this post was submitted on 19 Jul 2023
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I used to have insomnia that came from anxiety about my future (I’m guessing.) When I started doing carpentry and started truly exhausting my body I gained the ability to sleep ANYWHERE ANY TIME FOR HOWEVER LONG I WANTED.
It’s seriously amazing. I’m 33 now and don’t have to work quite as hard, plus am used to the long shifts that are hard on your body. I can still sleep pretty much whenever, wherever.
I flew to England once (it was like a 14 hour flight) and seriously slept the entire time. I didn’t even have a window seat.
I did residential construction for a couple years, then 4 in the military, so no stranger to physical exhaustion... Insomnia hit even in those times.
The only way to predictably get a decent chunk of sleep is to kind of bank hours in the days leading up to it. Like if get 0 to maybe 3 hours per night through the work week, I'll sleep like a baby come Saturday.
Never been on meds for it. Was afraid to report it when I was active duty (fucking stupid) and now my rating isn't high enough to cover prescriptions and I don't have regular health insurance so... can't afford them. :-/
I've used ambien and that L one. Benefit/negatives = not worth it. My husband and friends switched to trazodone (safer and cheaper) and really like it. I've learned to put myself to sleep quickly by focusing hard on relaxing each body part for 3 breaths, starting with feet, ankles, lower legs, .... When i wake up in the middle of the night it's harder, but i can usually do it if i concentrate. Oh, when I'm really struggling, adding cannabis helps.
Trazadone works really well. The only drawback I find his if I need to use the bathroom during the night (getting older sucks) - makes me feel really unsteady kind of like I'm drunk.