Definitely get your thyroid checked. You wouldn't believe the insomnia I had when I was hyperthyroid.

I have uars(upper airway respiratory syndrome). When I get in a deep sleep I get this intense pressure on my esophagus which makes it harder to breath. It causes adrenaline rushes and I wake up. Eventually I would wake up and feel totally hyper from the adrenaline and start cleaning my house or even going jogging in the middle of the night. Then in a few hours I crash and sleep so hard I won't wake up when the alarm goes off. Ovulation, pms, too much sugar, stress, illness all make it worse. At higher elevations it is harder to breath anyway and it is a further stress on my body until I adjust. Also the air is thinner so it takes more air intake to keep the pressure up on the esophagus. Being overweight contributes to the problem.

I have to use a machine that negates the pressure on the esophagus. Its the same type sleep apnea patients use.

There are 82 recognized types of sleep disorders, so a sleep study would at least tell you what is occuring in your sleep.

I sleep best between 4AM and 10AM. I always have and it doesn't really ever seem to change. Whenever I try to go against that norm and get up and get moving then I struggle with depression and a general feeling of fatigue.

My circadian rhythm has remained constant for many years, no matter how much I have tried to change it. I used to beat myself up for not getting up and getting moving, but no longer do that, just schedule my days to start later. I do get anywhere from 8-10 hours of sleep a night.



I do a strange combination of neanderthin and schwartzbein, so I am familiar with the woe that you are on.

Marty

Part of it is habit. I know I habitually wake up at 3 am. I had been getting up and going on the computer, snacking, etc., before. Now I'm trying to force myself to stay in bed, whether I sleep or not. I have found that if I stay in bed, I'll eventually fall asleep again. Its a matter of training. The hot flashes don't help, though.

Im waiting for some CD's with music that are supposed to get your brain more quickly into the delta waves of deep sleep. I'll let you know if they work.

One low carb cookie and some valarian tea seems to help me get to sleep in the first place when I'm really having a hard time.

Jende

You might need a few more carbs. I've done Swartzbein (heck I think I've done them all!!!) and I slept better on that than on any other plan. I don't sleep well at all on under 110 carbs. I'm doing Fat Flush right now and have to add in extra fruit in order to get more than 2 hours sleep a night. When I can't sleep, often a snack of a low carb bread with tomatoe and/or a very small amount of protein helps. At one point I worried about adding the extra carbs BUT when it's a choice of 11-15 carbs and the difference between 2 hours or less of sleep and 6 or seven - well the sleep's the winner. I know it's not advisable to eat later at night, but for me having the carb snack often puts me to sleep within an hour, so again it's a choice of what is most beneficial for YOU.


Good luck, being awake 22 hours a day totally SUCKS.

Jende,
I have just been looking at the Fat Flush plan. Funny that I found this thread today. Anyway, my problem is coffee in the am. I am super sensitive and addicted to it. I know it's not good for my liver and metabolism. Anyway, I had the Fat Flush book for some time and was reading it to see if I could incorporate some of the principles into my day, like the hot lemon water, the flax seed/cran water, etc. Are you having success with the FF plan? Thanks for any insights.....

Just received my tapes from the relaxation company. Delta wave system. Fell asleep in no time. Too bad I didn't stay asleep. I guess I should have played the tape instead of getting up in the middle of the night, LOL. Just need that 3am snack!

BTW, I have been having a 3am snack every night to get back to sleep. I wonder if its affecting my weight loss at all. I've been taking off roughly a pound every couple of days.

Your 3 am snacking is because you are hypoglycemic in the middle of the night. I have the same problem because my cortisol is low. Don't worry about the weight loss, it is more important to eat something and take the burden of regulating blood sugar off of your adrenals.

I'm not hypoglycemic during the night, in fact, I've been having trouble getting my evening sugars down. (all the more reason to not get up and eat, but I cant seem to help it.) Could be just a bad habit/or hungar from the hyperglycemia.

Anway going to start Byetta soon, it will probably help.

By the way, those DVD's are a godsend. Got them from The Relaxation Company. They are designed to guide your brainwaves into the delta waves. My kids are using them, too, since they have their internal clocks all screwed up from staying up all night in the summertime and they are falling asleep early with them too. I highly recommend them.