The Sleep Superthread- Apnea/ Disorders/ etc.

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Decaffinated tetley tea, been drinking that before bedtime during "dry January" and been sleeping like a baby, even after night shifts.

 

[Michael Dorosh]

Neo Citran works wonders too....

 

[camochick]

One word- Nyquil, its the universal cure for everything. Hey, your kids bothering you, give em some nyquil, they'll settle down, your cat bothering you, give them some nyquil, it wont be awake for long. HEHEHEHEHE >

 

[winchable]

I am the greatest insomniac of all time, thanks largely to my job which requires backshifts.

The best thing for it is simply not to try and sleep.
Just..give in to the insomnia and you will find yourself sleeping in no time.
It's the oddest thing.
DVD's help a little too if you've got a player in your room.
You also might have some issues you need to work out (in your head) which are preventing you from sleeping, so it might be best to try and identify and solve them.

But like I said, fighting to sleep will only keep you up, so revel in your insomnia, give in and you'll find yourself sleeping in no time.

 

[Scratch_043]

I have a similar problem, in that when I do sleep, I wake up 2 or 3 times durring the night, for no good reason I just wake up, it is very disturbing to the sleep pattern / level of energy durring the day.

 

[Sheerin]

I'm having a bit of insomnia at the moment too.  Before the Christmas break I was going non-stop, staying up to ungodly hours and then only sleeping for a little bit...
So over the break I caught up on mysleep - in a big way.  Now I can't seem to break the habit. 

Gravol works wonders.

 

[fir_na_tine]

I'm an insomiacas well, it's never very fun. But if you drink decaf tea that usually helps a lot, if not read a boring book while listening to oprah music.

 

[GIJANE]

Try reading a really boring book

Jane

 

[Cliffy433]

The "other issues are bothering you, solve them and fall fast asleep" is the second best thing I can think of.  The "ignore it and it will go away" is a close third.  I cannot advocate nor recommend the use of medication, or alcohol - medical ethics and all that stuff.

However, there's one thing that has not yet been mentioned.  Due in no small part to the fact that the general public and minors have access to the page, I imagine.  Just remember, "Everybody does it, no one talks about it."  Unless you're in the field or operationally deployed and then everybody talks about it too.

 

[chrisf]

However, there's one thing that has not yet been mentioned.   Due in no small part to the fact that the general public and minors have access to the page, I imagine.   Just remember, "Everybody does it, no one talks about it."   Unless you're in the field or operationally deployed and then everybody talks about it too.

I usually suggest it as a way to kill those 20 minutes between when you finish lunch, and before you go back to work. (You are referring to reading "Good House Keeping" magazine right?)

 

[Gunnar]

Get up, have a bowl of Shreddies.  There's tryptophan in milk, which is a producer of melantonin, which helps you sleep.

 

[Scratch_043]

yeah, if I can't get to sleep, I have a warm glass of milk, but I still end up waking up 3 times a night.

 

[JasonH]

I've had problems since elementry with going to sleep and just when I thought I was over it it's hit me for the past week.  Goto sleep at 6am and wake up at 8 am... GOD what a shitty way to start it off.  I hafto have absolutetly no energy in me to goto sleep, if that means running outside in -15 weather during the winter I'll do it.  :'(

 

[Gunnar]

yeah, if I can't get to sleep, I have a warm glass of milk, but I still end up waking up 3 times a night.

You need the Shreddies.  Keeps your tummy full of the milk, so you sleep.  Shreddies are the miracle food.  If you only drink the milk, you'll wake up 3 times a night.

 

[bossi]

A number of "household" remedies have been mentioned.
Basically, eating something that'll cause the digestive system to kick in coincidentally reduces the flow of oxygenated blood to the brain (hmmm ... that's enough out of you, Cliffy!)

A bowl of cereal was often recommended, however a professional nutritionist recently told me it's not the best (ditto for another version I heard in England - a spoon of peanut butter).

The downside to this method is that the food "lies on your stomach" ... so, it's a trade-off between getting some sleep while simultaneously adding to your hibernation layer ... or ...

Some other professional advice I received could best be summarised as "distraction" - as also mentioned, if there's something on your mind that's keeping you awake you can either deal with it, or not (and, yes - this can be problematic when it's something in your subconscious ... since it's therefore harder to deal with if you can't immediately put a finger on what's bothering you ...).

Thus, reading a boring book is okay (a variation upon "counting sheep"), except that it tires your eyes (ditto for watching TV) - there's also the danger of reading/watching something that's interesting which keeps you up (shut up, Cliffy - no sheep jokes ...)

There are tons of traditional/conventional relaxation techniques - "visualising" yourself asleep; starting with your toes, then your feet, ankles, calves. etc. (again, a variation upon counting sheep).

Another interesting one was to keep your eyes wide open as long as you could - staring - until it was impossible to keep them open (then, when your eyes were recovering/jammed shut ... sometimes it "forced" you to fall asleep) - it worked when I was younger (and carefree), but I haven't bothered with it lately.

Whatever you do - don't think that weight-lifting/the exercise bike/whatever and tiring yourself out will help (i.e. not at zero dark thirty).  You'll only wake yourself up, run the risk of waking up other people.

Alcohol is a personal choice, but it's a depressant - and, I've seen too many lives ruined by it.

Exhaustion seems to work the best - I've always been able to sleep well on operations or exercises, and even when I'd only get two or three hours of sleep ... they were excellent quality (!)

Finally, I've found that Army.ca (and the Internet in general) doesn't help me get to sleep - so, one IA and Stoppage is to log off ... which is what I'm going to do now ... !

Sweet dreams, everybody! ^-^

 

[Scratch_043]

well, I got a cold yesterday, and bought a bottle of nyquil on my way home, man, does that help me get to sleep. Must be the 'non-medicinal ingredients'

 

[bossi]

well, I got a cold yesterday, and bought a bottle of nyquil on my way home, man, does that help me get to sleep. Must be the 'non-medicinal ingredients'

Many pharmacies, department and some grocery stores have their own brand and its' cheaper
(e.g. Shopper's Drug Mart, Wal-Mart, Zellers, Loblaws ...)

 

[Gunnar]

I don't imagine it's likely, but I thought I'd ask...

What are the possibilities of getting in the CF with Sleep Apnea?

 

[Benoit]

I guess thats a question you will have to take up with a recruiter. It can become a problem I would say especially during training where your sleep at night is very important. although if you train hard enough you shouldn't have a problem getting to sleep in the night time .

 

[tomas]

My roommate in borden was released from the forces due to having sleep apnea.

his problem was he requires a ventilating machine in order to sleep ( apparently developed the problem after getting into the forces.. i have doubts but..still)
anyway he was sent to sq where he was given a medical chit becuase he requires the electrical device in order to sleep
which means that he is undeployable, therefore unemployable according to CF policy.

so if you require a ventilating device, ie electrical device to sleep. then your chances arent that great.
if not.. go ahead

i just know what they said to him. though he was in the forces for quite a while before he got released due to it..