Can’t fall asleep

aprilkessler45

I saw someone else’s post and I can relate. I can’t fall asleep . I take melatonin and it’s not working ? Any advice besides watch nature stuff, meditation music etc cause I’ve tried it all . Please help … sleepless in Riverside ….

harmanmann22

Same!

snowflake954

I just saw an older friend that I hadn't seen in years. After years of sleep problems she went to see a "sleep doctor" who sent her to a "sleep clinic". Her problem was resolved. She's a nurse and her husband is a doctor, so they're not into quacks.

AnnPT77

Is this "can't fall asleep because mind keeps spinning with thoughts"?

If so, I was told by my employer's Employee Assistance Program (counseling) service that that type of insomnia is often well resolved via a short course of focused cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). If you don't have access to affordable live-counselor CBT, there are CBT self help books on the market, including some specifically focused on sleep/insomnia.

This is a semi-random overview of CBT-I for insomnia, from a respected mainstream source:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/insomnia/in-depth/insomnia-treatment/art-20046677

(I'm not affiliated in any way with that site.)

For clarity, no, I didn't use CBT-I for my insomnia. I have a different type of insomnia (sleep interruption insomnia, with quick return to sleep). CBT-I isn't helpful for that type. I did see a credentialed psychologist for hypnotherapy (also a limited course of treatment, 6 sessions if I recall correctly). That was quite helpful, but not a total cure. I also have been through several rounds of assessment at an in-hospital sleep clinic.

joans1976

I agree with what’s said above if you have racing thoughts. Being a long time member of the no sleep club, I have a few tips for sleep hygiene.

No caffeine after 12 noon
A cool bedroom
Comfy blankets and pillows-create an oasis
Possibly a weighted blanket
No screen time (including TV) for 90 minutes before bed
Meditation/nature sounds
No naps during the day time
A very dark room, no clocks, no phones buzzing
Try taking the melatonin three hours before desired sleep
A decent book (not too good as you might be up all night reading it)
Alcohol intake can affect sleep

Hope some of that helps, good luck!

kinglady57

Careful with using melatonin. What doctors don't tell you is that your body naturally produces it. If you start taking it, then your body recognizes that it doesn't need to produce as much. I suggested to my friends and family to test their l-theanine and magnesium levels first. For l- theanine, that you get naturally from black tea, ask yourself if black coffee makes you sleepy. If so, your l- theanine levels are good, if not, you can supplement or drink more black tea during the day of course, unsweetened varieties only.
For magnesium levels, which is a must for restful sleep and so many other things, ask yourself how many times a day do you go 'poop', should be 2-3 times daily and if it is easy. If not, you are probably deficient. It's very easy to become that way.
The list above of helpful tips from a previous post, is for the most part how you can signal your body to produce melatonin naturally.
I'm a certified family holistic healer of Dr. Christopher's School of Natural Healing. I am not a medical doctor.
Hope these suggestions give you extra things to think about.

avatiach

One thing that helps me sometimes is writing down my to-do list for the next day right before I go to sleep. I think sometimes my brain is just a little “too full” of thoughts.

Kempossible

I take Magnesium and it always does the trick! Its also helped lower my b/p over time.

JaysFan82

I smoke a couple joints before bed.

siberiantarragon

As an insomniac, these things have had varying degrees of success for me:
Benadryl (It usually works but it does cause next-day grogginess and is not meant to be used as a long-term solution. But it's good for those emergency situations where you REALLY have to get to sleep.)
There are also medications that can be prescribed but obviously you'd want to talk to your doctor about those. I've only tried one of those and it worked decently well but I ended up getting off it a few months later due to side effects.
Weighted blanket. This works really well but you do want to make sure to have a loud alarm or something because it can make it hard to get up in the morning.
Winding down in the hour before sleep. If you do use screens, use a blue light blocker or blue light glasses. Read paper books instead if you can. Dim the lights. Etc.
Avoiding negative/stressful content after a certain hour, like the news or documentaries, etc. For example there are certain shows I won't watch later in the day merely because the soundtrack is creepy and it will start playing in my head when I'm trying to get to sleep later. I also don't listen to music for a couple of hours before bed because it gives me an energy burst. I don't like nature or meditation stuff either, but I find that mindless stuff like home shopping channels, Youtube videos of people cleaning their house, ASMR, etc. helps with getting ready for bed.
(If possible) Working with your natural sleep cycle. I don't know if this is relevant for you, but some people just have a naturally later sleep cycle. That's part of the problem I have. Even before I started having insomnia, I was chronically tired when I had to get up early for work/school, no matter how much I slept the night before. I thought I was just naturally meant to be tired all the time. Now that I have a schedule where I can sleep according to my natural cycle, the sleep that I get is much more restful.

azuki84

I only use thermostat during sleep hours

beabria

Semi-recovered life-long insomniac here! I 100% believe that what will help you sleep is very individual, but here's some of what has worked for me. I've had trouble getting to sleep even as a child, and it got worse as an adult and while dealing with anxiety. I have, on several occasions, ended up in a doctor's office in tears and only semi-lucid because I'd only slept 2-3 hrs/night for a couple of weeks. Not fun.

Regarding sleep hygiene, I've found over the years that a very dark cooler bedroom, dimmed and orangey lights (I got some smart color change lights for my bedroom and use flux to make my screens less blue), not reading news or social media for at least an hour before bed, and a weighted blanket have been most helpful to me. I also either listen to an audiobook (must be a story I already know well) or ambient noise.

For supplements - you may be aware, but melatonin isn't really a sleeping pill. It doesn't make most people sleepy right away. Instead, it helps with sleep regulation and is therefore most effective if you take it daily at the the same time (shortly before you go to bed). I do take melatonin, and find that it helps my sleep patterns in this way, but it doesn't make me sleepy *that night*. I've actually started taking a supplement that includes both melatonin and magnesium, and that seems to actually work even better for me.

