Tuesday, July 31, 2012

10 tips for Insomnia

I suffer from insomnia and am always looking for tips. The best part of the midnight world is that it's all yours. The most important thing is to be very quiet. If you are too noisy, then you'll wake people up and they'll join you. There is a lot more to do that to watch television or read. Here are 10 tips for things to do when you have insomnia.

1. Write a post. You will be too tired to write it during the day and people are really funny at 3am;
2. Walk on the treadmill. Running will be too noisy;
 3. Give yourself a manicure and a pedicure. This is a great time to do this because you won't have any distractions and the polish will have time to dry;
4. You can also put on a face mask and a deep conditioning treatment on your hair. I wouldn't recommend checking on your children while you are do this. If you awake them up, they will have nightmares for life;
5. Clean out your mailbox. This is a lot quieter than cleaning out your pantry and almost as rewarding;
6. Sort socks. I hate sorting washing but I do like sorting socks. It's like putting little, soft, soul mates together. This is also a good time to put on on your hand, call it 'Mr Socky' and have a fight with the dog.
7. Dust. This quiet job gets forgotten about. Get those cobwebs high up in the corners but watch out for spiders. Your screams will wake everyone up.
8. Neaten up your bookmarks, desktop icons and sync everything. Make sure you keep saying ' I am syncing' over and over while doing this.
9. Play 'Words with friends' with all your overseas friends
10. Groom the dog. I have special little scissors for these moments.

What do you do when you happen to find yourself awake in the middle of the night?


On Tuesdays I link up with Jess from Diary of a SAHM for IBOT

67 comments:

  1. Chronic insomniac here... Husband always asking, why are you so cranky today?? 'Because I didn't sleep last night... Again!!!!'. Will try your tips :-)

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  2. Great tips! At the moment I would watch the Olympics. But usually if I am awake at night it's because of the toddler and therefore I am stuck trying to soothe him back to sleep.

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    1. It is great when the Olympic are on. I am loving all the great TV :)

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  3. LOVE these tips hon - esp number one.... we are all absolutely a million times funnier at that hour of the morning ;)

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    1. LOL, I am hysterically funny in the middle of the night. Rachel x

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  4. Antihistamines and painkillers work for me! I get a little insomnia in Psycho Week of my cycle.

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    1. Antihistamines are good. I have a pack beside my bed too.

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  5. Great tips. I have always been one of those people who sleeps well - and can also fall asleep anywhere, anytime (it has its downsides as I'm always the first yawning on a "big night out"). On the occasion I do find myself up, I default to trying to do some work from home (usually puts me straight back to sleep), Facebooking OS friends or very quiet TV watching!

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    1. My husband is the same. He has no problem sleeping. Rx

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  6. I love that quiet time in the middle of the night, it is the only time I get to have 'me' time. I don't have any trouble sleeping, but I do have to force myself to go to bed otherwise I would pay for it the next morning.

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    1. I am paying for it today. I'm a little brain dead

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  7. I'm not a great sleeper (never have been). For me it's the getting to sleep that's the problem. Mostly I rely on a few wines to help... if not I'm screwed.

    I tend to just play on the computer though I know the experts say NOT to do that... but whatever....

    My only panic is how I'll cope at work the next day or wondering about the feasibility of nanna napping under my work desk!

    Deb

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    1. Wine is good. My husband always get mad that I reach for my iPad, but I can't resist it. Rx

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  8. The nights where I can't fall asleep I do blog a lot too. Sometimes I'm funny sometimes I'm just so bleak :p real extremes

    Ai @ Sakura Haruka

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    1. I agree, everything is more extreme at that time. Rxx

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  9. I go on facebook and write about how wide awake I am :P and eat chocolate

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    1. Chocolate has no calories in the middle of the night :)

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  10. Almost every second night, my lil one wakes up around 1am for a midnight feed. When she goes back to sleep, I'm normally left wide awake. I love that time of night... it's the most peaceful. I'll often sneak outside and just sit with the quietness of Moreton Bay and gaze out over the water and wonder what everyone's up to over where the lights twinkle at Scarborough. I'd love to get some sewing done at that time of night, but I'd wake everyone up with my machine, so I often blog instead.

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    1. You should visit me for a cup of tea and we can admire the lights together :)

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  11. I find my self going on facebook and twitter or reading blogs. Seems to get my eyes heavy and want to sleep.

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  12. Great list! May have to put some of these to good use! I usually just lay in bed and dream of how I meet and marry Chris Hemsworth (obviously his wife isn't in the picture!)

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    1. Haha, yes he is a little cute. I just watched Snow White and the huntsman yesterday and I didn't notice Snow White at all :)

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  13. Thanks for the laugh. Some I could see being realy useful, but grooming the dog? hahahaha Definitely agree with the post writing though, we are so much funny when delirious with fatigue :)

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    1. Haha, really funny. Sometimes I look back over what I have written and wonder what I was thinking. Rx

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  14. Always lovely to meet a fellow insomniac! I enjoy it now. I wake up at 1am as bright as a button and get lots done. Once I sent an email at 2am and got an instant reply "It's 2am... is it ok if I reply to this in the morning?". "Sure it is, and ps... maybe turn off your email alerts before you go to bed next time, yes?"

