WIL WHEATON dot NET: 1.5

Yay, me first!

I love it when dogs dream! They look so funny with their tails and legs twitching! You just want to know what it is they're thinking!

Hope you get some sleep soon Wil!

Gives a chance for some of us in the UK to say FIRST POST!

And nearly be right

I think my insomnia is worse than yours :)

However, I have spent part of this ungodly time on Amazon, where I *finally* ordered both your books. I love your writing man.

\m/

Sorry Griff!

Wild...in the time it took me to create an account to comment, FIVE other comments were posted by other insomniacs.

Always been a nightowl...always will be...

Linked your blog to mine today, Wil, though I've been reading you for a long time. Posted you on "BLOG DAY 2005" as a favorite and finally put you on the roll...

Hh

Insomnia is a good time to catch up on emails you've been neglecting because you want to give them some time but there's too much other stuff to do so you keep putting them off. And to talk to people across the pond. And endlessly browse flickr. And other things that are fun to do but really are otherwise time blackholes. (That's stupid. Time blackhole. As if the word 'blackhole' needs that qualifier.)

Insomnia! I know that feeling. Man, you have my sympathies.

Still, at least it gives you some good writing time....

Keep well.

MJE

I have rotating insomnia, which is a result of too much coffee for too long while working as a programmer. Nights like tonight, I'll be up till 5am usually, but then tomorrow night I'll crash at 11pm. I've got two small kids so I can't ever sleep in past 7, no matter how much I want to. The good news is that, on days like today when I have no ACTUAL work to do, I can do that creative writing thing too. If only it made sense the next day...

Ah, it's good to know I'm in such great company this sleepless night.

Man, I hate insomnia. Maybe 'cause mine is never such a great experience as yours - when I can't sleep, I usually hear a mixture of my husbands snoring and the garbage truck down in the street ;o)

Nice dream!....Chet Baker?!....Your the first person that I know in any way that likes Chet Baker....I think I need to find some more friends....I found Chet Baker back in 1987-88

Ah, you've hit the creative/productive stage of insomnia. Which is where I always got caught, because I didn't want that special quiet time to end. Who cares if you 1/2 sleep through class?

         Night Is My BlanketMy Eyes Contemplate The Stars    When Dawn Comes, I Sleep

Chet Baker is one of my favorite musicians in west coast jazz. I applaud your taste Wil! Just last week I picked up one of his classic albums, Sextet. However I must point out one of Baker's finest albums - Baby Breeze. The year is 1965 and Baker's trumpet was stolen. With someone else's flugelhorn he plays the relaxed ballads of Baby Breeze with amazing clarity. He also sings and the song 'Born to Be Blue', written by Mel Torme, is a wonderful show of Baker's vocal talent.
Buy it, close your eyes, and listen to the beauty.

I go through pretty much the same routine every night. Surfing the internet and watching TV or movie at the same time. It's almost 12:30 am down here and Rebel Without a Cause is on TV. Love that movie. :)

Dreaming dogs are the cutest. I stop everything to watch my dog dream.

Wil,

Try something called "Somnolin". It's a natural sleep aid that is non-habit forming (to my knowledge) and helps me when I have trouble sleeping. I got it from my chiropractor who's very much into holistic and Chinese healing. I'm sure you'll be able to locate some. You just take one pill just before you go to bed, then try to relax as much as possible with no stimuli (dark room, no TV, no tossing and turning, etc.) It relaxes your body and will hopefully give you a good night's rest.

I can sympathize, Wil. I often have trouble falling asleep. As the night drags on, I become more and more tense because I can't sleep, guaranteeing a totally sleepless night. It's amazing how productive I can be at work the next day with 0 sleep. Of course, the next night, I sleep all night.

After 9/11, I didn't sleep well for weeks. I used to talk to a friend of mine in Hawaii. It was 3am here in NY and 9pm at her house. It was a godsend just to hear a soothing voice.

Hope you can sleep tonight, buddy.

What you need is a science seminar....something really dull, like fourier transforms or the life cycle of slime mould. And then put all the important people you know into that room, people you really want to impress. I can guarantee that the effort you need to keep your eyes open will cause them to roll in rapid little circles and your head will be hitting your chest within 4 minutes.

I have periods where I can only sleep a couple of hours a night, which will go on for a week or two usu. The last time it happened I did something odd, which was to only bother trying to sleep every other night. It worked out really, really well... on the sleep nights I actually woke up feeling rested, which I hadn't felt for, I dunno, 20 years?

Seeing as how we are two completely different people, that anecdote won't be much help in a guidebook sense, of course. ;-) I just wanted to suggest that it can be seen as an opportunity to experiment, if you aren't too hung on on how you are -supposed- to be sleeping

It has been such a long time since I read your site, Wil. And even longer since I posted in here. It's like coming over to visit with an old friend, someone you haven't seen or talked to in weeks.

