I think I developed insomnia...

Basically, I'm addicted to coffee. It got to the point where I would drink three cups of coffee a day and today...I think I have just realized just how messed up I may have made myself.

Since Saturday night, I've only had eight hours of rest.

Saturday night- Could not sleep at all.
Sunday night- Could sleep.
Monday night- Could not sleep at all.

It didn't help that I had two cups of coffe Monday morning, and one more cup at 3 that afternoon.

Now, I'm not saying I'm gonna die soon because of lack of sleep, but I don't think my body is gonna like me because of the abuse I kept heaping onto it.

And now, I've started to realize it. I hope I didn't completely destroy my ability to sleep at all.

I feel tired, but not exhausted. I can't make myself go to sleep. I'm sure come six hours, I'll be feeling exhausted enough to go to sleep, but not now when it's 12:50 in the morning.

My questions:

#1- Just to get this paranoid one out of the way: Am I gonna die anytime soon? Or am I just being a complete worry-wort?

#2- Did I just completely eradicate my ability to sleep ever again?

#3- Do I need to give up coffee completely? I'm feeling like I'm getting to the point where I'm very sensitive to coffee.

#4- Will I ever be able to get rid of insomnia?

Suppose I decide to never again have coffee for the rest of my life, and had a glass of warm milk at the end of the day for the next week or so, would it help any?

Thoughts?

If you're having this much trouble sleeping, stop drinking coffee. For now, at least.

That's what I'm thinking. Stop drinking coffee for a good few months. Purge the caffine from my system entirely.

I suppose my body can forgive me for not letting it rest for two nights straight (with a night of rest in between.)

Are you sure it's just the caffeine that is making you have difficulty sleeping? I know everyone reacts to caffeine differently, but three cups of coffee in a day isn't that out of the norm for most people.

I think it depends on the type of coffee you're drinking, too. Are you drinking highly caffeinated or strong coffee, like say espresso or coffee with a lot of sugar or mocha/chocolate in it? The addition of sugar in it can add to jittery feelings you're experiencing. Also, if you're drinking coffee close to the time you're supposed to sleep, that can also cause problems with falling asleep.

Aside from the coffee though, is there anything else different going on in your life? Are you under stress? On any medications? There are different factors/changes in life that can cause insomnia aside from caffeine consumption.

And to answer the questions you posted:

Originally Posted by Link the Zora

#1- Just to get this paranoid one out of the way: Am I gonna die anytime soon? Or am I just being a complete worry-wort?

Hmm, I'm a bit confused. The insomnia is making you question your mortality? As in, you worry you can die because of insomnia?

It's understandable to get worries like this whenever you notice a change in yourself, but insomnia doesn't mean you will die. Many people have it and it's not something that is fatal. Annoying and inconvenient, yes, but not deadly. ^__^

#2- Did I just completely eradicate my ability to sleep ever again?

No, it is possible to fix insomnia! I would suggest trying to fix it yourself before going to prescription sleep aids, since those can become addictive.

I'd suggest cutting out the caffeine and seeing if it makes a difference in your drowsiness as night draws closer. If you are really having a horrible time falling asleep, you can buy Benadryl (Diphenhydramine) is something you can buy over the counter at the pharmacy. It's for allergies, but it also induces drowsiness, so people often use it help them sleep. Once again, don't rely on this and make it become a habit. I'd try sleeping naturally on your own first and if you really need a little bit of an aid, the Benadryl is an option.

#3- Do I need to give up coffee completely? I'm feeling like I'm getting to the point where I'm very sensitive to coffee.

I think that depends on how your body reacts to caffeine. If you are that hypersensitive to it and notice your sleep getting back to normal once you stop drinking it, maybe you need to stay away from it. Or after you get your sleep back to normal, maybe just limit yourself to one cup a day and see how your body reacts.

Also, if you enjoy the flavor of coffee and don't want the caffeine, you could always try decaf coffee.

#4- Will I ever be able to get rid of insomnia?

Suppose I decide to never again have coffee for the rest of my life, and had a glass of warm milk at the end of the day for the next week or so, would it help any?

Thoughts?

Yes, you can get rid of it! I think you should consider the things I mentioned and see how it works for you. Also, give yourself a good amount of time to relax and fall asleep. Say if you want to be asleep by midnight, give yourself at least an hour and lay in bed around 11 or so you can adjust to the darkness and let your body wind down from the day. If you constantly think, "I need to fall asleep, will I ever go back to normal?" you're only going to have a harder time falling asleep, so just let your mind shut off.

Also, if you like to have something warm before bed, the milk sounds like a good idea. Definitely do not drink coffee before bed, if that is what you've been doing this could be part of the problem. Don't even drink warm tea before bed because that also contains caffeine.

Hope this helped!

I think you are worring to much you probably can't sleep because your body is overfill with cafeine. Just stop drinking coffe and anything that have caffeine for a time or drink less. You don't have to exactly give it up completely you just have to drink less like only 1 cup and not 3. If it is cause by to much cafeine yes if not go to a doctor or something he may help.

In my experience, simply worrying about having to fall asleep can actually make it harder. I'm not sure about this one but I think you may actually have to earn sleep, by applying your energy to things. Not being able to fall asleep is IMO a sign that you may have excess energy. Obviously the caffeine isn't doing you any favours by giving you energy that remains at bedtime.

That's the thing, I think that when you want to sleep you should already have spent energy on something. If it's piling up in you, that's just disturbing your calm that you need to have in order to sleep.

Those are my thoughts, I'm no sleep expert by any means ..

Now that you're worried about your lack of sleep, that's probably hurting you more than the coffee is.

Give up coffee for a while, exercise often, and don't do anything that would aggravate the insomnia (drinking alcohol, reading in bed, etc.). You might want to look into melatonin supplements.

It takes almost two weeks of absolutely no sleep whatsoever to be fatal. Anxiety about losing sleep is the worst thing you can do for insomnia.