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Insomnia

PoS

PoS

Minister of Love
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OK, I have always been a night owl, but lately, its gone overboard. I cant seem to sleep until noontime no matter what Ive tried, then wake up four hours later and repeat the process. I'm always thinking about so many different things its hard to shut my brain off.

Ive been reading online articles that insomnia may be caused by anxiety, but I dont think that applies to me since I'm doing better than ever as far as work and family goes, so it must be something else. I dont drink coffee, so it isnt caffeine either. The only drugs I take is a multivitamin. I work out too and stay in shape and I dont drink during weekdays.

Ive also installed heavy blackout drapes in the master bedroom so I can block the light out completely if I need to sleep in, but it hasnt helped, it seems.

Any suggestions? :3oops:
 
If you're only taking a multivitamin I would recommend melatonin. Take one or two 45 minutes before bed and see if it helps. Most of my family swears by it.
 
MrPeanut said:
If you're only taking a multivitamin I would recommend melatonin. Take one or two 45 minutes before bed and see if it helps. Most of my family swears by it.
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He speaks truth, I use to have issues when I was younger because of part time night shift work, melatonin was a life saver.

Also watch your alcohol intake around sleep, that can really **** things up for the sleep you do get.

Exercise and diet can also be big sleep helpers but looks like you’re good there.
 
MrPeanut said:
If you're only taking a multivitamin I would recommend melatonin. Take one or two 45 minutes before bed and see if it helps. Most of my family swears by it.
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Hmm, now thats a great suggestion. Thanks! :mrgreen:
 
MrPeanut said:
If you're only taking a multivitamin I would recommend melatonin. Take one or two 45 minutes before bed and see if it helps. Most of my family swears by it.
Click to expand...

Absolutely...I was taking Benadryl to help me fall asleep until so much negative stuff came out about it affecting memory...I have enough problems with memory as it is...:2razz:...so I bought melatonin 10 mg...works like a charm, without that druggy, hangover feeling Benadryl gave me...
 
Don't fight it. Sleep when you sleep. Also, try listening to an audiobook, something philosophical and complex -- but not attached to your head; rather from a dvd player in the room.
 
It seems normal that people go to sleep for seven to nine hours (or at least we hope we can sleep that long), straight from evening to morning, but was that always the case? A recent book on the history of sleeping shows that during the Middle Ages people typically slept in two periods during the night.

Roger Ekirch’s book, At Day’s Close: Night in Times Past, reveals that until modern times, when artificial lighting allowed us to stay awake longer, most people would go to bed around sunset. The actual time spent sleeping was split into two phases – known as first sleep and second sleep.
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How did people sleep in the Middle Ages? - Medievalists.net

"Sleep We Have Lost"
Commentary
Roger Ekirch | Department of History


The myth of the eight-hour sleep
We often worry about lying awake in the middle of the night - but it could be good for you. A growing body of evidence from both science and history suggests that the eight-hour sleep may be unnatural.
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The myth of the eight-hour sleep - BBC News
 
A regular sleep schedule helped me. I always wind down at the same time. Always read before I got to bed. Careful it's not *too* good :)
Reading seems to take my mind off its own crazy racing...to follow along with the story. Once the story stops, I drift and I'm out.

I'm primed now and often don't even need to read. I do have trouble sleeping a long time though, but that's unrelated to falling asleep in my case.
 
I've always had periodic insomnia. Feel exhausted, lie down, will not sleep. Brain will not shut up. That or I wake up at 4-5am and that's that.




MrPeanut said:
If you're only taking a multivitamin I would recommend melatonin. Take one or two 45 minutes before bed and see if it helps. Most of my family swears by it.
Click to expand...

Do they take it long-term? That's generally not a good thing, do I did see something suggesting it's probably safe to take it for a 2-year period. But even then, get used to taking sleeping pills, and even without any sort of physical dependency it become harder to fall asleep without than it was before.




Also, since there are so many different sizes, 1-5mg melatonin.
 
Wife and I watch the same TV show every week night, Perry Mason. We have seen every episode several times and often fall asleep during the show, or right after.
But, not tonight...
 
Just a few ideas to try.

