake....
so if it helps, then I thank God for you!!!!!!)

I pray right now that anything that was blocking your peace
and rest will be removed. I pray that God takes away
all the recrimonations and stress and worryies that have
held you captive...I pray you and your mind will line up with
the will of God, for restful sleep, for forgiveness
and mercy and for wholeness of mind, sould and spirit.

I pray that you will have sleep, with calm and peaceful dreams,
where wisdom and love will visit and where angels
will protect your heart and mind granting you a paradise
of rest and relaxation....where love is victorious,
and where life/energy and hope is restored and renewed.

Big hugs,
and wishes for joy and laughter,
for clarity and wisdom....

TJ


Hope you find something there for you Tiga,as I did


Take good care and let us know how you are doing!


~*&^~*

Limor

[Nora]

Posted by ktlight (here)
This is a list of herbs that assist in sleep.

Valerian (can get a tincture which you squirt into your mouth)
Lime leaves
Passion Flower

These can be mixed, but start with Valerian. If you cannot get the tincture, make a tea out of the herb with boiling water, put a lid on it for 5 minutes then drink. Usually, it works within 20 minutes.

ktlight is right the herbs above work very well. you can also ask your spirit helpers (guides) to help you please sleep - when you are going to sleep. also saying a short mantra like "relax and sleep" over and over again may help.

Nora

we are all related

[Anchor]

I wonder if she is asleep right now - LOL

[TigaHawk]

I wish!

Its still strange, i know im tired and i feel tired but i dont feel tired like ive just deliberately pulled an all nighter or something?

I am getting mood swings from lack of sleep. In tears of frustration after spending 3 or so hours trying then Alex comes home and im yelling at him over something you wouldent spend a fart of interest on.


My usual trick for sleeping isnt helping at all. The trick was once ur in bed and eyes closed, is to kickstart dreaming. Like in my head im godzilla stomping thru a town or on a nimbus going full pelt towards some mountain, stuff like that, then its not normaly long till im out.

Thanks for all the imput, going to give a few sugested things a try and get back to you's.

[HURRITT ENYETO]

Posted by TigaHawk (here)
I got home in the morning after work, even more tired... and tried to sleep. 3hours later? still laying there but extreamly frustrated that im still awake. So i decided to slug it out for the day with the idea that a few glasses of Wine will solve my problems. I had 3 glasses, did not feel that drunk, but enough to ensure that when my head hits the pillow i'd be assleep shortly after.

That's where you went wrong TigaHawk, You ONLY had 3 glasses of wine,...... It's a rookie mistake, we've all done it...........
Which also explains the stomach thing in the morning......did you have hair of the dog?.....again a rookie mistake........
Seriously, i know what you mean i can go 3 days without sleeping, i don't need a lot of sleep but the zombification does catch up with me now and again. I'm afraid I'm in the same boat and would be interested in any good advice.

Good luck and i will send you some sleepy eye lids psychically (I'm no good with time zones so that could get a bit hairy) but hell, I'm gain

Take care
Hurritt

[leavesoftrees]

Posted by ktlight (here)
This is a list of herbs that assist in sleep.

Valerian (can get a tincture which you squirt into your mouth)
Lime leaves
Passion Flower

These can be mixed, but start with Valerian. If you cannot get the tincture, make a tea out of the herb with boiling water, put a lid on it for 5 minutes then drink. Usually, it works within 20 minutes.

I use a chamomille tincture when I can't sleep. Tinctures are easy to make for yourself. Just search on the web. But here is a rough guide:
steep finely chopped fresh herbs in vodka for 2 weeks in a jar, shake every day. You can use the tincture then or if you want to make a spagyric (more powerful) filter out the herbs, calcine them over heat (outside) until they are a grey white powder. Add back to the tincture and filter out again after another week.

3 drops of chamomille tincture in water is enough to send me off to sleep. Gives me really strong dreams too!!

[Wantsthetruth74]

Posted by AuCo (here)
I have friends that say black cherry concentrate helps. My wife is drinking it too. Something to try. May the sand man come your way tonight

I believe that black cherry concentrate also acts as an anti-inflammitory.

[WhiteFeather]

I don't know if anyone posted it on this thread, Try Melatonin it works for me. Its natural and does the job. Hope it Helps.

[latte]

I can certainly relate and sympathize as Iʻve been insomniac since preschool. Iʻm ALWAYS looking for something to help. I recall the last time I slept 8 hours - it was just over 2 years ago and quite a pleasant surprise. I remember it very fondly.

I was looking at something on YT yesterday and found the following vids shown below. Both techniques related to acupuncture points and EFT tapping and a few other modalities. Iʻve heard of EMDR before but never really explored it so canʻt tell you much about it.

However, I tried both techniques and both worked to slow my brain down. Iʻve got a lot of things iʻm doing at the moment and itʻs stressful, but both of these helped lower the stress and balance the brain. Give them a try.

First vid

2nd vid

I just thought of something else that can help some people that work on the computer at night. Try f.lux. It changes the color of the light emitted by the monitor to an easily adjustable peach color; a little weird and may take a few days to get used to. The color of light on a monitor is too similar to daylight and can push the brain into daylight awake mode that prevents melatonin from being excreted. Itʻs easy and more relaxing on the eyes. Daytime light can be adjusted as well.

Hope it helps!

