Sleeping problems

[bamb00zle]

No it's not connected to the PC going into sleep mode!

Does anyone have or has had sleeping issues associated with playing FM? I've been playing for many years and it's always been an addictive game that does take over my free time. Other more casual games, I have no sleep issues. Last year I stopped playing because I was literally getting an hour or two of sleep every night over a period of time. I wasn't actually staying up late, in fact I'd stop at 9pm to go to bed at 10pm to clear the mind, 

So as we're all on lockdown now, I couldn't help myself and loaded up my old save yesterday. I played about 3 or 4 hours over the course of the day, knew I'd probably regret it and I did. Bed by 10pm only to be consumed by thoughts of squad building and whether to turn my BWM to CM (def). Bit sad isn't it but there you go. It was a nightmare, I just couldn't get the game out of my head, ended up sleeping at 3am and top it all, my baby son decided to wake up an hourly early than usual so I got 2 hours sleep.

Not directly saying 'FM causes disturbed sleep' as other immersive games will cause this in some people as well but I do want to play it. It's been a big part of my life for over 20 years and I want to find a place for it but not at the expense of my health. Does anyone have any experience with this or strategies to share?

Edited April 14, 2020 by bamb00zle

[FrazT]

There is little doubt that CM/FM is and can be pretty addictive ( like most video games tbh).  At the start of my  time playing the game, I would certainly do marathon sessions late into the night but that started to have an impact on my job and family.  Consequently I now limit my playing to sessions of about an hour, maybe only twice a day and that has helped, although moderating the forums for the last 11 years has also taken up a lot of time.  

Funnily enough I do use FM at night when trying to go to sleep and am wanting to clear my mind of other things.  I go through the squad, from the GKs forward, position by position, thinking of strengths and weaknesses and rarely get to the forwards!

[Mr Tonio]

36 minutes ago, FrazT said:

 

Funnily enough I do use FM at night when trying to go to sleep and am wanting to clear my mind of other things.  I go through the squad, from the GKs forward, position by position, thinking of strengths and weaknesses and rarely get to the forwards!

Same here, that's my counting sheep technique for 20 years now I still love it.

[bamb00zle]

1 hour ago, Mr Tonio said:

Same here, that's my counting sheep technique for 20 years now I still love it.

That's exactly what keeps me awake!

[saintrainhard]

You have absolute control over yourself. So be wise, and dont forget to take a bath and change your underwear haha

[Billsmcfc]

I have terrible sleep problems when I’ve played this in the evening so it’s funny you should say this

even when I switch off around 7pm I am lay staring at the ceiling until very late

it has to be the game because the nights I don’t play it I sleep fine, it’s not on my mind or anything when I’ve got into bed but maybe it’s in the back of my mind without me knowing?

Im gonna stick to morning and dinner time playing only for the next few days and see how it goes.

[alian62]

Have some warm milk before bedtime zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[yolixeya]

I have a policy of not using PC or smartphone 1-2 hours before bed because of the blue light it emittes which supresses release of melotonin. A also like to read the book prior to sleeping which takes my mind out of all other things and tire me out. Basically when I decide that I am tired and can't follow the book anymore I just put it down and I am asleep few moments later.

I also like to sleep in a very dark room and I use earplugs and sometimes even a sleep mask.

[bigmattb28]

9 hours ago, bamb00zle said:

and whether to turn my BWM to CM (def).

Don't do this unless your other CM is on support.

Anyway back to your original question. Back in my younger days when I used to all night session CM I'd regularly get about an hour or 2 sleep before college because of CM, then I found beer and clubs, and met a girl, you know how it goes so CM got less and less time but I have managed to play and own every edition from CM99/00 to the most recent version.

Interestingly, since I've gotten older, got a full time jobs and kids, FM is my only real go to relaxant. I watch sports, well used to before the lockdown, have an Xbox one but really the only game I'm invested in and actually look forward to playing is FM, actually I am still trying to finish Metal Gear Solid 5 but that's a whole different beast, but gone are the days when I could play all night, have a power nap and function properly the next day.

 

[bamb00zle]

2 hours ago, bigmattb28 said:

Don't do this unless your other CM is on support.

Anyway back to your original question. Back in my younger days when I used to all night session CM I'd regularly get about an hour or 2 sleep before college because of CM, then I found beer and clubs, and met a girl, you know how it goes so CM got less and less time but I have managed to play and own every edition from CM99/00 to the most recent version.

Interestingly, since I've gotten older, got a full time jobs and kids, FM is my only real go to relaxant. I watch sports, well used to before the lockdown, have an Xbox one but really the only game I'm invested in and actually look forward to playing is FM, actually I am still trying to finish Metal Gear Solid 5 but that's a whole different beast, but gone are the days when I could play all night, have a power nap and function properly the next day.

 

He was next to a mezzala (support) in a 4411 and it was a good change, much more solid!

Good tips from people but in a weird quirk of fate or act of god, I accidentally saved over my game  I have no previous version or backup so I've screwed myself. 

[bamb00zle]

4 hours ago, Billsmcfc said:

I have terrible sleep problems when I’ve played this in the evening so it’s funny you should say this

even when I switch off around 7pm I am lay staring at the ceiling until very late

it has to be the game because the nights I don’t play it I sleep fine, it’s not on my mind or anything when I’ve got into bed but maybe it’s in the back of my mind without me knowing?

Im gonna stick to morning and dinner time playing only for the next few days and see how it goes.

Yeah day times are better. It is in the back of your mind as you still haven't stopped playing it. Some people's brains release a lot of dopamine, more than other people, so looks like we're in it together.

[IbrahimAliMaher]

At the moment it's very hard to switch off from FM, as even if I have a break of an hour before bed then my brain is still continuing to process recent events. As I'm trying to be disciplined at not play FM during the day when I'm forced to play evening and weekends as there's so little else to do now. As mentioned above I'm going to try leaving a two hour gap, I find setting an alarm on my phone a good idea as it limits how much I play and prevents me losing track of time.

[santy001]

If you're saying you stop at 9pm, in bed by 10pm but still can't sleep until 3am, apportioning any of it to FM is a bit misguided. In any situation in life if you're going to bed and its taking you 5 hours to get to sleep, you need to speak to a doctor. If you're at the point where you'd done a usual 16-17 hour stint awake in a 24 hour period and when you go to bed at that point you still don't manage to sleep for another 5 hours, while doing nothing but being in bed, is a major red flag. 

[Gross_Ballon]

When I was 16 to 18 I remember doing 24 hours a few times.  

 

remember all night sessions before I knew it the sun was up shinning in and im like where did the last 10 hours go. those where the days ! 

[rinso]

here's a couple of oldies, make of them what you will.. 

 

 

 

[bigmattb28]

10 hours ago, rinso said:

 

 

The second comment on that one made me spit my coffee out laughing