Insomnia cures?

[Habibi]

Post your trieds-and-trues, please. (And just for the record, I've tried alcohol, and it only works in vast quantities, and I end up feeling like crap the next day.)

I am desperate, folks. Chamomile tea is nice but not that effective. I eat some dairy and/or carbs before beddy-bye. My problem is not falling asleep but staying asleep. One night about 5 years ago I got 8 whole hours of sleep and couldn't believe how *good* I felt! I'd like to have that experience more often.

[CatholicEdHead]

1. Lots of hard exercise

Or if you want it in pill form, look at a single Benadryl.

[Habibi]

2. At what time of day?

I work out in the early morning, around 6 a.m. Should I try doing it later?

I've heard of people having success with Benadryl. I might try it whatever the doc proposes doesn't work.

[CatholicEdHead]

3. You can try shifting it

It is more quantity than time of day. If you do it later, you will first have the adrenaline rush, so plan for bed after your normal rush goes away from working out. You should know how long it is for you personally.

[SoxFan]

4. Better in the morning or early afternoon

Excercising in the late afternoon or evening can crank up your body temperature and muck up your metabolism, making things work.

[SoxFan]

5. Word puzzles

Crosswords, word searches, things like that. For whatever reason, they help "purge" my brain and help me get drowsy.

[Pierre.Suave]

6. I know some people that use

Melatonin to help them sleep.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melatonin

It is a natural thing.

[Generic Brad]

7. Eat popcorn before retiring

Your body will work overtime processing the carbs and it will help you sleep.

[XemaSab]

28. Food is good

This morning at 6 I decided to give it up and make some brekky.

20 minutes after eating I was out like a light. :)

[Skittles]

8. lack of sleep

skip a night of sleeping - I do it all the time

[pokerfan]

9. For me the trick is to keep my mind from wandering

My mind tends to start planning the next day and that is distracting as well as unproductive as it keeps shifting from one thought to another.

I count backwards by threes from some arbitrary number, e.g. 100, 97, 94... That usually does the trick for me. That as well as practicing good sleep hygiene:

- Go to bed and get up the same time every day, even on weekends.
- Only use your bed for sleeping and sex. No reading, no TV, etc.
- No caffeine, nicotine, alcohol or No exercise at least four hours before sleeping.

[Skittles]

25. alright I am going to pick a fight with you

my work hours ar 05:30 PM to 05:30 AM and that includes weekends. If I slept the same hours every day I would miss pretty much all appointments, never go to luch with friends, etc. I just detest advice that assumes everyone works 8-5, M-F. Knock it off already!

[pokerfan]

31. Whatever

Knock it off already!

Just passing along what the experts say. Endless apologies and all that that.

[DarkTirade]

10. How's your environment when you're trying to sleep?

If your body isn't comfortable sometimes it's impossible to stay asleep. That was my biggest problem when I was working a night shift job in Florida... my apartment's windows faced the sun, so the apartment would get RIDICULOUSLY hot for the first half of the day. And that was right when I went to bed. I'd invariably wake up an hour or two after I fell asleep, covered in sweat, unable to get back to sleep until the apartment cooled down again.

[Redstone]

11. Prescription sleeping pills: Like the idea or not, they work.

They give you the absolutley blessed option (though in my case, it's chronic pain, though I've lived through phases of insomnia as well) of being able to decide when a given day just needs to be OVER, and you'll start again in the morning.

Redstone

[Habibi]

32. I'm actually hoping for those.

It's gotten bad enough that I made a doc appointment for tomorrow.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

12. A dull book

No, seriously.

The summer after college, I worked a factory job nights, and my shift ended at 8:00 AM. I'd walk home, have breakfast with my family, and then try to go to sleep.

That was a challenge, especially on a bright summer day.

I'd put on soft classical music and then start reading a history of philosophy that had been written by a German in the 1880s. Two pages of that and I was out till dinnertime. I've used that technique since then.

[DebJ]

13. training manuals from the job work well. n/t

[DebJ]

14. I pretend that the alarm has just gone off and I have to get up and

get ready for work. That does it almost every time!

[XemaSab]

33. You're not kidding

I especially recommend the Army Corps of Engineers Arid West Supplement.

That held me over for about a week. :snore:

[dembotoz]

15. work related training conference calls

the webinar clicks on and my eyelids click down.