But - the BIGGEST thing that has helped me has been a challenge I issues myself 1.5-2 years ago. I viewed it as radical at the time, but it has become a treasured habit. I decided to go to bed every night several hours earlier than my natural sleep time. I didn't have to go sleep, but I had to be in bed. I found was that (for quite a while), I would still lay awake in bed for the same amount of time as ever, but since I was starting earlier, I ended up getting more sleep! It took a lot of the pressure off. Over time, I've started laying awake for less time (now usually only 1-2 hours including a nightly phone call to my parents, when I'm not actively trying to sleep). I usually get a good 7-8 hours of sleep (measured by my fitbit). Of course, there are still days when I have trouble sleeping, but I have more of a "reserve" to get through the tough nights. Now finally getting enough sleep, I'm also able to keep a consistent wake time, which helps reinforce the schedule.

It sounds like you may be asking about how to get to sleep on a specific night when you're especially tired. This is, in some ways, harder because you are putting pressure on yourself to sleep NOW, which of course adds extra stress. Some things that can help, but which aren't "magic pills" include meditation, watching veeeeery calming things on youtube (I like channels dedicated to a calm lifestyle), reading something that's only slightly interesting (or rereading a well known story), or getting up and walking around if you've been trying to sleep for a while. If you have a yard, I sometimes find that walking around outside in the dark can also help.

Good luck! Sleep is so key, and I, my doctor, and my family can all attest to the difference getting sufficient sleep can make!

mkculs13

So many good suggestions. One I don't see--breathing routine.

Start by just counting how long you are breathing in, then out. Then after a few cycles, see if you can start to slow your in-and-out by a 2nd or more. Work up to 8 seconds in, 7 or so out. Once you reach this point, add in holding your breath for a count of 8, then 12, then 16, then 20. You should start to feel pressure in your ears--you'll want to yawn. It's ok; yawn. Repeat the process as needed.

Two things about this helped me. First, by focusing on breathing and counting, my mind is not spinning or drifting (both of which keep me awake). 2nd, I think the increased CO2 in my blood stream helps trigger naturally produced hormones to help me fall asleep. No evidence for that, but whatever the mechanism is, it helps.

Good luck and keep searching for solutions. It is so worth it.

ToffeeApple71

There is a theory that if you get up early and are physically outside in the early hours of the morning, at daybreak, then your body absorbs the serotonin from the morning sun and uses this serotonin to create melatonin later on.
Worked for me...but that may have been getting up really early for a week or so made me tired enough to sleep rather than the seratonin/melatonin effect. Either way, I'm enjoying my early mornings despite the cold, and I'm sleeping much better.

Kay_Slay1982

I started working out late at night and am having the same problem. Thinking that I am just too fired up. However, I struggle making myself go to the gym in the mornings.

nurkowskimarcus

Not sure if this helps, but taking the coldest shower humanly possible and going to bed right after made me fall asleep 2x faster.

yirara

I find that when I start thinking about falling asleep then I don't fall asleep. Thus I don't do things that focus on falling asleep, I distract myself from this. For I don't know how many years I've been spinning novels, fan fic, just rubbish stuff in my head. Once I'm so absorbed in it I fall asleep. Next night, when the story is good I continue approximately where I stopped. Often I find that for nights to come I fall asleep at exactly the same spot. And then at a certain time the story continues. If at a certain time I find that a story bores me and I can't fall asleep then I switch back to something I did previously, probably even years ago. Or I manage to come up with something new. It's like tv but without a tv.

cathyrose9909

I've had trouble falling asleep for most of my adult life. Working shift work as a nurse really didn't help that at all. I have tried many of the things discussed and I also want to recommend the "Sleep Stories" on the Calm app. I have two in particular that I find will send me off to dreamland 90% of the time so I use those all the time.

sarah7591

I have one of those weighted blankets and they seem to help a bit. They are very comforting. You may try it.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

As you get older, sleep becomes a primary concern. I have found that my Garmin watch gives useful feedback on how well I'm sleeping (Apple and Fitbit are similar), but that's only a small part of the problem, which is how to sleep consistently well.

I have an adjustable bed and I mostly sleep on my back with my head and legs slightly raised. I wear eyeshades and I put an earplug in my exposed ear (one ear is always buried in the pillow). This attenuates the sound of my wife breathing and the air filter. (I think it's now just a habit.)

When I have serious problems shutting off the day, I listen to something non-challenging on ear buds. I've tried lots of different ones, even ones designed for sleeping. I guess I like the Aftershocks best, after trying lots of alternatives. As for what to listen to, I've found that the soundtrack of a familiar sitcom works pretty well. Put on Netflix on the phone and cue up friends, or something like that. Turn the phone over on the nightstand and keep the volume low.

For me, aerobic exercise is the key to good sleep, but not to vigorous or too late in the day. A little alcohol at dinner is fine, but not too much or too late. I've switched from coffee to tea. No caffeine too late in the day. I don't find much problem with looking at my phone before I turn the light off, but I keep the brightness low and I mostly work on the crossword, or something. I don't read scary news articles or work emails.

Also, if I wake up or need to go to the bathroom, I try to go right back to sleep. I have a nightlight in the bathroom and keep the light level low. As I return to bed, I sometimes have a fleeting thought that I could pick the phone up again, but I resist.

All of these practices rely on "muscle memory." Like so many things in life, you need to choose good habits and stick with them.

rhyddpe

Getting up early and at the same time every day helps. The most important thing that helps is being physically and mentally tired by the end of the day.