Insomnia:

Insomnia is the inhumane curse that befalls many of us inflicting upon us the inability to sleep.

Insomnia is the failure to fall asleep as you try haplessly to embrace the state of slumber, but sleep never overcomes you, and you merely lay in bed fighting the demons inside of your head.

Many people unscrupulously think insomnia is merely a facade. I wish I could as easily fall asleep as those pretentious individuals apparently can.

When you have insomnia, you are never really asleep, and you are never really awake… Yes I know that is a quote from the movie Fight Club.





Those Homo sapiens who are clueless often ask, “How can you not sleep?”

I can only ponder, how can you fall asleep simply by closing your eyes like one of those dolls from yesteryear that closed its eyes simply by laying it down in the prone position.

In real life sleeping is a much more difficult task. The mind is always active, especially when you are attempting to get some much needed rest. The grogginess needed to sleep seems to elude me for a prolonged period of time.

Eventually the fog envelopes my mind and body. That groggy feeling overcomes me, and my brain slowly transitions from wakefulness into the Hypnagogic State. From the Hypnagogic State, REM sleep is just a few brief moments away.

There are always those people who believe that they have the answer for everything, and will inform you that there is medication for that.

I have tried many over the counter sleep aids in the past to overcome insomnia. They work okay the first time that you use them, but your body quickly gets use to the Diphenhydramine in it, and you must increase the recommended dose to continue to reap the benefits that the drug supposedly has to offer.

I have exceeded the recommended dosage in the past by quite a bit, I am embarrassed to say. The recommended dose was 2 pills, I however took eight of them to help me sleep. Even that was not enough some nights.

I took so many pills from that bottle my liver throbbed. That wasn’t a good thing, it was a bad idea. I would strongly recommend against taking more than the recommended dosage of any medication.

The real dense fog in your mind and body occurs when you suddenly wake from the good REM sleep that you so desperately needed.

This sudden change from REM sleep to one of wakefulness can occur from something as innocuous as your phone ringing, or your alarm going off to let you know that it is time to get up for another day of work. This sudden change more often than not leads to sleep inertia.

Your alarm goes off at the same time as usual, but you wake up extremely groggy unsure of where you are. You were experiencing bizarre visions, and a different reality in dreamland just a moment ago.

(You may still see the dream images playing in your head while you are aware of the world around you as well. This is not the same as a Lucid Dream. It is the hypnopompic state.)

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Sleep inertia occurs when you quickly transition from REM sleep to wakefulness. During REM sleep melatonin, your body’s natural hormone, is coursing through your veins. This influx of melatonin during wakefulness causes you to become disoriented, and also inhibits bodily motor skills.

Having large levels of melatonin in your body during wakefulness will cause extreme drowsiness, and feelings similar to drunkenness, and even Sleep Paralysis.

This is why you will feel unable to wake up some mornings, and in need of more sleep. High levels of Melatonin are controlling your mental state. Luckily if you fight the urge to sleep, and force yourself to stay awake the effects of sleep inertia will dissipate in 15 – 30 minutes.

When you suffer from insomnia, and cannot sleep it is usually due to one of two different things. Either you are not physically ready to sleep, or you are not mentally ready for slumber.

When your problem is due to not being physically able to sleep, often times some exercise can help. Go for a walk, or do some aerobics at home to your favorite music to help you feel physically tired.

There is always everybody’s favorite pastime to burn off some energy, assuming you have a willing partner to engage in such intense extra-curricular activities with you.

The mental symphony that plays inside of your head is another story.

Our minds are always active, and there is that little voice inside of our head that is always talking to us. It seems most talkative when we are trying to sleep. It also seems to be at a loss for words when we are trying to cognitively think during the day.

Meditation is a great way to quiet the mind, and focus our thoughts.

Does insomnia dominate your sleep cycle?

Have you ever experienced Sleep Paralysis because of your insomnia?

Has the hypnagogic state caused you to hallucinate, or has it enlightened you to esoteric wisdom?

Know that you are not alone. Many…. All of us have experienced the same feelings too.

Take control of your wondering mind, and you will control your insomnia as well.

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