Have a set sleep schedule when possible.

I don't watch TV in bed or listen to music. I do use a standard box fan for white noise. It blocks most stray noises that might disturb you.

Alcohol can disrupt your sleep at times. Be careful with your drinking when having sleeping problems.

The melatonin suggestion is a good one. It works great for me!

Work hard to solve this issue because sleep is critical to a healthy you. Over time the loss of much needed sleep can cause many problems. Good luck!!
 
From a lifelong insomniac...

Try a magnesium/calcium supplement with that Melatonin. Look for one that has an equal amount of cal/mag ratio as possible.

Besides the blackout curtain (they help) and other positive sleeping habits, one of the biggest things people do to interrupt their natural sleep hygiene is to recognize bedtime as "think" time. I've had to use a few RX tranqs to try and stop this very habit. Once you've established that bedtime = sleep time, NOT think time, then you'll lay your head down and realize that those thoughts are for tomorrow.
 
Mr Person said:
I've always had periodic insomnia. Feel exhausted, lie down, will not sleep. Brain will not shut up. That or I wake up at 4-5am and that's that.






Do they take it long-term? That's generally not a good thing, do I did see something suggesting it's probably safe to take it for a 2-year period. But even then, get used to taking sleeping pills, and even without any sort of physical dependency it become harder to fall asleep without than it was before.




Also, since there are so many different sizes, 1-5mg melatonin.
Click to expand...

They aren't sleeping pills. I've been taking melatonin regularly for at least a year. It's possible that it would be harder to fall asleep now, if I stopped taking melatonin, than it was before I started taking it. All I can say is that I used to be tired every day and now I'm not tired. This isn't a prescribed drug so it may not work for really stubborn cases, but it does the trick for me.
 
Elvira said:
Absolutely...I was taking Benadryl to help me fall asleep until so much negative stuff came out about it affecting memory...I have enough problems with memory as it is...:2razz:...so I bought melatonin 10 mg...works like a charm, without that druggy, hangover feeling Benadryl gave me...
Click to expand...

ANything over 3MG is a waste from what I hear.
 
Elvira said:
I tried 5...didn't work...so I doubled it...
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5 works for me but I'll try more if it work better. I've quit it for a few days and there was no problem, so no addiction.
 
PoS said:
OK, I have always been a night owl, but lately, its gone overboard. I cant seem to sleep until noontime no matter what Ive tried, then wake up four hours later and repeat the process. I'm always thinking about so many different things its hard to shut my brain off.

Ive been reading online articles that insomnia may be caused by anxiety, but I dont think that applies to me since I'm doing better than ever as far as work and family goes, so it must be something else. I dont drink coffee, so it isnt caffeine either. The only drugs I take is a multivitamin. I work out too and stay in shape and I dont drink during weekdays.

Ive also installed heavy blackout drapes in the master bedroom so I can block the light out completely if I need to sleep in, but it hasnt helped, it seems.

Any suggestions? :3oops:
Click to expand...

I'm just going to assume you've heard all the usual stuff (melatonin, excercise, yoga, avoid alcohol, try to keep regular sleep schedule, etc. etc. etc.) and just fast forward to one of three ultimate possibilities/solutions:

1)Your clock is set to being awake at night, and that's just the end of that.
2)You need to take sleep pills on a nonregular basis to catch up on sleep debt. This is, of course, a risky path since there isn't a sleeping pill solution that isn't highly addicting.
3)Your issue is psychological (stress) and you need to talk to someone.

That's all I've got.
 
MrPeanut said:
They aren't sleeping pills. I've been taking melatonin regularly for at least a year. It's possible that it would be harder to fall asleep now, if I stopped taking melatonin, than it was before I started taking it. All I can say is that I used to be tired every day and now I'm not tired. This isn't a prescribed drug so it may not work for really stubborn cases, but it does the trick for me.
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Melatonin? Well, not explicitly but it is sold to aid with sleep. Melatonin is the hormone that regulates the sleep cycle. Typically, your body will begin suppressing natural production if you take a given hormone, particularly if it's more than your body usually produces (and melatonin pills sold for sleep typically are more than you would naturally release). It's actually really great for resetting a sleep cycle when you've got jet lag.

