I can't sleeeeeeeep! Any suggestions (other than drugs)?

[nolabear]

I've got them menopausal can't sleep mind numb dead tired blues. I fall asleep, but not REALLY asleep, iykwim. I just float around, quasi-conscious, now and then dreaming but often just halfway under. It's not all the time any more but enough so that after a couple of days of it, I'm just fried.

Suggestions welcome.

[woo me with science]

1. Are you napping during the day to catch up?

Or otherwise disrupting a normal sleep schedule? If you are, you may be contributing to the "half-sleep" you are experiencing.

It might help to do what a lot of people do for regular insomnia. Don't fight it. If you wake up in the middle of the night, read a book or do something quiet, rather than lying there half-asleep or obsessing on the fact that you are not sleeping.

However, don't let yourself sleep in late the next day. Don't allow yourself to nap the next day. Don't go to bed again until it is bedtime. Set a quiet routine before bed to help you calm down.

Repeat. Again don't fight not sleeping. Read or do something quietly if you wake up, but make yourself get up at your usual time. Don't let yourself sleep in or nap during the day at all.

Then go to bed at your usual time again.

You may be miserable and sleep-deprived for a few days, but eventually your body will get the message, and you will be tired enough to sleep through the night.

This has worked for every insomniac I know who has ever tried it.

[nolabear]

8. Thanks. I never nap and do have a regular sleep/wake cycle

But I do lie there half asleep. Maybe actually reading or doing something would help. I'll give it a go.

[Quantess]

2. Dry toast makes me sleepy.

Or crackers, a handful of cheerios, etc.

[skygazer]

3. Try taking a long bath before you go to bed

This often works for me.

[JNelson6563]

4. I'm going through similar stuff.

Obviously one answer it to get as much physical activity as you can. Also, make sure you have a good, long day. Get up early, go as much as you can through the day and when you feel drowsy in the evening, go to bed! So what if it may be early, grab what good sleep you can when your body gets the urge and know this will pass, eventually.

There is an herb that can be helpful for relaxing and falling asleep, Valerian. A glass of red wine sipped slowly can cause drowsiness within an hour or two. Some say pot helps too. I know you said no drugs but I am mentioning things that come out of nature, so not sure if you will consider my suggestions as in the same league as pharmaceuticals.

Also, in as much as sleeplessness sucks, I actually prefer it to some other varieties of hell menopause can provide. Hot flashes through the night are horrible, I thought they were the worst thing ever until I experienced night sweats. I didn't wake up feeling hot as I did with the flashes. What woke me up was the drops of sweat rolling down. I'd wake up from the itch of it, thinking it was a bug of something, only to discover I was covered in sweat and my blankets and hair (just everything!) was drenched. I had to strip my bed every day for weeks, in spite of liberal and creative use of towels. It was truly horrifying. I was finally able to sleep deeply and this sweating thing kept waking me!

I am currently having a bit of a reprieve from menopausal symptoms. I have had them in cycles of varying lengths and symptoms. I only have pretty warm flashes these days but I know it could come back in full force (or perhaps with some fresh hell I've not had yet?) at anytime.

Good luck with the sleep thing. Hugs and encouragement to you! :hug:

Julie

[GoCubsGo]

5. Remifemin Good Night

It contains black cohosh for night sweats, and a blend of Valarian, hops and lemon balm for sleep. Regular Remifemin is just black cohosh.

http://www.enzymatictherapy.com/remifemin/


This company also puts out AM/PM formulas for peri-menopause and menopause. They contain other herbs and green tea extracts for a variety of other symptoms, like mood swings and fatigue. I found the peri-menopause formula to be very useful.

http://www.enzymatictherapy.com/Products/Womens-Health/Menopause.aspx

Most grocery stores and drug stores carry Remifemin, but you'll likely have to go to a health food store for the AM/PM formulas. The web site has a locator. These products are made in Germany, where they have been far ahead of us when it comes to using herbal products. The dosages are standardized, so unlike products produced here, they are guaranteed. They are a bit on the expensive side, but if you don't like feeling like hell all the time, they are worth it.

[nolabear]

12. Thanks. I tried black cohosh but might not have given it enough time.

[GoCubsGo]

20. It takes 3-4 weeks.

Also, if you used a brand that was made somewhere other than Germany or Switzerland, there's a chance the dosage was not what is on the label. Here in the US, there are no good regulations for herbal remedies. The dosage might be more or less than what is on the label. The Europeans are light years ahead of us on herbal medicine, including accurate manufacturing of medications.

[nolabear]

11. Thanks Julie. Yea, I have that on-and-off thing too.

Only have hot flashes at night, though those are not so awful if I can sleep in between. The term doesn't begin to describe the experience, though.

Your suggestions are good ones. I haven't trued Valerian (I have some others you mentioned but they only last for a while, not all night). Worth a look into Valerian.

[madamesilverspurs]

23. Please, please, PLEASE

do some research before using any herbal remedy. Some have possible side effects (like blood clots) that need to be considered. Been there, done that!

