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from the zzzzzz-WAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! dept.
Some Soylentils have managed to reproduce, so this study, which has findings on how to keep the young ones keep sleeping through the night, might be useful.
Overall, studies indicate that 15 to 20 percent of one to three year olds continue to have nightwakings. According to Stephanie Zandieh, M.D., Director, Pediatric Sleep Disorders and Apnea Center, The Valley Hospital, "Inappropriate sleep associations are the primary cause of frequent nightwakings. Sleep associations are those conditions that are habitually present at the time of sleep onset and in the presence of which the infant or child has learned to fall asleep. These same conditions are then required in order for the infant or child to fall back to sleep following periodic normal nighttime arousals."
Sleep associations can be appropriate (e.g., thumb sucking) or problematic (e.g., rocking, nursing, parental presence). "Problematic sleep associations are those that require parental intervention and thus cannot be reestablished independently by the child upon awakening during the night," adds Dr. Zandieh.
Here are some helpful tips to help your child sleep through the night:
Every child is different, but the techniques seem sensible and worth trying, such as giving them a security blanket (or teddy bear, etc) when being put to bed to signal it's time to sleep.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Snotnose on Wednesday January 04 2017, @01:07AM
Always have, probably always will. I'm talking 30-60 minutes minimum in bed before I actually go to sleep.
I didn't even realize it wasn't normal until I was maybe 12, when I realized all my Boy Scout tent-mates were asleep within a minute or two of turning out the light. Me? I can't sleep in a car, on a plane, on a train. Hotels are fine. I can't take naps, I've tried. Daylight Saving time really wipes me out, both ends.
Warm milk? Exercize? Meditate? Been there done that, they all work. For about a week. Then it's back to "normal".
It sucks to be honest.
I'm 58, not exactly a spring chicken anymore.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 1) by charon on Wednesday January 04 2017, @01:34AM
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday January 04 2017, @01:52AM
Similar. My "norm" is to lie awake for half an hour or more. My mind stays busy, just won't turn off. But, there are other times when my head hits the pillow, and I'm gone. Naturally, if I'm extremely tired, the times is shorter, and if I'm not really tired, the time is longer. But, I can't always predict it either. Often times, if I haven't fallen aslee in 45 minutes or so, I just get up, take a shower, make coffee, and sit down in front of the computer. The results of that is, either I crash and burn, or I just stay up all night.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 04 2017, @10:56AM
Similar. My "norm" is to lie awake for half an hour or more. My mind stays busy, just won't turn off.
One of the bigger lies Runaway has told us. How can a mind not be turned off, if it was never functioning in the first place? Oh, grate, now Runaway will have to lie AWAKE even longer to ponder that one, and to wait for the President-elect 3am tweet.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday January 04 2017, @02:30PM
I still haven't decided whether there are half a dozen of you who spend their time making personal attacks on me, or if it's just one person. Do I have one big fan, or a score of little fans? One thing for sure - none of you can have a real life, if the best use of your time is to follow me around to make personal attacks.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 04 2017, @03:30AM
I'd say try sex, except you're 58.
(Score: 2) by jelizondo on Wednesday January 04 2017, @03:37AM
I had the same problem and found a solution that looks stupid, but works for me. The problem is an overactive brain that won’t shutdown until exhausted so you need a particularly boring problem to get it to shutdown. My solution is to count from 1 to 100 very slowly, not allowing any other thought to come between each digit.
Some years ago, I could count to 90 or thereabouts, nowadays I barely get to 30 before falling asleep.
As usual, YMMV.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 04 2017, @03:39AM
Are you sure? I used to think that was the case, then I started going to sleep with a brainwave monitor and most nights that hour was more like 15 minutes, but time tends to get distorted as you get closer to sleep.
If it is taking that long to fall asleep, that's not normal, most likely, it means you need to go to bed earlier or later as your body isn't ready for sleep at that time..
(Score: 2) by tonyPick on Wednesday January 04 2017, @07:57AM
I've had the same problem, although recently I've found podcasts + small mp3 player are incredibly useful - something like The Hidden Almanac [hiddenalmanac.com] is ideal (and hilarious, if you're into that sort of comedy.)
I think it's the humour & imagery gives me something distracting & relaxing to focus on rather than have my mind spin out of control, and the short sequences that don't require concentration so I can drift in & out and ease into sleep work well for me.
Plus having a routine that tells my brain it's time to sleep helps immensely. (I also had a fairly irregular sleeping schedule, and having a routine helped kick that as well).
(Score: 2) by jimshatt on Wednesday January 04 2017, @08:34AM
But seriously, I used to lie awake too, mostly because I turned in too early. Now I don't go to bed at the same time as my wife, and we have separate beds, which also helps.
That, and masturbation.
(Score: 2) by Aiwendil on Wednesday January 04 2017, @11:41AM
Try coffee... no really.
It is a well known trick whem everything else fails - drink a cup of warm coffee and go straight to bed (do not linger about - nor nurse the coffe, it is a matter of hitting one of the initial phases of the effect).
(Just try it one night when you've given up on sleep anyway)
On a personal note - I've found that the taste of mint jolts me awake so I either brush my teeth long ahead of going to sleep or use a salt/soda-based toothpaste instead.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 04 2017, @03:23PM
I've tried and failed at polyphasic sleep a few times (mostly uberman, but also everyman and dymaxion), and had the following effects from the experience:
I discovered I was actually prone to dreaming that I was lying awake.
I learned how to fall asleep much more quickly and easily, and even to nap.
My understanding and experience of sleep in general changed for the better.
I know it's an odd and radical suggestion, but trying to subsist on a sparse and entirely nap-based schedule for a couple weeks or longer can really teach you a lot about the nature of sleep and totally recalibrate something in your brain/body, even if you probably won't succeed at (or don't intend) adapting to the pattern long-term (or even get beyond 3 to 5 days without passing out for 3+ hours at some point).
But regardless of tactic, if you actually give yourself good /practice/ at sleep somehow, you can actually get better at it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 05 2017, @03:14AM
Me too. Right now, 1,5 hours of trying to sleep. I think my personal best is falling a sleep after about 7 hours of trying to sleep.
I pretty much have all the things that makes falling a sleep difficult: very sensitive to light and sound, exploding head, flashes of light, feeling of falling (forgot the name), hypnic jerks, i toss and turn, restless legs syndrome etc.
I find sleeping aid pills sometime seem to work, but otherwise definitely not.
In the army i could take naps outside even during full daylight, but that ended there. Also when i was a kid i could sleep in the bus and mostly woke up a stop or 2 before my stop.