Insomnia

[thelettuceleaf]

I've never had trouble sleeping before but the past few weeks have been terrible. I'm exhausted all the time but I haven't had more than probably four hours sleep in a night in 2 weeks. Anyone else had trouble with insomnia? What causes it and how do I get rid of it! I look terrible with so little sleep and it effects my school work and everything and I'd rather not have to take medication I'm not very good with medicines and doctors and things. Any other suggestions?

[JarBax]

I have suffered with sporadic bouts of insomnia, and have found that taking valariana, purchased from a health food shop - or chemist to be the very best thing in sending me off. It takes me into the deep sleep I seem to miss out on a lot of the time, and even if I've not had my full 8 hours (which is what my body seems to require as a minimum), I wake feeling more refreshed than usual.

Valariana is a plant based remedy - but if you don't want to 'take' anything - you could try various relaxation techniques, from counting your breaths to relaxing every little muscle in your body from your toes to the top of your head, to haveing a relaxing bath with essential oils, to listening to relaxation tapes, or sending all thoughts to a visualised box, closing the lid until morning.

There are many kinds of insomnia, and many reasons for suffering. Some folk cant get to sleep. Some folk wake up in the middle of a dream. Some are very light sleepers, or snore, or suffer sleep apnoea or wake up too early. Reasons can be from as diverse a range as depression, stress, smoking, drinking caffine before bedtime/changes in diet, nightmares, anticipation, noisy neighbours, and many other reasons.

Do you have an idea of what might be triggering your insomnia?

[Tom]

I find that leaving a radio on helps.

Valerian is supposed to be good too, but even though it's a natural herb, I think it still has side effects of which you should be aware.

[danakscully64]

Have you increased the amount of caffeine you consume shortly before bed? Are you really stressed out? Do you exercise regularly? Is your brain on overdrive?

If your brain won't stop going, make a list of the things you must do in the morning or whatever is on your mind, that way your brain will maybe slow down. If you're not getting enough exercise, it could be the cause of the insomnia. Eating too close to bed, I've been told, can cause you to stay up. Are you staying up watching tv?

Have you read about it on Wikipedia yet?:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insomnia

[karenlovessnow]

Are you having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, both?
When I first complained to my doctor about not being able to stay asleep...(I fall asleep fine but wake after 3-4 hours....stay awake for at least two hours then want to go back to sleep when it's time to get up for work)...
she told me to use the bedroom strictly for sleeping (and sex, of course :D) no TV, have the room dark and quiet, keep the same routine, etc. I was a bit annoyed because this seemed like an overly simplified solution. It did help to some degree, but after a few days I was back to waking around 2-3 a.m. And I would be wide awake but after a few hours I would crash.

Unfortunately, I don't think there is any solution that works for everyone. I take benedryl sometimes if I really need to get more than 4-5 hours sleep. But I get that 'medicine head' for hours after I wake up. It's still what works best for me.

I was on Cymbalta briefly(for Fibromyalgia)...and it totally helped with the sleep issue, only I was falling asleep during the day too!! I couldn't even drive ten minutes to a store without having to fight that awful feeling of just passing right out...so I stopped it. I'm sorry you're going through this. Just keep trying until you find something that hopefully works for you.

[bluesand]

well Valerian might help ,

you say you have a problem with Dr's , thats o/k , but with it coming on suddenly it might pay to get your blood tested and mention the sleep side of things .At the end of the day its only an opinion he/she is giving . It just eliminates that side of things

[SotallyTober]

Melatonin helps me.

[JarBax]

Valerian is supposed to be good too, but even though it's a natural herb, I think it still has side effects of which you should be aware.

By all means check out valariana for side effects, it would be really sensible for you to do so! One of the reasons I chose it was because there was nothing in my research to concern me about it's use (with proper use!)

[Dirty Martini]

Are you drinking coffee? Soda? Energy drinks? Sugary drinks? If so, stop. Right now.

Are you trying to establish a normal sleeping patter? In other words, do you get up early during the week but sleep in till noon on the weekends? If so, stop. Don't let yourself sleep in, ever. Don't take naps.

Have you tried relaxation techniques when you go to bed? Look into those.

I'd suggest looking at lifestyle changes before taking supplements while continuing behavior that contributes to sleeplessness.

[karenlovessnow]

Yes, OA makes some very valid points...sometimes we don't realize that it's the things we are already doing that are sabotaging our ability to sleep...

