I can't fall asleep - I wish for more than 4 hours of sleep a night.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

I have been suffering really bad insomnia for the past month now. I can't fall asleep at all. I am physically and mentally tired but something will not let me fall asleep. I feeling the symptoms of what this is doing to my body and I have never been this afraid before. I need some tips on sleep relaxation. I sleep but I fall asleep as soon as I get home from work and then I wake up at around 9:30pm and then I fight going back to sleep from there. I am going to move my tv and computer out of my bed room because there is just too much stimuli around. I have to sleep with cool air blowing so I cut my fan on.

I think I might have to cut back on the DU for a while because this election has hit me like a magnet - all I want is to read as much info as possible in fear that I could miss something.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz oh yeah any tips will be very helpful.

[I Have A Dream]

1. I haven't used this product, but I have used the regular Rescue Remedy...

Bach Rescue Remedy Sleep:

http://www.bachflower.com/RescueSleep.htm


I have been using Tylenol PM. That works for me. However, taking Tylenol long-term is not a good idea.

Some people swear by melatonin, but I haven't tried it myself.

I hope that things get better for you soon. I've been in your shoes before. :(

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

3. Tylenol PM messes me up.

It actually makes me irritable. The only headache or pain reliever that I can take are Goody or BC Powders.

[JanusAscending]

4. Hi !!

I can back you up on the Melatonin!! One 3 mg tablet isn't enough for me tho'. I take two and they worked fine until I developed "anxiety symptoms"(laying awake and worrying all night) It was affecting my health too, so my Dr. prescribed a mild sedative called Xanax. I take 0.5MG at night before bed, along with one Melatonin, and this works fine. Getting the TV out of my bedroom helped too!! Now I have wonderful long dreams, instead of nightmares about Sarah when I'd fall asleep on the couch listening to the news !!!:banghead:

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

14. I bought the Rescue Remedy Sleep

for my husband, and he has told me it really works, especially on nights when thoughts keep running 'round in his head.

[Delphinus]

2. Hi CarolinaPeridot,

I feel for you!

Have you tried any of the B vitamins? I've read they are essential to sleeping well.

There's also melatonin - this did not work for me, but has been a lifesaver for many.

If you are into homeopathy, you could try Ignatia Imara (if I remember the name right).

Definitely declutter your bedroom to just the bed - no computers or TV!

I see you're female - could it possibly be hormone-related?

Good luck!

[Shallah Kali]

18. B vitamins should be taken early in your day, in the evening it hypes some people up

I made the mistake of trying a sublingual b after dinner only taking 4 drops instead of the full teapsoon and asked my Mom to try it as well. We were both wried until it was past 4 am :bounce:

melatonin helps me but I can't take more than 1mg or I am hung over. It used to be I had to take 3mg and it didn't hang me over but my system keeps changing.

[marions ghost]

27. same here I'm sensitive to B

Good advice to take B vitamins only earlier in the day when you can dissipate the extra energy. I also break them in half and take 2 halves twice a day instead of one big jolt.

[MikeE]

5. Chamomile works for me

but if you have pain, I like California poppy to either smoke or have in a tea. It's not addictive and really relaxes you.

[all.of.me]

6. How old are you?

I am 54, post-menopausal, and sleep is elusive. I feel blessed if I can sleep from 10-6.

A lot of the trouble has been my adrenals. They are toast! When I work on them, I feel so much better - eating, sleeping, more energy, happier.

I, too, have to force myself off DU at night. There is so much happening, you can barely keep up! Then I go to bed all wired and awake, but exhausted at the same time. I look forward to the election being over...

When I wake up in the night and toss around, I just get out of bed. It's so much more productive and relaxing to get up and take care of business not done the day before, or just read. I make something light to eat and drink tea. I find it more tiring to lay in bed and stress about how little sleep I am getting!

I take Tylenol and sometimes Ignatia, two things mentioned here. My naturopath also gave me Adrena-calm to regulate seratonin, which helps me stay asleep, but makes me a little dopey the next day.

Hope that helps!

[VeraAgnes]

7. Try over the counter

benadryl. I took this when I was pregnant as prescribed by my doctor ...so it's safe.

