Trouble sleeping/mind racing

Lately I seem to have some difficulty sleeping. I just started at a very busy restaurant and when i get home I am exhausted and really want to sleep. The problem is not falling asleep its that my mind is still racing when Im asleep. I seem to drift in and out and constantly think about work, almost like I'm still there and still working. I'm not obsessed with work or anything like that , it's like Im daydreaming of work all night and then I have to wake up and go back to work. It's becoming frustrating, becuase my sleep quality is lousy. Anyone have any ideas on how to slow the mind down after a long shift? Other than sleep pills?

ps

My first line of defense for ailments seems to have no effect. I'm sure getting smashed would make me fall right alseep, but I don't like to have more than a couple of drinks.

I have exactly the same affliction.... if I drink any coffee in the afternoon or evening. Have you started drinking more coffee at your new job?

crossword puzzles

I would consider sleep medication a last resort only if other things don't work. Getting wasted will do the trick but you will just feel worse in the morning.
It sounds to me like you need to unwind when you get home. Read or do something relaxing that will take your mind off of work. Once you do get to bed, don't lie there tossing and turning. Get up if you are thinking about work and distract your mind. Once you get sleepy go back to bed.
If none of this works, try an over the counter sleep medication. I'm thinking a lot of this is because you are working a new job and it will only be temporary. Once you get into the routine of the new work maybe you will sleep better.
Good luck!

Try some breathing exercises in a relaxed position in bed. Focus on deeply breathing in through your nose to the count of 3 or 4, slowly exhale through your mouth. Concentrate, listen, and count. Do this 100 times. It has been found that this will lower your blood pressure (which is good) but mostly it's the concentration on the act that will slow your brain down. If you find your mind wondering, start over. I know it sounds a bit corny but it works. Good luck!

When I was around 10 or 11 I would hardly sleep at all, finally getting to sleep around 3am. What I found was that I was tensing all my muscles without even thinking about it, and it's pretty hard to fall asleep (or get restful sleep) like that. So what I started doing was making a conscience effort to relax all my muscles, one group at a time (face, shoulders, arms...etc). At the same time I was repeating a single word in my head to help clear it out.

I found by doing this I was able to get a nice restful sleep. Nowadays I can fall asleep at a drop of a hat, but if I have a lot of stress going on in my life I find that trick still works.

FlyGuy said:

I have exactly the same affliction.... if I drink any coffee in the afternoon or evening. Have you started drinking more coffee at your new job?

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Second that. I can have a cup of coffee and feel no effects from the caffeine at 4, but that night I'm up at 2AM channel surfing when I need to get up at 6.

Cut out all caffeine, unless you have to have it in the morning to get up.

Make a conscious effort to think about nothing. This is going to sound strange, but it works: Imagine a black sphere floating in space, and just focus your attention on watching it. If your mind starts to wander, don't get frustrated, but immediately start imagining the black sphere again. It works.

If all else fails, 50mg of diphenhydramine (Benadryl) is safe and should make you drowsy.

Rick500 said:

Make a conscious effort to think about nothing. This is going to sound strange, but it works: Imagine a black sphere floating in space, and just focus your attention on watching it. If your mind starts to wander, don't get frustrated, but immediately start imagining the black sphere again. It works.

If all else fails, 50mg of diphenhydramine (Benadryl) is safe and should make you drowsy.

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This is a good one too. I use a large black chalk board (imaginary of course) and concentrate on erasing the jumble of the day. If I start thinking of new things, I add them to the chalk board and imagine erasing them until I can just see a empty black space.

Wow, thanks for all the tips folks! From time to time I do drink to much caffeine but this is mostly my brain running on full steam. I will wake up in the middle of the night and imagine I have drinks to make or orders to take then it takes me a minute to realize im in my own bed. I think i will try unwinding a bit when I get home. I guess Im so tired and just try to sleep. Perhaps a book and a brew will do the trick!

A beer or two may help or may make it worse, actually. I'd certainly give it a try at least once though.

nyquil PM plus one brew does it for me when i have jetlag. probably not the healthiest thing!

I think that what you describe is not unusual. I also have dreams about work when I start a new job or when my job gets really busy. Once you settle in to your new job I think you'll sleep better. Good luck.

I think about engines, or stuff I want to build...out like a light, and the getting smashed works pretty well too, but sucks in the morning

weed before bed.

*not a doctor*

I had this problem in high school and throughout my childhood until I started drinking actually. Now after at least a beer or two a night I sleep like a baby and get better sleep than I ever had. I used to sleep till noon and wake up tired, but now wake up after 6-7 hours of sleep refreshed(after a cup of coffee).

