Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Jet Lag and Insomnia

I normally don't have a problem with insomnia, but last night I woke up about 3:00, and couldn't get back to sleep until 5:00. It probably didn't help that the cat came in the room and was climbing all over me and meowing. And he kept playing with things on the nightstand, and hitting them off. Finally I got up and went downstairs to make sure he had food. Once I did that, he left me alone. :S

My husband is still having problems with jet lag. He's never had this much of a problem before. When he first came home from China, he got sick, and that kept him up at night. But after he got well, he still couldn't seem to get back on schedule. He typically wakes up for a 3 hour period in the middle of the night, and sometimes even longer. Last night he fell asleep about 8:00, but woke up exactly as the clock turned midnight. He couldn't sleep for about 3 hours. After he came back to bed, and was trying to sleep, that's when the cat came in and was causing trouble. I don't know how he is ever going to get back on schedule.

My 18 year old struggles with insomnia. He often can't get to sleep until 2:00 or later. Sometimes he can't sleep until 4:00. He said he has struggled with this since he was a little boy. How come I never knew? I do remember that when he was in kindergarten the teacher came to me and said she was worried about him. She said he looked so tired all the time. I talked to him and found out that he was afraid of the dark. So I began leaving the closet light on for him, and it solved the problem. Hmm...maybe he needs a nightlight now? ;)

I happened to see that Kaiser offers an insomnia class. I think I might get him to go to that. Maybe they have tips for jet lag as well. As for me, I hope last night was a fluke, and that I sleep through the night tonight. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

5 comments:

Inklings said...

Unfortunately, I have done that every night for over 23 years, and I lock the cat out of my bedroom at night. :0s

Nene said...

Call me if you're bored, I'm probably awake. I did find that if I take just a regular Tylenol or something like that, I sleep better and don't wake up as much, and if I do wake up I can go back to sleep faster. However, I don't like taking meds so I don't take one unless I have a headache or body ache. I've wondered if sugar has anything to do with it. Even now that I've cut my caffeine it doesn't help. I've read that you shouldn't get out of bed unless you need to go to the bathroom. I also read that another thing you can do is change positions - like turn over to the other side - and think, "Ok, I'm going to go to sleep now." Sometimes that works for me, but not if I start worrying about something. I do know that if you get up and do stuff, then you create a habit of waking up at that time every night. If I could just shut my brain off at night when I go to bed so when I do wake up I don't start thinking about stuff I'm worrying about, I probably could go back to sleep. :0+
My word verification is undiva - It's so undiva-like to be sleep deprived!

Stick said...

The doctor's at Primary told Andee to take a vitamin supplement- Melatonin. It is fairly inexpensive, and really does help you to fall asleep faster, and stay asleep.

My word verification is "enishmu". Enishmu very much when e's gone.

Max Coutinho said...

Hi D,

I am so sorry for that: insomnia is awful! It influences the way your brain works, it messes up with our memory...it's terrible. I hope your son finds a way to work it out.

I can't comment on jet lag: I never experienced it.

Have a good week, darling!

Cheers

Mrs. Rogers said...

I heard that drinking milk right before trying to go to sleep is supposed to help with insomnia.

I'm actually doing a research paper over insomnia this semester, so if I find anything helpful, I'll pass it on!

Love you!