[I Have A Dream]

8. I think that this might be the sleep agent in Tylenol PM. nt

[VeraAgnes]

15. Benadryl is in Tylenol PM.

good luck....Maybe a good bottle of Pino Noir will help. O8)

[Flying Dream Blues]

9. Another person for Melatonin...but be sure to use the time release kind.

It works like a charm...I no longer have trouble going to sleep, and even better, i don't wake up in the middle of the night any more. It's been a lifesaver, and it also doesn't make me groggy. Good luck and good sleeping!
:hug:

[rosesaylavee]

10. Not sure how old you are but

I am middle aged and melantonin levels do start to drop as we get older. I have found 2 3mgs of melantonin to help when I start experiencing waking up in the middle of the night. I take it every night for about a week at a time and then lay off it until it happens again.

A good calcium supplement (not tums!) can also calm your system before you go to bed.

And, somehow, a bowl of cereal and milk puts me right to sleep some nights. All those carbs and milk just does it for some reason.

And, do you meditate? or have you ever used self-hypnosis? There are tapes available that will help you relax muscles you don't know you are tensing when in bed.

Hope some of these suggestions help - insomnia runs in my family and I have memories of my older relatives staying up at night listening to all night radio talk shows. I understand all too well how that can happen.

[Ilsa]

11. Also, add some exercise during the day.

Are you in peri-menopause? I was awake after 4 hours sleep way back then.

Avoid that nap so late in the day, too.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

12. I am only 28 years old. And I worry about that...

I think I need more excercise. No I KNOW I need more excercise.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

13. Rescue Remedy Sleep

it's a new product and comes in a spray form. Has white chestnut and other essences that help calm thoughts that keep going and going and going.

Melatonin is also great for helping people get to sleep. Douglas Labs has a new formula called "Best Rest" that we stock at the Foundation (our President has insomnia a lot and has used all of these things with some success.)

I would suggest started with Rescue Remedy Sleep or, if you can't find it, using White Chestnut Flower Essence.

[WhiteTara]

16. have you tried Valerian?

Great stuff. It is the root herb of valium. No hangover, no dependency, no overdose. Take it 30 minutes or less before you go to bed. Don't try to fight it, cause it isn't a drug that will over power you. It is a safe and easy way to go to sleep.

When I was traveling a lot, I couldn't sleep because of all the time zone changes. It saved my life!

Rest well

[southerncrone]

17. I have recently tried melatonin on the advice of a friend for my insomnia.

Here's what's helping me:

Chamomile tea
Melatonin (the one I take also has B6 in it to help w/nerves)
Valerian (stinks, but works! Don't take for long periods) I alternate it after about a week with
Kava Kava

I confess, DU will rob you of sleep. The old saying that "ignorance is bliss" is true!


I personally believe the entire nation is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, not from 9/11, but from what has happened to our nation since 9/11! We are all subconsciously depressed.
We either can't sleep, or are on mind-altering antidepressants to deal w/it all!

[Shallah Kali]

19. Shield yourself and your bed room before sleep

If you can use smudge or inscence cleanse it once a week until this settles down. Ground before going to bed and ask your Higher Power to bless the space and balance and heal anything out of wack in your home and the land it is on. If you are comfortable with this ask the guardians of the directions (I ask the Archangels but other Lightbeings can be invited instead) to surround your room just before you sleep. North,East,south,west, above, below, and center ask them to block anything harmful from entering. if you are empathic or other energy sensitive and am picking up other people's energy (and a lot is released as people sleep and dream) this will seal it out. I have used this many times when I couldnt sleep to save my soul and would instantly conk out after asking the archangel of the Center for protection. In the morning thank the lightbeings and release the circle of protection. I have forgoteen many times to close in the morning but they always forgive me and help when I ask all the same.

I have been having trouble sleeping lately too and my Mom who always sleeps like a rock is having a funky time as well. Luckily for her a cup of Tension Tamer tea is now making her sleep like a baby. Me I am using valerian and asking the Angels for shielding as I can't shield worth a darn right now.

I know what you are saying about getting sucked into the election drama. I have to keep disconnecting. Part is me avoiding some stuff going on in my family has me wound up and the rest is just getting sucked in. The fear is addictive in a way. yuk. I think it is time for me to send healing into that part of me that is hooked in along with my Amygdala. If you do Reiki use Raku (the lightening bolt symbol) to assist in seperating your energy form this group fear thoughtform, your computer, and anything else you are getting sucked into instead of being able to relax and sleep. If youare not attuned you can if you wish mentally visulizing cutting any connection to the sources of agitation or even get an actual pair of scissors out and cutting the energy connection that way.

