Trying to find your off switch, when you know there isn't on

[Opti]

one!


So WWYD or what do you do if you are one of those people who
don't really have an off switch? In my case, I can be like a Ferrari
in a race that is ON no matter what until the race is over or I am
incapicated and can not continue.

What do you do to make it less bad or live with it?
If you watch movies, Disney & Otherwise think
Turbo - the scenes where Turbo and his Idol struggle to the finish line of
the Indy 500. He's no longer Turbo, but escaped the massive pileup
on the track. No flags, so the race is still on. He goes at a snails pace
competing with the former top driver who literally is dragging/pushing
his car to the finish line.

Fave movie- Speed Racer recent version. Speed has to know what to do.
Feel the car and rejoin the race or lose. Dad the mechanic knows the answer
is shift to gear 5(totally odd answer from a dead stop) because he designed
the car...

Senna - well just watch it. Brazilian race driver savant now on the other side.
His arch nemsis the French driver is still living.

Its 5:11AM I need to sleep, but I cannot. I work at 8AM .

[Sum Dum Gai]

So WWYD or what do you do if you are one of those people who
don't really have an off switch?

Cut out all stimulants from your diet.  No caffeine, nicotine, sugar (impossible to cut completely, but watch your intake, and none after dinner), or really any snacking for the couple hours before bed.  If you don't exercise start.  You don't need to join a gym.  Do crunches, planks, push-ups, dips, and squats on your floor/furniture.  Don't do this right before bed because I always get a bit of a rush for an hour or so after working out, but I needs my sleep come night time.  It's easier, for me anyway, to go without sleep if I've spent all day sitting on my lazy ass.  Give yourself a lights out time.  When that time comes you turn everything off, no kindle, cell phone, nook, laptop, book, or whatever.  You get in bed, turn off the lights, and lie there with your eyes closed until you fall asleep.

[swamp]

Benedryl and wine. 

[MarionTh230]

Therapist recommended mindfulness meditation to shut my brain off.  Seems to be working.  I have less racing thoughts always running in the background now.

[resolution]

I have problems sometimes if I have had caffeine late in the day and especially if something is on my mind. The major thing for me is to cut off the caffeine by early afternoon. Also if I am having allergy problems, I try to time the sudafed so that it wears off before bed time, as it can make me edgy.

Sometimes I will have a to-do list circling in my mind and i keep myself awake worrying that I will forget my tasks by morning. I have found it very helpful to keep a note pad somewhere near the bed and to write down the tasks that I don't want to forget. Then every time it comes back into my head, I can remind myself that I wrote it down for in the morning, and that allows me to go to sleep.

[Deleted]

May 5, 2014 18:11:13 GMT -5 resolution said:

I have problems sometimes if I have had caffeine late in the day and especially if something is on my mind. The major thing for me is to cut off the caffeine by early afternoon. Also if I am having allergy problems, I try to time the sudafed so that it wears off before bed time, as it can make me edgy.

Sometimes I will have a to-do list circling in my mind and i keep myself awake worrying that I will forget my tasks by morning. I have found it very helpful to keep a note pad somewhere near the bed and to write down the tasks that I don't want to forget. Then every time it comes back into my head, I can remind myself that I wrote it down for in the morning, and that allows me to go to sleep.

I learned to do the same thing with keeping a note pad near the bed so I won't keep worrying I'll forget whatever mental notes are keeping me from sleeping.

I've wrestled with insomnia for years and I still don't know why. I've followed all the usual advice but I still don't sleep well. I keep living and working despite the lack of sleep, until I just can't go anymore. Unfortunately, by then, I'm in bad shape, sick or just not feeling well at all.

Sometimes when I can't turn my mind "off" so I can sleep, if I think of it, I try to not think about anything but my breathing, similar to what you're suppose to do when you meditate. I know the purpose of meditating isn't to fall asleep and I'm not really trying to meditate anyway, I'm just trying to give my brain something neutral to focus on instead of fretting about this or that. I usually drift off to sleep when I do that, even if I don't stay sleep. The tricky part is that I don't always remember to try it.

[mmhmm]

All the ideas presented are good ones, opti.  One important thing that hasn't been mentioned:  Can't never could.  As long as you allow yourself to believe you don't have an "off switch", you're unlikely to get any improvement.  You've got an "off switch".  We all do.  It's a matter of allowing it to function.

Dairy products are good prior to bedtime (Remember the "old wive's tale" about warm milk promoting sleep?  Well, it's kinda true.), and chamomile tea sweetened with honey can be helpful.  Nuts are good, too - particularly walnuts, almonds, pistachios.  Most of it, though, is in the mind.  If you're convinced you won't sleep, you probably won't.

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

I usually don't have any caffeine after 12 pm or alcohol after 10 pm. Eating a late dinner can also keep you awake.

I usually bury my nose in a book - and then get my mind focused on reading - I usually read at least a chapter or two of a book in bed before I turn off the lights - my mind gets lost in the story instead of focusing on what has to be done tomorrow - and it helps get me sleepy.