Insomnia...

[Ihateyoumike]

Does anyone else have this problem? It's been getting worse for me lately, I just have the hardest time sleeping.
Any advice on how to overcome insomnia? I'd like to do it without drugs... sometimes I'll take some tylenol pm or nyquil to help me get to sleep, but I really don't want to become dependent on them.
On the positive side, it's giving me some extra reading time.  

[joeactor]

Well, I'm not sure I have insomnia, per se... but I have inherited a "low need for sleep" from my Mom.

7 hours is a full night for me, but lately it's been good to get 5-6 hours.
Mom slept about 4 per night, with a nap later in the day.  I'm moving in that direction.

I hear ya on the drugs - I avoid them where possible.
So, what I should be doing is some of the following:
 * listen to a relaxation tape (guided imagery works best for me)
 * some light stretching to ease any muscular tension
 * reading or other relaxing activity

You may also find that keeping a regular schedule helps (yes, even on weekends)
The "body clock" is very sensetive to wake/sleep times.  I get up at the same time every day, and try not to take naps after 4pm.  This seems to help as well...

Could also be stress - anything stressful going on? (ya know, aside from the crumbling economy).

Heck, you could always try prayer!
(ok, so maybe meditation is a better word here ;-)

Hope this helps a bit - I need a nap,
JoeActor

[VanReal]

Yes!  I often don't even know what time it is when I get "sleepy" and will look to find I have to "wake up" for work in four hours, argghh.  I find that I generally have a hard time getting to sleep because of thinking to much, not necessarily about anything stressful or causing an issue for me, just the old racing mind.  (Of course I'm bipolar and ADD so my daily meds also cause an issue.)

I used to do Lunesta but tired of having to turn in so early and then feeling drowsy the next day.

If you want to try something natural that may help I moved to Melatonin, which doesn't have any of the uneeded extras like Tylenol PM, and none of the drowsy side effects of precription meds.  Be careful though because the FDA does not regulate Melatonin so some cheap-o brands have been found to actually contain none.  GNC makes a good one, in 1, 3, and 5 and you can take up to 10 in a day.  I do fine with the 5, it helps me relax a bit naturally enough to get to sleep, and if I don't get the 8 to 10 hours that's fine, I feel good the next day.

I have a guy friend that does a lot of stretching before calling it a night, he says it winds him down physically and mentally, kind of how the morning stretches make you feel so comfy and ready to go for another couple hours of snoozing.  I keep thinking about one of those little night-time yoga sessions but just can't get motivated because I'm too tired  

[Tom62]

I'm also suffering from insomnia. I've always been a very light sleeper. Can't fall in sleep easily and wake up immediately when I hear some noises. Some of it is caused by the absence of my wife, I really miss her and when she's around I sleep much better, but it is also caused by work related stress and bad sleep hygiene from my part, like working late in the evening on my computer, just before going to bed. I don't use drugs to make me fall asleep. When I really have problems falling asleep, because my mind is overactive then I read a couple of chapters from a book, take a warm shower and switch on my "sleep machine". The "sleep machine" is a sound machine that generates white noise or soothing wave sounds that makes it easier for me to fall and stay asleep. Here is an interesting article about them http://www.soundmachinereview.com/Articles.html. For me it works like a dream and it surely beats taking medication.

[curiosityandthecat]

[youtube:rsrsnod7]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siXe9XC723s[/youtube:rsrsnod7]

You could always take a third-shift job at a convenience store...

[Tanker]

I find that if you stay up for a few days strait you can't help but pass out.

I don't what to say that would help I have a great deal of trouble falling asleep, but no trouble staying that way when I do.

(I really do stay awake for a couple days strait though)

[pedricero matao]

Well I hope I might be a bit helpful here:

Frequently I have trouble getting to sleep. Normally is because there are a lot of thoughts that keep bumping into my mind, and keep turning in the bed till it's really uncomfortable (and in summer, where it's like 35ºC, about 90ºF, it's a bit oppressing).

What I do is try to be really exhausted when I go to bed, having exercised before. Then I fall asleep as lie (or lay?) on the bed and get a decent dream. I mean, REALLY tired, like having worked then going to class and then training or doing some serious exercise, or in a day off going climbing for all the day. This is also good for your health you know, and makes your life happier, "mens sana in corpore sano". Also it's good to have a frugal dinner, as we say here, "Have breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar".
Maybe this doesn't help for someone with serious insomnia (in which case I'd suggest going to the doctor), butit might be useful for some.
I also read somewhere, don't remember where, that it's not good to lay awake in your bed and it's better to go somewhere else and do things. Being awake in bed makes you and worry about not sleeping "damn it's now 3 AM and i have to get up in 3 hours" and it doesn't really help to get to sleep.

Good luck!

[Mister Joy]

Maybe this doesn't help for someone with serious insomnia (in which case I'd suggest going to the doctor)

Sleep is a very specialist area and if, in the States, it's anything like over here, seeing a specialist is very hard. Typically, when I go to a GP, it'll transpire that I know more about sleep and sleeping problems than they do. You'll get things like "It's not my area," "it isn't something they conventionally teach us to handle" etc. All they'll be able to tell you is that you have insomnia, they won't be more specific than that or try to pin down a cuase beyond the usual trivial things that can result in mild, acute insomnia (so if your insomnia is chronic and you've had it all your life then this advice is meaningless). Then they'll try to have you go away with a prescription for temazepam or zopiclone or whatever. I've even had doctors suggesting homeopathy to me. They'll tell you any old crap if they think it'll make you go away and talk to someone else.

