Insomnia is driving me crazy

[Drtgirl]

I start work at 7am and find it hard to get more than 6-7 hours of sleep a night (between working out, dinner, errands, etc.). Over the past couple weeks I have not been able to sleep and it came to a head last weekend when I only got in a couple hours over 3 days. I broke down and bought some over the counter sleep aid and it's not helping. I am extremely tired but simply cannot fall asleep...I even had to skip my MTB race last weekend because I was just too tired

I'd like to try some alternative remedies before getting an Rx from the doc. Any ideas?

[Chicken Little]

Ugh, and you have my sympathy. Well, a recent study showed that prescription sleep aids cause people to fall asleep 10 minutes earlier than non-medicated people, they really aren't that effective.

Maybe start with simple stuff. Cut out all alcohol. No more allergy meds. Back off on the coffee. Is your room dark, quiet, and cool? Do you go to sleep then wake up, or can you not fall asleep in the first place?



Most 90 year old people only need 5 hours of sleep a night. Are you 90?

This can be tough to figure out.

[snapdragen]

There's Valerian -- it's an herb (the root actually) Warning though, it smells like dirty socks. I did find it helpful when I was going through some major insomnia.

[martinkap]

Seriously, how about some 420?

In Cali, it is official that marijuana is prescribed for insomnia. Here is a one interesting article from quick google search:

http://sleepdisorders.about.com/cs/m...maricanada.htm

Now, I am a work in Psychiatric Institute in Substance abuse department. If you try marijuana for a week, for instance have a joint before you go to sleep, you will not become drug addict. You will be less addicted than if you were drinking coffee in the morning. On the other hand, if you used marijuana as thrill and were seeking more and more, it would lead you consequently to other drugs. That is the biggest danger of marijuana. That sooner or later it is not enough for those who smoke it for a thrill.

Martina

P.S. Please, if your symptoms last longer, do not take the insomnia lightly. Often this is the only manifestation of something else happening in the body or in the brain. Please, do go to doctor!

[OakLeaf]

I know meditation is supposed to be a spiritual practice, not a sleep aid...

but when anxiety is keeping me awake, I find it very helpful to grab my prayer beads and use them to focus on a mantra. Usually I'll just slip off, and wake up in the morning with my beads in my hand.

Only I lost my prayer beads somewhere (probably on my second-to-last trip ) so now I'm using Mardi Gras-style beads. No, I did not get them that way. But don't tell the Buddha, anyway.

+1 on the valerian also, even more so in one of the combos with skullcap and hops. And excluding artificial light... but that's a double-edged sword when you live in a populated area, because it means excluding natural morning light too, which is even more important. Either way, it's very important that you get exposed to plenty of natural spectrum light during your waking hours. If your office doesn't have a window, ask for full-spectrum light bulbs (or buy and install them yourself). They made an ENORMOUS difference to my sleep quality when I was working in a windowless office.

[emily_in_nc]

Melatonin helps me, and it is a potent anti-oxidant as well. A friend of mine with breast cancer is prescribed it by her doc (in higher than OTC doses). I believe the prescription drug Rosarem (not sure if I spelled that right) is just a high dose of Melatonin. I take the 3mg size, and it really does seem to help me drift off to sleep faster, unless something is really bothering me.

I have a backup Rx of Ambien for those nights that I know I am not going to be able to fall asleep easily -- say, if I have something big coming up the next day that makes me anxious. Within 1/2 hour of taking one, I am in dreamland, but you definitely don't want to take them every night as you'll get horrible rebound insomnia.

Good luck -- I do feel your pain. Great sleep seems more and more elusive to me as I get older.

Emily

[tulip]

Yoga really relaxes me and I sleep really well after doing yoga.

[Pax]

I know meditation is supposed to be a spiritual practice, not a sleep aid...

but when anxiety is keeping me awake, I find it very helpful to grab my prayer beads and use them to focus on a mantra. Usually I'll just slip off, and wake up in the morning with my beads in my hand.

I've found meditating to be really helpful as well. I used to have horrible insomia, now I just relax and breathe through it.

Only I lost my prayer beads somewhere (probably on my second-to-last trip ) so now I'm using Mardi Gras-style beads. No, I did not get them that way. But don't tell the Buddha, anyway.

[Biker Jo]

There's Valerian -- it's an herb (the root actually) Warning though, it smells like dirty socks. I did find it helpful when I was going through some major insomnia.

