Insomnia

I struggled with insomnia for about two years, basically getting through on Ambien. I don't think that sleeping pills are a cure all for insomnia. My insomnia was anxiety-based, but I needed the sleep in order to have the energy to deal with the anxiety. I now still use occasional OTC sleeing pills to help me deal with race day anxiety, beginning of school jitters, and other general stress issues. I think this is a reasonable choice. However, I also think there are a lot of other things you can do to deal with insomnia.

1.         Go to bed and wake up at the same time, every day. Yes, even the weekend. It really helps your body to have a schedule.
2.         Get outside and get real sunlight on your face during your waking part of the day.
3.         Exercise regularly. And by that I mean every day. It helps if it is the same time every day. I think that exercising hard is good. It helps get your body tired.
4.         Don't use caffeine or alcohol. Caffeine is a stimulant. Alcohol is a depressant. You want your body to have its own signals for sleep and wake, not to depend on artificial ones.
5.         Eat healthy. Especially make sure you get enough fiber from fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans.
6.         Give yourself permission to not be in control of the entire universe. When you sleep, things will happen you will not control. That is normal because when you are awake, things happen you don't control. Very little stuff is stuff you control.
7.         Control the stuff you can control while you are awake. This means you do the work you need to do, a reasonable amount of it. And when you're done, you get to be “off.” If you are someone who runs your own business or works from home, it can be really hard to give yourself “off” time. Do it anyway.
8.         Do fun things with people you love. Strong, healthy relationships make you happier and will help with anxiety issues.
9.         Make sure you have things planned each day. Even if you are stressed, you need to have expectations of yourself to get things done.
10.       Spend time at the end of each day reviewing the day and reminding yourself of the things you did that day that mattered and made you happy. You can also review people you love, and remind yourself of your own good qualities. You may think of this as part of your meditation/prayer practice.

When you have insomnia, you want it be solved fast. You want to go to sleep RIGHT NOW. Part of the problem with insomnia is the anxiety that is created by the insomnia around sleep. There's no quick fix to this (other than sleeping pills, which are still not a quick fix). For me, it has helped to make sure I have books on my iphone that I really, really want to read. If I can't sleep, I keep the lights off to remind my body it is actually sleeping time, but I don't stress about it because I have something I want to do. Strangely, having a book I want to read tends to decrease my insomnia and I end up having to read the book during regular daylight hours because I go to sleep easily. The irony!

But insomnia sucks. If you are suffering from it, you have all my sympathies. Get your life right physically, and then if you need to see, get to see a therapist and possibly a doctor who can prescribe any drugs you will need to get your life back on track.

Also here is a great post on insomnia by Justine Larbelestier which I read when I was suffering: <http://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/2008/02/27/insomnia/>.

For more on how to make your 24 hours so productive, they seem like 27, go here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Hour-Day-Productive-ebook/dp/B00F8JTZ9K