Can't sleep, what to do

[The JoJo]

It's 1.45 AM, and I can't sleep. I drank coffee at about 9 PM, and can't go to sleep for many hours to go. Damm, lost track of time when I drank the coffee. I hate it when this happens.

So what do you people do if something like this happens to you? Do you go to your computer, do you read a book, just stay awake in bed and wait for the sleep to come?

If you get up and start doing something, does your better half (if one exists) ask you to come to bed, to stop what you are doing?

Damm coffee...stupid me...

 

[The JoJo]

Just great, now I'm the only one on-line here. :roll:

 

[fool]

If I need to get up the next day, scotch.
If I can catch up on my rest in the morning I'll write.

 

[Mercutio]

I'm have terrible insomnia. Reading old college textbooks or certification manuals helps sometimes. Or Chamomille Tea.

 

[jtr1962]

Watch TV. It works almost every time for me.

 

[Handruin]

Watch TV. It works almost every time for me.

Same here, it puts me right to sleep. Unless there is something interesting on the learning channel or the history channel.

 

[Groltz]

Do they have Nyquil in Finland? Disgusting stuff, but it's what I use as a last ditch choice.

:mrgrn:

 

[timwhit]

Do they have Nyquil in Finland? Disgusting stuff, but it's what I use as a last ditch choice.

:mrgrn:

I've used NyQuil a couple of times, the problem with it is that sometimes its effects last a bit too long. One time I thought it would be a good idea to take a double dose of it when I needed to get to sleep. I slept about 16 hours and about 8 hours too long. Even a single dose can be quite powerful and I can still feel the effects the next day after eight hours of sleep.

 

[The JoJo]

So I guess Nyquil is a sleeping medicine?

Just woke up, and now I'm tired.

 

[timwhit]

NyQuil is supposed to be a cold medicine, it just is for the night, and it makes you sleep really well.

 

[The JoJo]

Funny thing, I can't read or watch TV if my fiance is awake. We're so used to sleeping together (sleeping people, as in sleeping, lying still in bed etc... ) that it bothers the other if we're not both in bed. And the other one usually gets cranky if the otherwone starts flicking lights on, putting the tv on etc...

We're very sensitive when were about to go to sleep.
Guess if that limited my doings last night?
So after a few posts I got fetched back to bed .... :mrgrn:

 

[Howell]

Caffiene tends to put me to sleep. I assume my body goes into overload. I don't keep caffeine around the house though. If I'm having trouble going to sleep I might do some sit-ups or push-ups. After 10 minutes in bed I'm out.

 

[The JoJo]

Almost all kinds of training wakes me up. Can't usually go to sleep for a few hours after that. Guess it just gets my metabolism working overtime real quick...

 

[zx]

Usually, I play counter-strike, until I realize how bad I am...That makes me sleepy .

 

[SteveC]

I get tired right after eating something, but it doesn't seem to work when I'm actually trying to fall asleep.

 

[blakerwry]

I spend my time here... not that it helps me sleep.

 

[timwhit]

I just spent the last 2.5 hours laying in bed unable to sleep, and now it's 7AM. I think it has something to do with the 3 Mountain Dews I drank before I tried to fall asleep. Maybe some minesweeped will help me fall asleep...

 

[Groltz]

Minesweeper is too exciting...Try Pong. :wink:

 

[Handruin]

I just spent the last 2.5 hours laying in bed unable to sleep, and now it's 7AM. I think it has something to do with the 3 Mountain Dews I drank before I tried to fall asleep. Maybe some minesweeped will help me fall asleep...

I think the same thing happened to me last night. I had several mountain Dew's while I was out eating and I could not sleep later that night. Took me over an hour and it was so damn humid here making it worse.

 

[Mercutio]

Minesweeper is too exciting...Try Pong. :wink:

Minesweeper is a frickin' click-fest for people who are into it (I'm not fond of it myself.). WAY too much action.

Pong requires regular movement.

Now, REVERSI (which came with Windows 3.0 but not 3.1, IIRC) is a nice, slow-paced game.

Sigh. Anyone have a copy of SkiFree or Tut's Tomb?

 

[Handruin]

I have both skifree and tut's tomb. PM me if you want them, they are tiny.

 

[Handruin]

Heh, I just fired up my old version of risk and I set the players to zero and watch the game fight itself just like the movie war games.

I love to see how fast a game plays on this moden machine...16 round risk game in 25 seconds is rather amusing.

 

[jtr1962]

I think the same thing happened to me last night. I had several mountain Dew's while I was out eating and I could not sleep later that night. Took me over an hour and it was so damn humid here making it worse.

You and timwhit both suffered from a sugar and caffeine induced high(yes, Mountain Dew has caffeine, though not as much as Coke or Pepsi). Also, nothing worse than trying to sleep when it's warm and/or humid(which is why I have AC in my bedroom).

I personally try to avoid large quantities of soda, period, but this is especially important before I go to bed(which is around 6 AM for me these days). If the caffeine doesn't get me the sugar will. If not the sugar then the gas. And I avoid Coke and Pepsi entirely. I'm rather embarrased to admit that they both give me chronic bowel movement(I won't be more graphic than that). Probably the caffeine again since coffee and tea sometimes have a similar but much smaller effect on me.

 

[SteveC]

Also, nothing worse than trying to sleep when it's warm and/or humid(which is why I have AC in my bedroom).

Not for me. I always have a heavy blanket (or two) on my bed, even in the summer, and I hate being cold when I'm trying to sleep.

 

[Mercutio]

Weird. I have an AC-on-wheels to supplement the other two in my apartment. I'm more tolerant of "warm" than I used to be but with all my PCs I'm usually fighting a losing battle to keep temps under a 80F in my computer room and 76 - 78 in the rest of my apartment (I like cool, as in 60F, because I like to be under covers but can't stand to be if it's warm).

 

[blakerwry]

Also, nothing worse than trying to sleep when it's warm and/or humid(which is why I have AC in my bedroom).

Not for me. I always have a heavy blanket (or two) on my bed, even in the summer, and I hate being cold when I'm trying to sleep.

lol, i would not use a heavy blanket in summer unless I lived in antarctica...

i hate being hot.. i've been known to sleep outside with regular sheets in sub zero weather...

 

[blakerwry]

btw, how much is too much when it comes to bowel movements? I usually go once a day, but I've known some people who go several days without a movement.

 

[jtr1962]

btw, how much is too much when it comes to bowel movements? I usually go once a day, but I've known some people who go several days without a movement.

I've heard that it's actually healthier to go a few times a day as it means your digestive system can better flush out the poisons from your system. Of course, you can accomplish the same thing more agreeably by drinking lots of water and peeing alot. I would guess more than two or three bowel movements daily might be considered too much but I'm not a doctor. Although I never really paid much mind to it, normal for me is also about once a day, although I've gone for as long as a week at times when I wasn't eating much. The best example was in my first year of college. The college food was absolutely horrible. More often than not when I did eat I would puke it up right away. Many days I didn't even bother to eat at all except for a little cold cereal for breakfast. I lost 20 pounds in 12 weeks during the first semester. At 145 I looked positively anorexic. Needless to say, nothing in, nothing out. Sometimes for a week. The joys of college food. :tdown:

 

[Handruin]

heh, should this have been in the dump thread in the P&B? :lol:

 

[timwhit]

I think the same thing happened to me last night. I had several mountain Dew's while I was out eating and I could not sleep later that night. Took me over an hour and it was so damn humid here making it worse.

You and timwhit both suffered from a sugar and caffeine induced high(yes, Mountain Dew has caffeine, though not as much as Coke or Pepsi). Also, nothing worse than trying to sleep when it's warm and/or humid(which is why I have AC in my bedroom).

I personally try to avoid large quantities of soda, period, but this is especially important before I go to bed(which is around 6 AM for me these days). If the caffeine doesn't get me the sugar will. If not the sugar then the gas. And I avoid Coke and Pepsi entirely. I'm rather embarrased to admit that they both give me chronic bowel movement(I won't be more graphic than that). Probably the caffeine again since coffee and tea sometimes have a similar but much smaller effect on me.

Mountain Dew has a lot more caffeine than Coke or Pepsi. In 12oz containers Mountain Dew has 55.5mg caffeine, Coke has 34.5mg, and Pepsi has 37.5mg. Though a standard cup of brewed coffee has around 135mg.

