.fancy a good night sleep?.

I came across a friend's blog today where she complaints about her sleeping problem. It's disturbing her and it concerns me as well.

Coz I too, suffered the same problem few months back.

From minor disorder, this trouble could actually leads you to chronic insomnia. At the early stage of this problem, I didnt worry as much until I realized that it's causing me trouble in and out of school. At some point, I even thought that I wasn't normal and it hurts me everytime people tell it to my face that I am lazy and etc etc just because I skip classes and had trouble finishing my assignments. I'm always anxious and grumpy around people and I get defensive most of the time. Being a light-sleeper, it annoys me each time people woke me up coz I have difficulty falling asleep.

I've tried everything. Eucalyptus oil? Bacaan doa, surah, dan ayat suci? Milk? Been there done that. The one person who really cares for me used to rub some baby johnson's oil on my head, made me hot milk and did bedtime reading for me (a story of how a giant met a kinky kat) and so far, I found it did help me a lot. I can't say how much I appreciate it. It's just beyond words. I need help and the person helps me. Thank you 100millionx. :)

Now that i'm getting better, Alhamdullilah, I would love to mentioned about this sleeping disorder problem of mine in my blog for my friends and other bloggers as well to share.
There are many types of sleeping disorder, from sleep apnea, insomnia, narcolepsy and the list goes on. And for all I know, insomnia is NOT A DISORDER BUT A COMPLAINT. I suffered chronic insomnia - poor sleep that happens most nights and last a month or longer. This has caused me anxiety, impaired concentration where i became very very forgetfull ( I had trouble remembering certain names and events), impaired memory and irritability. One of the most common causes of chronic insomnia is depression. However, chronic insomnia may also be due to behavioral factors, including the misuse of caffeine, alcohol, or other substances; disrupted sleep/wake cycles as may occur with shift work or other nighttime activity schedules; and chronic stress. ( Please take not that I don't drink). In addition, I had :

• poor sleep hygiene in general
• expecting to have difficulty sleeping and worrying about it
• ingesting excessive amounts of caffeine ( i need to find at least a bottle of root beer to ease myself at night)
• excessive napping in the afternoon or evening (this is when i skip my classes)
• irregular or continually disrupted sleep/wake schedule

And hell, insomnia is effecting my quality of life!

To my dear friends who has the same trouble (I do know you suffered the same thing if I found you chatting up with me at 5 in the morning! You, yes, you!) here are some tips that might help you:


- Sleep is as important as food and air. Quantity and quality are very important. Most adults need between 7.5 to 8.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. If you press the snooze button on the alarm in the morning you are not getting enough sleep. This could be due to not enough time in bed, external disturbances, or a sleep disorder.

- Keep regular hours. Try to go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time every day. Getting up at the same time is most important. Getting bright light, like the sun, when you get up will also help. Try to go to bed only when you are sleepy. Bright light in the morning at a regular time should help you feel sleepy at the same time every night.

- Stay away from stimulants like caffeine. This will help you get deep sleep which is most refreshing. If you take any caffeine, take it in the morning. Avoid all stimulants in the evening, including chocolate, caffeinated sodas, and caffeinated teas. They will delay sleep and increase arousals during the night.

- Use the bed for sleeping. Avoid watching TV or using laptop computers. Know that reading in bed can be a problem if the material is very stimulation and you read with a bright light. If it helps to read before sleep make sure you use a very small wattage bulb to read. A 15 watt bulb should be enough. Bright light from these activities may inhibit sleep.

- Avoid bright light around the house before bed. Using dimmer switches in living rooms and bathrooms before bed can be helpful. (Dimmer switches can be set to maximum brightness for morning routines.)

- Don't stress if you feel you are not getting enough sleep. It will just make matters worse. Know you will sleep eventually.

- Avoid exercise near bedtime. No exercise at least 3 hours before bed.

- Don't go to bed hungry. Have a light snack, avoid a heavy meal before bed.

- Bedtime routines are helpful for good sleep. Keep routines on your normal schedule. A cup of herbal tea an hour before bed can begin a routine.

- Avoid looking at the clock if you wake up in the middle of the night. It can cause anxiety. This is very difficult for most of us, so turn the clock away from your eyes so you would have to turn it to see the time. You may decide not to make the effort and go right back to sleep.

- If you can't get to sleep for over 30 minutes, get out of bed and do something boring in dim light till you are sleepy.

- Keep your bedroom at comfortable temperature. Not too warm and not too cold. Cooler is better than warmer.

- If you have problems with noise in your environment you can use a white noise generator. A old fan will work or you can buy noise machies from many sources.

- Know that the "night cap" has a price. Alcohol may help you to get to sleep but it will cause you to wake up throughout the night. You may not notice it. (It is worse if you have sleep apnea because the alcohol makes the apnea worse.) Sometimes people snore only if they have had some alcohol or may snore worse if they already snore.)

- If you have a sleeping partner, ask them if they notice any snoring, leg movements and/or pauses in breathing . You may have a sleep disorder or you may just need to increase your awareness about your own sleep need.

And the one I bold out, is 'ME'.

Some people who suffered the same trouble may find it hard to admit it but hey, if you keep living in denial, it wont cured and nobody can help you out. I used to hang out with people who has the same trouble, we hang out in the wee hours of the morning and they respect it if I said 'I want to sleep' but honestly, it only makes things worse for me coz i didnt find the cure and I couldn't sleep.

I hope this could help you, abby (and yes you, i dont want to mention your name but i do care, okay!) coz I am very much concern about this matter.

Now, it's great to be able to wake up early in the morning :)



Living my life pathetically happy.
__Ib