[query.dreams]

[wispfox]

Anyone have any suggestions for making me dream less? It seems to go along with having a restless night, and it's really becoming a problem from the perspective of getting restful sleep (and not waking up in a really annoyed/melancholy/frustrated mood - the melancholy seems to be purely dreams-driven, but the other two are almost certainly from sleeping poorly). I _think_ it's an aspect of wintertime and my melatonin subsystem being fucked, but I'm not sure.

Valarian tends to not work for me, at all, if I'm having trouble getting to or staying asleep. At most it makes me sleepy.

Melatonin at least gets me to sleep, but if I'm restless will not keep me there for very long, or very deeply.

Benadryl and similar make me sleepy, but not sleep and not stay asleep.

I really don't want a perscription med to help me sleep, both because they are geneally addictive, and because I've found that any meds which have a side effect of having me unconscious most of the time make for really poor (although generally dreamless) sleep. Worse than if I slept on my own (only real example of this I have is strong painkillers, like Percocet).

Suggestions?

Comments

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Now I have another question. I tend to have a low level headache when I'm sleeping poorly. Possibly relating, in your experience? (have had a low level headache for four days, with fluxuation in how easily I can ignore it)

[amaltheae.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I get them. Basically my jaw joint and surrounding muscles start trying to hold themselves in strange positions to make breathing easier at night. The tension from the muscle taughtness means it doesn't relax and the spot around the nerves in my jaw joints gets inflamed which starts a headache further up. They sometimes turn into migraines for me. I am more prone to them when using a pillow because my jaw starts trying to compensate for the constriction of airways that the pillow or the position it puts me in is causing.

A more common pattern for SAD is depression and sleeping all the time. It may not be atypical, precisely. That may have been a bad word choice on my part, but it's not the most common pattern I am familiar with, either.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

SAD patterns:

I do get the depression, although the SAM-e appears to be handling that this year. I also get the needing more sleep than normal, even when I'm _not_ having trouble getting to sleep. So I guess I somehow thought that the sleep problems related somehow, since I already had sleeping weirdness and they tended to happen at the same time (both needing more sleep and being less able to get it).

So. Huh. Interesting.

[amaltheae.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's a logical conclusion to come to. That's part of why I spoke up. Sometimes our bodies just like confusing us. :)

[amaltheae.livejournal.com]

Oh, and, you're welcome. I started following your journal because people kept getting to me through you, probably from Ysabel my spouse. I figure even if I am only right once, that is one less stroke victim in the world, so I share. And *hugs* you have my sympathy in spades with the problem.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

I started following your journal because people kept getting to me through you, probably from Ysabel my spouse.

Probably - she periodically would post things you'd posted that I liked enough to point to.

Only reason I haven't added you myself was because I just don't have time for more people who post long, but fascinating posts. (note that I wouldn't add my_self_ if I were in that position, because I tend to post too often, rather than necessarily long posts)

I figure even if I am only right once, that is one less stroke victim in the world, so I share.

Indeed! And that's an excellent way to think about it.

sympathy & hugs: thank you. :) *returns the hugs*

[amaltheae.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know. You just don't love me enough. *melodramatic sniff*
I _only_ carried you for 9 months, and nursed you and er...

*grin*

Anyway. You're welcome.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

*gigglefit*

Right! That! :)