I try alternating what I use so I don't get to used to any one thing. Unfortunately, there aren't many options.

OTC sleeping pills are just antihistamines, either diphenhydramine or doxylamine succinate.

There is one "herbal supplement" that actually seems to do something: valerian root. But it's short acting.
 
RAMOSS said:
ANything over 3MG is a waste from what I hear.
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The effect isn't stronger but drowsiness may last longer.

(Of course, the better idea is to use long-release melatonin, not a whopping big dose of instant-release)
 
PoS said:
OK, I have always been a night owl, but lately, its gone overboard. I cant seem to sleep until noontime no matter what Ive tried, then wake up four hours later and repeat the process. I'm always thinking about so many different things its hard to shut my brain off.

Ive been reading online articles that insomnia may be caused by anxiety, but I dont think that applies to me since I'm doing better than ever as far as work and family goes, so it must be something else. I dont drink coffee, so it isnt caffeine either. The only drugs I take is a multivitamin. I work out too and stay in shape and I dont drink during weekdays.

Ive also installed heavy blackout drapes in the master bedroom so I can block the light out completely if I need to sleep in, but it hasnt helped, it seems.

Any suggestions? :3oops:
Click to expand...

I wish I could help you, but I turn on the TV anytime day or night, and I'm asleep in ten minutes. If there's something I really want to watch, I drink two cups of coffee and hope for the best. Doesn't always work. We're at opposite ends of the sleep spectrum.
 
Explore the function of your Pineal Gland for a non-drug assist.
 
I guess nobody mentioned this, but blue light; LED's mainly. Like your TV, computer screen, LED home lighting and now even street lights, can really mess with your normal sleep cycle. Blue light shuts down melatonin production. Incandescent lights, the old fashioned and now illegal ones, are a yellow light close to natural sunlight; they are OK. The industry is aware of the blue light problem. Windows 10 has Night Light, where you can set your screen to a warmer glow for whatever hours you choose. I set mine at 8pm to 7am. My IPad also has a night light program. Try to tone down the blue light exposure around you a least a few hours before you want to sleep. I have several incandescent bulbs that we use after 8pm. So we shut down the LED's.
 
PoS said:
OK, I have always been a night owl, but lately, its gone overboard. I cant seem to sleep until noontime no matter what Ive tried, then wake up four hours later and repeat the process. I'm always thinking about so many different things its hard to shut my brain off.

Ive been reading online articles that insomnia may be caused by anxiety, but I dont think that applies to me since I'm doing better than ever as far as work and family goes, so it must be something else. I dont drink coffee, so it isnt caffeine either. The only drugs I take is a multivitamin. I work out too and stay in shape and I dont drink during weekdays.

Ive also installed heavy blackout drapes in the master bedroom so I can block the light out completely if I need to sleep in, but it hasnt helped, it seems.

Any suggestions? :3oops:
Click to expand...

Have you had any improvement? Not sure if they have CBD Oil in Oceania, but my neighbor loves it. Not sure how much she takes ( I will ask if you like).
 
Lovebug said:
Have you had any improvement? Not sure if they have CBD Oil in Oceania, but my neighbor loves it. Not sure how much she takes ( I will ask if you like).
Click to expand...

Oh Im great now, thanks for asking. Mr Peanut solved my problem when he suggested melatonin. I take a pill an hour before bedtime and its worked wonders. The only problem now is I think I cant sleep without it lol.
 
PoS said:
Oh Im great now, thanks for asking. Mr Peanut solved my problem when he suggested melatonin. I take a pill an hour before bedtime and its worked wonders. The only problem now is I think I cant sleep without it lol.
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I'm surprised I didn't get involved in this conversation. Melatonin is my best friend. I've had problems with sleeping for probably the last 7 or 8 years. My doctors have tried me on every sleeping medication they can find, and nothing worked. A friend suggested Melatonin. They were like, "It's so cheap, and you don't need a scrip for it, even." I rolled my eyes, thinking, "Yeah, that'll work wonders for me." Tried it, and it actually did. I take 10mg a night now, and sleep like a baby. Have been on it religiously for about 5 years.
 
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