[Lindsey]

16. Well, I'm taking Ambien now. I was trying 2 excedrin pm's and 2 melatonin

Sometimes it works but not all the time. Also I wouldn't sleep through the whole night and end up waking up at 2,3,or 4 and then not being able to get back to sleep. That's when I tried Ambien and its been a lifesaver for me. Although, I'm looking at alternatives as I'd like to try a more herbal/wholistic route.

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

17. Marijuana.

Not the best choice in the world, but it is indeed a tried and true technique.

[east texas lib]

18. Ambien or Lunesta ...and for me beer ( 1 or 2 max )

Don't abuse it. Over the counters work somewhat, but may hangover into the next day. You must find your own dose and routine. Go to bed early enough to do some good.

[Chan790]

19. Quality time with myself. n/m

[Lex]

20. Melatonin works like a charm for me.

I take a 3 mg. tablet about 45 minutes to 1 hour before I want to turn in. No 'hangover' feeling the next day.

You can get them at Whole Foods or someplace like GNC.

It doesn't knock you on your ass like valium or ambien, but it will make you sleepy and ready to go to bed, and you'll stay asleep (or that's the effect on me).

[Critters2]

21. Kava kava

One capsule, two at the most, and I sleep like a baby. Some bottles say you can take it through the day for anxiety, but I've been told it's not a great idea to take that much. But a little before bed is a great sleep aid.

[Orrex]

23. The Ramones are totally killer

Kava kava hey?

[DUgosh]

22. 5HTP+

2 Capsules before bedtime with a jigger of white wine.

[Orrex]

24. You could watch Costner's "Tin Cup"

But I'll caution you in advance that it may induce coma. Good luck to you.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

26. Alcohol is not a good idea...

More often than not you'll wake up in the middle of your sleep after drinking.

Benedryl helps me...

[astral]

41. That never happened to me . . . nt

[XemaSab]

27. When you find out, let me know

:P

[Common Sense Party]

29. Read a mutual fund prospectus. It always works for me. n/t

[crimsonblue]

30. sleep

[Habibi]

34. Thanks for the tips, all

even the smart-ass ones. ;)

[BreweryYardRat]

35. I appreciate that you posted this thread.

I've been having merry hell getting to sleep over the past few months.

[Give_Peace_A_Chance]

36. Xanax

Xanax works nicely to put me out, I like it as an alternative
to the other sleeping drugs!

[TrogL]

37. Trazodone

Works like a charm.

[sakabatou]

38. Hot milk with honey and cinnamon

[Flying Dream Blues]

39. Another vote for melatonin. I use 3 mg and it gets me to sleep about 30 min later

and I rarely wake up. There's no hangover/morning drowsiness, either, and it's cheap. It's great!

[Boojatta]

40. Eat cat food.

After all, you don't see a lot of cats suffering from insomnia, do you?

[JCMach1]

42. Valerian

it works...

[kentauros]

43. I did a search to see if anyone else knew of it

and whatdyaknow! :D Highly recommended, too. Also, kava kava, though it will give you epic-length dreams and may keep you asleep longer than you wanted ;)

I would also say to stay clear of tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes, and all the resulting over-the-top panic-attack media coverage :P

[JCMach1]

44. Valerian, Melatonin, and KavaKava all work

Valerian for me is overall the best. It tends to prolong deeper sleep. You can actually get LESS hours and feel completely refreshed.

Also, AVOID caffeine like the plague after 2-3 in the afternoon.

[quakerboy]

45. I urge caution

For instance, I was once having trouble sleeping. So I tried Valarian and Chamomile tea. Boy was that a mistake. Turns out that there was significant pollen in it, which resulted in a fun bout of allergies on top of the original tiredness. Damn hard to sleep when you are drowning in your bodies secretions.

Also not a fan of the melatonin. It works, but others admit that they had the same reaction as I did.. unpleasant dreams.

I just have to wait until my body is ready.

[Wapsie B]

46. I sympathize with the op. Insomnia is no fun to deal with.

Having said that why is this not considered a thread seeking medical advice? :shrug:

My advice to the op is to talk to your Dr. Let them manage this problem. If they cannot help they should be able to refer to someone who can.

[LiberalEsto]

47. Heat a cup of milk in the microwave

for a minute or more.

Drink that and take one acetaminophen tablet. Then read something pleasant to take your mind off your sleeplessness.

Doing this usually makes me fall asleep within 45 minutes -- sometimes it takes that long for the acetaminophen to kick in.

[femmocrat]

48. C-Span, volume turned very low.

Like a dull hummmmm..... works for me!