As for the sleeplessness that started during menopause, I had a sleep study that revealed apnea. First night on the CPAP I only woke once, and that was after six hours. I almost cried with relief.

Good luck to you, this phase of womanhood is no fun!

---

[alfredo]

6. A tablespoon of honey will up your serotonin, relax you and help you sleep.

You can put it in a bit of warm milk. The calcium in the milk will also relax you.

[WannaBeGrumpy]

7. Stare at water for hours while nobody drowns.

works for me.
Gawd, I hate being a lifeguard.

[nolabear]

13. *snort!* Are you a Duke lifeguard?

If so, howdy. I worked there for years.

[WannaBeGrumpy]

17. Nah. I happen to be a lifeguard for Cedar Fair..

at Castaway Bay in Sandusky OH. It's just my winter job until I go back to running rides at Cedar Point. Most boring job ever.

[jobycom]

9. Learn to enjoy being awake?

That's all I got, I've had insomnia for so long that for several hours a day I'm not completely awake or asleep, and when I lay down at night there are times where I'm aware that I'm asleep. I haven't found anything that helps for more than once or twice when I first try it. Unless I have the flu and can take Nyquil. :)

Probably not healthy.

[Sanity Claws]

10. Some lifestyle changes

It won't help to get you to sleep tonight but you should see a difference shortly.

1. eliminate coffee
2. exercise -- at least a walk in the evening but not too late
3. chamomile tea
4. avoid tv and computer use in the evening (lights will keep you awake)
5. try taking a magnesium and calcium supplement an hour or so before bedtime.


Let us know what you decide to do.

[nolabear]

15. Magnesium and calcium? I'll look into it.

And if anything makes me sleep like a baby I'll report back.

[Bucky]

14. .

repeat until drowsy ==> :banghead:

[jmowreader]

16. Masturbation

Seriously. Go in the bedroom and masturbate to orgasm. When you come, all that energy will release in one big POOF, and you'll go right to sleep.

[MiddleFingerMom]

24. For insomnia, I always suggest "sleeping" with me.

.
Thirty seconds or so of lovemaking with me is all it takes to have you sound asleep.
.
I don't like to brag or anything but, yes... I am that studly and/or boring in bed.
.
It's a gift.
.

.

[nolabear]

26. Hah! You remind me of the old Richard Pryor routine where he's singing

"I'm Macho Man! I f***ed her ass to sleep; I'm Macho Man!" (I can't believe I'm self-censoring. Even now, and though I can cuss like a sailor, I apparently think my dead father can whap me one).

[MiddleFingerMom]

28. Obviously (from your "whap paranoia"),...

.
...the masturbation suggestion is out.
.
Reading Shakespeare would be my next best solution.
.
Always... ALWAYS worked for me.
.

.

[rcrush]

18. Sorry all my suggestions involve drugs.

[Blue-Jay]

19. Read GD.

That usually makes me tired.

[NNadir]

21. I have been a chronic insomniac my whole life. The bright side is that I got

a lot of reading done.

The sucky side is that I'm often tired in mid day.

Reading works best for me. Sex often works too, but it's not like I can wake my wife at 1:00 a.m. and say "Honey, can you help me sleep?"

I have been taking Ambien for many years, but it doesn't always work and it is habit forming. I don't take it generally on weekends, but stay up until I fall asleep, which generally happens before day light, but not always. If I miss Friday night's sleep, I'm OK to sleep on Saturday night and may sleep as much as 8 hours.

I seem to average about 4 to 5 hours a night. Some insomniacs are happy about that sort of thing, but I'm not among them.

I do drink coffee, but I try to be sure to never have it or any other caffinated drink after 10 a.m.

[cherokeeprogressive]

22. I was taught this in Navy bootcamp, and it's always worked for me...

Lay flat on your back, with your hands at your sides. Try to clear your mind. A good way to do that is to concentrate on what you're going to do next.

Breathe slowly... three seconds in, three seconds out.

Imagine you're a ping-pong ball, rising and sinking inside of a cylinder, in time with your breathing. Three seconds to the top, three seconds to the bottom. Do that for a couple of minutes.

Next, imagine letting go of your toes. Just let them relax. Feeeeel them relaxing. Just let all tension go from them.

Ankles next. Feeeel them relaxing.

Work your way up your body, muscle by muscle, doing the same thing. If your powers of concentration are good enough, and you can shut off your mind and shut everything else out, it's a guaranteed way to go to sleep.

It's NEVER failed for me. I can go to sleep anywhere, anytime, no matter what's going on around me.

[nolabear]

25. Why, thank you very mzzzzzzz........

[marzipanni]

30. That sounds good, I think I'll try that in a few minutes.

I usually do relax a lot faster before falling asleep if I stretch my toes apart and flex my feet like cats and dogs do when they stretch their whole selves.

[LynzM]

27. Magnesium citrate

About 20 minutes before bed. And Peace Tea from the Algonquin Tea co. Not sure if you consider those "drugs", but they're what work for me. :hug:

[Swede]

29. I go watch tv on the couch in the living room.

I don't last 15 minutes and it's zzzzzzzzzzzz. Not sure why it works,but it does.