This article is classified "Real"
It is quite possible that everybody will suffer from insomnia at some point
in their lives. The symptom of insomnia is that you, quite simply, will not
be able to sleep, even if you are tired, and are really in need of it. In
fact, a greater need, and more usually, a greater feel for need, will help
to make insomnia worse.
If you find yourself awake at night, lying quietly in bed, wondering why
you can't get to sleep, it is quite likely that you will continue to do so
for quite a long time, as the major prolonging causes of sleeplessness are
the questioning thoughts of the mind.
Two possible ways to cure insomnia, or at least partly reduce its affect,
are to make yourself so very tired beforehand, that you cannot possibly keep
your eyes open or your mind focussed on anything, though this may defeat the
object slightly if you only have a short time to sleep anyway. The other
way is to find a distraction that will allow your mind to wander away from
the thoughts that plague you.
Methods of distraction are usually audio-only, and can be the sound from a
radio, a cassette tape, or even a television. It is not usually a good idea
to actually watch the television, though on occasion this may help to induce
the closing-eyes effect, which is a nice prelude to sleep.
On the whole, insomnia will usually occur if you have spent a long time,
just before going to bed, thinking hard about something, or if you have
general problems that you perpetually worry about. The first of these can
be solved by breaking with the task that takes your concentration a while
before you try to sleep, and doing something simpler. The latter is
slightly less easy to solve.
If you do find yourself lying quietly in bed, unable to sleep, it could
also be that you are just not yet ready to do so. If this is the case, it
is an idea to sit quietly and do something else for a while, for example,
read a book, watch the television, or listen to the radio or an audio
cassette.
The most important thing to remember about insomnia, is that you are not
alone. There are many people in the world who suffer from this, and cries
of "why me?" will not help matters, even if it appears that it is just
yourself who cannot put head to pillow and call it a night.
You will always find it easier to sleep if you are relaxed, but if you
absolutely cannot sleep, it is probably a good idea to use the opportunity
to its advantage, by taking the time to think.
Some people will fake sleep just to make you believe that you are the only
insomniac.
[ed.: (old joke) What does a dyslexic agnostic insomniac do at night?
He stays up all night, wondering if there is a dog.]