Insomnia
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I have bad insomnia. I will go to sleep dead dog tired at 9 or 10pm, and wake up at 1am. I've tried exercising (early in the day), teas, meditation and sleeping pills.Nothing worked long term. Now, once a month, I take a muscle relaxer (Ultam) with red wine and I'm out for 8 hours for a few weeks.
"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton
I've had insomnia for as long as I can remember. I don't sleep longer than 4 hours, 5 if I'm lucky. I take melatonin for nights that I need a good sleep and Tylenol PM when I'm extremely exhausted. The Tylenol PM knocks me out for a cold 10 hours.
I don't have insomnia but when I have trouble sleeping, I boil a cup of milk (in a saucepan over the stove, none of that microwave stuff). Add a pinch of turmeric and your golden milk is ready. Puts me to sleep in 15 minutes.
I take melatonin as some have mentioned. It not only helps me fall asleep but also seems to help me get back to sleep faster when I wake up in the middle of the night, which is frequent. When my neck is hurting I take Aleve PM.
Kim
I find falling asleep is tough when my head won't shut up. It could be planning what to do, worrying about what has or has not been done, etc. etc. The trick is to engage in something else. It may be reading until I fall asleep or watching something boring on TV such as cooking channel or just watching the patterns on the inside of my eyelids and trying to make images of them just as you can make images out of clouds. If my feet are warm, I can be asleep in minutes 'making images'. If I wake up during the night I "assume" I just need to make a bathroom run and then crawl back into my warm space and go right back to sleep. I try to do nothing between bed and bathroom--no lights on, no checking on anything, no thinking about anything except the bathroom run.
I take generic Benedryl (diphenhydramine). I take 1 tab instead of 2. I have bad allergies anyway. I discovered that it worked well for sleeping one day when I was having sneezing fits, I slept like a dog after taking 2, so now I just take 1. It works. And, it's non-addictive.
I do something really weird when I have trouble shutting my brain off. I generally name all the contestants of Big Brother in my head until I doze off. I generally do movies and actors too. Please don't judge me
Mum, whatever works!
"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton
Yes: Melatonin and diphenhydramine both work well. My preference is to take a less medicated approach, when possible.
Getting good exercise during the day.
Read a book before bed.
Watch a very familiar movie (that you like) on low volume.
Listen to quiet music - or white noise.
Getting good exercise during the day.
Read a book before bed.
Watch a very familiar movie (that you like) on low volume.
Listen to quiet music - or white noise.
Hard work builds character and homework is good for your soul.
I used to have a very stressful job in an ER, and I'd get home around midnight. Couldn't fall asleep. Finally, I realized I was taking my work home with me, in my head. I started taking a tissue, wadding it up and tossing it in the trash can just outside the ER door. I told myself all my worries were wadded up in that tissue, and that the janitorial service would take care of it. If thoughts started to intrude while I was trying to get to sleep, I reminded myself that all my worries were in the trash can, and I didn't need to worry about them. I know this sounds a little too zen for most people, but it has worked for other people I told about it.
Take a hot shower and especially have it run over your head down. This will relax your body. Drinking Chammomile tea before bed also helps.
@Sandy Shopper.. I saw Worry Dolls in Mexico last year. You are supposed to whisper all your worries to them and keep them under your pillow. The Mayan people believe that you sleep better and they make your troubles vanish.
I need to have nothing stressful or worrisome running through my mind when I go to bed. So, for me, what works is to plug in my headphones to an old phone that's hooked up to my WiFi, and then go to either TCM (I've got the app on my phones), and listen to one of several movies on my watchlist, or go to YouTube and listen to either an old open domain movie or, on YouTube, I go to Lux Radio Theater. They have HUNDREDS of movies done especially for the radio back in the 40's and 50's. They're about an hour long each, and I'll listen to one of those. I usually fall asleep within 10 minutes.
If there is something on your mind, you can journal about it. You can put a pesky issue into your subconscious and do something else while you wait for the answer. The answer always appears.
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu
I am a restless sleeper and wake every few hours then find it difficult to get back to sleep. Sometimes I do Melatonin or Benedryl - Tylenol PM- and that works but not every night as it stops working. I bought a weighted blanket last year but it was not for me. Too hot and heavy. Have used aromatherapy and listening to a guided meditation. Everything helps a little but I long for the days of nine hours of dead sleep and awakening refreshed. Since I don't have a 9 to 5 job I can also take naps.
Amazon Prime has a video called Black Screen Pacific Ocean waves. As you might surmise the screen is dark and there's rolling wave sounds. It's excellent, and it's like 10 hours long. It may take a few days to find the right balance on the volume. When i get it too loud it can sometimes cause me to wake suddenly feeling like there's going to be a shipwreck,
There's also Trazodone. It's actually an older anti-depressant that works so-so for the original use but which has as a side effect of tremendous sleepiness. It's often prescribed off-label for insomnia now.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/09/2020 07:14AM by JustForFun.
There's also Trazodone. It's actually an older anti-depressant that works so-so for the original use but which has as a side effect of tremendous sleepiness. It's often prescribed off-label for insomnia now.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/09/2020 07:14AM by JustForFun.
I either turn on the radio to the local NPR station, which broadcasts the BBC overnight. Something about those British voices is very calming. If Hubby's restlessness is part of the problem I take my pillow and blanket into the living room and turn on the TV with the volume very low. I do NOT take my glasses, so it's more like white noise.
Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. Eleanor Roosevelt
I drink some Sleepytime Extra with Valerian and listen to old time radio shows to fall asleep. Every once in a while it will take me a few nights to get through a half hour show and sometimes I'll get through 3 shows before I fall asleep, but it's usually the first one. I also spray chamomile on my bed about 5 minutes before I get in it and put a variety of essential oils in my diffuser (combo of two or more: lavender, spearmint, lemongrass, bergamot, clary sage).
Shopping the South Jersey Shore
@Clamchatter wrote:
Has anyone ever suffered from Insomnia? What are some of the methods you have used to beat this? I am having a devil of a time going to sleep unless I take a Valerian. It is a herb that works great once it kicks in. I can't see taking this forever though. Thank you.
You might have reverted to the sleep pattern of your ancestors. Until the 20th Century they had around four hours of a "first sleep," followed by awakening long enough to read a book or do other things for an hour or two, and ending with three to four hours of a "second sleep" that concludes at sunrise.
[slumberwise.com]
If I sleep longer than that, I become stiff and achy. If I sleep at various times during the day, I am more comfortable. This works well with my odd schedule and the early job.
@Susan L. wrote:
@Clamchatter wrote:
Has anyone ever suffered from Insomnia? What are some of the methods you have used to beat this? I am having a devil of a time going to sleep unless I take a Valerian. It is a herb that works great once it kicks in. I can't see taking this forever though. Thank you.
You might have reverted to the sleep pattern of your ancestors. Until the 20th Century they had around four hours of a "first sleep," followed by awakening long enough to read a book or do other things for an hour or two, and ending with three to four hours of a "second sleep" that concludes at sunrise.
[slumberwise.com]
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu
I take Melatonin, it helps! I also keep a notebook by my bed so that if I wake up thinking of things I need to do I can just write them down and go back to sleep
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