Judith Browning

We either make ourselves miserable,
or we make ourselves strong.
The amount of work is the same.

Carlos Castaneda
(1925-1998, Anthropologist, writer, shaman)

Anne Miller wrote:I was going to bed at 11 and waking up at 12.  Last two night I took an Aleve before bed and have slept until 2 am.  I feel like a new person.

Anne, 3 hours...that's not nearly enough sleep is it?
and you take melatonin.
are you able to nap during the day?

thanks everyone!

I do have passionflower, milky oats, valerian among other 'sleepy time' herbs (all grown or wild harvested by me) and some other relaxing herbs available...it's just that falling asleep has never been the problem.   I have considered making tinctures that could be easily used in the middle of the night but decided against that.

It's that cycle of waking up tired after not enough sleep so that nap or no nap during the day I'm ready to fall asleep at 6 or 7pm and then still wake up after 4 or 5 hours.

So far taking 3mg melatonin is helping me fall back asleep even though I still wake as frequently...and then I'm getting 7-8 hours and feeling rested.

😴

“Sitting at our back doorsteps, all we need to live a good life lies about us.
Sun, wind, people, buildings, stones, sea, birds and plants surround us.
Cooperation with all these things brings harmony,
opposition to them brings disaster and chaos."

-Bill Mollison

Beau M. Davidson wrote:

Judith Browning wrote:The first two are guesses, I can't see the leaves very well.
photo one.....maybe bitter weed...grows in all of the pastures in my area.
photo two...maybe flea bane....pastures also, prolific here this year.
photo three....something in the morning glory family.
photo four....this one I am certain is smart weed.  Of all four of these this is the one I find beneficial.  I have been letting it grow up in areas to out compete grasses, especially bermuda and it is not bad as a chop and drop mulch...and I think the 'flowers' are cute, always have:)

Judith, do you find the bitterweed to be a problem?  Do your animals eat it?  

Beau, We don't have any livestock now and when we did it was goats.  Seems I remember they would eat some and it would taint the milk?
It's in most of the pastures here along with cattle grazing, maybe more so late summer after a hot dry season.  I suppose they just don't eat it?  I think it's an indicator of overgrazing or maybe just poor soil.  

Looking again at the photos in this thread I think photo two is more likely an aster  rather than flea bane as flea bane is a spring bloom and this was posted in the fall.

True affluence

is not needing anything.

Gary Snyder
(1930 to pres., American Poet, Essayist,
Environmental Activist and Buddhist Teacher)

The problem in middle life,
when the body has reached its climax of power
and begins to decline,
is to identify yourself, not with the body,
which is falling away,
but with the consciousness of which it is a vehicle.

This is something I learned from myths.
What am I?
Am I the bulb that carries the light?
Or am I the light of which the bulb is a vehicle?

One of the psychological problems in growing old
is the fear of death.
People resist the door of death.

But this body is a vehicle of consciousness,
and if you can identify with the consciousness,
you can watch this body go like an old car.
There goes the fender, there goes the tire,
one thing after another— but it’s predictable.
And then, gradually, the whole thing drops off,
and consciousness, rejoins consciousness.
It is no longer in this particular environment.

Joseph Campbell
(1904--1987, Mythologist and Philosopher)

Thank you Patrick!
as far as evening care I do all the things.
Since I practice intermittent fasting I'm done eating at 2pm.
I do not use the cell phone near bedtime but I do read from a kindle in the evening.
We have dark curtains in the bedroom that shut out the street lights  so the room is dark.
and it is a quiet neighborhood...no traffic and rarely a night time dog barking.
... I don't drink or smoke at all.
and I don't have anything caffeinated after 12 noon

My dependable sleep cycle used to be 8pm-4 or 5am.
I'm definitely in the wake up after a few hours group now and for several years.

Meditation is a something I've never been able to do easily.

I wonder since low melatonin can be age related (I'm 75) and my body is already making less, if it really matters that I take it long term...although I'm planning on another 20 years or so

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience.

I'll check into the herb supplement you mention.

I love the term 'brain weasels'!!!

thanks Timothy!

That's just the sort of thing I was wanting to hear.

Mine is NOW brand.. middle of the road quality probably
and quite affordable for me at this dose.

I'm not sure the fast release is necessary like I thought but the bottle has 120 doses so I'll keep on with that for now.

I've never had trouble falling asleep but as I aged I would wake up after only 5 or 6 hours and not be able to go back to sleep....I rarely got 8 hours in a row.

I've tried melatonin in the past with no success so just adjusted and lived with some sleep deprivation and took naps when I could.

My GP suggested melatonin again and this time I got a bottle of chewables that were supposed to be fast acting.  I started by taking one (3mg) tablet when I woke in the night and then switched to taking it at the time I quit reading...aiming for a 8pm-4am sleep cycle.

It's working🙃
I'm still waking up more than I like but falling back asleep quickly and sleeping in till 4:30 or 5:00am!

Now, though, I wonder about long term effects...will I build up a tolerance?