[taurushead]

i had insomnia pretty much all of last month. think it was caused by emotional stuff. any chance of that being your prob?
only thing that helped me was exercising more than usual. i was so exhausted that eventually i started sleeping right through. doubt thats the best way to do it..but its a good last resort :P then you get back into a pattern and its all ok!! :)
and when i couldn't sleep, id get up and do things, not think about how tired i was gonna be etc., and usually get sleepy again.

xoxo

[thelettuceleaf]

Wow thanks everyone that’s an overwhelming response lol I was expecting like 2 replies. I haven't changed my caffeine habits or anything at all I drink coffee occasionally but only when I'm trying to keep myself up to finish school work and stuff because I don’t really like it that much and I never drink soda or energy drinks or anything. I don’t exercise as much as I could but I do enough and I’m doing the same amount I've been doing all night.

The only thing I think that could be causing it might be stress? But my problem with that is when I'm stressed I generally am able to control myself I'm not one of the girls who just breaks down and cries or anything I act like it's not THAT big a deal even if my head is going a hundred miles an hour if that makes sense?

If stress is the problem holidays start next week so hopefully I might get some sleep then but if it's not then well I guess it wont go away.

I'm going to try the whole treat your bedroom as a sanctuary thing and exercise more I think and if I'm still having trouble in a couple of weeks I might try taking some of the stuff you've all suggested.

Sound like a plan?

I'm so tired right now haha

[Dirty Martini]

Stress will, without a doubt, cause sleeplessness.

[turistattraksjo]

I have had insomnia so many times. Currantly I'm taking a medication for it, but you should only use that as your last option.

Some things that work for some people:
-Stay active during the day
-Get sun during the day
-Stay away from coffein after seven o'clock
-Deal with your problems before you go to bed (making the bed a problem-free zone)
-Use your bed for sleeping only, don't read in bed, don't watch TV in bed and so on
-Don't sleep during the day, and if you sleep during the day don't sleep for any longer than fifteen to twenty minutes
-Try to stress down before going to bed
-Count backwards from 500 when trying to sleep
-Have sex. :D (with yourself or your partner) It makes some people sleepy.

[JarBax]

The only thing I think that could be causing it might be stress? But my problem with that is when I'm stressed I generally am able to control myself I'm not one of the girls who just breaks down and cries or anything I act like it's not THAT big a deal even if my head is going a hundred miles an hour if that makes sense?

That does make sense. The girls that break down and cry are relieving their stress. If you keep it in, it is not released, and will show in other ways - like perhaps insomnia!


I think your plan sounds good. Hope things settle soon!

[rabid_child]

I usually don't have trouble falling asleep, I have trouble staying asleep (it's called "Middle Insomnia"). I've solved it by going to bed earlier and allowing about 10 hrs to sleep, which means I get about 7-8 hrs total.

Some ways to help with insomnia include...
*Only exercise in the morning/early in the day. Exercising later in the day can cause you to be more awake than you'd like.
*Set a bedtime, and go to bed at that time every night. Also wake up at the same time every day, even on the weekend.
* Make a bedtime routine. An hour before bed, turn off stimulating things, like the TV and the computer. Try to do something relaxing, like read or take a bath. I like to crochet. It's repetative and makes you sorta sleepy after a while.
* Try drinking warm milk (if you're not vegan) or chamomile or mint tea before bed. Sleepytime tea is nice too. It helps to soothe and relax you. A simple carb snack can also make you sleepy.
* If you go to bed and NOT fall asleep after 15 minutes, get out of bed and go do something else for a while (again, nothing stimulating, go read for a bit or something). When you start to feel sleepy, go back to bed.
* Turn the clock around so you can't look at it (Yea, I know this makes the 15 minute rule difficult. lol). Obsessing over NOT sleeping and the time makes you more awake.

[Dirty Martini]

A hot bath will help as well.

[danakscully64]

I used to suffer from insomnia because I'd think about going to sleep when I was trying to. I kept asking myself "Am I going to fall asleep now?" I'd almost be awake, just waiting to fall asleep (does that make sense?).

[Tom]

I forgot to mention this before- maybe partly because I wasn't sure it was really happening...

As I mentioned in another thread, I don't take many supplements. But I do sometimes take a calcium tablet. For some time, I thought I slept more easily when I took a calcium tablet some time after dinner. Then I heard or read someplace within the past month that, yes, calcium does have a sedative effect.

I've taken calcium gluconate, calcium citrate, and right now calcium carbonate. But be sure to read the label. At least some calcium supplements are made from oystershell, and although I'm pretty sure this is from shells left over from making various oyster-containing foods, probably most of us will prefer or demand a non-animal source.