Insomnia

[Takahiwai]

Hi,
I've done a search about this, but haven't really found anything useful, so I'd like to ask if there's anybody on the forum who's walked a camino while suffering from regular, it-doesn't-matter-how-exhausted-you-are, insomnia. What do you do in the wee, small hours, in a refugio, when everybody else is asleep and you're wide awake? It's something I live with - working shifts in the Navy totally put my body-clock out of synch. When I first walked a camino, it was winter back in 1998, and I barely met anybody, so it wasn't a problem. The people I did meet were almost universally strange, so I was happy to keep one eye open. Just about to embark on another long camino, and as times have changed and more people walk 'out of season', I'm a little worried about how I'm going to cope.

 

[J Willhaus]

I have a sleep disorder. I use a CPAP machine and sometimes no matter how tired I am, I just have to lie there with the machine on and try to rest. If I just can't lie there any longer, I get up and go out to one of the common areas and either read or journal.

 

[Antnix1]

I find it hard to sleep in shared rooms, especially small ones full of bunkbeds. I have some luck doing it out of season that i have entire albergues to myself. Private rooms, no problem sleeping. Otherwise it's flip a coin - i might sleep ok or i might not.

 

[CWBuff]

I dont suffer from insomnia but I had plenty of nights where it was tough to fall asleep for various reasons... the temps being quite high was probably a most common (and one time getting stuck in a dorm full of people that thought it 'normal' to shut every single window as if we were in the middle of Siberia and they were freezing....).
So yeah, just lay there with your eyes closed, perhaps pull out your phone and play some games (definitely works if you are backing the corner, and even with that I'd still suggest to dim the screen light), go to the communal area and hang out there.... I guess you can grab all your belongings and start walking.... as a last resort....

 

[trecile]

In a shared space you wouldn't want to read because the light could disturb others, but you could listen to audiobooks or podcasts on earbuds.
I routinely use really soft silicone earbuds that are comfortable to sleep in.
I use the wired ones that plug into your phone, but there are also Bluetooth versions.
I've used this brand

Maxrock Sleeping Earbuds Earplugs

Noise Isolating Sleep Earbuds Headphones Insomnia, Snoring, Meditation & Relaxation. Maxrock Sleeping Earbuds online shop.

maxrockearbuds.com

You can also find combination Bluetooth eye mask/headphones.

 

[K_Lynn]

We have excellent sleep hygiene at home. We do not have a television in our bedroom, we have black out curtains, the room is cool and we have a fan on for air circulation and white noise, our cell phones are downstairs, we go to bed at the same time every night. It still takes me 2 hours to fall asleep.

On Camino, the few nights I spent in an albergue I went to bed at 10 and fell asleep at midnight or sometimes 3 am. Or was woken up by water buffaloes snoring. I usually stayed in private accommodations and I could at least get into my usual 2 hours waiting to fall asleep routine lol.

Keep your eyes closed. Try not to toss. Try to stop thinking. If you can't quieten your brain give it something boring and repetitious to do like a four count breath (inhale 1 2 3 4, exhale 1 2 3 4) or mentally repeat a chant like vowels a e i o u or whatever.

Some people bring melatonin or sleeping pills, some drink. Ear plugs and an eye mask will help make things quieter and darker. Figure out what works for you at home and try to replicate that on Camino.

Good luck! Buen Camino!

 

[Antnix1]

You can also find combination Bluetooth eye mask/headphones.

Careful with these! They all have 5 star reviews on amazon. The ones i bought flashed a blue and red light that would keep the rest of the room awake. Also, when the battery died (as it didn't last long enough for a night's sleep) it loudly said "power off". Maybe there are better ones but ignore the reviews

 

[Takahiwai]

Careful with these! They all have 5 star reviews on amazon. The ones i bought flashed a blue and red light that would keep the rest of the room awake. Also, when the battery died (as it didn't last long enough for a night's sleep) it loudly said "power off". Maybe there are better ones but ignore the reviews

Don't worry! It wouldn't be my solution of choice!

 

[trecile]

Also, when the battery died (as it didn't last long enough for a night's sleep) it loudly said "power off".

That possibility is the reason why I have stuck with the wired earbuds that plug into my phone.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

At home it usually takes me up to an hour to fall asleep. When I anticipated my first Camino I thought, "Great, I'll be so pooped after walking all day that I will drift off immediately", but it never happened. I always wore ear plugs so the snorers and bag rustlers didn't bother me, but when the lights went on in the morning, I usually hated getting up as those early hours when I got my deepest sleep.