Since I started following your blog, it has brought up and even helped me deal with a lot of memories that I had pushed down and not addressed. When you lost your beloved pets awhile back I was right there with you reliving losing my beloved cat of 20 years. And the beautiful posts you have about your relationship with your boys that pushed me to get help to deal with the loss of my own 16 year old son.

I've been huge fan of yours for decades (well, years anyway - many years) and I absolutely look forward to working with you next summer here in Canada on Wind Direction.

Thanks for everything this site has brought me, Wil.

- Richard Courchene

Melatonin.

I try not to take anything because I'm nursing. I'm not getting much sleep at all. At least the baby sleeps through the night. I wish I could.

Wil, get Melatonin. Go to the natural foods store, or a vitamin store, and buy it. I had insomnia as well and tried everything aside from dropping an anvil on my head before sleep. Melatonin changed my life. And, it's entirely natural.

I have the same insomnia problem. I'll be up till 4 in the morning every day, but I'll still be able to get up at 7. It's just weird.

Good luck with that.

Oh yeah, my dog whimpers in her sleep. It's odd.

Screw Melatonin, just go to your doctor and get a fistful of samples of Ambien. This stuff is great. It puts you to sleep, but you dont feel all groggy and weird the next day.

Coffee. No really. As soon as the caffeine buzz wears off, you'll drop like a fly. Course, it could take two or three hours, but it works. That's what I do. That or I come out to the living room and watch the History Channel.

Much sympathy from a lifelong insomniac.

Chet Baker roolz.

Insomnia is okay sometimes. I remember years ago when Doom first came out, I'd get in bed at 11, sleep for a bit, and then be wide away at 3am. I'd go play Doom.

At other times, insomnia sucks.

Take it as it comes.....

Have you tried sleeping with your head at the foot of the bed? It usually works for me and most people I know. I don't know if Anne would appreciate waking up to Wil-feet though. :p

I'm in the Insomnia Club too... I can definitely sympathize.

Isn't that strange?

From the way you describe it, it sounds very isolated, but very outstretched at the same time. You're in your own little bubble, concerned and concentrating on your owl little world. Then slowly, carefully, you start to send out your feelers.

Your wife sleeping. As you concentrate on that, perhaps you realize you hear her breathing like she wasn't just a second ago.

Your dog sleeping, in it's own little bubble, untroubled by the world around it.

You stretch your feelers a bit more and there's a train whistle. Whether real or imagined you can actually feel it. For the briefest moment your mind touches on the lives of the people on that train, are they aware of you as you are of them? But only for a moment. The feelers move on.

There's a car, driven by someone in their own bubble, and a bird...

It's amazing to me how the quietest times in our lives are usually the times when we are the most aware and receive the most sensory input.

I do hope you managed at some point to sleep.

Kathy

"owl little world"...maybe *I'm* sleeping..."own little world"

I think Chet Baker's best work was in groups
fronted by Gerry Mulligan. I'm especially fond
of the "pianoless" (also guitarless--no chording
instruments at all) sextet from 1955 or so.

And CruzV, I'm curious how many husbands you have. :)

Try some good ol' Benadryl! 25-50mg works wonders for sleep :)

Darn it, I think I need to correct myself. I stand by my two statements
I think Chet Baker's best work was in groups fronted by Gerry Mulligan.
I'm especially fond of Mulligan's "pianoless" sextet from 1955.
but alas, the trumpeter in the sextet was Jon Eardley, not Baker. Baker had been in Mulligan's 1952 "pianoless" quartet but fronted his own quartet (with piano) starting in 1953. I'm sorry for any confusion.

Chet Baker and gardenias! Mmm, now that's a nice moment, even if it means less sleep. I was just FLOORED when I was down in LA by how well gardenias grew. There were a bunch at this outdoor mall somewhere in Pasadena. I must have looked like a moron growing steadily more intoxicated with each one I sniffed. I have a gardenia bush, but up here in Seatlleland, all it gives me is lovely glassy green foliage, like bits of old pop bottles--not exactly the hearty deep green you get there.

When my grandparents married during WWII, the whole town pulled together to give them a nice wedding. The florist only had gardenias and forget-me-nots on hand, but she made up the bouquet with them. A few years ago, my grandparents celebrated their 60th, and that same florist was still around, and sent her daughter to the party with an exact duplicate of the bouquet made up. My grandmother was so touched. When Rob and I married, we had to have the same flowers.

Why am I typing all this in a comment? Oh yeah, just the thought of Chet Baker's music makes me romantic and wistful...

Well, should you find yourself stricken again, there's a bunch of us on AIM up late most nights. (gee, y'think?) If I ever get enigmail to behave, I'll send you my sn.

Just when I think, "he can't get any cooler!" You do! I read your post today and was cheered by the fact that someone else my age listens to Chet Baker, who I think is one of jazz's greatest trumpet players of all time, besides singing like an angel.
As I see from others comments, try melatonin. Not like Tylenol PM. No next-day Tylenol hangover. Plus you only need to take them when you need them.
Also, Sleepytime tea from Celestial Seasonings. I've been drinking this stuff since I was little. I think my mom tricked me..."tea is good for you." Little did I know, she was only trying to get me to go to bed.
Love your site and keep your chin up. I think most Americans are sleeping less this week and for the next few weeks to come.

