I've officially made coffee @ 4:47 am

so uh..  What time do you usually fall asleep?

On a weekday, anytime between about 1pm & 1:30 (power nap )

First coffee today was an hour ago, at 2:30AM. I keep odd hours these days due to my back problems limiting sleep periods to 3 hours or so. 

Coffee at 5am (usually even on the weekends)

usually in bed by 9:30pm, 10 or so on the weekends.

Linear Phase


so uh..  What time do you usually fall asleep?

Not usually just after having coffee.

Be careful with those chronically late night's, boys. It can lead to severe mental and physical ailments. I should know. I got stuck in the insomnia trap for over five years. It was horrendous.

And, bitflipper... how's the back stuff coming along? Are you able to get some prescription muscle relaxers? If you could get a script for flexiril to take before bed it should help immensely. You'll also have marshmallow dreams. ;-)

I've suffered insomnia since my divorce in '89..... don't know why.  It's great if I get 4 hours sleep a night.  So I'm an early riser.  Well... that and my dog gets up early too.

Funny how it works out... I do my best song writing and recording the instant my feet hit the floor.

Go figure!

Ahhhhh   I never have the coffee pot shutoff.  Its always ready to pour a cup  

As far as I can remember, w/ the exception of the morning  coffee, I tend to drink more coffee when I'm already hyped. So even if it's 2 am, if I'm working on something that's got me all excited, I'll need coffee.

Similarly, I've once noticed that among drug users, fundamentally mellow people often seem more inclined to smoke pot and relax whereas the more restless folks often seem to prefer to snort and take all kinds of things get even more hyped. 

Me, I'll stick w/ coffee. Heck, I never even had one sip of those poisonous cocktails they call energy drinks. They're the devil. 

@bitflipper... Right on, man. Glad it's easing up a little. Severe back pain is kind of like a fever. It's heavy duty and then it "breaks" and you can kind of get back to doing stuff again. It's just getting the muscles to stop balling up and impinging on the nerves. If the docs won't prescribe something just pick up some OTC Robaxacet or one of the generic versions. They work but unfortunately they cram them with acetaminophen as well which is bad for your liver but they contain a good dose of muscle relaxants too which is what you want to loosen everything up. The percs do nothing but mask the pain and they are BRUTAL on your system. Hope you've got some stool softeners on hand. Not to be gross but that shiz will bung you up something fierce. Otherwise lots of fibre (fruit, broccolli, beans, Grape Nuts, etc) will do the trick. As far as the doobage if you can afford it try eating some or making some tea with it. Taking it orally is great for the type of pain you're in. I unfortunately can't afford that method even though it's been prescribed. They'll only pay for the nasty stuff which is just ridiculous IMO. Also I find the absolute best form of ibuprofin is the yellow Advil liquigels. They're a little harsh on the stomach but they hit fast and loosen everything up nice and good. If you need any more advice just PM me, man. I've been fighting this battle for almost a decade so I know almost every trick in the book at this point. Take care.

@craig... I hear ya on the whacked out "long day" cycle. I got stuck in a routine where I was up for 20+ hours then down for 10. It was CRAZY and I couldn't break it. Totally messed up my life. The funny thing is now that I can actually get away with it I'm up at dawn and zonked by midnight. I ain't complaining though because that's how I want it to be. I can get stuff done in the morning when I need to without feeling like death on a stick.

As far as the whole coffee thing I was a hardcore coffee addict since I was a little kid. I started drinking it when I was like 8 and for years guzzled a couple pots a day. It started messing with my heart and my nerves though so after I ended up in the hospital I figured it was probably time to stop screwing around. I have a cup once every couple months now and barely finish it because I start getting chest pains, my stomach feels like it's eating itself and my mind goes to very dark and scary places. I do enjoy it so much though but I have resigned myself to a life of black tea consumption. I guess it isn't the caffeine that messes me up but the nasty acids in coffee. Very odd. 

By the way coffee is absolutely terrible for anyone who suffers from back pain or any other muscular/skeletal pain. If you MUST drink coffee counter it with tons of water and fresh fruit.

Peace.

No problem. Pain sucks. Might as well snag some ice packs and a heating pad while you're there. Without that stuff I'd be bed ridden most of the time or dead from the pain meds. Cheers.

Rain-  I'm with you dude... I never have even sipped an energy drink.  I drink my 2 cups of coffee in the morning, and then call it a day.

Now SUGAR is a whole 'nuther story.....   *sigh*

tbosco


Rain-  I'm with you dude... I never have even sipped an energy drink.  I drink my 2 cups of coffee in the morning, and then call it a day.

Now SUGAR is a whole 'nuther story.....   *sigh*

I purposely developed my addiction to coffee when I was in college. Rituals and routine and short term objectives have always helped me stay on track. The year I started drinking coffee is the year I've had the best grades because I had virtually no attendance issues. I didn't study any harder, but I was there on test days.


At one point I had the coffee machine in my room, and it was on pretty much until I went to bed.


I brought it back to 4 to 6 mugs a day, and now I usually opt for herbal tea as a late night alternative. Unless I'm really psyched or we don't have to get up too early the next morning.

I make the coffee at anywhere between 10pm to 11pm and push the timer button which is preset for 6:50am.....

I go to bed shortly thereafter and sleep like a rock all night until around 6am-ish when my wife gets up and starts moving around.... 

I normally stumble out of bed around 7am at about the same time I get a good whiff of the brewing coffee and my wife is getting ready to head to work......  sometimes I just roll over and catch another 30 minutes and roll out at 7:30am ...... 

weekends I don't prep the coffee.... because roll out is generally no earlier than 8am

My son's boss buys "energy" drinks for his construction crew. My son, who's the foreman, complains that none of them can function without it. I talked him out of using the drinks himself, reminding him that there is no energy in those drinks. Any energy you get comes out of your own body, not the can, and it's a loan you have to pay back.

Energy drink TV commercials piss me off. They are misleading, and they should be required to warn of side-effects such as hypertension, headaches, interrupted sleep patterns, irregular heartbeat, inability to focus, even potential death from heart attack.