 

[henrythedog]

I go for a podcast which I have to really concentrate on. Pretty much any of the ‘In our time’ series from the BBC do it for me.

An alternate option - and again, this is personal choice, would be a Yoga Nidra or ‘body scan’ meditation.

 

[Robo]

Long story.......... try to make it short.
A friend of mine is a great hypnotist.
Was ranked in the US at some stage as the fastest hypnotist ever I think.

Anyway. he provides these series of self hypnosis audio files.
Losing weight, building confidence, that type of stuff.

Many of them send me straight to sleep. Very handy for a power nap!
But after 20 minutes or so I get this voice................
"I'm going to count back from 10, and snap my fingers and you'll be wide awake" etc etc

So great for a power nap on a plane, but no good at all for a good nights sleep

So he kindly made me one that keeps me asleep........... bliss.

I totally forgot I had it, till I saw this thread......

I've found in the past that soft soothing music works well using ear buds.
Or those 'relaxation' tracks that have waves, forest sounds........

 

[Robo]

At home it usually takes me up to an hour to fall asleep. When I anticipated my first Camino I thought, "Great, I'll be so pooped after walking all day that I will drift off immediately", but it never happened. I always wore ear plugs so the snorers and bag rustlers didn't bother me, but when the lights went on in the morning, I usually hated getting up as those early hours when I got my deepest sleep.

I have found something that helps............
A couple of "licor de hierbas" as a night cap in the local bar!
(sweet herbal liquor. great on ice)

I'm usually asleep fairly quick!
without snoring I might add.

 

[Takahiwai]

I have found something that helps............
A couple of "licor de hierbas" as a night cap in the local bar!
(sweet herbal liquor. great on ice)

I'm usually asleep fairly quick!
without snoring I might add.

Yes, I've resorted (without much arm-twisting) to orujo on more than one occasion!

 

[Takahiwai]

Actually, there was one thing which I found helped me when I was going through one of my worst spells with insomnia, while working out in the Empty Quarter, in the UAE. That was a hot chocolate with a dash of brandy. So, Cola Cao y 'una gota de coñac' might do the trick! Thank you, folks, for all your kind suggestions, some (if not all) of which I am definitely going to try out.

 

[dick bird]

Actually, there was one thing which I found helped me when I was going through one of my worst spells with insomnia, while working out in the Empty Quarter, in the UAE. That was a hot chocolate with a dash of brandy. So, Cola Cao y 'una gota de coñac' might do the trick! Thank you, folks for all your kind suggestions, some (if not all) of which I am definitely going to try out.

´Chupito´, if you ask for una gota, they might take you literally.

 

[Takahiwai]

´Chupito´, if you ask for una gota, they might take you literally.

A chupito's too much - that might kick off the snoring!

 

[Sirage]

totally put my body-clock out of synch

Walking a Camino in Spain may be one of the better ways to nudge your body back into a normal routine.

Start walking before sunrise and let your eyes bathe in the early morning light without sunglasses. Finish walking before lunchtime finishes and make that the major meal, followed by a (optional) small evening meal before sunset and a stroll outside to see the sunset. No bright lights at night (easy if everyone goes to bed early). Adequate morning and evening sunlight on more of body than just your retinas can also be beneficial. Eating good food may also help.

If this pattern helps, keep walking Caminos until you are back to normal sleeping habits.

 

[PilgrimPillar]

Hi,
I've done a search about this, but haven't really found anything useful, so I'd like to ask if there's anybody on the forum who's walked a camino while suffering from regular, it-doesn't-matter-how-exhausted-you-are, insomnia. What do you do in the wee, small hours, in a refugio, when everybody else is asleep and you're wide awake? It's something I live with - working shifts in the Navy totally put my body-clock out of synch. When I first walked a camino, it was winter back in 1998, and I barely met anybody, so it wasn't a problem. The people I did meet were almost universally strange, so I was happy to keep one eye open. Just about to embark on another long camino, and as times have changed and more people walk 'out of season', I'm a little worried about how I'm going to cope.

