[blparent] question about insomnia

Tue Mar 10 19:49:03 UTC 2009

Jo Elizabeth, Along with what Steve said, you may want to limit screen
time, tv and computer usage. I've read that both the pixels can get your
brain wired in a way that it thinks its still daytime and that the
content especially if you read/watch/listen to news, will get you
worried. 
Since you work, I'd highly suggest looking into childcare for Sarah. She
is rapidly approaching the time where she will want and need you for
emotional reasons, and she will deserve that time. In short, it wil get
harder to work while she sleeps as she will sleep less and less. 
This way, you can compartmentalize and have work time, Sarah time and
Mom time. All will help you feel better. 
Know too that lack of sleep is like being drunk, and you wouldn't or so
I hope get drunk and try to take care of your child.  

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of Steve Jacobson
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 11:10 AM
To: NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blparent] question about insomnia

Jo Elizabeth,

I'm not a mom and have not experienced your exact condition, but I
gather that your insomnia is more a part of your normal life and thatyou
had less of a problem when you were pregnant and nursing.  I know that
it is common practice to change one's diet during pregnancy and while
nursing, so it would make sense to look at what you may have changed.  I
don't know how deeply you have already investigated your tendency toward
insomnia so I don't want to tell you a bunch of things you already know,
but looking at what you eat and drink when can be very helpful.  I've
dealt with it from time to time and have come to learn that certain
things very definitely affect my ability to sleep.  Be very aware of
your caffeine intake as that can play the largest role.  If you are
sensitive to caffeine, you could be affected by many things besides
coffee.  Caffeine can remain in your system for hours, and even a little
can affect some people so you have to experiment.  I know people who can
drink a regular cup of coffee before going to bed and it has no effect.
For myself, I can drink pretty much all the coffee I want before noon
without worrying, but I have to be careful in the afternoon.  For some
people, sugar can be as bad as coffee.  Finally physical exercise too
close to bed can leave one wide awake.  
Some recommend that one not do any significant excercise less than five
hours before going to sleep.  There can be other patterns that can
effect one's ability to sleep as well.  The idea, for example, that a
small glass of wine will help you sleep doesn't always work.  I figured
out, for example, that the bowl of icecream that I once enjoyed before
bed was a very bad idea for me.  

There is a tendency for many to chalk up insomnia to not seeing light
and thereby having your biological clock out of sync with your day.  My
experience has been that even doctors jump on this idea way too quickly
without working through other possibilities.  Whether blind or not,
over-the-counter melatonin helps some people.  
it did not seem to help me when I was younger but seems to help now.
For me, a lot of insomnia has been the result of my having a sleepless
night or two and then starting to expect and even worry about it falling
into a pattern.  Breaking the pattern has often been the key.

There is more that could be said, but I'll stop in case this is all old
news.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

On Tue, 10 Mar 2009 01:10:01 -0600, Jo Elizabeth Pinto wrote:

>Hi.  It's one o'clock in the morning, and I'm dead tired and wide 
>awake--again.  I struggled with insomnia before I got pregnant, but the

>whole time I was carrying
and then nursing, it seemed like I could go to sleep if I just stayed
still for a moment.  As soon as I stopped nursing, bam!  No more
peaceful sleep.  I'm wondering if any of you other moms experience
anything like that.  I get my best work done at night, but all this
wakefulness makes me feel like the walking dead.

>Jo Elizabeth

>"Don't throw away the old bucket until you know whether the new one 
>holds water."--Swedish proverb 
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