Take a couple days away from this site and go exercise.
Dont drink any energy drinks/coffee.
Whiskey
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Take a couple days away from this site and go exercise.
Dont drink any energy drinks/coffee.
Whiskey
Do you feel tired during the day (or did you prior to having trouble sleeping)? You should get the VA to set you up for a sleep test. You could have sleep apnea. Several years ago when I was still on active duty I was feeling tired every day after lunch & I wasn't sleeping well at night. I had a sleep test performed and they found I had obstructive sleep apnea. I first tried laser surgery - Laser Assisted UvuloPalatoplasty (LAUP) X 2 to try and get rid of it, but neither procedure helped. I finally got a CPAP the year before I retired and now I sleep like a baby and I feel much better during the day - no "tiredness" at all. The mask takes a little getting used to, but it is definitely worth it!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronin13
No but it might be easier. Picture your typical yoga class. Twelve fit and attractive young women, three so so women, still quite fit, two of their boyfriends that got dragged along and a instructor thats a nine or ten all dressed in scin tight clothing. Now the class proceeds with the participants assuming positions, that while developed over the eons to enhance the flow of prana in the body, could also be suitable for a other activities.
It can be hard to maintain your spiritual awareness in such a setting.
Seriously Yoga could be just what you are looking for. Its good for just about everthing. Flexibility, grace, core strength, body and mind awareness, relaxation and other qualities undefined. Switching from kneeling to sitting to prone sure becomes a piece of cake. I highly recomend you give it a try. There are different types, what you might try is hatha or vinyassa. The other participants are going to be at the other end of the political spectrum and there might be some bell ringing and incense burning so just grin and bear it,keep your mouth shut, and get feeling better. Give it a shot- what have you got to lose? nada, what have you got to gain ? mucho, I like those sort of odds.
The room where you sleep should be just for that-no tv, computer, etc. Get off the computer and phone a while before bed. Also, make sure the bedroom is cool--a cooler temp can he'll a lot. Crank that AC
Another thing that can help with sleep is mixing some Omega 3 fatty acid into your diet.
Buy the book, ROAD TO SERFDOM. It should hit your nose every five pages or so.
Glad you started this thread Ronin, I sometimes experience weird sleep symptoms, but didn't want to start a whole thread about it.
1) When I run during the week, I find that I have MUCH more energy the next day. I can stay up late and not be a zombie the next day.
2) If you DO use the computer in bed, at least turn the screen brightness down all the way. I like to read myself to sleep from a book.
As to my sleep issues, for up to months at a time, I will go to bed late (usually from dorking around online) and I will often be startled awake approx 30 min after falling asleep. When I say startled, I'll shoot straight up in bed and see things in my closet, the hallway, the bottom of the bed, etc. I used to wake up cussing, but now I am used to it and know that once my eyes adjust in a few seconds, all the "stuff" goes away and I can just lay down and go back to sleep. I don't know if it is exaggerated hypnogogic imagery or what, but it is weird. I never remember dreaming though, it is just an abrupt transition from sleeping to sitting up in bed. Only usually happens when I'm staying up late and getting crappy sleep I think.
-get a hot tub, girlfriend, or both.
Ronin,
What helps me to get to sleep is blacking out my room, turning off TVs/computers/music and consciously relaxing major muscle groups while deep breathing. The trick is to get your brain to slow down long enough to get to sleep. If you're still being stimulated (Lights, noise, etc.) it's tough.
You and I don't know each other but I've read some of your posts here and I'd like to get off into the weeds a bit and offer some food for thought based on my experience post-military.
After I got out I went through sort of a dark time. I picked up my DD214 and drove from NC to CO almost straight through. Like most young enlisted guys getting out, I didn't have the faintest idea what I was going to do next. I just knew that I wanted something different.
I got back to Colorado without the foggiest notion of what I wanted to do with myself. I ended up working a job that I kind of enjoyed, hanging out with friends that kind of understood me and generally feeling like I was wasting my time with all of it. I was restless to the point that I'd regularly get up in the middle of the night and run myself into exhaustion just to get a few hours of sleep. I knew I needed a change in a major way but I didn't know what that should be.
I ended up deciding to wander up into the mountains for about a month of backpacking and climbing. I wasn't alone the whole time, or even most of it. But I did have a long block by myself while I walked across the Maroon Bells Wilderness Area. The time alone helped me find perspective. It's also became something that I like to repeat periodically.
There's no lying about who you are or where you are going in life when you're alone.
We might poke fun at the hippys traveling to where ever to "find themselves" but I found there's some legitimacy to the idea. Especially for a young man with more experience than years who is trying to figure out what is supposed to come next in life.
That was me. I don't think anyone can really tell you the best way to work things out.
Spend time with people that understand where you are. This doesn't have to be someone from your unit, hell it doesn't even need to be someone from your war. Soldiers (Sailors, Marines, Airman, Etc) are the same today as they were 50, 500 or 5000 years ago. Most of those hard old bastards at the VFW have worked through the exact same things.
Reaching out doesn't make you weak or broken. Most of us get it.
For goodness sake, don't start binge drinking. Just because you're numb to your problems doesn't mean they are gone (and that shit gets expensive). No one likes a sloppy drunk. And no one likes a sloppy drunk who won't stop telling war stories. Most people don't care and most of the ones who do care have no frame of reference to understand what you're talking about. Save the stories for your military buddies (They'll pretend to believe your lies and won't try to equate your experiences to war movies they've seen). Added bonus to keeping the war stories to yourself; chicks dig guys with an air of mystery. http://lightfighter.net/groupee_comm.../icon_wink.gif
That's about it off the top of my head. Hang tough, work through it, it'll get's easier.
Sorry to get all long winded on you. My morning coffee must have kicked in.
I use a Herbal thing called "Calms Forte" I take one pill for an important meeting, and 3 for a good nights sleep and 4 if I need to really catch up on some sleep.
I work a Panama schedule and alternate nights/days every 3 months, I've used Ambien, Motrin/Tylenol PM, but this just seems to leave me more refreshed in the morning and less "chemical".