> > For a long time (we're talking years here) I had a very systematic need for 8 hours sleep. Anything below that, or even above that, would cause me to be tired all day. However, for the past month or so, it has severely withdrawn. I am getting about 5.5 hours a night right now. I'm sure it started with a couple of days of late night homework, where I forced myself to stay up longer than usual, but now it's become completely routine, even when there is nothing I need to do. I'm a little frightened at this because I don't think it's healthy, but so far I haven't found a way to get the sleep. Even going to bed early doesn't help because I just get up earlier and earlier. Of course this means more fatigue throughout the day, and I'm not really on top of things like I should be.
> >
> > If anyone has any ideas on what I could do.. besides taking sleeping pills, please let me know. I haven't been to a doctor yet, but I think I might have to if this continues.
> >

> [snip] I don't know a lot of people that can force themselves to sleep during the day. My wife can't, even when she's exhausted. If you can, there you go.
>
> The other thing I've found is that it's sometimes easier to get to sleep on a sofa outside your bedroom. I don't know why, and it may not be like this for you, or even most people, but it works for Leen and me.


Heh. My experience is similar to Sam and Leen's; I also find it quite easy to fall asleep on the sofa. The sofa does not seem to demand "you must sleep now!" the way the bed might. Especially the long comfy leather couch we have, the one that's been nibbled a bit by a parrot... but it's still reaallly comfy....

I've never actually cottoned to the idea that when an insomniac uses the bed for "daytime activities" (i.e. homework, listening to music, watching TV, etc.), the sufferer somehow mentally "dissociates" the bed from its "real" use for sleeping. Maybe, though doubtful... If someone's having trouble falling asleep, one would have to examine the type of thoughts he/she is having at the time, in order to tell if this is true. But intuitively, the bed-improperly-associated theory doesn't really 'click' as correct, and the medical literature doesn't seem to support it. And falling asleep is only one half of the sleep deprivation problem. The other half is the difficulty one may have in _staying_ asleep.

famous, I'm not a doctor (though I do have training in neurosciences and -surgery), I'm still not an M.D. So all I can suggest is a quick checklist of common reasons for insomnia as given by Medline:

--Environmental noise or lights.
--Chronic stress (problems with work, exams, etc.)
--Depression and generalized night-time anxiety (a very common reason).
--Obstructive sleep apnea.
--Excessive caffeine or alcohol intake during the day.
--Vigorous exercising too close to bedtime.
--Disrupted sleep/wake cycles from changed work schedules, or a continously erratic sleep schedule in general (like from watching TV late into the wee hours).

Women, the elderly, and individuals with a history of depression are all more likely to experience insomnia. It's a serious problem. If anyone finds that they're really not getting enough sleep, and can't figure out why, check out whether one of the colleges near you has a medical school with an outpatient Sleep Disorders lab. You may need to be physically tested to get to the root of the insomnia symptom.

I think I once read in the Berkeley Wellness Letter that lab testing shows insomniacs average only thirty minutes of less sleep a night than normal sleepers, and they usually fall asleep within fifteen minutes after going to bed. However, it's the *quality* of their perceived sleep that causes concern; the apparent lack of good sleep produces constant daytime drowsiness and other problems. Obstructive sleep apnea (short cessations of breathing during sleep) can definitely produce massive sleep deprivation, since the victim never reaches the deep stages of healing rest, and keeps waking up many times each night.

For people who simply have trouble falling asleep, just worrying too much about having a difficulty falling asleep may, in itself, prevent a person from drifting off. That at least as been true of me occasionally (I call it "Performance Anxiety" about not being able to sleep well when I "have to". :-( ) It's either that, or otherwise I've reached the stage of over-fatigue where my head aches so much, I can't sleep anyway. (Breaking out the aspirin works in that case.) When worried or too keyed up about things to sleep, you could try this, which I find helpful. Just take a sheet of notepaper and write down everything you're thinking of that's making your thoughts twirl. Commit ALL your immediate worries to the sheet and to God, freeing yourself up to sleep -- and the paper will hold onto the list for you, until you wake up. Maybe this sounds somewhat silly, but it does work for me, anyway...

Wolfspirit