WhiteBlaze Pages 2024
A Complete Appalachian Trail Guidebook.
AVAILABLE NOW. $4 for interactive PDF(smartphone version)
Read more here WhiteBlaze Pages Store

Page 3 of 5 FirstFirst 1 2 3 4 5 LastLast
Results 41 to 60 of 93
  1. #41
    Registered User
    Join Date
    03-01-2004
    Location
    Tampa, FL
    Age
    74
    Posts
    587
    Images
    12

    Default

    No, I wouldn't downplay the prescription drug epidemic... not at all. I just didn't want to focus on it, because it is really something we as hikers can't do much about the problem. Maybe hiking helps replace the need for these uppers and downers and mind altering chemicals. It really is a very serious health concern and IMHO the biggest abuse is by the medical profession constantly prescribing something for every complaint that they hear from their patients. Then you have those who doctor shop and get multiple prescriptions that they sell for big profit on the street. It goes on and on. Yes, and you do make good points and we all read about it every day.

    As a side note, I find it interesting that most of our astronauts are taking Ambien on space trips according to this PBS report:

    http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/...g-pills-space/

    Draw your own conclusions.

  2. #42
    Registered User Apollyon's Avatar
    Join Date
    06-25-2014
    Location
    Blacksburg Va
    Age
    70
    Posts
    9
    Journal Entries
    1

    Default

    that's what I take, have for years, zero side affects.

    Quote Originally Posted by slbirdnerd View Post
    Try melatonin, which you can get as a supplement in your grocery store's vitamin department. Melatonin is naturally produced by the body (not mine, apparently, when I'm hiking!) and helps manage circadian rhythms. I like this as opposed to Tylenol PM, Nyquil and Benadryl--those knock me out and their intended purpose is often all wrong.
    " In the woods, is perpetual youth.”
    Ralph Waldo Emerson

  3. #43
    Registered User
    Join Date
    01-28-2008
    Location
    Spokane, WA
    Age
    71
    Posts
    4,907

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by mtntopper View Post
    Not illegal n some states...........
    On federal lands, still illegal.
    "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss

  4. #44
    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
    Join Date
    01-29-2007
    Location
    High up in an old tree
    Posts
    14,444
    Journal Entries
    19
    Images
    17

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by rocketsocks View Post
    This is just all wrong.

    Secondly, there very much is a quick fix, and they've already been listed. Humans have been using alcohol and medicines for sleep and relaxation for eons, well at least a couple thousand years anyway.

    ...lastly, and for the record, just because someone calls them self a wise old owl, don't necessarily make it so, you really need to get over yourself dude.
    Ouch- you know they called Woo from bird / raptor watching at Hawk Mountain on the AT... I will send you some coca leaves to chew on.. maybe you won't hike so slow next time.
    Last edited by Wise Old Owl; 08-12-2014 at 22:20.
    Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    Woo

  5. #45

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Wise Old Owl View Post
    Ouch- you know they called Woo from bird / raptor watching at Hawk Mountain on the AT... I will send you some coca leaves to chew on.. maybe you won't hike so slow next time.

    .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ....................

  6. #46
    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
    Join Date
    01-29-2007
    Location
    High up in an old tree
    Posts
    14,444
    Journal Entries
    19
    Images
    17

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by rocketsocks View Post
    .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ....................
    Hey - I will always look back on fond memories of that hike... bar none. It was a good time.. Thanks for inviting me.
    Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    Woo

  7. #47
    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
    Join Date
    01-29-2007
    Location
    High up in an old tree
    Posts
    14,444
    Journal Entries
    19
    Images
    17

    Default

    I am getting some mixed messages and several odd PM's from some wonderful male and female hikers... I am not backpedaling here. WE are all adults here. I don't doubt we all live stressful lives - I am not your dad. I am very open to opinion... I like that fact I personally don't need anything to get to sleep on the trail as I have found a solution to getting to sleep. I sleep better on the trail in my hammock than at home on a gel bed.

    lets move on...
    Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    Woo

  8. #48

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Wise Old Owl View Post
    Ouch- you know they called Woo from bird / raptor watching at Hawk Mountain on the AT... I will send you some coca leaves to chew on.. maybe you won't hike so slow next time.
    Slow? just tryin' to put some distance between us. No since in bunchin' up.



