# Sleep and Dreams > Sleep and Health >  >  Can insomnia make you crazy?

## pyroguy305

Often times I can not sleep.  Like right now.  I got in bed at 1, hoping i'd be tired enough to simply pass out.  But at 3:20 I looked at the clocked knowing I couldn't sleep. The reason was my thoughts were literally going out of control.  They were completely abstract yet they were flying at me at 100000 thoughts per second.  I tried to calm my mind and simply drift off to sleep but these thoughts kept my brain too active for sleep.  

Does anyone have a similar issue or know what I'm talking about at all??  Its so uncomfortable in my head its scary, because I feel like I'm not in control of my thoughts.   ::embarrassed::

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## Captain Frapo

Well how often does this happen to you? I only get like this a few times a year, but it's usually that I'm SO tired, that my body can't get into it's rhythm. I have this horrible problem of constantly yawning, which really ruins any sort of breathing regulation. 

Then I stay awake for a long time, and not being able to fall asleep drives me NUTS. I just end up getting so angry. 

It might sound weird but I have a few other things that I try in order to make myself more tired. Maybe a little masturbation, and then smoke a bowl if THAT doesn't work. If nothing then, (or you don't indulge in drug-work) then.. shit  I got nothing.

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## pyroguy305

I used to smoke big time, but I got in a lot of trouble relating to that stuff and so now I don't anymore. That would be a perfect remedy otherwise.  Its not that I'm not tired. Its just like my mind is working overtime on random s**t in my head and won't let me sleep. And it literally makes me feel like I'm going crazy.

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## imj

Insomnia is not a deliberate act of sleep deprivation because you can't fall sleep but if it were on purpose meaning you are tired and can sleep but you force it not to and for weeks then yes temporary deragement will set in. 

IMJ

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## CRAZY BONE

Sometimes when I walk around in public with my friends, I'll put my hands on my forehead scream, "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!" and then everyone around me freaks out and looks at me like  I'm insane. It's hilarious. 

*On topic:* Just focus on breathing and try to relax as much as possible. Once you enter a meditative state, all of your problems and stress will melt away  ::meditate::

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## wet_roof113

Lol @ post above


I've had this thing every few moths where my thoughts spin out of control and I am jolted into awareness every few minutes making it impossible to sleep. all the times it has happened when my bro or something else wakes me up shortly after i have gone to sleep and then I cant fall back.

I would suggest playing around with the sensation/feeling but that hasn't worked successfully for me yet =/

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## Dizko

> Often times I can not sleep.  Like right now.  I got in bed at 1, hoping i'd be tired enough to simply pass out.  But at 3:20 I looked at the clocked knowing I couldn't sleep. The reason was my thoughts were literally going out of control.  They were completely abstract yet they were flying at me at 100000 thoughts per second.  I tried to calm my mind and simply drift off to sleep but these thoughts kept my brain too active for sleep.  
> 
> Does anyone have a similar issue or know what I'm talking about at all??  Its so uncomfortable in my head its scary, because I feel like I'm not in control of my thoughts.



This happens to everyone as they fall asleep. Logic goes out the window and your brain starts firing random thoughts of complete rubbish at you.
I myself, love it. Its really interesting, almost like wtahcing TV. Just enjoy it, dont surpress it. Forcing your mind to 'calm' is just causing you to be focused. Focused on the goal of calming your mind. And when your mind is focused, it is designed _not_ to fall asleep. 
So observe the weird thoughts, enjoy them. Don't question them. Don't question questioning them. Just be. 
Next thing you know it will be morning, or even better, a lucid dream.

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## pyroguy305

Me? Lucid Dream? Right.  All the thought wouldn't be so bad if they weren't so aggressive seeming.  Its like they are going to physically burst out of my head. Not comfortable.

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## Apopholis

I once had horrible insomnia  ::shock:: , a good few years back...

My aunt took me to the beach and I got horribly sunburned, (not her fault, just I didn't use the offered sunscreen, believing that it would not be necessary in Ireland.)
Tearing and scratching at my skin, I began to bleed a lot. I couldn't sleep due to the pain, and as a result of my lack of sleep, I began to get seriously depressed. At this point, I more or less lost my faith.
I used to do into my parent's room in the middle of the night looking for something to get rid of the pain and itchiness. 
The way I got over it:
1. I started going to mass again as much as I could, and began to pray a lot, offering up all my problems to God. (You might not be religious, so you may have to tick this one off the list. If you are religious, well hey, it worked for me.) 
2. I stopped taking the painkillers, they were making me feel weird, and were most likely a contributor to the insomnia (odd, I know, as painkillers  are a depressant drug) and depression (there we go  :smiley: ).
3. I went out, got a lot of fresh air, and invited over my friends. A bit of honest exercise finished he job.

So to sum up, stop taking the drugs, pray, and do some push-ups!  :wink2:

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## ThreeLetterSyndrom

If you're thoughts are flying all over the place, let them fly. Get one little topic to think about, and then don't care if they go all over the place. Important is that you don't use any conscious effort.

Besides, you've gone to sleep so many times before, why wouldn't you succeed now?

