The conundrum of insomnia has made me guessing since my early 30's. You can do the maths on how many years I've been trying to cope with this sleeping disorder. The problem with insomnia is when you're asleep, you're not really sleeping. And when you're up, you're not really awake.
As much as I would surreptitiously pretend to be not insomniac, it's obvious in the dark circles around my eyes; the lightheadedness; the sluggish feeling almost physically fatigued. Altogether, these make my mind vacuous. Ultimately, cross the whole day--just totally "out of order".
What makes matters worse is when some people would say, "Go get some sleep". If that hadn't been my problem in the first place I wouldn't have been sufferring from sleep loss the past decade! So crassly put by the parochial some!
If science has paved way for shampoos to have special formulation for hair loss, why not for sleep loss? I wonder if science really take insomnia seriously because many of us suffer from this disorder and has never been addressed conclusively.
Tips That Worked and Didn't:
- Drinking milk before going to bed. It helps me relax and dose off for the next hour only to be awakened by a full gall bladder a couple of hours later. This will never work.
- Listening to Soft Music. Yanni's neoclassical flavor soothes the mind and drowns the heart. Really helpful in relaxation and helps me think of boring, mushy stuff.
- Getting a back massage. A gentle back massage especially on the shoulders help ease muscle tension.
- Sleeping on a firmer bed. This is good for the spine. Eases my back pain. Thus, help me relax.
- Drinking Iced Tea at night. Not sure how much content of caffeine Nestea iced tea has but it kept me up all night during Ramadan. Never again will I drink one can before going to bed.
- Walking after dinner. A short walk proves to be helpful.
- If all else fails, consult a doctor.
I was told I'm a healthy insomniac. Meaning my sleeplessness is directly related to my lifestyle which can bring about stress and anxiety. (Anxiety...probably. Bahrain has been economically unstable since the unrest in February. The fear of losing a job is enough to make one really worry.) I was prescribed over the counter drugs and lifestyle modification which I tried to comply with. Funny how it's categorized as "healthy" when the effects of the same malady are ill and comparatively not effective. Does that make me a chronic insomniac? I'm not sure if I want to laugh or cry at this. Whatever it is, it's a grave state to be sufferring from sleep loss. And I'm not the only one.
