Awake, it seems.

[swestrup]

Well, due to circumstances beyond my control, I didn't get to go for a walk or do anything outside yesterday. Grumph.

I did end up going to bed around 9:00 pm, and fell asleep by 10:00 pm. So far, that's according to plan. What WASN'T according to plan was waking up at 2:30 am and being completely unable to fall asleep again. I've been lying in bed, tossing and turning, since then. Nothing has helped. I tried some herbal sleeping pills, and a few hours later (on taxlady's suggestion) I tried Cocoa with Rum. Neither helped.

Since my alarm is set to go off in about 90 minutes, I've given up on getting any more sleep tonight. At this point my only hope is coffee, and lots of it, to ensure that I'm awake and alert at 11:00 am when I have my job interview.

Double Grumph.

Comments

[denizsarikaya.livejournal.com]

All my best for your interview.

[montrizzle.livejournal.com]

I used to have tremendous sleep problems, so bad I had to go to doctors many times. I'd get two hours of sleep every twenty-four hours if I were lucky.

I hate to say it, but the main problem for me was caffeine. This helped TREMENDOUSLY (giving it up completely, it is more addictive than alcohol and nicotine you know). Here are other things that helped:

- exercising most days
- not eating before bed, like two hours before bed
- having a "routine" before hitting the hay: this could be anything. for me, I turn off lights, shut off computer, brush my teeth, take contacts out, pee, set my alarm, and then go to sleep. during the few minutes it takes to do all this stuff, my brain is alerted I want sleep and readies itself for it - sound crazy? learnt it in a psychology course in college, and it works...

[swestrup]

I don't do much coffee, except on days like today when I desperately need to be alert. Usually I have a cup or two in the morning and thats it. I've often gone 3 or 4 weeks without any caffeine, and its never had any effect positive or negative, on my sleep.

I find that eating before bed IS a bad idea because it either a) keeps me awake or b) puts me to sleep until I wake up with acid indigestion. So, I always try to eat hours before I sleep. Its not always possible in this crazy household.

Lastly, I've had a sleep ritual for years now, and it does help me to feel drowsy and fall asleep, but its not enough.

Lately I've been thinking its my blood-sugar levels that are causing my problems. Diabetes runs in my family so I know I'm probably sugar sensitive. I'm hoping that going on Atkins will make a positive improvement.

[montrizzle.livejournal.com]

Are you going to do Atkins? I'm on it, and it's awesome. You're not really allowed to do caffeine (as in at all) because it messes with blood sugar, but some people do.

I've noticed a difference in sleep, too. I fall asleep much faster. The better thing is I'm waking up more easily. At first I had problems going to sleep, then I had problems waking myself up. I had to buy an alarm clock made for the hard of hearing, literally, and sometimes even then I drowned it out mentally. Plus once I was actually up, I was always in half-asleep zombie mode for at least an hour. Now I'm in half-asleep zombie mode for like five minutes.

I'd reccomend the diet, and of course my community atkins_canada : )

[swestrup]

Yeah, taxlady and I will probably go on atkins in the next couple of months. Cutting out caffeine won't bother me at all, and I'm already cutting down on my sugar intake in preparation. The only reason we're not doing it yet is I want to finish reading the book and drawing up a meal plan. I don't actually LIKE about 1/3 of the things Atkins lists as being allowed for you to eat while on Induction, so I'm having to do research so I can draw up my own meal plan. (taxlady is different. She could eat raw steak 3 meals a day and would love it.)

[montrizzle.livejournal.com]

Well, just remember, Induction is only two weeks, and it sucks, but it's not the whole diet and it gets much better after that... good luck!

[swestrup]

Well, according to Atkins himself, induction is a minimum of two weeks and for someone as overweight as myself (over 150 pounds to drop) he recommends a month or two.

[montrizzle.livejournal.com]

Well, the purpose of induction is to change your body, so if your body changes in two weeks, I personally would not stay in induction.