h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

How little can a body operate on
My body seems to be engaged on an experiment to find out, without my permission
So and another 11 hours of shift to get through

'offers a soft pillow for a weary head'

very restful
I have a week off beginning Friday but no plans except sleep, lots of sleep

Don't blame you Is that providing the insomnia goes away?

well the problem at the moment is I could sleep now but doubtless tomorrow morning won't be able to
with a week off I'm sure I'll be able to find a moment
also I'll be able to sleep at night when its dark and the person upstairs won't be playing awful music
very inconsiderate of people playing music in the middle of the day

yeah there should be a law against it!

defnitely
when I'm running the country Oliver Cromwell will seem like a party animal

The problem, BC, is that shift work messes up your normal rythms! Neighbours are just a factor. I don't know why you work nights, but it's best long term to try to find an alternative!
For insomnia, I recommend sitting up with a boring book and a telly programme about house renovation! Don't lie in bed failing to sleep, or you'll just get to hate the sight of your bedroom. (That's my only advice. Oh - and if you must use sleeping pills - no more than once a week, but definitely if you start to trip put!)

mainly I work nights because its less work for more money
of course if I could find a job I found worthwhile or interesting enough I might be happy to do more work but since the current job is neither

also I pack my 80 hours a fortnight into just 7 days
I do like having those extra days off
but yes, you're right, nightworkers suffer worse from insomnia, stress, depression than other workers, and since I'm prone to depression anyway its probably not a good long-term plan to stay it, plus having done it for almost 2 years it is becoming incredibly boring

Aww poppet

Trust me when I say I know what you're going through...I'm a terror when I don't sleep properly...which would explain why I'm such a terror

All I can suggest is to lay off the smokes and for a good hour or two before you go to bed...hot showers, warm milk, soft music seem to work for some people...I an also find some aromatherapy stuff for you if you want (I'm allergic to lavendar which cuts my options in half there )chamomile , massaging your feet or chest can also release stress and make sleep easier.

You cold also try going for a walk or doing exercise. This can help make you physically tired and also work off any nervous energy...

I find sometimes it helps to write before you go to bed as well...if you have the same problem I do (not being able to switch your brain off ) it can help just writing all the stuff your thinking down...often times it will help you stop thinking about it and sleep will be easier.

If you find you can't sleep, it's not a good idea to stay in bed...just get up and do something, then not only are you being productive (time to get all that pesky sewing out of the way ), but you're not stressing about being not able to sleep.

I've never found anything that cures it though...I've been put on sleeping tablets, anti-anxiety and anti-depressent medication but nothing really helped (which isn't to say it won't help anyone else, I've just never found a system that worked for me)...most of the ways I've found that help me sleep aren't the kind that can be recommended and nothing really offered any long term relief in my instance.

I've found reading or doing something usually works but sometimes I get too engrossed and don't go back to bed for hours

I don't use sleeping pills

I'm usually ok so long as my sleep pattern stays ok but its gotten really messed up this week and probably will until I have some time off

I may try not having a whole pot of before I go to bed, thats probably not a good idea

Ok, well then maybe books aren't a good idea for you...and (I know I'm going to regret this)...but maybe hootoo before bed is a bad idea too...you don't want to get too excited and not want to go ot sleep

books are ok because I read them in bed but going on the computer after work would be a very bad idea

Agreed...

I could almost write a book on all the "home remedies" for insomnia....I've had ten years of people trying to help me out

I just ignore it as much as possible
Usually only suffer it once in a week or 2 but this week its been ridiculous
Never wanted sleeping pills, heard too many stories about people becoming addicts

I've never had a problem with addiction, mostly because I was so terrified of beicoming addicted I only took them if I was close to death

But I've been on three different kinds of sleeping pills the last couple of years...and I never had a problem...

...having said that, they didn'treally help me with my sleep either (don't get me wrong, they would help when I took them...I even took them a week in a row to see if I could force my sleeping patterns into step, but the next day it just went back to sleeplessness ).

so maybe useful to have around for those nights when you can't get to sleep but have a job interview the next day

Yeah, but I think a lot of it depends on how you use them...I think you should try all other options before resorting to a pill...easy fixes are too attractive and lead ot things like addiction.

But yes, I would say if it was not going to be habitual, you should definitely consider sleeping pills.

won't happen anyway cos I'd have to go see my doctor and I do that as infrequently as possible

You could always go to a health store and see if they can sort you out with something!

St John's Wort and Valerian Root (I have a feeling I spelt them wrong) are good for stress and sleep.

My doctor and I have a very frustrating relationship...he keeps giving me prescriptions and I hold on to them for 3 or 4 months before I fill them, if I ever do