Oh one more thing I remembered - this is not specific to sleep trouble but when out of sorts it maybe useful to balance the right and left sides of the brain. simply draw iwth your finger a figure eight looping from one side of your forehead to the other several times. Then if you want do the same specifically for the amygdala as it too has right and left segments.

[Shallah Kali]

20. Affirmation 'I, insert name, gently release all responsabilities that are not truly my own'

Another I personally find useful "I, insert name, gently release all that does not serve"

I like to say 3 times one each for mind, body, & spirit levels. another thing I got this from the book Ask your Angels is to ask one's guardian angel to wrap you in their wings. That can make me feel like when I was a wee one all tucked in tight by my Mom and Dad w/my favorite blanket which was proof against the monsters under the bed :P

Another thing - breath Light (color(s) of your hoice) into the agitated areas or into everything and exhale the yuk. I like to picture the negativity I exhale transforming into positive energy as I breathe out usually using the image of the gross colored energy transforming into bright beautiful butterflys that then fly off to give the now positive energy to people who need it including me.

[tigervalentine]

21. 5HTP

(a precursor of tryptophan), combined with melatonin, works quite well

[cate94]

22. a few suggestions that might help...

Don't allow yourself to go to sleep immediately upon returning from work, no matter how tired you are. Wait until at least 9:30. Do not tell yourself that you can't fall asleep. It is a self fulfilling prophecy.

If you wake up in the middle of the night and begin to get anxious, do deep breathing exercises. You can use Shallahs method, or if you can't remember just count good breath in 1,2,3,4,5 old air out 1,2,3,4,5,6. Yes, the count for old air is higher than the intake. But the actual number for your deep breathing will be higher, this is from an mid age ex smoker, :) Visualize light filling your body while you breathe.

If after some time has passed and you still aren't sleeping, you can tense your muscles, one group at a time. Starting with your toes, clench while you breath in and release as you breathe out. Feet, clench while you breathe in, release as you breathe out. Calves, thighs, butt, abs, back, chest, hands, forearms, biceps, triceps, neck and even your face and head. If you are awake, start over again at your toes. When thoughts enter your mind, gently push them out, be present with your body and how relaxed you are getting. As you feel yourself becoming more relaxed you can visualize your favorite place, the details, the way you felt there...

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

23. UPDATE: I just wanted to ...

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for the advice they have given me. There is indeed too much energy around me. I have decided to let my bed room be for sleeping only and to move my television and computer into the living room. I think I can keep the energy balanced better if I do that.

[Dora]

24. The long nap when you get home also has something to do with it.

You're on the right track by taking the TV and computer out of your bedroom.

I'd like to suggest that when you return home in the evening, stay awake until a reasonable bedtime. Your four-hour nap is interfering with getting adequate sleep later in the evening. The optimal amount of sleep we need varies from person to person. I'm a 7-8 hour sleeper, so I have to be in bed by 10:00 or 11:00 at night in order to have adequate sleep by 6:00 the next morning.

Also, sleep patterns change as we age. In our late teens, early twenties, our body clocks are geared to be UP UP UP until the wee hours of the morning. That moves back as we approach thirty. However, if we're used to hitting the pillow at 1:00 a.m. it's difficult to recognize that our body is telling us to GO TO BED at 10:00.

I heard somewhere recently that it takes 21 days to make/break a habit. So, for 21 days I suggest you 1) skip naps after work. If you must nap, limit it to 20 minutes; 2) go to bed at 10:00 or earlier; and 3) turn off the television and computer, and dim your lighting 30 minutes before bedtime in order to give your brain time to slow down and digest the day.

Sweet dreams....

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

25. Thank you Dora!

I am actually going to start walking every day when I give off from work. I normally sleep and the stress away but that's just making me gain weight and I can barely fit my clothes. And I need some air.

[WhiteTara]

26. good plan

and 450 thread count sheets are great too!

[midnight]

28. CP I have been thinking about ways to suggest a good nights

rest. And while it is a gradual suggestion, I hope it might help. How about meditating and letting your mind slow down gently. I will keep you in my prayers. Rest well tonight.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

29. Thank you.

I am up tonight because I just took some headache medicine. I don't feel good and that's making me afraid to sleep but I will be fine :)