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Burning the Midnight Oil? Big Mistake

Still skimping on sleep? You'll never learn. Literally.

It appears that too little sleep can take a big toll on the part of your brain that's wired to help you learn from mistakes.

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What do you do when you just can't fall asleep?
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Coconut-jam
0 of 0 people found this helpful.
6/6/2008 1:29:22 AM

When I can't sleep, I'd watch what my mind is so busy about. Watching all the stuff that the mind is busy with gets me very tired and without much effort, I enter dreamland. Snoooozzze! 
WVBUCK
3 of 3 people found this helpful.
5/15/2008 5:53:37 PM

Be consistent with your going to bed time and take the TV out of your bedroom! 
Mikronator
8 of 12 people found this helpful.
5/3/2008 3:33:33 PM

"Researchers suspect that poor sleep, besides prompting risky behaviors, hinders the brain's ability to process emotions, such as regret. The result? You're less likely to think about the consequences of a decision."

Thats exactly how I feel when I don't get enough sleep ! 
just-me
13 of 17 people found this helpful.
5/2/2008 8:05:48 PM

Sometimes I use 1 of 2 sleep prompts I came up with my self. If it's late and I will only get less than 5 hrs of sleep.
1) I will do Hyper-Sleep I will lay on my mattress and imagin myself going deeper and deeper in to the mattress then I sleep.
2) Sometimes I imagine myself being on a long space journey, and it's time to go in to hybernation chamber. I wrap myself in my blankets from head to toe, leaving my hands free to operate the imaginary sleep controls. Then I sleep. This one is best for naps.
I'm a lucid dreamer and #1 is best for dreaming.
Hope this doesn't sound too stupid to all of you.
just-me 
Zusiqu
19 of 24 people found this helpful.
5/2/2008 1:58:36 PM

Low level pain and allergies are the most common reason I have trouble sleeping. I take a benedryl and a baby aspirin at bedtime and sleep much better than before. I DO tend to wake up when the baby aspirin wears off, though. 
Nonofmybiznez
10 of 18 people found this helpful.
5/2/2008 12:34:49 PM

If I'm having trouble sleeping, I have to tell myself its ok to stop going over and over whatever it is until morning.
If its something I don't want to forget, I have a sticky note pad and pen next to the bed. I'll write down what I don't want to forget and put the note on my mirror, sink or with my keys, then go back to bed.
Once I return to bed, each and every time my mind starts to wander, I slowly think "Sleep" and suddenly I'm asleep! 
CathyLinton
20 of 24 people found this helpful.
5/1/2008 1:47:18 PM

I think what I do officially counts as meditation, but I don't even realize that when I'm doing it. When I go to bed, I start to visualize the playroom where I used to take naps when I was about 10. I look at all the details - the fabric of the sofa, my mother's decoration, the smell of the eucalyptus trees outside - and then *poof* I'm asleep. It works every time! 
[Edited by CathyLinton on 5/1/2008 1:48:22 PM]
fannyfarquhar
10 of 19 people found this helpful.
4/28/2008 9:05:29 PM

After readying myself for bed, I check the e-mails, maybe the weather, and take an interesting book or educational book and read. I will know exactly when I'm ready to put it down, and I turn off the light, snuggle down, wait until my cat joins me, and by that time, I'm nearly into la-la land. It works better if I have something to think about that takes my mind away from wondering if I'm going to get to sleep. I usually put off the TV at ll:30, check the computer like I'm doing now uuntil midnight, and then it's into bed. Besides, if I don't get on with it, my cat soon makes a fuss. 
Ladybugger
22 of 24 people found this helpful.
4/28/2008 11:46:50 AM

I have found that turning off the computer and T.V. an hour before I am planning to go to bed really helps. It is like my brain needs time to deprogram. I instead listen to music or read. next thing I know I am drowsy. 
charisme
9 of 11 people found this helpful.
4/28/2008 11:19:24 AM

Listen to some meditation type - soothing music. Do mind relaxing exercises; strating from the head and working down through the entire body, deep cleansing breaths...Ahhh! Works everytime! Practice makes perfect. 
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