Insomnia -- Let's Have a Discussion That's Exciting Enough to Keep Us Awake -- Or So Boring That It Puts Us to Sleep! :)

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.

seoulsearch

OutWrite Trouble
May 23, 2009
16,424
5,371
113
#41
For me, I have been asking God for years why I often feel disconnected from reality and struggling with day-time sleepiness, though it is rare for me to encounter the really extreme reactions that make me non-functional. Basically there have been two really extreme encounters, and they were stark enough for me not to need genetic testing to know something was wrong. In college I would fall asleep standing up during my chemistry lab until I quit drinking the milk at lunch in my college cafeteria, and suddenly I was completely fine. Recently I was drawn to look again at the literature for the likely cause of casomorphin I had previously discovered, when my household happened to buy a different brand of cottage cheese and I had similarly extreme reactions, being very sleepy and finding that when I swam crawl stroke laps I didn't have the usual argument with my lungs over oxygen need (respiratory depression is a potentially deadly side effect of narcotics, legal and non). I quit eating that cottage cheese and no further symptoms developed, though I must say I didn't have as many servings this time around to be as clear-cut of an assessment.

Perhaps it was intentional timing by God that it came up now, though, because there seems to suddenly be A2-only options available, at least for milk and yogurt. The milk turned out to be available at my local Safeway and Fred Meyer, but God previously showed us to eat organic, and Safeway had only non-organic A2 milk, while Fred Meyer sold an organic version but for $16/gallon. Then we discovered that Costco now sells organic A2-only yogurt and milk. I don't know the price but I'm sure it is better than the boutique price at Fred Meyer, especially since Costco seems to stock it as their only whole-milk option. I wish I could get 2% and didn't have to buy 4 half-gallons at a time, but to me it's worth those issues to get to find out how my brain can function without any narcotic-like interference. A1 has also been implicated in a host of diseases that I would rather steer clear of since I seem to be genetically vulnerable to it, especially if I ever have a baby since one of those is SIDS.

This is fascinating and I'm really glad you brought it up.

I've always heard arguments for cutting out dairy, but seeing as it's one of my primary protein sources (I seem to lose my taste for meat more and more as I get older,) I've never felt able to eliminate it.

I'm really wondering now if I would feel any difference. Of course, this makes one wonder about the myriad of other things in our foods that are causing people ill effects, and would there be anything left to eat if we avoided them all...

I'm going to see if my local grocers have anything available that can be documented as genuinely A1 or A2, and if I can find anything affordable in that range.

Thank you for all the helpful information, especially what you've found available at specific stores -- this at least gives me a good place to start.
 

Ballaurena

Well-known member
May 27, 2024
415
273
63
#42
This is fascinating and I'm really glad you brought it up.

I've always heard arguments for cutting out dairy, but seeing as it's one of my primary protein sources (I seem to lose my taste for meat more and more as I get older,) I've never felt able to eliminate it.

I'm really wondering now if I would feel any difference. Of course, this makes one wonder about the myriad of other things in our foods that are causing people ill effects, and would there be anything left to eat if we avoided them all...

I'm going to see if my local grocers have anything available that can be documented as genuinely A1 or A2, and if I can find anything affordable in that range.

Thank you for all the helpful information, especially what you've found available at specific stores -- this at least gives me a good place to start.
I hope you find what you need. You are correct that most dairy is a mixture of A1 and A2. Just to be sure, it is the A1 that is potentially problematic. A2 is what you want. Whoever named these should have done it the other way around since A2 is what existed first, presumably closer to God's original design, while A1 resulted from a mutation in northern European cattle a few thousand years ago.
 

Burn1986

Active member
Mar 4, 2024
918
212
43
#43
Hey Everyone,

I've noticed several people on the forum have mentioned sleeping problems, so I thought it might be helpful to talk about.

I've been an insomniac for years. It seemed to have been triggered by my divorce. I came home from a typical day at work to find the house empty -- he had moved out to be with his girlfriend without telling me. I would stay awake for days at a time, hoping he would call to say he'd changed his mind, but he never did. And so, I started working all the time, both to pay the bills and to keep myself from constantly dwelling on a now half-empty house.

I also started working every shift there is -- early mornings, late nights, and finally overnights (10 PM to 6 AM), as well as in different time zones. But no matter where I am, my natural body clock always wants to sleep early, just for an hour or two at most, then wakes up in the middle of the night, staying up and wanting to sleep again -- usually about 2 hours before I have to get up anyway. I might sleep through the night 3 times a week, but even then, I'm constantly waking up.

I've worked with several different doctors and have tried a few prescription remedies like allergy pills -- and one that literally made me feel like the words were melting off the pages when I tried to read -- so I stopped taking that after a few days.