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    1. Haha, I do that too. My aunt is often awake as well. So at least we can text too. Rachel x

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  15. Great list, Rachel! I don't get insomnia but there are nights were sleep doesn't come quite as easily. And with some of these things, you can double up! Do a facial mask while tidying up your bookmarks and icons :) x

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  16. My trick for getting to sleep, is to think of a tv show I like, and try and recreate the entire episode in my mind. For some reason it works wonders for me.

    Also, I HATE folding socks with a passion. I always leave them till last. Annoying little creatures they are!

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    1. I do that too!!

      I don't have any trouble sleeping these days but I had dreadful insomnia during both my pregnancies. I used to phone my mum or sis as being on the other side of the world they were always awake!

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  17. Wow, if you're doing any of those things you've really given up on sleep! They are seriously alert activities, especially anything involving scissors and a dog. When I can't sleep I just roll over and read trashy gossip sites on my iPhone. That soon puts me back to sleep :)

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    1. That explains why my dog always looks so concerned :) I always read Celebitchy and CDAN. They are my favourite night time gossip sites.

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  18. Read. Read read read read read. You'll either get so into a book it'll be morning before you know it, or you'll wake up with broken glasses after having fallen asleep wearing them.

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    1. Reading is a good one. I don't have any great books at the moment. I am on the look out though.

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  19. Great tips! I have a brain trim book next to my bed with puzzles and sudoko and the likes so that if I can't sleep I can make myself tired with a little brain workout. X

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    1. That's a great idea Ingrid. A brain book. I'll have to grab one.

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  20. Wow - you really get busy at night!

    I tend to faff about on my computer and do those things that I never get a chance to do during the day. I never thought of cleaning in the middle of the night! I am going to pretend I didn't read that and just do the faffing about bit...

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    1. Yeah, there are way more fun things to do, but at least you don't have to do it during the day. Rx

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  21. Thanks for those Rachel!
    I usually find myself cross stitching or mending clothing by hand... Oops! x

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    1. You are good. I would love to have a hobby like that. Rachel x

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  22. It's not often that I get insomnia (you watch, I'll have jinxed myself now) but when I do, I tend to just read in bed, or now that I have an ipad, I play with that. I have a husband who knows the second I get out of bed so I try not to wake him.

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    1. My husband is like a log. I could hold a dance party and he wouldn't notice. Rachel x

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  23. I had a few years of insomnia, but It hasn't been a problem for quite a while. I am a 'head hits the pillow' type person. I think that the era of smart phones and ipAds has made insomnia less boring. I don't think I would ever solve it with cleaning though :)

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    1. It's great that you got over it. Hopefully that will happen to me one day too. In the mean time, I have my iPad and iPhone to save me from boredom. Rachel x

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  24. Geez, thought I was never going to see the end of these comments.. You go girl!!! I don't have this problem, early morning training seems to nail me and I sleep like a baby!!! Funny though couldn't imagine leaving my bed at night...x

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    1. Early training would certain help avoid insomnia. Maybe I should do something like that. Hmm, I think I'll start in Spring :) Rachel x

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  25. Sometimes I wish i was an insomniac just so i could try some of these things! Im the heaviest sleeper in the world... boo... x

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    1. I do love my midnight world but good sleep is probably better. Rx

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  26. Sleeping is one thing I AM good at. No insomnia tips from me but I did enjoy the giggle about the socks. You're right, people that write at midnight can be funny!

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    1. I am glad you got a giggle. It means my midnight funny stayed funny into the day time. It doesn't usually :) Rachel x

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  27. that's hilarious!! i used to write facebook statuses in the middle of the night when i was up feeding my babies. i would look at them the next day and be so embarrassed cos half of them made no sense

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    1. Haha, at least you can delete them. Babies are a great excuse. Rachel x

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  28. I'm glad I don't suffer from middle of the night insomnia, although sometimes it takes me quite a while to go to sleep, which is annoying ... If I ever do have insomnia in the middle of the night I will try your tips!!!

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    1. It's hard when you have trouble falling asleep. Rx

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  29. i have had bouts of insomnia - i suffered when i first started the blog last year and blogging at 2-4am was ideal - so quiet and so many good ideas ; ) great tips

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    1. It would have been great to have productive blogging time :)

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  30. Haha wonderful post. May have to try one of those instead of telling facebook :)

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  31. I suffer from insomnia too and have finally given and and I'm trying sleeping tablets this week. Just over-the-counter medication but they work. This is both a blessing and a curse because they work so I'm scared I will NEVER want to give them up!

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    1. Ah, Restativ is great when I get so tired I can't function. :) Rachel x

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  32. My brother is insomniac too. I think he just reads. A lot. I sometimes get up and sleep in the spare room (well, read or iPad) because sometimes lying there trying to go to sleep makes me even less likely to sleep.

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    1. Reading is a popular one, but it keeps me awake because I always want to read more. Just one more page or just one chapter but then I do that all night. Rx

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  33. I know insomnia can be a serious issue but you sure know how to gather the laughs Rachel :)
    I'm quite keen to try the face masque idea actually.....not on my children but to see how high hubby would jump out of bed...and maybe even get him to stop snoring :)

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    1. Haha, that would be so funny. I hope you do it. Rx

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