98EXL said:

I think about engines, or stuff I want to build...out like a light

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+1 on this. Whenever I'm trying to get to sleep (I have an F'd up sleep schedule because of my craptastic job) and I can't stop thinking about stuff, what I do is instead focus on things I really like. I'll think about the next brew I want to make, what ingredients, some woodworking projects I would like to start on, stuff like that. It puts me in a better mood, and next thing I know I'm waking up.

Actually, one of the better choices in your case might be a period of regular melatonin use. Melatonin is an over-the-counter supplement and also happens to be the chemical that regulates our sleep-wake cycle. I use it when I have to change schedules for some reason, or if I'm in a period of stress, which tends to give me insomnia. I'll take it for 3-7 night straight to get my sleep cycle back into shape, making sure I go to bed and wake up at the same time every day...no sleeping in for an extra 2-3 hours to "make up" lost sleep! I also pay attention to sleep hygiene...

http://www.umm.edu/sleep/sleep_hyg.htm#a

Stay away from alcohol right now. It goofs with your sleep structure like you won't believe. In short, lots of folks use it to sleep, but they don't get QUALITY sleep, usually, and wind up more tired/irritable/frustrated.

Hope this helps.

If this ends up not going away (for "new" job reasons), it may be the job itself. If you're a server, I know that can be rough. I've never done it, but my brother and his wife used to wait and they both used to talk about having strange restaurant dreams where they were at work and all this hectic stuff was happening and they felt manic and they woke up sweating.

I can second whoever said reading. I find reading in bed really helps me fall asleep. Also, depending on your daily activities, exercize can really help get rid of metabolic waste that builds up in your body (and can cause things like insomnia).

If this continues despite all your efforts, you might want to think about a new line of work. No job is worth poor health.

I'm so glad I gave my expert opinion about your insomnia the other day. Too bad I can't take my own advice! Here it is after 1AM and I've got a load on my mind and I'm wide awake. Well, I only have to get up in about 3 1/2 hours...

This hits me once in a while, and getting smashed only works around 1/4 of the time. Your focused on work, and the only answer is to get work down to the point that it is just another day. I worked in the biz from dives to 5+ star fine dining in college. Fine dining really sucks to work in.
I would recommend running, or some serious exercise while your working on clearing your mind. Hey worst case, force carbonate a keg until you throw a shoulder or have a heart attack.
Truly though, it's only a job. Do not let it mess up your health or life, it's not worth it.

MikeFlynn74 said:

weed before bed.

*not a doctor*

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i'm not a doctor either, but this makes me sleep like a baby.

uglygoat said:

i'm not a doctor either, but this makes me sleep like a baby.

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I concur, do you concur?

I had the same issue with sleeping for years. It wasn't until I was married that my wife pointed out how much sugar I was having right before bed. I now limit my sugar and caffeine intake before bed. No caffeine after 4pm and limit sugar/eating after 6pm.

This has helped a lot. I can tell it still happens when I have kettle corn during a show or movie, as it takes a while to fall asleep afterwards.

Good luck.

MikeFlynn74 said:

weed before bed.

*not a doctor*

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+1

zzzzzzzzz

RichBrewer said:

If none of this works, try an over the counter sleep medication.

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I am not a doctor but... I would definitely recommend against over-the-counter medications... they can have serious side affects like increased blood-pressure when used in conjunction with other medications.

I have the same sleeping problem due to work-related stress (for example - right now I am in Juarez, MX for work - a dangerous place for someone carrying around expensive computer equipment and cell phones and this is stressing me out. BTW - 90% of the people here are very very nice).

Exercise and other stress reduction methods ("doin' the dirty" with SWMBO )work well when I am not traveling for work so you should concentrate on those. But when I am traveling for work the only thing that works well is my sleeping prescription.

A hummer every night before bed should do it. You'd have a good excuse for asking. They usually make me sleepy afterwards.

I have had chronic insomnia my whole life and it is primarily caused by what you describe - the inability to turn my brain off at night. The only thing I have found moderately helpful is not doing anything in bed other than sleeping (no watching TV, no reading the morning paper, nothing). Over time the brain starts to associate the bed with sleep and only sleep and eventually getting into bed acts as a cue to the brain to turn off. It doesn't work every night, but it has made a difference.

Something you might also want to consider is whether there is something about work you are anxious about. You mentioned that it is a new job and that it is very busy; it may be anxiety about work even though you are not work obsessed.

Reading is my sleeping drug. I read every single night before I go to bed and it zonks me out after awhile esp. if I'm reading something like The Republic.