How do you sleep?

C

camper4lyfe

New member
How do you sleep the night before opening day? I find that my mind starts to wander, and I get myself all worked up and excited with anticipation before opening day of gun season. This makes it pretty difficult to sleep, which is a bit counterproductive when you consider how early I have to wake up.

What do you do the night before the "big hunt"?
 
You're not alone. I have accepted this as part of the hunting ritual. I guess if you didn't have those feelings and thoughts, maybe hunting isn't your bag. For me, it's part of what brings me back year after year. I used to find it hard to sleep the night before duck season opened as well.

To answer your question......

Mass quantities of alcohol, although, you might not be at your best during the hunt. Nyquill comes to mind....hmmm, might work. Undoubtedly you have hunting buddies....perhaps they could beat you senselessly rendering you unconscious. Again, you may not be up to par for next mornings hunt. Aw shucks, I think you are just going to have to deal with the excitement.
 
When I was going to hunting camp with my father, I didn't sleep.

Those guys would vibrate the damned cabin off the foundation and move it down the lane with their snoring and farting.
 
My only hunting buddy right now is my wife and dog, and neither of them actually hunt (it's actually part of the reason we got the dog...he doesn't retrieve very well, or at all). My wife just likes to sit by the fire and read.
 
I don't sleep well either, unless I'm only planning for an afternoon/evening hunt. Of course I get excited, but I'm also a little paranoid about oversleeping and I find myself counting how many hours I've got left to sleep

"Okay, if I fall asleep now I'll get 6 more hours. . . . If I sleep now I'll get 4 1/2 more hours. . . . etc."
 
2 stout cocktails and force ourselves to stay up until 10. Sometimes just the staying up part is hard, since it is dark and cold early. Still don't get great sleep, but at least am on my game in the morning.
 
Two Tylenol PM and it is lights out for me.
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Tylenol PM and Benadryl contain fair amounts of the antihistamine Diphenhydramine. Diphenhydramine suppresses REM sleep, which causes a loss of sleep quality, which leads to groginess and lower immune function.
So... you're often better off getting the "crappy sleep", staying up the night before to ensure you're tired enough to sleep, or using a small quantity of alcohol to make the lights go out. (The 'night cap' has little effect on sleep patterns.)

I no longer have sleep problems before a hunt. I did in my younger years, but not any more. I just don't get worked up. I really look forward to hunts, throughout the year, but it doesn't get my anxiety level up now.


As a side note: One of the reasons the common "PM" medications have strong warnings about repeated use, is the REM suppression factor. Repeated loss of REM sleep (sometimes as few as 3 days with the medication) can lead to major dysfunction. The last thing I need, while walking through the woods, is to start hallucinating or having uncontrolled muscle spasms.
 
having uncontrolled muscle spasms.
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Happened to me once on a turkey hunt as a youngster...

Learned a real important lesson about sitting down in the dark...

Don't park your keester on an ant bed...:eek:

Dang turkeys must have thought I was looney, dancin around and stripping naked... They'll never forget that chubby white boy that was screamin and stripping...
 
I don't sleep well at home and I don't sleep worth a damn if I'm uncomfortable. I don't hunt but I camp in a tent and I will sleep a couple of hours without help. This is no danged good on a week long river trip. I take 3 mg of melatonin every night about a half hour before bed time. This is an OTC "dietary supplement". Camping I take temazepam which is a Schedule 3 prescription drug. I will take it every night of a camping trip but when I return home I will not take it for at least a week. I will not take it at home for more than two nights in a row or two nights in a week. You can get addicted to it which I don't want.
 
Sleep

I usually don't sleep well the night before (usually getting to deer hunting camp in the early evening the day before opening day) Then I'll get up well before dawn, hunt till about 10:00 then take a nap. Last time when i woke up from my nap I shot a nice buck before I even stood up!
 
I no longer have sleep problems before a hunt. I did in my younger years, but not any more. I just don't get worked up. I really look forward to hunts, throughout the year, but it doesn't get my anxiety level up now.
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That is great to hear FM! I have used Tylenol Pm for a while and I function just fine. Appreciate the concern though.
 
Well, my excitement was pointless...didn't see a dang thing. I need to find a new spot. It's somewhat convenient, but there's not a lot of sign, or movement.
 
Yes indeed that is a good question. It seems to get better with time, and of course time spent is the woods. I try to get all my things together the night before, and whatever needs to be done. Then I take some sleeping aids, and try my best.
 
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