I had a really bad case of insomnia a few weeks ago. Got about 12 hours sleep across four days. That was also around the time the I signed up on PokerStars. I think player poker too late in the evening gives me insomnia.

Since this is my first post, I'm going to be slightly off-topic. Wil, if I had known that one of my favorite actors was hosting a blog, I'd have looked around for one much sooner! Glad to see you doing so well despite the insomnia! I joined your fan club long ago and far away when we both were much younger (and I'm not much younger than you), and I'm NOT ashamed to admit I still have the pictures that came with the welcome packet. =)

I have four animals myself not including my finny friends in the aquarium. My dog, being a rescued one from God knows what horrible past, cries a lot in his sleep, but he does have the running ones after a good day at the local forest preserve.

I'm a slow-sleep insomniac myself...and it's amazing how alive you can feel in those wee hours. Everything's more there somehow. It's almost worth how cruddy you feel the next morning after a meager 3-4 hours of sleep. *lol*

Now that I know you're here, I'll come back and visit. Take care! *hugs to your family and skritches to your pup*

Wil:
Sorry about the insomnia but don't "worry" about it. Stress and anxiety always makes things more pronounced and amplifies a problem. The Zs will come back....eventually.

In the meantime, your senses have apparently been heightened. That's a good thing.

Scott

Insomnia! I love that film!

I can't join the insomnia club, but I can joined the sleep-deprived club. Or maybe it is mild insomnia. I get confused with what I could call it. But I definitely feel tired and I struggle to sleep, and lately I've had to sleep when I can between classes, because I have to keep those grades up, of course!

Yay!! Someone else to suffer as I do! Insomniacs of the world Unite!

Actually, I don't want you to have to go through that. I hope you get some sleep soon. Take care of yourself.

And just to let you know, now I can't get Brain Stew out of my head.

A little warm milk or romulan ale works everytime for me.

Clear your mind and just concentrate on all the sounds you here outside...

Let yourself rest...

i've been an insomniac for about 6 years now...ever since i started Junior High...hmmm, wonder if there's a connection...

Everything I think to type sounds stupid. Maybe it is because it is after 2:30 in the morning. Anyway good luck getting to sleep.

On the nights when you still have some energy, insomnia can be 'not so bad'. . .with the mysterious quiet all around.

After weeks and weeks of insomnia, you ask your friends to hit you over the head with a bat. And I mean a Louisville Slugger and not a Whiffle.

Been on all the OTC, 'natural', and scripts. Some of them work some of the time; none of them work all of the time.

I hope it gets better for you. I have my bat in the corner. ;)

My husband had the same problem and I told him to try some Melatonin. He did and after a few days it started to help. He would take that and listen to one of his "mellow" soundtrack score albums.
I send you sleep luck!!! :)

Hey Wil, I feel your pain when it comes to insomnia. I work for a company that produces and airs commercials on cable television in San Diego. Because of the three day weekend, this last week was horrendous. Trying to reach deadlines, get everything ready to air three days ahead of time, all that's involved in making it happen was just too much for my little mind to handle. I had a hard enough time getting to sleep last night and then to top it all off, we had a little earthquake close to midnight. Well, that was it. My sleep was over for the night. Hopefully, tonight will be better for you and for me. Hot tea helps me sometimes. Take care! Tracey Weiss

Okay so I haven't read in a few days...and now this comment has to do with an old post. Anyway, I just wanted to give you Kudos for trying to help out with the Katrina disaster. It's good to know that people close to my generation care what is happening in the world. (My generation being people not to far away from 27. *lol*) Keep up the good work. Looking forward to having time one day to read your books.

At least i'm in good company. I've had a problem with insomnia for years and years. Now I have super interesting nursing case studies to keep me awake. I'd be happy to send you some if you think it would help.

Try eating some turkey--like maybe a turkey sandwich or two. Turkey is rich in tryptophan, a natural amino acid that pomotes sleep. That's why you feel so sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner. There are also a number of commercial recordings you can get to help you get to sleep. You can generally find them in the spoken word secion of Tower Records or other large record stores. One that I've used in the past with some success is an audio subliminal by Steven Halpern. You can get more information on his recordings at www.innerpeacemusic.com. Another excellent source for sleep aids is at www.toolsforwellness.com. Give 'em both a look-see and then make up your mind. Hope this helps!

Like everyone else I feel the insomnia pain. Of course even on nights I do get to sleep when I want to, I wake up at least once in the middle of the night. I am a lousy sleeper.

But what I really wanted to comment on was:

"I just heard a train blow its whistle in the distance, probably near Union Station, and if I'm very still, I think I can hear/feel the thrumming of its engine . . . yeah, I can. That's cool."

I can't believe no one made any comment about that. It's straight out of a Paul Simon song. "Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance." And truly " Everybody thinks it’s true". Of course a nearby train is a totally different matter.

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