Right now, under doctor's supervision, I use Unisom Sleep Tabs (for some reason, they have to be the tabs, not the gels, and it has to be Unisom -- the generic and store brands don't work for me) and a small dose of melatonin. It's definitely not a perfect solution but it's been enough to help me get by.

A while back, I also came across a video about a woman who talked about having a Non-24-Hour Circadian Rhythm, and this made a lot of sense. Her system doesn't work on a 24-hour wake/sleep cycle like most people are assumed to be. I started watching videos about people who have shorter and longer cycles than "normal" -- for instance, someone with a 40-hour circadian rhythm -- and they all talked about how hard it is to live in a 9 to 5 world.

I haven't done as much research about it as I'd like, and I don't know yet if there are effective treatments -- but I wanted to mention it in case it might help anyone else. It does sound like something I could have, as my system seems to only want to sleep a full night once every 3 or 4 days.

What about you?

* Do you have problems sleeping? Was there anything in particular that seems to have brought it on?

* What have you done in order to try to diagnose, treat, and cope with your lack of sleep? How long have you been struggling?

* Does living with/around other people make a big difference? Do you think you'd sleep better if you lived alone? Do you have a spouse with sleeping problems that literally keep you awake?

* What things have you tried that both have and haven't worked? Were there any times when you felt God intervened to change or heal your sleeping?

I would really be interested in hearing how this affects other people, and how they've found ways to deal with it.
Probably something we all sort of struggle with. I’ve tried not having caffeine later in the day. But a lot of times I’ll do stuff in the evenings (tennis leagues) and I’ll slam some coffee on the way out the door. Not to be be too preachy, but when I start praying I usually get sleepy. This isn’t always the case though. Not sure on its effectiveness, but I’ll also take some Emergen-C in the evening and I seem to feel better.
 

Ballaurena

Well-known member
May 27, 2024
415
273
63
#46
i go to a non denom myself and find its the best church ive found around me so far. They do have a thing about healing for me which i no wont come until the Lords perfect timing. (I have cerebral palsy)
So I both tried to tune into your health issue myself, and I took it to my roommate who often gets spiritual insight into such matters. I got nothing (but maybe a block), but my roommate got that for you it is an issue of belief.

My roommate, however, also suddenly made a connection on what belief doesn't mean but is pushed by some faith healers. It isn't a matter of 'just believe hard enough' with enough effort or something, but more light and easy like a child just knowing that mom is going to feed him today.

I can't say I had it perfect myself, but when I was in college, I was just walking up the hill to class when I suddenly realized I had never asked God to heal my lifelong tendency toward migraines. I believe this was Holy Spirit suddenly pricking me, maybe even a response to someone praying on the campus of my Christian school, because it was really out of nowhere. Anyway, I did believe that God could. My doubt was more a question of if God would be willing to do such a thing for me. I then thought of the story with Elisha where there was a woman who had prepared a place at her home for Elisha to stay whenever he needed, and the prophet wanted to give her a blessing in return (2 Kings 4). He therefore told the barren woman that she would have a baby, to which she said something suggesting she didn't want to be teased with getting her hopes up falsely. Therefore I told God that I was making my request known, but like the woman in the story I didn't want to be teased with false hope, so I would not be repeating my request. I went on my way and largely forgot about it.

Then about 4-5 years later, God had introduced me to a new fellowship and early on I was offered healing for not only my migraines but the social anxiety for which I was content with my Prozac as treatment. God apparently was not content, though, since psych meds interfere with one's ability to hear the spirit, and I was pronounced healed of both at the same time. One significance of this was that the anxiety issues immediately disappeared, but the migraines took a few more steps, but ultimately were healed too. The instant healing of my anxiety helped me to believe through the process for my migraines.

As I now have a lot more understanding of such things, I can now explain to you that faith is a needed resource for healing. If there was a surgery that could cure you but it cost $50,000 you might have a wealthy person sweep in and pay it for you, but chances are it wouldn't happen unless you provided the cash yourself. Healing is a little like that. Sure, occasionally someone else might be able and willing to pay the cost for you, but your best chance of being healed is to pay your own way. Even Jesus went around singling out those with the faith to be healed. Consider the lady who got healed just by touching the hem of his garment with the faith to make herself well. He didn't even know who had been healed till she spoke up to admit it was her.

I also now get that, yes, God can say 'no,' but at least to His faithful children He always gives the answer of what is best. If He says 'no' it isn't because you aren't important enough to consider but because there is a real reason not to, and if that reason changes, He is likely to then say 'YES!'