I use Nature's Way Valerian Nighttime when I have trouble sleeping. It's odor-free.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

A little exercise and also stretching in the evening and then a hot shower helps some people, as does a glass of milk.
Caffeine can stay in your system for many hours and prevent you from falling asleep.
Getting up earlier in the morning can make people get sleepy earlier in the nighttime too.
Some people just don't need 8 hours of sleep on a regular basis, especially as they get older.

[SadieKate]

Great, Zen. Now you've memorialized my typo.

[mimitabby]

hold on! people are recommending Marijuana on here?? REALLY?
drugs are a bad idea because you develop tolerance and then you will need MORE drugs.

let's start from the beginning.

are you exercising near bed time?
drinking caffeinated beverages in the afternoon/ evening?
eating a big meal late?
do you have an evening routine that is conducive to rest?

like: take a hot bath, read a non-thrilling book.
no tv in the bedroom. no light in the bedroom (after you turn it off, I mean)

do you have pets bugging you? no pets in the room.
are noises keeping you awake? get a white noise generator (a fan works great, doesn't need to be on high or near you, just somewhere in the room)


and yes, we want to know your age.

Try these suggestions. I've always been a light sleeper, and the older i get the worse it gets, so these are things I have found that help.

[kelownagirl]

I start work at 7am and find it hard to get more than 6-7 hours of sleep a night (between working out, dinner, errands, etc.). Over the past couple weeks I have not been able to sleep and it came to a head last weekend when I only got in a couple hours over 3 days. I broke down and bought some over the counter sleep aid and it's not helping. I am extremely tired but simply cannot fall asleep...I even had to skip my MTB race last weekend because I was just too tired

I'd like to try some alternative remedies before getting an Rx from the doc. Any ideas?

This probably won't work for everyone but it does wonders for me. I download a bunch of podcasts or an audiobook on my ipod (must be talking - music keeps me awake) and sleep with my ipod under my pillow, one ear plug in my ear. At bedtime, I put on a podcast, start listening to it, and inevitably fall asleep.

I figured this out because I often fall asleep when I'm watching TV (although I wake up if the sound changes such as a loud commercial, or the TV gets turned off. )Obviously, I didn't want to have the TV on in my bedroom at night so I bought an ipod. I have to have some interest in what they're talking about because listening to it takes my mind of trying to fall asleep. It can't be TOO exciting or I stay awake listening. I find I usually listen for 5-10 minutes and then just drift off. My biggest problem is waking up in the middle of the night but now all I have to do is put on another podcast and I fall asleep easily. I prefer podcasts to audiobooks because they turn off as soon as they're finished.

If you sleep alone, you don't need to use the ear phone thingy.

[kiwi girl]

This probably won't work for everyone but it does wonders for me. I download a bunch of podcasts or an audiobook on my ipod (must be talking - music keeps me awake) and sleep with my ipod under my pillow, one ear plug in my ear. At bedtime, I put on a podcast, start listening to it, and inevitably fall asleep.

I have to have some interest in what they're talking about because listening to it takes my mind of trying to fall asleep. It can't be TOO exciting or I stay awake listening. I find I usually listen for 5-10 minutes and then just drift off. My biggest problem is waking up in the middle of the night but now all I have to do is put on another podcast and I fall asleep easily. I prefer podcasts to audiobooks because they turn off as soon as they're finished.

If you sleep alone, you don't need to use the ear phone thingy.

+ 1 on this. I subscribe to the New York Times audio digest and often listen to this - its about 50 minutes an episode. The only downside is that I am normally asleep by the sports and editorial sections which I am far far more interested in than the business section.

[teigyr]

5:20am wake-up IS a morning person to me

I am fortunate in that I can change shifts periodically. I am more of a "wake up later" kind of person. Right now I get off at 2am and wake up whenever I wake up...I don't start work until 3:30pm.

Back before I learned about Benadryl, I used to listen to CD's. Most of them were of a storytelling and more of a hypnotic variety.

Could be age, could be something going on in your life. Focusing on something other than not sleeping is always beneficial. Routines are good too.

Other than that, I went the rx route and wouldn't go back. My doctor says that lack of sleep is worse than a prescription and what is out there is getting better. I don't take it every day but when I have to, I do. The way I see it is it is better than taking unnecessary medications (such as drugstore sleep aid and pain reliever) or alcohol or whatever.

Then again, it's not like I know what I'm talking about I figure if I'm honest with myself and my doctor and I know what's normal for me and what's not (and I've always been kind of a strange sleep person), I can figure out what is best for whatever situation I'm in.