Do you have trouble staying awake?

[leejacksonaudio]

I'm just curious if anyone else is in a similar boat as I am, Doomworld, although hopefully not for the same reasons. I am having unholy hell trying to stay awake lately, no matter how much sleep I get. Does anyone else have that problem?

 

For me, I'm sad to say, it's probably due to all of the medications the doctors have me on, starting out with the big number one, my pain medication - 8mg of Dilaudid (hydromorphone) in pill form, as much as five times a day. And that's just for starters. Don't get me going on the muscle relaxants, beta blockers, anti-anxiety meds, and so on. Some days I'm able to beat it back and get a full day's worth of music writing done without problems, but most days I find myself passing out at the computer. The doctors are aware of this, and unfortunately the fix is worse than the problem in my case. All I can hope for at the moment is that my upcoming shoulder surgery will allow me to eventually reduce my intake of Dilaudid once the healing begins and the pain subsides.

 

Toss your cookies into the poll, Doomworld! (Eww, bad imagery, sorry.) What is your sleepscape like?

[vyruss]

No option for variance amongst the listed options? My sleep schedule is mostly ok, but sometimes I have days (like today) where I am just drowsy all day.  Other days I am completely fine, and on the other extreme I will take melatonin or some similar, turn in at 10 or 11 PM, then for some reason my body will just be perfectly ok all day to go full energy after waking up at like 2 AM.

[Lila Feuer]

Well I voted coffee but typically I feel tired often to some degree and my sleep is a heavy variable in terms of length and quality, the two of which do not really correlate. For example I can get very little sleep but feel completely fine, and then there's opposite of that where I slept a shitload but feel like garbage anyway. Overall I often have more trouble going to sleep on time and falling asleep in that first crucial hour, on really bad days I can lay restless for up to five fkn hours.

[Uncle 80]

Hi Lee, this is a well-known "man 40+" problem. As our testosterone levels go from slow decrease to a plummet, our general energy level follows. I'm only 43, but I usually need to take a nap in the afternoon after cooking dinner and helping my kids with various stuff. Then I go to bed around ten or so. In the weekends, I sleep so much that I worry my family. And I am on no medication, with no known illnesses! That said, I also have another "man 40+ problem" - toilet visits during the night. Usually 2 or 3. I usually fall asleep right away when I get back to bed, but I guess it is a contributing factor to my need for naps and such. I generally avoid coffee, tea and cigarettes to not aggravate this as well - but I sometimes succumb to the dark lord of coffee at work to keep me "on edge".

 

I've tried with various vitamin boosters, and D3/D6 and zinc seems to help a bit... But I forget to go to the pharmacy to re-stock all the time, consequently I'm without them a lot during a year...

Edited November 29, 2023 by Uncle 80

[Guff dotD]

Yes. In fact, today I overslept after turning off my alarm at 6:45 (needed to be awake by 7:30). Woke up at 8:47. Luckily I wasn't late for anything.

[leejacksonaudio]

1 hour ago, vyruss said:

No option for variance amongst the listed options?

I guess you should just go with your average situation. I'm most definitely in the coffee column, as @Uncle 80 would agree, but like I said, I have my good days. Still, since most of my days now are coffee days, I voted coffee.

[Faceman2000]

I always feel tired, regardless of how much sleep I get, though I don’t usually have trouble staying awake unless I’m sitting in a meeting for too long. Having a newborn isn’t helping haha. No coffee though; I don’t drink it and avoid most caffeinated beverages when possible.

[thiccyosh]

I don't remember what sunlight looks like anymore. Why is my body like this I WANT TO SLEEP AT NIGHT DAMMIT.

[CacoKnight]

I can sleep anywhere at any time and in no time.

Edited March 1 by CacoKnight

[Fonze]

I have trouble changing states. When im awake I struggle to go to sleep most days; only rarely do I lie down and fall asleep immediately. I've noticed something particularly annoying with it is that I fall asleep much easier when not in my bed... lol. I'll recognize this and go straight to bed and become wide awake in the process. On the flip side, when asleep, I frequently sleep through alarm clocks, earthquakes, nuclear strikes, conversations with other people (of which I have no recollection occuring)... you name it, I'll prolly sleep through it! 😅😴😴

[Vanilla+Unicorn]

Sometimes I awake at morning, sometimes at night, it's a routine cycle for a several of years since the high school and unfortunately it costs me my mental and physical health.

Earlier I loved staying awake at night cause it's the romantic time, but nowadays because of it shit things happens: conflicts with people, heartburns, migraines, etc.

 

[Cammy]

My sleep schedule perpetually shifts forwards and there's just nothing I can do about it - my brain is obsessively active in the wee hours of the morn, and then I crash hard. Melatonin only helps when the strict gates of cammybrain allow it to. I've always had trouble going to sleep, and then once I do, I have trouble waking up. It's a nasty tug of war!

 

It was especially bad when my thyroid issues were at their most critical, when I was sleeping at least 12 hours a day and still had no energy to spare when I was awake. There was a screwup with my medication recently and the rut has got me sleeping dangerously close to that much again, but thankfully I can at least get some stuff done when I'm awake. Preferably if it's midnight or later. (Obviously, in any other context, this is not preferable.)

[ApprihensivSoul]

My cycle I best describe as "Newton's first law of motion."

Whatever state I'm in, it refuses to change easily. Either I'm awake or I'm asleep. But I've been able to counter that a little with a heavy amount of physical activity, which both encourages rest and helps me fall asleep faster.

[magicsofa]

I am a little bit crazy and also lucky because I tend to stay up late, fall asleep instantly, and wake up early without wanting to murder someone. I didn't drink coffee at all until late 20's and have pretty much always had at least some amount of physical activity in my days. My current job involves more sitting in chairs than I have ever experienced before but I'm still up on my feet a lot of the time.

 

As someone who has always been kind of night owl, getting heavy eyelids when I'm trying to computer all night is really frustrating. Now that my partner and I have a child we are perpetually tired and I've actually willingly gone to bed before 10pm because of it. But, that is usually because I'm totally wiped out and don't feel like I even have the brain power to watch youtube videos (let alone work on projects). I would definitely be upset if I felt like I should be ready to work but my body was just shutting down on me :(

[Dark Pulse]

 

Get this stuff off Amazon (very modestly priced) and I can guarantee you that you will be awake within minutes of chewing a stick.

 

I don't do coffee, but I will happily do this. It's so strong in its mint that you can smell it before you even take the stick out of its wrapper, and so menthol-strong it can literally unplug your nose if you have a cold or sinus issues.

 

Sworn by it for about 15 years and it's yet to fail me even once. I enjoy giving it to people and watching their reactions. :)

 

They have a more Chiclet-style form that fits in the cup holders for your car or if you'd just prefer that form of it, too.