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## xSuper_Sadistx

I know this post was made a few months ago, but hopefully this comment will be of some assistance anyway. 

I too have insomnia and I do get weird running thoughts when I haven't had much sleep. Sometimes that happens when the mind is tired though. My thoughts and ideas become distorted because the brain is too tired to think and process ideas straight. I also have a history of mental illness, so that tends to make things a bit more difficult. But hopefully that is not the case here. What i've learned is to remain calm when the weird(or random) thoughts come flooding in, because panicing or getting nervous usually feeds the original problem to begin with. 

Here are somethings you can do that i've tried myself:

- Read for atleast 15 mins(Then after try to think about only what you've read)
- Get up for a few mins then lay back down when the restlessness feels gone
- Sing a song you know in your head
- Meditate

Another tip is try not to constantly look at the clock. That tends to make one anxious aswell. 

Hope this helps! Good luck.

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## hellohihello

Good advice. Reading does make me tired. Combine that with a cup of tea (chamomile). It works like a charm.

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## Arutad

If you aren't sleepy enough you won't sleep, no matter what you do to make yourself tired. I learnt it the hard way, lying in my bed for hours sometimes hoping to fall asleep. Insomnia is bad, but even without insomnia I personally can't fall asleep unless feeling sleepy.

And rambling thoughts are not a sign of being sleepy! They may be rambling, you may see faint pictures on your mental screen, but still won't fall asleep.  :Sad:

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## BigFan

I don't think it can, but, you'll definitely feel crazy after not sleeping for sometime. This morning, I got 3 hours of sleep and then I ended up sleeping on the sofa for ~1.5h and now I feel fine. My point is if you wanna fall sleep, make yourself tired. Go run on a treadmill, play some sports, work, basically always be on the move throughout the day and make sure to ALWAYS sleep and wake up at the exact same time  :smiley: 

@Arutad I think everyone's had that. If you aren't tired enough or you slept a lot the previous night, you'll have a harder time falling asleep. Plus, it doesn't help if you take a nap during the day  :wink2:

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## moonshine

> Often times I can not sleep.  Like right now.  I got in bed at 1, hoping i'd be tired enough to simply pass out.  But at 3:20 I looked at the clocked knowing I couldn't sleep. The reason was my thoughts were literally going out of control.  They were completely abstract yet they were flying at me at 100000 thoughts per second.  I tried to calm my mind and simply drift off to sleep but these thoughts kept my brain too active for sleep.  
> 
> Does anyone have a similar issue or know what I'm talking about at all??  Its so uncomfortable in my head its scary, because I feel like I'm not in control of my thoughts.



Sounds like an NREM dream. 
Scientists have found we dream almost constantly through the night. 

REM dreams are the 3d dreams we inhabit.
NREM are more thought like. 

I think we've all had nights when we think we've had no sleep and have stayed awake all night pointlessly obsessing over something.

I suspect on these occasions we're just hyper aware of our thoughts during NREM.

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## grasshoppa

Insomnia is directly related to schizophrenia

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## Arutad

Stop scaring people grasshoppa, somebody might believe!  :smiley:

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## Specialis Sapientia

Here is the answer.. 



I am sorry for the guy.

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## oniman7

Well, I've had this problem before. It doesn't happen to me a lot, every couple of months or so, but truth be told, it drives me crazy. I can't do a lot of the above because of my parents (make a cup of tea, get up in the middle of the night, etc.) However, there are a couple of things I can suggest. Make sure you're comfortable. usually when this happens, I'm burning up and sweating like crazy. Also, make sure you exercise throughout that day. Ride your bike, or go down to the beach (make sure you don't get sunburned again), do whatever it takes so that you're tired when you get in bed. If all else fails, take sleeping pills on the weekends. My mom has terrible insomnia such that she might not sleep until 4:00 or 5:00. If she takes pills, she might not wake up until almost 1:00 P.M. If that's what it takes, then I definitely suggest that. Whatever works. And by the way, I think insomnia can drive you insane. It seems to me that being deprived of anything puts people into, at the least, a kind of regressed mental state.

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## suckerlove55

I have the same problem. you described it the way i would. 


Maybe you can relate to this quote like i do:


"Insomnia is a gross feeder.  It will nourish itself on any kind of thinking, including thinking about not thinking."  ~Clifton Fadiman



 ::embarrassed::  it's an unfair sickness.. i hate it.

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## efree

Happens to me every night, still don't know what the best way to deal with it is. I usually just keep thinking away for hours until I fall asleep. It gets pretty annoying though. And I know it's not just some phase I'm having since I've been this way since I was like 9. Anybody know what this might be about?

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## suckerlove55

There are many things that can start it... its also a symptom of alot of sickness... mostly mental.

this includes

anxiety, depression, stress (main)

other:
hormonal changes,
pain,
genetics,
sleep disorders (like sleep apnea, bruxisim etc..)
caffeine & drugs
medication
sleeping conditions ( noise, comfortable bed etc...)


I still don't know what causes mine either though..... but I guess you just have to try to figure it out. Again I don't believe medication is a good choice unless necessary.

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