    Quote Originally Posted by Wise Old Owl View Post
    Hey - I will always look back on fond memories of that hike... bar none. It was a good time.. Thanks for inviting me.
    What??? after reminding me three times that it was short notice, and on the third one sayin' "It really was, short notice" and that's why you forgot your under quilt and froze all night in your hammock. I already told ya, it wasn't my hike, and after it got opened up, you got invited...not sure what this has to do with anything here. Yeah it was a great trip, lets just leave it at that.

    Quote Originally Posted by Wise Old Owl View Post
    I am getting some mixed messages and several odd PM's from some wonderful male and female hikers... I am not backpedaling here. WE are all adults here. I don't doubt we all live stressful lives - I am not your dad. I am very open to opinion... I like that fact I personally don't need anything to get to sleep on the trail as I have found a solution to getting to sleep. I sleep better on the trail in my hammock than at home on a gel bed.

    lets move on...
    Your gettin' mixed messages, the master manipulator of mixed messages...this is just bazaaro...I'm done.

    ...Did you or did you not bring a bottle on the last trip for a night cap?

    ...back pedaling is not a bad thing when your wrong...shows character, it's how we grow into adults.

    ...yeah stress, whatever, we all have it....but who's Dad are you talkin' to? Yours? You do realize your about ten mins. older than I am.

    again I'm done...way too spooky!


    In the words of Paul Harvey....Good Day!
    Attached Images Attached Images

  9. #49
    Registered User
    Join Date
    10-05-2012
    Location
    Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
    Age
    57
    Posts
    38

    Default Viva le hammock

    Quote Originally Posted by Wise Old Owl:1900733
    I sleep better on the trail in my hammock than at home on a gel bed...
    Hilarious. I was just explaining to someone today, in response to their question about how could I possibly get any sleep outside, that I actually sleep better in my backpacking hammock (grizz' bridge design) than on my brand new expensive mattress at home!

  10. #50

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by pnkwolfe View Post
    Hilarious. I was just explaining to someone today, in response to their question about how could I possibly get any sleep outside, that I actually sleep better in my backpacking hammock (grizz' bridge design) than on my brand new expensive mattress at home!
    I tell so called "civilized" people I get a better night's sleep on the ground outdoors in the woods/atop a mountain, etc AWAY from the human hordes than on a bedroom mattress in a cube and they think I'm a modern day Daniel Boone or crazy! It's the same with tap verses untreated backcountry(away from human) water sources.

  11. #51

    Default

    Melatonin can help and is "natural"
    "Truth is anything you can convince someone else to believe" - Me

  12. #52
    Registered User
    Join Date
    12-31-2009
    Location
    San Diego, CA
    Age
    45
    Posts
    4,276
    Images
    17

    Default

    I have a hard time sleeping on the first couple days of a hike. I think it's because I'm so amped up about hiking. Without sleeping aids, I might literally get no sleep at all on the first night, and then maybe 1-3 hours on the second night.

  13. #53
    Registered User
    Join Date
    02-21-2013
    Location
    Rose City, MI
    Age
    47
    Posts
    22

    Default

    Try Melatonin.. Its safe, natural hormone. My doc recommended it for some sleep troubles I had. You can find it near the vitamins at your local drug store

  14. #54

    Default

    Melatonin use = dreaming in vivid colors. It is a hormone though. When I start messing with hormones unusual things start happening and not always good. It is generally considered safe though in lower doses. I would hope the end goal is to get yourself off a sleeping prescription drug or supplement though. Seriously, you might try adapting some better habits including implementing exercises that help quiet your brain so you can sleep better. For example, for many people coffee/caffeine containing foods really screws with sleep habits.

