I am curious, how many people here are insomniacs? Personally, I

  • Thread starter Thread starter Aero51
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Curious
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around participants sharing their experiences and habits related to insomnia and sleep patterns. It includes personal anecdotes about sleep cycles, the effects of caffeine, evening routines, and the challenges of falling asleep or staying asleep.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes a long-standing pattern of going to bed after 5am and suggests a possible correlation between being a scientist and being a night owl.
  • Another participant discusses the impact of evening habits, particularly the use of screens, on sleep quality and suggests reading as a potential remedy.
  • A participant distinguishes between insomnia and a disrupted sleep cycle, identifying themselves as a night owl who prefers nighttime activities.
  • One participant shares their experience with caffeine, stating that avoiding it after a certain time leads to better sleep, while another claims caffeine does not affect them and can even help them relax before bed.
  • A participant mentions their grandmother's sleep issues, attributing them to racing thoughts and suggesting mental relaxation techniques as a solution.
  • Another participant describes their ability to fall asleep easily despite caffeine consumption, contrasting it with their morning experience of feeling overstimulated by the same amount.
  • One participant reports avoiding caffeine due to stomach issues and describes their late-night activities, hinting at a possible genetic predisposition to staying up late.
  • A participant with an early work schedule mentions waking up unexpectedly and struggling to return to sleep due to racing thoughts.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a variety of personal experiences with insomnia and sleep habits, indicating that there is no consensus on the causes or solutions to sleep issues. Multiple competing views on the effects of caffeine and evening routines are present.

Contextual Notes

Some participants reference personal habits and anecdotal evidence without providing empirical support, and there are differing opinions on the impact of caffeine and evening activities on sleep quality.

Aero51
Messages
545
Reaction score
10
I am curious, how many people here are insomniacs? Personally, I haven't gotten to bed before 5am in the past 2 months. It is very weird, I have been like this my whole life. I've read that a lot of people in the sciences tend to be night owls. There are a lot of scientists here, maybe if its true the majority are insomniacs! Who knows, cya tomorrow (or this afternoon if you prefer).
 
Physics news on Phys.org


What are your habits in the evening? I've known people who had similar problems, mainly it was because they got into bad habits of playing video games or going on their computer for hours before bed and didn't come off if they didn't fall asleep. Activities with screens, especially interactive activities, keep the brain stimulated. Shutting off all gadgetry along those lines and spending some time reading a book in soft light tends to help.

If you've tried all this and I'm teaching you to suck eggs I apologise[/size]
 


Insomnia is more to do with going to bed and not being able to fall asleep, or not being able to remain asleep. It sounds more like your sleep cycle may be off. I have always been a "night owl", prefering to do things at night rather than during the day.
 


I made the startling discovery that caffeinated drinks actually keeps me awake for several hours after I drink them :biggrin:. No caffeine after ~10am = a very good night's sleep.

It's funny to me how many people (usually young'uns) are completely in denial about the effects of caffeine.
 


lisab said:
I made the startling discovery that caffeinated drinks actually keeps me awake for several hours after I drink them :biggrin:. No caffeine after ~10am = a very good night's sleep.

It's funny to me how many people (usually young'uns) are completely in denial about the effects of caffeine.
I'm one of those people that actually are not affected by caffeine. I can drink a pot of coffee and fall asleep. For years I would have a large cup of coffee right before going to sleep at night, it relaxed me, it still does. My mother is one that has one cup of coffee and will be "climbing the walls", as she put it.
 


My grandma sometimes have problems with sleep, and I'm sure she can't fall asleep because she can't slow down her thoughts.

Seriously, just try to completely stop your thoughts when lying in bed. It works for me wonderfuly.
 


Caffeine is not a problem for me, I can drink two cups and fall asleep easily. Even when watching a movie: I just close my eyes briefly and the next moment I open my eyes the movie has ended and the television is off.

In the morning caffeine has a different effect, two cups then feels like an overdose and indeed drives me up the walls.

I do prefer to work in the evenings, that's when my focus is the best, but work is forcing me to get up early, thus falling asleep in the evening :frown:
 


I don't drink a lot of caffine (even in the morning) because I get extremely bad stomach aches. I don't do anything active after 12am either unless I'm hitting up the bars with friends. I do read a lot of wikipedia/damninteresting and watch x-files (up to season 6 now!) until like 4am haha. My parents told me that when I was in elementary school they couldn't get me to bed before 12. Genetics?
 


Due to having to be at work at 5 A.M., I have no problem going to sleep at about 9 P.M. My only sleeping problem is sometimes I'll wake up for no apparent reason, and then I can't go back to sleep because my brain thinks 2 A.M. is a great time to run through every problem or semi-problem in my life.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
2K
  • · Replies 63 ·
3
Replies
63
Views
10K
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
3K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • · Replies 21 ·
Replies
21
Views
2K
  • · Replies 174 ·
6
Replies
174
Views
15K
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
3K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
3K
Replies
1
Views
3K