[cloud9]

Would I dare to ask if you are going through menopause? Because I am and one of the many things happening now if lack of sleep or waking up in the middle of the night and not sleeping again, etc.
The only thing that worked for me is once in bed, paying attention to my breathing just the same as when you meditate as I realized I was thinking a lot on daily stuff and that kept me awake. Also, melatonin has helped.

[TigaHawk]

Allo cloud,

I'm only 25 so i'd hope not

Something for me to look forward too for the future tho eh? (end scarcasm )



Somehow managed 6hrs sleep, got nightshift tonight. Ty again all!

[Moonwish]

This is happening to many of us now. Booze seems to "solve" issue but takes you to lower frequency--I had some very nasty encounters and strongly suggest you clear the body and get back on track.
This is not an easy time. As hard as it is, you agreed to come here now

Please honor your choice.
Laura

[Moonwish]

Dear Limor;
you do well. Thank you for positive energy. The solution is compassion. I prey that all of you succeed in this. It is vital for the world, but it is easy to call shots from the side.
You live it, and I know that is something else. Peace be with you
Laura

[Wantsthetruth74]

Hi Tigahawk- I don't know if youi got my pm or not, but if not i will tell you what I do, and that is I take 1 melatonin tablet (3mg i think) and 3 valerian capsules 1 hr before bed. Works almost every night, except when there is a full moon. Full moons normally are very disruptive for sleep for me and my hubby, but Im used to that. ugg Sleep is a wonderful thing, and sleep deprivation is a cruel and unusual punishment.

[Lisab]

Hi Tiga hawk I feel for you I really do. I went through a phase where I through I was never gonna sleep again! Nightmare! Theres been alot of great advice on this thread which I might try myself.The problem with the shift is I think most of us going through and getting to the point where we'll be needing less sleep anyway and I think our bodies are preparing us for that.

In the meantime when its all too much though we definately need a little help to catch up. This is going to be a bit contraversial but Ive been using Edward Alexanders guided meditation and it works a treat for me. Now I know hes banned and deservedly so IMO but Ive been finding it amazing to get me off when Im desperate for sleep. The only thing is it does sound more like a hypnotherapy to me than a guided meditation,so if theres any hypnotherapists out there who could check this one out for me Id appreciate. As another poster noted it does sound a little like getting probed lol.

But Il be honest it makes me as limp as a baby and sometimes Im asleep before its even finished. Wishing you sweet dreams Tiga Love Lisa x

[AuCo]

Posted by TigaHawk (here)
Allo cloud,

I'm only 25 so i'd hope not

Something for me to look forward too for the future tho eh? (end scarcasm )



Somehow managed 6hrs sleep, got nightshift tonight. Ty again all!

ah hah! Mr. Sandman did come by. I will ask him to bring his sand again.

[mahalall]

"Suffering is attachment" once said a Zen master.

Sleep is no different.

Lying their worrying and anxious-oh when will sleep arise. Awake all night worrying causes one to have a shiver vibration of fear the next day.(Yoga nidra can help add in impermanence for deeper insights and is much healthier than benzodiazepines)

Equally as unhealthy is not allowing the body to rest and keeping busy- shift work-argh and family responsibilities-helpful tips that minimise the physical pain-light light meals single foods-avoid processed foods refined sugars and coffee and alcohol is a no no -fruits-ginseng-water+++ green teas- spirulina are excellent- Plan ahead; if you know it's going to be few days without sleep, bank sleep prior too, be disciplined, focus a time of day ideally 2-5am were you can rest the body ideally not more that an hour-because over this time and it draws the brain into deep sleep and this can be really painful to arise from. An interesting mechanism the body adopts if it needs to shut down and your overriding (and if brahmachara is your practise)it all will spontaneously sexually release!!!! (i no!). If you have an opportunity to sleep for more than an hour say two hours. Prepare the environment-closing curtains clean bedroom and ear plugs-gee the vividness of dreams as the brain/consciousness desperately and rapidity reboots itself. Accept that hallucinations are a natural part of sleep deprivation-conversations with john lennon on the album imagine will be normal and yes delusionary spirits-faces do emerge from the walls and ceilings. Placing these challenges to one side-withdrawing from sleep can be a helpful therapeutic aid to meditation. The minds natural tendency to crasp is diminished. Application of these tips leads one to be quiet detached and non-reactional state. Once i was involved in a road traffic accident. It was a simple collision. It was not my fault. As i had worked 7 nights i was experiencing that detached calmness. The driver of the other vehicle was furious. I couldn't reassure the women and could only smile. She reported me to the police. They took me into custody on the suspicion that i was under the influence of drugs supported by the fact that sleep deprivation make you look like death. Whilst waiting in the police cell for the blood test to come back the sleep deprived hallucinations arose. Oh what demons, headstands helped to reverse the situation but only reinforce in the police's mind that they had a right one here (ha)

Remember there will be times that to sleep could cause the loss of your life (military application to one-side) a friend who drives regularly to the Kazakhstan-china boarder knows that if he were to sleep on trip in Siberia he would awake with a gun in his head and no vehicle. Thankfully he knows a good pharmacist! although this is inappropriate for the ordinary lay sleep depriavar.

Last week in the middle of a 56 hr awake, this came on the car radio (japanese endurance game show came to mind).

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHwid_5iltc

As you've felt in this post, this is at the end 72hr two hours to go yippee proper sleep.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga-nidra