Ahhhhh to sleep...

[thekarens]

My partner uses it and swears by it. Doesn't do a thing for me.

[solobiker]

I have had bad insomnia for many years so I feel for you. The other night I did not get even 1 minute of sleep...ugh. I have tried melatonin without much luck. My Dr also had me try ambien which did not work either. I hope you find something that works. Good luck.

[PamNY]

I use melatonin occasionally and find it helpful. Yoga is helpful, but as others have pointed out, it's not a quick fix.

[Catrin]

My 20's were actually far more stressful than anything in my current life, and that includes my mother's final stage cancer. In THOSE years I took up writing to deal with the stress and it helped a great deal. I am considering using that approach again, but THIS time I will hook up with a real-life writer's group. I tend to isolate myself when under stress and I need to find a way to reap the benefits of writing without falling for the temptation to cut myself off from people. I do not write all of the time, but when I do I write fantasy/mystery/speculative fiction. Now, I am not saying that I am any good at it, but it is a good way to let go of things - and it works far better for me than traditional journaling.

I've been reading about different behavioral ways of addressing this type of insomnia, I think I will start going to bed later for now but still get up at the same time. Perhaps if I am more tired when I go to bed that I will have better luck at staying asleep. We will see. I am not aware of being very tired during the day, but I can tell I am not quite as "on my game" as I really should be. Stress + sleep deprivation will do that for a woman. In my early life I learned how to deal with massive levels of stress for long time periods - and I CAN do that - but it isn't good for a body. Or mind. Or anything else. I remember those days and have no desire to go back there again.

[Chile Pepper]

Benadryl is fantastic. I fall asleep easier, sleep better, get back to sleep easier if I wake up, and--best of all--have none of that drugged feeling the next day that I get from anything else I've tried. I take it two or three nights a week, and it has made a huge difference. I even sleep better on the nights I don't take it, as it seems to have broken the insomnia cycle.

[OakLeaf]

I use melatonin occasionally.

Are you getting enough natural light during the daytime, especially early morning? Dark at night is only half of the equation of getting your body to produce enough of its own melatonin. When I worked in an office without windows, full spectrum bulbs did wonders for my sleep quality.

FWIW, Benadryl gives me an awful hangover. I do use chlorpheniramine occasionally, mostly as a bedtime antihistamine, but it really knocks me out too and wears off in four to six hours.

I'll use herbal sleep aids now and then, also. Most of them are made with some combination of valerian, hops and scullcap. I don't get any side effects from any of those (though the smell of valerian is a little hard to take).

[Crankin]

Several of my clients have had success with it. I do recommend that you have your doctor prescribe/suggest a dosage, even though you don't need a prescription. Don't take the advice of the health food store clerk. The psychiatrist I work with actually writes a presription for people. Some people need a lot more than others to work.
I use Benedryl if I am really having issues sleeping after a few nights, but it does give me a hangover. And I take children's liquid form, as one regular capsule might kill me, it makes me so groggy.