It's hard for me to fall asleep... And I'm healthy!

[sss3d]

I can never fall asleep fast.. I don't eat any sugars, chocolate, candy past 4:00 PM. I eat dinner at the right time, around 7-8. I swim for 1 and a half hour ending at 6:30. This usually kills my boredom, but I have a feeling it might be the reason why I stay awake. Is it the ticking of my clock that keeps me awake? Also there's another pereson sleeping who keeps moving and that literetly wakes me up from my sleep. god its annoying. Other than that, I think it's environmental situtation that's keeping me awake. I have no TV or computer (except for today when trying this BWG audio). (I believe that electromagnetic waves can keep you awake) Help please? sss3d

[Barbizzle]

Is there any way you could move to a different room, or wear ear plugs and get rid of the clock? Try changing the environment.

[Tsen]

The swimming might indeed be what's keeping you up. Physical activity can interrupt your normal chemical balance, which is normally good for you, but not when you're trying to get some sleep. Try swimming in the mornings or afternoons for a week or so, rather than at night. It might help. The only other question I have is: How strict is your schedule? It sounds like you're pretty deep-rooted in your current schedule, in which case keep it up. Otherwise, be sure you go to bed and wake up at the same time every night. It helps most people. The last possibility is that you have insomnia. It's perfectly normal for an otherwise healthy person to have insomnia, so don't rule it out too fast. I'm a mild insomniac myself. Anyway, just be sure to stay away from most sleeping medications. They'll help at first, but eventually you grow resistant to them and they lose effectiveness and build dependency. Melatonin is a safe alternative, and you won't grow dependent on it, but you can still become resistant to it if you take it more than once or twice a week.

[Howie]

Believe me sss3d when I tell you I know what you are talking about. Some people are thinkers. I am not implying that other don't or can't think, but some of us can't turn of our brains. as A last resort, medication. Over the counter sleep aids. Not recommended though. Possibly something prescribed in the case you have an issue as I due.. and was put on a tranquilizer, again last resort! There are breathing techniques, yoga and mind trickery. What you do is not let the same thought keep impeding your mind, When it does, acknowledge it. as just a thought, nothing more, no validity to it. It will arise again surely. Do the same thing. Your conscious mind gets tired at gives control over to your subconscious. It may sound corny but I put the "thought" on a monitor and push delete, over and over until my mind gives up/ Good luck. PM me if you like

[sss3d]

I have a strict schedule considering I'm a student, and I can't even eat Oreos! lol just kidding. But if I eat Oreos before swimming, my swimming becomes really slow and my breathing becomes horrible. If I eat oreos after swimming, then I won't be able to eat dinner. If I eat oreos after dinner, then I might not be able to sleep. (I heard eating foods with sugar after 4 can cause you to be awake) I have PE first thing in the morning, so no I can't eat oreos for breakfast or I'll die when I run. Anyways, My only options are either having swimming at the time 5-6:30 or swimming at 6:30-8:00 (which the latter option won't be a solution to my current problem. lol) Insomnia.. I'm too young to have insomnia. And I don't plan to try medications or drugs to help me sleep. They may not be good for my body in the long run. Hey Howetzer, when I first read the sentence that you knew what you're talking about, I had some doubts. But what you say makes a lot of sense and I believe fits my current situation. I'm a thinker. I think hard, all the time. The best time I think is during sleep when I'm least likely to be disturbed. I have a feeling that might be keeping me awake. maybe. Strangely though, I feel sleepier during mediatation than during trying to sleep! but I bet my parents, or bro would ask, what are you doing sitting on your bed in the dark like that? I'll try your advice. I don't care about corniness. If it works, it should be practical. lol!

[Tsen]

There's no such thing as being too young to have insomnia. I've had it as long as I remember. The cause is what's up for debate here; but it's obvious that you have insomnia in some way or another. Anyway, Howetzer gave some good advice, so I'd just listen to him.

[Howie]

Originally posted by sss3D Hey Howetzer, when I first read the sentence that you knew what you're talking about, I had some doubts. But what you say makes a lot of sense and I believe fits my current situation. Well Good! I hope it works. Keep us posted. Hopefully we will not receive an update at 2:30 AM Rather than a monitor, as I use, my friend puts his "thought" on a cloud and visually watches it float away. In both cases you are turning your attention from the thought to visual.

[Callista]

Are you a natural lucid dreamer? If so, you may be a natural light sleeper as well. I know that's true of me, and my doctor told me lucid dreams are often an indication of light sleep. Sounds like environmental stimuli are keeping you awake. Best thing to do is either remove them or cover them up somehow. Regarding the person sleeping in the same room, is it possible to not share a bed? If it's a spouse, maybe that's not an option; maybe a mattress that doesn't transmit the other person's movements too much could help. As for sounds, you could try white noise--easily ignorable noise like the sound of a fan or white-noise machine--to raise your "threshold of hearing" and cover up the sound of the clock. Speaking of that clock, why not move it to another room and get a digital clock for your bedroom? Also, there are the usual meditation/relaxation techniques to get rid of mental and physical tension.

[sss3d]

I believe that insomnia is caused by certain eating habits... If you eat certain foods with certain ingredients.. they might cause insomnia. Like aspartme, which is artificial sugar, in diet products. It's over time though. But that's just a group of people's opinion. I wouldn't know if I'm eating something that's keeping me awake. "Hopefully we will not receive an update at 2:30 AM " lol! Callista, I have no clue about natrualness... I've only had one lucid dream in my life. And that was when, I slept at 9, woke up at 3. Took a long walk to the hotel. Slept again till 6. (train stations) Had a lucid dream. But I don't normally have them. I don't think I'm a light sleeper. Oh it's my brother. lol "maybe a mattress that doesn't transmit the other person's movements too much could help. " I never thought of that! I wonder if my parents would want to buy me a new one though... "Speaking of that clock, why not move it to another room and get a digital clock for your bedroom? " I thought of that too quite recently, and so I got a new digital clock. The problem is, the alarm is really annoying the moment it turns on. It doesn't wake me up natrually but just annoys me. I read that it isn't good.... My old alarm woke me up slowly which felt really peaceful. (thank god) I wouldn't think my radio would wake me up, so I don't use that. I removed the clock on the wall from my bedroom. I feel soooooo much better after all that. My problem now, is I just need to focus on not focusing my thoughts. Then I'll be able to sleep perfectly. Thanks everyone for the great advice! It was common sense, but I've been too busy to notice them. lol

[Scept]

i always had a hard time getting asleep.... give us some info- how much time does it take you to fall asleep? if its up to half an hour, its not a major problem, you still get all the sleep you need. (had a few weeks in which i slept under an hour per night. its a freaking nightmer, bealive me). howitzer- everybody think. period.

[sss3d]

Maybe an hour? I've had only one time, where I couldn't fall asleep for the whole night. It's kinda scary to think about it has never happenned to you. But when I woke up, I didn't feel too bad. And it kinda surprised me. Though I don't ever want that to happen to me again. lol It takes me usually more than an hour to fall asleep. I would be very lucky to take an hour to sleep.

[Scept]

I meant i was ASLEEP for less then one hour. for a few weeks. not took me one hour to fall asleep.

[sss3d]

Originally posted by Scept I meant i was ASLEEP for less then one hour. for a few weeks. * not took me one hour to fall asleep. yea we know that. Don't worry. Good news everyone! I can sleep really well now. I sleep at around 9, I turned on my radio to white noise. I seperated the beds. And well.. I started feeling numbness in just under 15 minutes!!! That's so wicked for me, because usually it would take more than an hour. I fell asleep within 40 minutes.