Barnaby here again.  Hopefully I didn’t bore you too much rambling on about my life and my family during my sleepless hours last night.  I’m here at the office now, and I’m beyond tired.  It’s hard to describe the feeling.  I can’t focus, my entire body feels fatigued — which is the way I’ve felt all day everyday since my insomnia suddenly emerged a few weeks ago.  So I’m sitting here staring at blank sheet of paper which should be a fully written proposal which is due by the end of the day.  I won’t bore you with the tedious details of my job, but I’m a consultant specializing in helping firms obtain state contracts.  A relatively lucrative contract is being bid out by one of our core clients, and I was assigned the task of responding to their RFP.  It should be mostly complete — yet I’m not more than 25% done.  Maintaining focus on it is nearly impossible.

I’m on my 5th cup of coffee and it is only just after 10:00am — still, it isn’t helping.  This happened with another project last week, and I was lucky enough to be able to pull it off at the last moment.  However, today I’m scared I won’t be that lucky and it is stressing me out.  Insomnia stress is one of the worst side effects of being unable to sleep, and the stresses which ensue from insomnia only make it more difficult to sleep — hence, a vicious circle.  Not only does the insomnia itself cause me stress — but insomnia stress is exacerbated by additional stress emanating from predicaments caused by the lack of sleep — like my unfinished RFP.

I have 7 hours to get this work done — wish me luck.

Tired and nervous,

Barnaby

Barnaby here.  After spending a restless hour in bed watching my wife sleep I decided to come back out on the porch in order to catch the sun rise.  Enjoying picturesque Florida sunrises each morning has been one pleasant benefit of my recent insomnia issues — however, candidly, I’d give up seeing the sun rise ever again in return for just one full night’s sleep.  It has been over two weeks since I’ve gotten more than four hours on any given night, and it is beginning to take its toll.  My boss has noticed — and so have my kids.  I’ve become uncharacteristically irritable, and the lack of sleep is beginning to show in my face.  Some days, I hardly recognize myself.  After talking to friends, a plethora of doctors along with complete strangers, I’ve received what must be hundreds of sleep tips.  They range from the serious (issues like sleep apnea) to the bizarre (one of the sleep tips told to me was to drink garlic spiked hot chocolate before attempting to go to sleep).

My current condition has caused me to become quite educated about the causes of insomnia, but unfortunately to this point none of the plethora of sleep tips I’ve discovered has worked for me.  It started with paying attention to everything I ate or drank after 6pm.  No more expresso with Sambuca after dinner, no more night time Mt. Dews and no chocolate in the evenings.  I scrutinized everything I consumed during the evening hours, and if it contained even the smallest hint of caffeine I abstained.  I’m not a huge drinker, but one of the sleep tips I received was to avoid alcohol in the evenings so I did — except for one especially bad night last week when another tipster told me to try 3 quick shots of Southern Comfort to see if that worked — but that’s a different story.

Another one of the easier sleep tips told to me was to make our bedroom as dark and quiet as possible.  Trust me, Suz wasn’t thrilled at all with hanging a black sheet over the nice shades at night — but far cheaper than black-out curtains, and hopefully my insomnia is gone soon.  I added to this earplugs and a sleep mask.  The sleep mask was extremely uncomfortable and only served to seriously freak out my 2 year old James when he saw me in it, so that was ditched.  So, starting around 10 days ago, each evening I went to bed without a hint of caffeine in my body in a very dark (but unfashionable with the ugly black sheet hanging on the wall) bedroom.  Problem solved, right?  I only wish it was that easy.

The sun is rising now.  It really is beautiful, but at this point it has become almost a dreadful sight for me to see once again.  Time to jump in the shower and fib to Suz once again telling her I was able to get at least a few hours of sleep.