Irregularity/ Sarcadian rythm out of sync? Know it all…been there several times…a camino is excellent remedy under certain premises….send me a pm and we can discuss it in between us

 

[WalkingInGers]

I have found something that helps............
A couple of "licor de hierbas" as a night cap in the local bar!
(sweet herbal liquor. great on ice)

I'm usually asleep fairly quick!
without snoring I might add.

Quickly asleep and WITHOUT SNORING? wow

 

[Bradypus]

Quickly asleep and WITHOUT SNORING? wow

Mandatory orujo before bedtime for all roncadores perhaps? Might be worth cultivating the habit.

 

[RangerRick]

I have had significant problems with insomnia since the last time I got back from Iraq. After 3 months of non pharmacologic treatment, my doc put me on chronic sleep medicine. It doesn't work perfectly. If I want to avoid morning sedation, I can't take too much. One non pharmacologic technique that has been shown to help is mindfulness meditation. It can be practiced during the day, when you go to bed or if you wake up at 1:30 in the morning. There are many apps available for your phone. You can always reach out to your physician for pharmacologic help if the mindfulness meditation doesn't help.

 

[Sedona11]

We have excellent sleep hygiene at home. We do not have a television in our bedroom, we have black out curtains, the room is cool and we have a fan on for air circulation and white noise, our cell phones are downstairs, we go to bed at the same time every night. It still takes me 2 hours to fall asleep.

On Camino, the few nights I spent in an albergue I went to bed at 10 and fell asleep at midnight or sometimes 3 am. Or was woken up by water buffaloes snoring. I usually stayed in private accommodations and I could at least get into my usual 2 hours waiting to fall asleep routine lol.

Keep your eyes closed. Try not to toss. Try to stop thinking. If you can't quieten your brain give it something boring and repetitious to do like a four count breath (inhale 1 2 3 4, exhale 1 2 3 4) or mentally repeat a chant like vowels a e i o u or whatever.

Some people bring melatonin or sleeping pills, some drink. Ear plugs and an eye mask will help make things quieter and darker. Figure out what works for you at home and try to replicate that on Camino.

Good luck! Buen Camino!

Excelent approach, I go the same. Taking 1/2 of sleeping pill will get to to that first part of trying to fall sleep

 

[Gringazolana]

Private room - CPAP - glass of wine - “Calm” app to listen to - prescription sleep meds… and even when I still couldn’t fall asleep then I would just tell myself that I would still be able to walk the next day, it’s not like I had to do brain surgery or fly a space rocket. Sometimes I played Candy Crush for hours. There were one or two nights where I actually fell asleep quickly from pure exhaustion. Yay!

 

[MilenaS]

I go for a podcast which I have to really concentrate on. Pretty much any of the ‘In our time’ series from the BBC do it for me.

An alternate option - and again, this is personal choice, would be a Yoga Nidra or ‘body scan’ meditation.

I have found an app called Insight Timer with a limitless number of meditations. I love the Yoga Nidra/body scan meditations for sleep and use them regularly and on the camino.

Lately I have also had success with another sort of "meditations" from the same app - it is a guy with a really soothing voice reading wikipedia texts on alot of different topics. Loooove it.

EDITED: to add that my favorites so far are "Typewriter", "Knitting" and "Techtonic plates"

 

[Trekker One]

Coming from western Canada, it is an eight hour time difference as compared to Spain.
I never fully adjust to the time change regardless of how long I am away from home.
I have no problem falling asleep typically, but my eyes pop open at 3:00 AM and that is it for me most nights.
So I ly in bed contemplating the coming days walk.
Probably why I like to start walking at 6:30 AM as by then I have been awake for hours by that point.

 

[WalkingInGers]

No sleeping pill here, just a good bottle of red wine, a schnaps just before bed and a fight with my pillows. LOL

 

[auburnfive]

I had really good luck with a band style of earphone called Hoomband. It is fairly flat so is ok of you move from side to back to stomach. It’s wireless, so I’d set up a podcast on my IPad mini ( a phone would also work) - when I couldn’t sleep I could listen, and sometimes fell asleep to the droning voice. Didn’t disturb my neighbours.