Yet, every time I've asked to be referred to a specialist, I've been told one of two things:
1) they don't know any specialists
or
2) that the specialists they're aware of tend only to accept patients who have been bounced around a lot of drugs for a long time. Now I've been bounced around a great number of drugs for several years, as far as I'm aware. So the impression I get is that you have to have been a junkie for more than half of your life with a shrivelled prune for a brain before they'll consider your case serious enough to refer you to anyone who knows even a little about what they're doing.

Anyhoo, I can tell you everything that the doctors will:

- don't smoke too close to bed time (better yet, don't smoke)
- try to get plenty of sun and spend time outside during the day. Your natural body clock is largely influenced by how much sunlight enters your eyes, hence blind people often have serious sleeping trouble because they lose that 24 hour rhythm.
- exercise, again.
- This is something that no doctor has ever mentioned to me: Bananas + milk + honey in a blender makes for a nice smoothie. Bananas and milk contain triptophan which helps to maintain a calm mind. But don't eat bananas immediately before you go to bed; just try to eat them regularly in the day.
- Try to get up and go to bed at the same time every day, even if you're not tired yet or too tired to get up. Try to lock your body into a routine.
- The internet isn't a great source for advice.  Basically, there are few sleep specialists out there and a lot of desperate people with sleeping problems. Consequently, when it comes to insomnia, you'll encounter wave upon wave of scammers selling junk science solutions, taking advantage of the heavy demand.
- spend less time at the computer. I don't know why but avoiding screens does help.
- eat healthily, in general.
- be happy. Often insomnia is caused by other problems such as depression. In which case you should think about sorting that out.

These are incredibly general things though. Insomnia is veery vague and could manifest in different ways for different reasons. So just experiment and see. I find it helps me if I don't sleep in the same bed every night. I'll change which end the pillow is on, or I'll sleep on the sofa, or in a sleeping bag on the floor and swap around every night. I also find it easier to sleep when there's a little noise; stuff going on outside or people moving about the house. I never have trouble sleeping when I'm staying in a hotel, for instance. Though I think that's a personal ideosinchrasy.

[Whitney]

I use to have problems with falling asleep at a 'normal' time till my mom suggested trying taking Melatonin about an hour before I needed to be able to fall asleep.  It worked the first time and after a couple weeks of taking it I no longer had to take it and was getting tired about the time I needed to be able to go to bed in order to wake up for work.  My body's idea of  bed time had basically been screwed up from too many all nighters trying to finish projects and apparently taking Melatonin helped to put my body back on the schedule I needed.  

From my understanding, Melatonin is non-habit forming and I personally did not feel any withdrawls when I stopped using it.  However, you do not want to overdose because it can put you in a coma.  My mom said you'd have to purposely try to overdose in order to cause any harm.  It can be found in the vitamin section of any drug store.  Another positive is it does not give you the hangover effect that many other over the counter sleep aids gave me.

I still have a bottle of it sitting around in case I need it but haven't had to take any for, I think, a year now.  Before doing this I was staying up too late then sleeping through my alarms in the morning.

[VanReal]

I use to have problems with falling asleep at a 'normal' time till my mom suggested trying taking Melatonin about an hour before I needed to be able to fall asleep.  It worked the first time and after a couple weeks of taking it I no longer had to take it and was getting tired about the time I needed to be able to go to bed in order to wake up for work.  My body's idea of  bed time had basically been screwed up from too many all nighters trying to finish projects and apparently taking Melatonin helped to put my body back on the schedule I needed.  

From my understanding, Melatonin is non-habit forming and I personally did not feel any withdrawls when I stopped using it.  However, you do not want to overdose because it can put you in a coma.  My mom said you'd have to purposely try to overdose in order to cause any harm.  It can be found in the vitamin section of any drug store.  Another positive is it does not give you the hangover effect that many other over the counter sleep aids gave me.

I still have a bottle of it sitting around in case I need it but haven't had to take any for, I think, a year now.  Before doing this I was staying up too late then sleeping through my alarms in the morning.

This is great advice and is not habit forming because Melatonin is what naturally helps you sleep.  Just be ware that it's not regulated so many cheaper brands actually do not contain any.  GNC has it in doses of 1,3, and 5 and you can safely take up to 10 in a day.  My shrinker recommended it when I wanted to forgoe the Lunesta/Ambien and it works with no side effects, bu warned me of the above info to avoid taking a placebo in order to save a buck.

[LARA]

1. Take a hot shower before bed.  This will warm up your body temp and might help trick your body into sleep as it cools down.
2.  YAWN.  If it doesn't come naturally, fake it until it does.
3.  Control your breathing.  Take shallow breaths and let your muscles relax.
3.5 Pay attention to your sleeping position.  You may find that you can fall asleep better in a certain position.
13. Do math in your head.  Count by three's nines or add exponentially.  Imagine parabolic curves, triangles, octagons and then make them 3-D.
4.  Read turgid prose from a book.  I would suggest upper level science journals or literary criticism.
5. Turn down the lights an hour before you sleep.
6.  Keep a regular bedtime.
7.  Set your alarm and get up at the same time each day.
8.  Avoid caffeine, nicotine or any other stimulant 4-6 hours before bedtime.
9.  Get adequate medical care.  If you have some sort of underlying physical issues they might be affecting your sleep.
10. Turn off the T.V. before you go to bed.
11.  Wear earplugs if you are sensitive to sound.
12.  Keep the temperature in your room at a comfortable zone.  You decide the comfortable zone.

[cynthiak]

I know this personally. I've suffered from insomnia, if the above tips to avoid sleep problems do not work for you, then it might be something serious. Do not hesitate to contact a doctor about it. The sooner the problem is diagnosed, the sooner the treatment can be administered.