P.S. Sorry if this was a bit rambling. I had lots to share but not a lot of time to organize my thoughts more clearly.
 

stingray72

Active member
Jun 15, 2024
210
107
43
#47
I can tell you 100 percent its not an issue of belief but i appreciate the attempt.
 

stingray72

Active member
Jun 15, 2024
210
107
43
#50
Im thinking that what God is doing with me has to do with times and seasons but i dont know any more than that. I do know that he will heal me though and it will be a great witness to many who knew me with the disability. I do also feel the Lord saying to me you have great faith so im not going to doubt that and i prayed if i do that the holy spirit would remind me of that fact.
 

stingray72

Active member
Jun 15, 2024
210
107
43
#51
God has been really stiring in me and i could take credit for that in my own natural ability but i know its him not me. what ive found is God is looking for a heart after him and as we do that he increases and we decrease it truly is a transforming work and humbling experience praise God.
 

seoulsearch

OutWrite Trouble
May 23, 2009
16,424
5,371
113
#53
Im thinking that what God is doing with me has to do with times and seasons but i dont know any more than that. I do know that he will heal me though and it will be a great witness to many who knew me with the disability. I do also feel the Lord saying to me you have great faith so im not going to doubt that and i prayed if i do that the holy spirit would remind me of that fact.
Hi Stingray,

I just wanted to say that I really admire your outlook.

I've been part of churches that advocate healing as well but they also had members in wheelchairs and I'm confident it wasn't due to a lack of faith. One woman in a wheelchair was one of the most caring, gratitude, full-faithed Christians I have ever known.

I think every person has some sort of ailment (for instance, I wear glasses -- with a very strong prescription) that God could heal, but for whatever reason, chooses not to in this lifetime.

I am so sorry about all the challenges you face and will keep you in my prayers.

Thank you for being here and for sharing a bit of your indominable spirit with us -- it's a blessing!
 

Ballaurena

Well-known member
May 27, 2024
415
273
63
#54
Im thinking that what God is doing with me has to do with times and seasons but i dont know any more than that. I do know that he will heal me though and it will be a great witness to many who knew me with the disability. I do also feel the Lord saying to me you have great faith so im not going to doubt that and i prayed if i do that the holy spirit would remind me of that fact.
So speaking with my roommate again and sharing your feedback, she clarified that it is an issue of the belief of "someone on the periphery." Not stopping there, though, she could feel that what you were saying was not just words, and went on to pray in tongues where something was done about the person/persons on the periphery who are/were not ready yet. She didn't get a clear interpretation but saw an explosion of light going out from you. The light is life going out. We do know that spiritual things can feel imminent and yet take time to play out in the physical, so I don't know when such things will manifest.
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
27,183
9,267
113
#55
So speaking with my roommate again and sharing your feedback, she clarified that it is an issue of the belief of "someone on the periphery." Not stopping there, though, she could feel that what you were saying was not just words, and went on to pray in tongues where something was done about the person/persons on the periphery who are/were not ready yet. She didn't get a clear interpretation but saw an explosion of light going out from you. The light is life going out. We do know that spiritual things can feel imminent and yet take time to play out in the physical, so I don't know when such things will manifest.
Huh?
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
27,183
9,267
113
#57
It was part of a conversation with Stingray72. Back up for context.
Yes, I know. But still... Huh?

So speaking with my roommate again and sharing your feedback, she clarified that it is an issue of the belief of "someone on the periphery." Not stopping there, though, she could feel that what you were saying was not just words, and went on to pray in tongues where something was done about the person/persons on the periphery who are/were not ready yet. She didn't get a clear interpretation but saw an explosion of light going out from you. The light is life going out. We do know that spiritual things can feel imminent and yet take time to play out in the physical, so I don't know when such things will manifest.
You used many words to say very little. The only thing you really said was "It can take time to see physical results."

The "Huh?" was about all the rest. What in tarnation were you talking about?
 

Ballaurena

Well-known member
May 27, 2024
415
273
63
#58
Yes, I know. But still... Huh?


You used many words to say very little. The only thing you really said was "It can take time to see physical results."

The "Huh?" was about all the rest. What in tarnation were you talking about?
Sigh. (But with love and grace for you.)

Ok, first off, there was the fact that my roommate and I again sought the truth of the matter in the spirit. Then there was the clarification that the belief issue was with another party and not Stingray72 himself. Then there was the fact that a real step was taken in the spirit to get the issue resolved. Then there was the tempering of possible expectations with timing of physical manifestation.

If all you got from it was "It can take time to see physical results," then maybe you are a big picture person with no interest in the details or steps along the way. For me personally, though, I am a teacher and helping people come to understand the process was on my radar. I also was opposed to unexpressed love, when expression can be helpful to the edification of others. And even if we were essentially just confirming what was already said, confirmation can be needful. However there was a real change from "someday this will happen," to "a real step was taken and get ready because it's coming."