Have you ever had such bad insomnia that you never slept an entire night?

I have done a lot of 40 hour days. It sucks but you manage. I go with a lot of fruits and tea to keep me awake.

@johnpowell thanks John.. phew

Blasts of fresh air and splash cold water in your face to help keep you refreshed. Keep busy and don’t watch the clock. Good luck.

@YoH thanks so mcuh

I don’t have insomnia, but I have had completely sleepless nights.

@thriftymaid how do you manage I feel exhausted…

I remember not sleeping for days at a time.. but that was back in high school..

I stay up all night sometimes just because I’m busy. But in my answer I was referring to those nights when you cannot sleep because of a pressing issue or problem. If you have to be on a job the next day it’s tough.

@thriftymaid I guess mothers with young babies do it often… I’ll keep thinking of them as my inspiration.

try melatonin…....i cant think without sleep. i feel bad for you. I dont like being groggy on rx. Tylenol PM works okay as well.no caffeine after 7 pm.

It’s uncommon, but I have been known to stay up for three days at a time for no reason other than I don’t even feel the desire to sleep, let alone the need.

Even if you can’t get to sleep; lay down, close your eyes, and let your body rest. It isn’t as good as when you sleep, but it does let your body recover somewhat.

Thats why they invented Jolt Cola, Monster, and 747’s (that’s what they were called when I was in college, not certain they make them anymore).

To sleep following a day of caffeine binging, I listen to talk radio. Konks me right out. Thank you Mr. Bohanan.

Of course. I take it you are very young or just very lucky.

About every two weeks, I miss an entire night of sleep. The last time that happened and I had to function the following day, I drank one of those ‘5 Hour Energy Shot’ things, and it worked surprisingly well. Now, that may be because I don’t drink caffeine at all on a regular basis. If you already consume a lot of caffeine, it may not work as well for you.

Bad insomnia isn’t 20 hours ;P
But yeah, its terrible. Staying up too long always gives me a weird stomach ache / nausea that can be cured with bread.

So many, urg! Since leaving my last live-in partner I’ve not had decent sleep (3yrs) and have gone close to three days in a row with no sleep. I tried sedatives, I tried foods and then I got angry and started drinking a whole lot but in the end, the sleep I got was about the same as when I just wig out and let what happens happen. Make some sort of chores your new insomnia friend or better yet, make insomnia friends.

Well…count me out…sleep like a baby, 7.5–9 hrs. and wake up without an alarm at sunrise or before.

I’m big on hot tubs or baths before bed for the relaxation…nothing works better for me.

I like a few drinks now and then but alcohol messes with your sleep rythems bigtime.

…two words NO DOZE.

buy a packet form the supermarket and pop one every 2 hours or so, they will keep you awake.

Ive got a really good trick to fall asleep too…ill IM you.

When I things on my mind, serious things that have really fucked with my mind, then I can stay awake all night. I am them a mardy cow the next day.

@Dibley I am still awake! I am hoping to pass out sometime soon :)

I have a sleep disorder due to major depression and sleep every 2nd night only. Try not to stress out and don’t watch the clock.

It’s very rare for me (I usually sleep hard enough that corpses are impressed) and tends to be only when I’m ill. On the occasions where I’ve purposefully stayed up all night, I’ve managed to last through the next day until about mid-afternoon, then the tiredness hits hard.

More often than not, when I have insomnia, I usually manage to drop off to sleep around 6 or 7am, sleep for 3 hours, and am fine the next day.

@Theby thanks theby, and yes I am still awake lol.

I think i will make tracks to bed g’nite.

For some reason….the older I’ve gotten….sleep comes less. I don’t know if it’s a combo of kids, preimenapause….or what. But I’ve done many a night with no sleep. I used to work 12 night shifts in a factory going to college, and then did a lot of night shifts in radio until I got the morning gig. I wonder sometimes if all that didn’t mess up my inner clock somehow and nights just became a more productive time for me.
Sleep deprivation is a form of torture though….so do try and get some rest – even if it’s little naps.

This is how I do it.

I know for myself that 2 Benedryls (50 mg total) plus 3 mg Melatonin plus 1 beer plus a joint, will knock me out.

And so…. if I know I am in for a sleepless night, I will use the combo above to knock me out for 8 hours. (Or I’ll substitute the Benedryl with Valerian root, which also works, but is harder on the stomach).

But let’s say I don’t know I’m in for a sleepless night and I suddenly realize at midnight that I’m not tired. I don’t want the above combo because that would be too strong in the morning, with a hangover from all the medicine. So I’ll cut the ingredients in the combo by half. That will still knock me out, but it won’t cause me to sleep for more than 6½ or 7 hours.

Or let’s say its 3 in the morning. Then i’ll just rip a random chunk off the 3 mg melatonin pill to make it smaller. And i’ll cut the Benedryl dose by ¾. But due to lower dosage here, I’ll definitely need a joint at that point.

And by doing this, I have prevented the hell that is a sleepless night, for many years now.

Sure there’s a mild, subtle medicated hangover effect when I wake up after doing that, but it is erased with coffee or exercise.

And I do it because I find days after sleepless nights, to be a slow torture.

Also, unrelated to what i just said, remember that 1 hour of sleep provides a huge benefit compared to no sleep at all. Waking up after 1 hour is horrible, but the sleep is so important

@Kraigmo Hell that is what is in a elephant tranquilizer dart! You must have some serious shit on your mind to need all that! 10–15 mg of Benadryl does it nicely for me and no mega fog to have to blast through in the AM! I too hate the all night torture of being awake.

I’ve been awake for more than 48 hours. I just couldn’t fall asleep, and when I did, I slept for maaaany hours

I’ve gone past 48hrs but not yet into 72hrs, I can’t imagine how tripped out I would be by then.

I don’t think I’ve ever encountered any substance (aside from medical anaesthetic) which is capable of putting me to sleep when I’m not tired, or waking me up when I am. I don’t get any drowsiness at all from benadryl and caffeine doesn’t keep me awake.