  15. #55
    Registered User
    Join Date
    02-21-2013
    Location
    Rose City, MI
    Age
    47
    Posts
    22

    Default

    Dogwood--For me I used making 1/8th of the bottle and never used them again. It was just a weird phase that lasted only a few weeks. I've heard some yoga or meditation can help slow the brain down long after the body has had enough.

  16. #56

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by leaftye View Post
    I have a hard time sleeping on the first couple days of a hike. I think it's because I'm so amped up about hiking. Without sleeping aids, I might literally get no sleep at all on the first night, and then maybe 1-3 hours on the second night.
    I don't mean to be a wise guy or unconcerned, but... So what? It isn't as if hiking requires enough mental acuity to perform calculus in your head. Your body and brain will sleep when they need to. I tend to sleep "shallowly" on weekend trips, and fall into a good sleeping rhythm for longer trips. A night or two of poor sleep won't kill you or even bother you much (with the right attitude). I don't mean to sound unsympathetic (I'm well acquainted with insomnia); I've just always feared that the solution (sleep aids) was worse than the problem.

  17. #57

    Default

    Here's guy from NJ saying he doesn't mean to be wise guy. LOL.

  18. #58
    lemon b's Avatar
    Join Date
    06-17-2011
    Location
    4 miles from Trailhead in Becket, Ma.
    Age
    69
    Posts
    1,277
    Journal Entries
    1
    Images
    56

    Default

    My neo air works pretty good. The position of my head is the trick, what I use is my extra cloths in a gallon zip lock. Smart wool mid layer, the trick being even bulk on both sides of neck. I'm a back sleeper.

  19. #59
    Registered User
    Join Date
    12-31-2009
    Location
    San Diego, CA
    Age
    45
    Posts
    4,276
    Images
    17

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by bobp View Post
    I don't mean to be a wise guy or unconcerned, but... So what? It isn't as if hiking requires enough mental acuity to perform calculus in your head. Your body and brain will sleep when they need to. I tend to sleep "shallowly" on weekend trips, and fall into a good sleeping rhythm for longer trips. A night or two of poor sleep won't kill you or even bother you much (with the right attitude). I don't mean to sound unsympathetic (I'm well acquainted with insomnia); I've just always feared that the solution (sleep aids) was worse than the problem.
    Actually, a couple nights without sleep could kill you. Maybe not if you're walking on flat trails, but if you're on icy ridges or terrain that's otherwise dangerous, it really helps not to have a mind that's clouded by lack of sleep. I definitely find that I'm less steady on my feet when I'm not getting sleep. So far it's only resulted in bumping into things, usually with my toes, but it could quickly get much worse. I won't even ride my motorcycle at all unless I'm well rested. I don't like sleeping pills, but I like getting seriously injured much less. I manage my sleep to improve the quality and safety of my hikes. I don't expect you to understand it, and it doesn't matter if you don't because I'm the only person that suffers if I get it wrong, and you suffer nothing at all if I get injured by agreeing with your opinion.

    Fwiw, my use of sleep aids is almost entirely limited to the first couple days of a hike and hurricanes.

  20. #60
    Registered User ChuckT's Avatar
    Join Date
    07-17-2013
    Location
    Cocoa, FL
    Age
    78
    Posts
    828

    Default

    It sure seems like we live in a culture that advocates "Better things for better living through chemistry".
    But I'm with WOO on this. You owe it to yourselves to be comfortable in your skins. Yes things do go bump in the night. Yes people snore (me, I'm told). But the 8 hours shut eye per day is an ideal not 100% a necessity.
    First day _after_ a hike I sleep like a log!
    Miles to go before I sleep. R. Frost

Page 3 of 5 FirstFirst 1 2 3 4 5 LastLast
++ New Posts ++

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •