Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Bed Bugs Don't Bite

In the past 80 hours or so, I have clocked a cumulative of only 10 hours of sleep. The rest were spent awake (either working, walking, sitting, being on the net, and lying on the bed worrying about nothing in particular)

Although I feel fine now, I was sleepy by 10 pm last night. No doubt I slept only to be suddenly wide awake at 2:30 right until I had to wake up at 6:30 am. Will this never ever end, I wonder....

I do hope that I don't end up like the machinist. That would be just sad.

5 comments:

  1. This is not good. Have you tried any natural remedys?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Um... well, I know exercise does not help, and neither does a shower right before sleeping (though it works wonders in the afternoon), nor avoiding caffeine after 3 pm. Perhaps I just have to wait till I fall down and faint somewhere

    Word verification is suffu (sounds like suffer to me)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ugh, i hate not sleeping for extended periods, I end up dizzy disoriented and irritable which i should mention is not much different from my normal state of mind

    ReplyDelete
  4. I find if I'm stressed I don't sleep, and then I get stressed about not sleeping, which makes the whole thing a lot harder. As a result I'm really protective of my sleep.

    None of these things work in isolation but I think they've all helped me to combat my problem.

    1. go to bed and get up around the same time every day.
    2. When you go to bed make sure the room is very dark, when you wake spend time in the light - open the curtains or turn on the lights
    3. Remove all electronic equipment from your bedroom
    4. Just say no to caffeine for 12 hours before you go to bed.
    5. Don't watch tv, or play computer games, or work on a computer for at least 30 minutes before bed
    6. Don't eat any large meal - particularly one with protein for a good few hours before bed. If you are hungry have carbs. Also calcium is supposed to help you sleep, so something like milk might help.
    7. Have wind down time before bed where you have a bath or just read something relaxing
    8. Avoid alcohol and stimulants - including too much sugar or chocolate
    9. Have comfy bedclothes and make sure the room isn't too warm
    10. Don't do anything in bed except sleep. working in bed is a really bad idea
    11. expect to sleep in four hour cycles. A regular night sleep should be two four hour cycles. So if you wake up in the middle of the night don't worry about it. You're in the middle of your two cycles. However it might mean that you really have to allow yourself 9 hours of sleeping time a night to be properly rested. You will feel at your most tired if you have to get up in the middle of a cycle.
    12. The thing that has helped me most over the years is thinking that even if I'm not sleeping lying still is resting my body - not as much as sleeping, but some. This does two things: it allows you to feel slightly better about not sleeping and stop pressuring yourself about it, and it being still makes you much more likely to fall asleep.

    An opus, I know, but I hope some of it helps.

    ReplyDelete
  5. kartik: I totally understand. I get irritable as well and start talking/writing nonsense.

    aunty: Thanks for the list... come to think of it, I do practice some of the items there, except for no 12, which I will try tonight if the inability to fall asleep occurs again. Thanks again! ;)

    ReplyDelete

IT's THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN

Time for the Annual Appraisal again.  It's a cloudy Sunday afternoon, and I had just finished giving scores to my subordinates on their ...