More coming later,

Barnaby

The vast majority of us experience at least occasional insomnia — rare is the individual who can quickly and easily fall asleep every night. Everyday stresses, big upcoming events or excess caffeine can all be insomnia causes, and periodic bouts of it can be easily treated with lifestyle changes or over-the-counter sleeping pills. However, some suffer chronic insomnia which can prove to be a serious impediment to leading an active life. Chronic insomnia causes can be biological, psychological or environmental. Identifying the insomnia causes behind your sleepless nights is the most important first step allowing for selection of the correct treatment regimen.

Within the psychological realm of insomnia causes are anxiety, stress and depression. Those who suffer from depression often have chronic insomnia as a symptom which creates a vicious circle of the lack of sleep further exacerbating the depression. Psychological conditions which contribute to insomnia can often be treated by therapy or pharmaceuticals. Biological insomnia causes can include underlying conditions and diseases which prevent a full nights sleep. Sleep apnea is a prominent biological insomnia cause, and this condition can be treated with a variety of techniques.

Environmental insomnia causes can be as simple as an uncomfortable bed or pillow, or sleeping conditions which are noisy or not sufficiently dark. Addressing these environmental insomnia causes is often quite easy, and simple behavior changes can do the trick. Some behaviors like excessive caffeine consumption can contribute to biological insomnia causes, and this also can be addressed by changing the offending behavior. Although insomnia has many causes, the net result for all sufferers include daytime drowsiness, inability to concentrate and poor school or work performance. Consequently, identifying the insomnia causes behind your particular case is critical in order to prevent these often debilitating effects of insomnia.

Are you looking for more information about sleepwalking? You can find what you are looking for here.

Overview

Sleepwalking is a type of a sleep disorder that is characterized by series of motor activities, such rising, walking, sitting, and among others, while the person is asleep. The affected person is not conscious during the event of sleepwalking and it may just go unnoticed.

Episodes of sleepwalking occur before the stage of rapid eye movement and are common early in the night. These episodes can last a few seconds and can go as long as 30 minutes or more.

Other terms for sleepwalking are somnambulism and noctambulism. It can affect people of any age but are more common in children 4-8 years old.

Causes

The common causes of sleepwalking are psychological factors such as stress and anxiety. It is hereditary in nature. It can also be caused by lack of sleep, fatigue, or adverse effects to some drugs and alcohol. Mental and neurologic disorders that can cause sleepwalking are seizures, REM behavior disorders, and organic brain syndrome.

Symptoms

The symptoms of sleepwalking may include the following:

* Episodes of rising from a sleep but is still asleep, which usually happens early in the night.

* The person may not respond if communicated, but he may utter words that don’t make any sense. The person’s eyes are open, the pupils are dilated, and there will only be blank stares. The person is very difficult to awaken.

* If the person is not awakened during the incident, he will just return to bed or sleep in another place.

* The person will not remember anything from the event.

* All brain functions return to normal once the person wakes up. If the person wakes up during a sleepwalking episode, then most likely he will have a short period of confusion.

When to get help

If the following occur, it is necessary to visit a doctor:

* If the episodes of sleepwalking become more frequent

* If dangerous activities are being performed while sleepwalking

* If the episodes of sleepwalking are accompanied by other symptoms aside from what is being outlined above

Treatment

Treatment may be unnecessary for sleepwalking as it will cease with time. You need to put away harmful objects in the house or in the person’s room to insure safety.

Lifestyle changes may be necessary such as avoiding the use of alcohol or any of the central nervous system depressants, preventing insomnia, and avoiding stress, anxiety, conflicts, and fatigue.

Short acting tranquilizers may be prescribed in some cases to help reduce episodes of sleepwalking.

Some physicians may recommend the use of polysomnography. It is a type of test that is used to study a person’s sleep cycle and to determine the type of treatment necessary. Stress management, relaxation techniques, hypnosis, psychotherapy, and biofeedback training are some alternatives used to treat sleepwalking.

If the condition still persists, the physician may prescribe medications such as anti-anxiety drugs like the diazepam and alprazolam.

Prognosis

The prognosis for sleepwalking is usually good. Most of the cases just subside over time. Children who experience sleepwalking may stop experiencing it by age 15 without any treatments.