 

[Anniesantiago]

Hi,
I've done a search about this, but haven't really found anything useful, so I'd like to ask if there's anybody on the forum who's walked a camino while suffering from regular, it-doesn't-matter-how-exhausted-you-are, insomnia. What do you do in the wee, small hours, in a refugio, when everybody else is asleep and you're wide awake? It's something I live with - working shifts in the Navy totally put my body-clock out of synch. When I first walked a camino, it was winter back in 1998, and I barely met anybody, so it wasn't a problem. The people I did meet were almost universally strange, so I was happy to keep one eye open. Just about to embark on another long camino, and as times have changed and more people walk 'out of season', I'm a little worried about how I'm going to cope.

This is me.
I generally wake up around 2-3 am and am wide-eyed.
On the Camino, if I'm in an albergue, I'll put in my earphones and listen to quiet meditations until people begin stirring. If I know it's going to be "one of those nights" I will put up my elastic clothesline around my bed and hang clothes to give myself privacy and I'll read on my phone or ipad with the light turned down very low.

I won't walk in the dark after getting lost on my first Camino - so I wait until daylight to walk.

 

[Jodean]

It helps if there is a common room in your albergue, where you can go for a while. Sometimes I simply lay there, counting the bells every 15 min. in the neighboring church. If I don't get a lot of sleep, I don't stress about it, it will just be a day with little sleep. Pretend it was a study night for college, up all night, normal day. It helps to have a private room once in a while. One would also think that those curtains around the beds help, but the light from phones and ipads escapes, so wear a mask or your buff over your eyes.

 

[catheriam]

On my first CF in 2002, I, too, could not sleep. Not. Sleep. And I tossed. And I turned. Those bunk bed springs rattled like tin plates when I turned, so i was exhausted, sleepless and embarassed. I think I went three days at one point on 10 hours of sleep. Oh, and I was just a barrel of laughs, too!

Solution for this 78 year old female as I prepare for fourth CF this April from Roncesvalles? Magnesium! I had been taking "Calms Forte" but it is a product only available in USA and now live in Portugal. Found a well-stocked health food store in Coimbra and a knowledgable owner, who recommended Be-Life "Magnesium Quatro 900", 2 tablets at bedtime. I have been falling asleep five minutes into my BBC "Sounds" podcasts. (Also means it can take me a week to listen to one podcast, which is fine!)

Researching and grateful for input on the Forum for soft sleep earphones. A brand is available for €20-ish on www.amazon.es.

 

[Takahiwai]

On my first CF in 2002, I, too, could not sleep. Not. Sleep. And I tossed. And I turned. Those bunk bed springs rattled like tin plates when I turned, so i was exhausted, sleepless and embarassed. I think I went three days at one point on 10 hours of sleep. Oh, and I was just a barrel of laughs, too!

Solution for this 78 year old female as I prepare for fourth CF this April from Roncesvalles? Magnesium! I had been taking "Calms Forte" but it is a product only available in USA and now live in Portugal. Found a well-stocked health food store in Coimbra and a knowledgable owner, who recommended Be-Life "Magnesium Quatro 900", 2 tablets at bedtime. I have been falling asleep five minutes into my BBC "Sounds" podcasts. (Also means it can take me a week to listen to one podcast, which is fine!)

Researching and grateful for input on the Forum for soft sleep earphones. A brand is available for €20-ish on www.amazon.es.

I've not been able to open an Amazon account, alas, as I live in Myanmar, which is under heavy sanctions from many, many countries and companies, including the aforementioned Amazon. I'll see what I can find in an electronics shop when I stop over for a few days in London, on my way to Spain.

 

[steppingpono]

Hi,
I've done a search about this, but haven't really found anything useful, so I'd like to ask if there's anybody on the forum who's walked a camino while suffering from regular, it-doesn't-matter-how-exhausted-you-are, insomnia. What do you do in the wee, small hours, in a refugio, when everybody else is asleep and you're wide awake? It's something I live with - working shifts in the Navy totally put my body-clock out of synch. When I first walked a camino, it was winter back in 1998, and I barely met anybody, so it wasn't a problem. The people I did meet were almost universally strange, so I was happy to keep one eye open. Just about to embark on another long camino, and as times have changed and more people walk 'out of season', I'm a little worried about how I'm going to cope.

Keep up your magnesium B vitamin and hydration levels - they will at least take care of muscles inflammation and joints whilst you rest even though you’re not asleep. All the pharmacia carry good magnesium plus supplements for pilgrims. Magnesium might help you sleep and CBD cream ( no THC) is also available which might help with insomnia?
Buen Camino - wishing you good sleep.