Help from HuffPo

3 Natural Ways to Fall Asleep Faster by Tracey Marks, M.D. Psychiatrist; Psychotherapist; Author, 'Master Your Sleep'. Hope it helps! Enjoy and good night...eventually.

Can't Stop

So I am currently living with my sister to help pay for funds, and get me back on my feet. Started school, so I needed any help I could get. The problem is, at least in her mind, is that I stay up until the wee hours of the morning. My sister, being a single mother, working 40 minutes away from our house, and driving a car that steals $50 a day in gas, goes to sleep around 9:30, 10 o'clock and naturally finds it abnormal that I stay up until 3 or 4am.

Being a geek, gamer, and a native to the PST stuck in CST, I pretty much have to stay awake because of how connected I am to the online world. It's just a normal thing for me, if my friends are up playing games on STEAM or Starcraft II, I'm naturally going to play with them. We've been doing this for years, and it's just who I am.

My sister is annoyed that I do this, and wants me to change. I can't change instantly and just fall asleep. My body just doesn't work that way, let alone anyone else, but like I said, I don't want to tarnish our relationship over something as dumb as me staying awake. I need to find a common ground. What can I do or say besides, it's just who I am?

Running, Melatonin, and Serenil = Failure to Sleep

Alright, so I haven't found any research to confirm this, but I've noticed that when I'm more physically active I have a harder time falling asleep at night - thought it was supposed to be the opposite. After a run or workout, I take a hot shower and am usually ready to pass out. If I do fall asleep then, I only sleep for a couple hours and then I'm up and wired. If I stay awake and try to go to bed at a normal hour, my body feels restless and like I could literally go out and run a half marathon at 3 o'clock in the morning - and probably complete it in my best time. It's maddening!!!

I haven't been able to fall asleep before 5am for several weeks now. I've tried everything. Avoiding caffeine late in the day, avoiding the computer super late at night - not now obviously, trying to make the bedroom a peaceful retreat from the rest of the house, etc, etc. I've also tried melatonin and now have added serenil to the mix, which is a natural Italian sleep aid - though, it's not like melatonin that you take before bed, it's an herbal supplement that is supposed to help you relax and set your biorhythms straight. It's only been a few days since I've tried that and it's not working, either.

Oh, and when I do finally fall asleep and wake up the next day I feel EXHAUSTED and not fully rested at all.

Anyway, I really don't know how to fix this problem. How do you all eventually get to sleep? Any recommendations for your squad commander? Please help!!!

Painting Ninja Turtles

In case you missed the previous post...

Watch live streaming video from fuckinartwithmrdelicious at livestream.com

Thanks for sharing, Goosecomics!

The City That Never Sleeps

Greetings, insomnisquad!

Wow! It has been awhile since I've posted--as well as others--guess we've all been sleeping well, or probably just working on other things that keep us up late.

Anyway, a friend just said to me, "New York is the city that never sleeps and apparently neither do you."

How appropriate then that I'm in the process of moving to the Big Apple!?!? All the excitement of my new gig with Rocketboom and moving cross-country is keeping me up. Well, those two things and this little guy from dinner...


I know better, but...I couldn't help myself! Hope you're all doing well.

With love from your Squad Commander from the insomniac's playground!

Healthy Late Night Snack - I Think...

Alright, if you're like me the longer you stay up the more you want to eat again. I was craving something sweet, but I'm trying to be good so to satisfy the hunger I ate 2 teaspoons of soy peanut butter with a drop of Hershey's chocolate syrup. It's not a Reese's cup, my friends, but its better than nothing!!!

Normally a nighthawk, but 5am is pushing it!

First off, I'm Kevin, I'm 26, and I live in Alberta, Canada. So why am I up at 5am on Monday morning? It's simple, my brain refuses to stop thinking, either about what I need to do in the coming days, or what I read or saw while surfing the 'net this weekend.

It also has to do with the fact that I was up most of the night on Saturday catching up on TV shows (Fringe), watching "Punisher: War Zone" (which is excellent, by the way, though rather gory), and slept til 4pm. Yeah, I know, I don't understand that either.

I truly wish it was a long weekend right now, but it's not, so I'm waiting til 6am, going to bike over the college (two blocks away) and submit my assignment, then come home, where I will finish another assignment (InDesign, and no, I'm no expert) I totally forgot about, and then hopefully pass out.

My instructor won't be too happy with me, but there's no point going to class when I can't really focus. So long as I email him and finish the work, I should be cool though.

So, in effect, I've created a long weekend for myself, though it doesn't feel as satisfying being forced as it would have if it were planned. I'm a nighthawk, but 5am too late even for me!

Thanks, Leah, for letting me be an author on this blog! I hope you get the Great Barrier reef job! I'm rootin' for ya, and yes, I voted for you! I really enjoyed your video, too!

Motto Suggestions

Every squad needs a good motto...what should ours be? Here are some suggestions from Twitter:

Xaviermagnus@leahdemilio fighting sleep one post at a time

jakezhivov@leahdemilio #insomnisquad motto - Insomnia Squad - always up for a chat

kerric123456@leahdemilio ure moto should be...A MOTTO!

Veilen@leahdemilio #insomnisquad "Carpe Noctem" ;)

gerryc@leahdemilio "We stay awake so you don't have to." ;-) #insomnisquad

And one idea for a meet up:

Xaviermagnus@leahdemilio if the squad ever had a meet up it would have to be at denny's its one of the only things that caters to our kind

Why Am I Up?

I suppose my late night hours are more a result of a wonky schedule than actual insomnia, though that does come into play sometimes. I've always been more of a night person than a day person. Early mornings during my school years were especially brutal, after graduation, my summertime hours just seemed to stick and continue to stick to this day.

It's the best time for me to be creative, thanks to the dark, the quiet, and the lack of distractions (though YouTube can be a killer). Whether it's writing or visual art, my best stuff happens when everyone's sleeping. In recent years, I've been doing a lot of animation for short films. I recently finished a film that took me over 1,300 hours of animating and most, if not all of the animation was done at night.

The schedule's hard to shake though. I'm in between projects, it's currently about 6 AM and here I am, still up. In my creative downtime, the dark hours have become my DVD hours, I'm currently zipping through my Futurama box sets (Oh, that Zoidberg...) and milking Netflix for all it's worth.

My nocturnal ways are working fairly well for me so far, I get my work done and I'm now part of the Insomnisquad! Though, admittedly, I now fear the fiery thing that rules the daytime skies.

attempting to go to bed...

I have a shoot in the morning...I need some beauty rest...first attempt in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

Thanks for joining and sharing your thoughts! I'm excited to see this squad grow!!!

In the meantime...can you help your Squad Commander out with some views and ratings on this video for the best job in the world? Click on the link below and feel free to share with others!

Best Job in the World!
http://www.islandreefjob.com/#/applicants/watch/z7jD2C2aqc0

Thanks!

Your Squad Commander,
Leah

Artwork I didn't do, but like...

Do you ever feel like a giant eyeball?

Late Night Rantings

Alright, team! So, for those of you who will be up into the wee hours of the night...post your late night rantings here and allow other insomniacs to comment/share.

Tonight's writing prompt is: Why aren't you sleeping?