Hmm...sometimes massive quantities of beer will mess with my bowel movements, but it has to be at least 10 or 12 before it's a major problem.

 

[blakerwry]

btw, how much is too much when it comes to bowel movements? I usually go once a day, but I've known some people who go several days without a movement.

I've heard that it's actually healthier to go a few times a day as it means your digestive system can better flush out the poisons from your system. Of course, you can accomplish the same thing more agreeably by drinking lots of water and peeing alot. I would guess more than two or three bowel movements daily might be considered too much but I'm not a doctor. Although I never really paid much mind to it, normal for me is also about once a day...

Of course you want to get rid of toxins, but you don't want to wear out any important parts while doing it...

 

[Howell]

... but I've known some people who go several days without a movement.

:aok:

 

[Fushigi]

Mountain Dew has a lot more caffeine than Coke or Pepsi. In 12oz containers Mountain Dew has 55.5mg caffeine, Coke has 34.5mg, and Pepsi has 37.5mg. Though a standard cup of brewed coffee has around 135mg.

I drink Caffeine-Free Diet Coke. No caff, no sugar. Not that it's healthy or anything, but at least if I have some at 10PM it won't keep me up for hours.

 

[fool]

btw, how much is too much when it comes to bowel movements? I usually go once a day, but I've known some people who go several days without a movement.

I've heard that it's actually healthier to go a few times a day as it means your digestive system can better flush out the poisons from your system. Of course, you can accomplish the same thing more agreeably by drinking lots of water and peeing alot. I would guess more than two or three bowel movements daily might be considered too much but I'm not a doctor. Although I never really paid much mind to it, normal for me is also about once a day...

Of course you want to get rid of toxins, but you don't want to wear out any important parts while doing it...

Blake, I'm not sure I even want to know the answer to this but, What are you eating/drinking that has you worried about "wear and tear"? :eekers:

 

[Mercutio]

Excessive amounts of water are hard on the kidneys.

 

[Howell]

Excessive amounts of water are hard on the kidneys.

So is ecessive amounts of bone & coins.
And that's not all, http://www.ediets.com/news/article.cfm/article_id,6330
http://www.hhp.ufl.edu/keepingfit/ARTICLE/toomuchwater.htm

 

[Handruin]

I had no idea someone could OD on water. I drink a decent amount of water through the day and with most meals. The weekends are usually a mix of soda and water.

Excessive water consumption can result in hyponatremia, a medical term for low sodium (salt) in the blood. Hyponatremia's symptoms include extreme diarrhea, headaches, confusion, weakness and personality changes. The most severe cases will result in seizures, respiratory arrest, coma and death

 

[blakerwry]

i think you really have to drink alot of water... I was thinking the problem was a combination of thinning of the blood and the water washing out too many nutrients from your body.

I would think it would take several gallons or more daily of water.

 

[jtr1962]

One of the articles says most peoples kidneys can cope with 12 liters of water a day. Besides the fact that it would be pretty difficult to drink more than that on a continuous basis(i.e. day to day), there is the obvious problem of peeing every half hour whenever you drink any fluids in large quantities. I've always thought the 8 glasses a day of water recommended by many dieticians was ridiculous for that reason. The water may be healthy, but unless you can stay home or are sweating a great deal it just isn't practical. I can imagine reaction of fellow straphangers to the poor person who follows this regimen and then gets stuck on a delayed subway train-"Excuse sir, but why are you wetting yourself?" IIRC most bladders can hold 4 to 8 ounces at most, so consuming 8 glasses of water during the 16 hours you're awake means going at least every two hours, and probably much more often if you don't like waiting until you feel like you're ready to burst. Unfortunately, you don't always have easy access to bathrooms. For this reason I tend to avoid coffee and any other liquids before I go out, especially to Manhattan. You just can't count on finding a place to go in NYC.

 

[blakerwry]

That reminds me of my return trip last time when backpacking... had to stop and pee every half mile on a 6-8 mile stretch. was a real pain in the butt.. Of course I'd rather have to pee than get altitude sickness or simply dehydrated.