# Insomnia Help



## TexasTrouble (Sep 28, 2011)

Reading the "Things That Are Bothering You" thread made me realize how common insomnia seems to be. I know I've been having a hard time lately falling asleep and going back to sleep if I get woken up. Stress is definitely a part of it, and it just becomes a vicious circle (stressed, can't sleep, stressed the next day, can't sleep again). 

I'm a little nervous about sleep medication (OTC or prescription) because I'm afraid I'll be groggy in the morning for the commute. So, does anyone have any suggestions for how to get a better night's sleep?*

*I know a common suggestion will be to give up the coffee, but I refuse to give up my demon lover (I feel very strongly about my cup o' joe). I already cut myself off after two cups in the morning.


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## Diana_Prince245 (Sep 28, 2011)

If you don't drink coffee after about noon, it should be out of your system by bedtime. Watch for other caffeine you might be getting thoughout the day though -- Coke (or whatever your soft drink of choice is), teas, etc.

I find hot baths and a warm drink -- herbal tea or hot cocoa -- help me drink.

Most OTC sleep meds have the same med as benedryl in them.

You might also seek out ways of relieving your stress. Personally, I like those PM yoga workouts, but maybe you've got something else that works for you. I always wash my sheets in lavender scented stuff. Lavender is one of the scents for stress relieve in aromatherapy. I'm not sure if it works, but it doesn't hurt.


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## CastingPearls (Sep 28, 2011)

I'll be honest that I take Ambien CR (a sleep aid) and half a Xanax (for an anxiety thing called 'racing thoughts') and Singulair (an allergy/asthma med that you take at bedtime because it makes you sleepy) otherwise I'd be up all night because I've been an insomniac on and off, since the crib. 

BUT before taking advantage of the joys of modern chemistry, there were some things that helped:

I didn't eat after 8PM and because I'm sensitive to caffeine (one soda will make me wired all night long) I won't have anything with it after say 6PM unless it's with a full meal. 

The temperature of the room can affect you. Too warm, and not only will it be harder to sleep but can also give you nightmares. A cooler room can be helpful. 

White noise can help. You can use a machine made just for that, or get a small cheap fan and have it running and the droning sound might help. It helped a bit with me.

I also took valerian capsules, a natural sleep aid. People recommend valerian tea but it stinks like hell and I could hold my nose with the caps. If you go that route, drink LOTS of water with each cap and don't take more than what's recommended on the bottle. Some people also swear by melatonin, catnip caps, and combinations of everything noted in this paragraph. OTC sleep aids can help but they often have the nastiest morning kick-back of making you sleepy all day so I didn't personally care for them. 

Also, Celestial Seasonings Sleepy Time tea often helped.

Some people say not to have the TV on before you go to bed and even to not have one in your room. But I did the reverse. I used to put something absolutely mindless and boring on and it would often make me sleepy. 

Hope some of the advice you get here helps you. 

Sweet dreams.


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## GettingHeavierFL (Sep 29, 2011)

Here are a few tips that helped me battle insomnia, hope they work for you too:

(1) Go to a vitamin store (like Vitamin Shoppe, GNC, etc..) Get some 'Valerian Root Extract'. Take 3 capsules about 30 minutes before bedtime. Valerian Root is the natural form of Valium. Drug companies start with this, then process it and add to it, which creates the drug known as valium. Valerian root is NOT addictive, will NOT knock you out and will NOT leave you feeling groggy. It relaxes you, which help you fall asleep.

(2) Listen to your body -- if you start feeling tired, take the clue. When you push past the tiredness (getting your 2nd wind), you could be up all night. (of course, this applies when it's nighttime, like 10 or 11 o'clock -- not 2 in the afternoon)

(3) Have a routine -- and keep it. Go to bed at the same time every night, get up at the same time every morning.

(4) Your bedroom should be your sleep sanctuary. Remove anything distracting. Never watch TV, read or play with your smartphone in Bed. Sleep only. Your mind will associate the bed with sleeping, then when you hit the bed, your mind says, "Oh, time to sleep". If you do other things, like watching TV, etc -- your mind is not making that association to sleep. This step is important.

(5) Darkness -- Our bodies are designed to sleep at night and be awake during the day. If you lay in the dark with the TV on, surfing the web with a laptop/smartphone or have a nightlight turned on -- that light is more than enough to disturb your circadian rhythm and stop the sleep chemicals from being released. 

(6) If 30 mins go by and you can't go to sleep - get up -- leave the bedroom, go do something for a few minutes (something relaxing -- sit on the porch, a short walk -- nothing stimulating), then go back to bed and try again.

I've followed these steps and kicked insomnias butt! 

Good luck!


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## Webmaster (Oct 7, 2011)

Being able to fall asleep, or not, is a totally puzzling issue. It's one of those things that one absolutely cannot force. Well, you can with artificial means, but usually not without a penalty of one sort or another.

Apart from jet lag where your body simply isn't sure what time it is and whether it's time to go to sleep or not, I've always found stress to be by far the largest detriment to falling asleep. And for me, the stress of knowing that I MUST wake up at a certain time is the worst. 

I remember sleepless nights in my corporate days when I knew I had to be up at five or six to catch a train or plane and then do a presentation at work, or an important meeting. And working myself into a frenzy trying to go to sleep, which, of course, didn't happen. In those days I tried just about everything, with varying, and usually minimal, success (though, I must say, Under The Cover remedies work better than the Over The Counter kind)...

Whatever little success I found in falling asleep was always based on routines. You find something that appears to work, and then hang onto that. Be it whatever supplement, mantra, exercise, or thought process, no matter how trivial or silly, that has the greatest chance of making you drift off.

It's different for everyone.


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## moore2me (Oct 7, 2011)

GettingHeavierFL said:


> Here are a few tips that helped me battle insomnia, hope they work for you too:
> 
> *Dear GettingHeavierFL, I enjoyed reading your post, but have a few comments to add to a couple of the sections.( I snipped out the other sections.) My comments are in blue. M2M*
> 
> ...




*Also, I agree with CastingPearls in that the generic form of Ambien works great and is not habit forming. I take it and sleep comes in 10 minutes.*


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## TexasTrouble (Oct 7, 2011)

It's only been a week, but I've been sleeping better (knock on wood!). I actually found out that a medicine I've been taking for years may make me more susceptible to caffeine, so as much as I swore not to give up coffee, I've gone off almost all caffeine. It was a rough couple of days, but after the crime scene crew cleaned everything up and my lawyer got me out of jail--I kid, I was mostly just sleepy for a couple of days. 

Some things that seem to be helping were a using a fan for white noise (thanks Casting Pearls!) and I read another post somewhere where someone mentioned they like Natural Calm (a magnesium supplement). I bought some and it does seem to have helped me get over the caffeine withdrawal. It also seems to help me sleep through the night, which I wasn't doing before. I'm also trying to just reduce stress in general and making myself fit in more things I enjoy, including reading some non-work/fun stuff before bed.


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## CastingPearls (Oct 7, 2011)

I'm glad I could help and even happier you're getting some sleep!


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