sleep

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  • meredith1123
    meredith1123 Posts: 843 Member
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    People are saying exercise but surely its not helping me. I exercise regularly. I take long jogs, use the elliptical, work out on weights...
    that doesnt help my insomnia. My brain doesnt shut down. I am up all night, sleep for an hour, up an hour. ..sleep for two hours ..up an hour... oh gosh every night!!! Its terrible.

    I read online that sometimes Sodium may effect sleep so perhaps try watching your sodium intake for the day and also closer towards the evening. In saying that, i have been watching my sodium intake and comparing it to my nights of insomnia and i have noticed a slight pattern. the high sodium days manage to make my insomnia worse but thats a very recent observation of mine just this week alone.

    I hate it, it is very frustrating so i feel your pain.
    thats all i have. sorry.
  • jujuki47
    jujuki47 Posts: 84 Member
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    I either recite Lords prayer or freelance prayer...over and over... i usually start to forget where i am in the prayer and then start nodding off before an Amen! lol
  • Seminolegirl97
    Seminolegirl97 Posts: 307 Member
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    I suffered from this a few years back. This is what finally got me back on track with the sleep.
    1. Shower or Hot bath right before bed. The change in temperature will help you fall asleep.
    2. Buy some lavender essential oil put a drop or two on a wash cloth and put it under your pillow. The scent is very relaxing.
    3. Find a white noise type of sound be it on your phone or an alarm clock that has the rain, crickets, ocean sounds.
    4.Establish a routine for going to bed. If you want to be in bed at 11, start getting ready at 10. Do this every night. Same routine.
    5. The bedroom is for two things, sleeping and sex. No TV, no reading. I know some will disagree with the reading part, but my Doctor told me to get out of bed go into another room to read. I wasn't to equate reading and staying awake with my bed.
    6. Don't eat 3 hours before bedtime and no caffeine after 3pm.
    7. Get rid of the electronic device red glowing lights. Make your room as dark as possible.

    I did all of this after 8 months of 4 hours of sleep or less and within 2 weeks I was sleeping 8 hours a night. It may not work for everyone, but it worked for me. Best of luck to you.
  • melw2910
    melw2910 Posts: 73 Member
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    If it's consistently bad I'd check with a doctor. Otherwise keeping a regular schedule as far as sleeping does wonders. If all else fails, try melatonin.

    This. I suffered for years and had various drugs from the doctor all of which worked but left me feeling really sluggish in the morning. Since switching to a melatonin supplement my sleep efficiency has gone from 50 to 70-75% each night and I don't wake up feeling drugged. :smile:
  • crobl
    crobl Posts: 380
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    ^Exercise is a big help. You could also try reading before bed.
    Other activities help too.
    what kinds of activities??? ;)

    Ahaha I know what works for me :love:
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
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    Melatonin supplements have done wonders for my sleep cycle. Both myself and my girlfriend have insomnia, and the melatonin has definitely helped both of us get a better night's sleep.
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
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    ....
    7. Get rid of the electronic device red glowing lights. Make your room as dark as possible.
    ....

    I dunno about this one. Like the old joke:

    Q: what's the difference between light and hard?

    A: I can fall asleep with a light on.
  • leotardbanshee
    leotardbanshee Posts: 92 Member
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    Thank you everyone for the awesome advice :D
  • leotardbanshee
    leotardbanshee Posts: 92 Member
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    one more question, for those of you who take melatonin, what mg dosage do you take?
  • linsey0689
    linsey0689 Posts: 753 Member
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    if you have pandora try yoga music station I love it a lot of nature and just peaceful
  • jessbixl
    jessbixl Posts: 34
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    Okay I have insomnia..The only way I can fall asleep (not a good way) is with ambien and some other stuff I take to help me go to sleep. I also sometimes have trouble staying asleep =( (just depends) activity "does" help me sometimes. Meditation use to help me fall asleep, hell I use to fall asleep during meditation lol. It sadly no longer puts me to sleep.

    Stay away from caffeine at night, try meditation (may work for you), use a fan or noise machine to down out noise, also maybe open a window? To keep it cool in there. I find a cooler environment helps me sleep better. Melatonin worked for me back then but I stopped taking it because it caused bad nightmares (I don't know why). That's all I know advice wise. Oh! and create a sleep schedule for yourself that seems to help me sometimes.
  • startheory
    startheory Posts: 63
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    Have you tried taking vitamins? I used to have terrible insomnia until I started taking calcium, magnesium and a multi vitamin an hour before bed. I sleep amazing now :) GL!
  • Cinnabon64
    Cinnabon64 Posts: 32
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    5HTP and GABA can help with sleep. Just don't take the 5 HTP if you are on anti depressants.
  • Suffer4beauty
    Suffer4beauty Posts: 44 Member
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    I have insomnia - complete with used to be on meds until I got pregnant/nursing and I HAD to rely on natural methods (with great coaching from my doctors).

    EXERCISE - BUT NOT FOR 3 HOURS BEFORE BED - exercise can release endorphins that keep you awake. Drink enough water throughout the day - dehydration can actually wake you up.

    DO NOT EAT PROTEIN FOR 3 HOURS BEFORE BED- protein breaks down slowly so your digestive system must "work" for hours and that can subtly wake you up - so if you need a late snack, stick to a whole-grain starch/carb or a piece of fruit.

    GET UP AT THE SAME TIME EVERY DAY (even days off of work). Going to bed at the same time helps too - but not as important as what time you wake. All people are subject to what is called a"CIRCADIAN RHYTHM" - our patterns of waking and sleeping. The pattern is actually 25 hours long - but our days are only 24 hours long - see the problem? That's why we never feel sleepy even when we know "I need to go to bed now for 8 hours" and we can easily stay up another hour. What time you wake up determines what time your body will start to release the "sleep" hormones in the evening that relax our muscles and organs and therefor allows sleep to occur (which is why we can't just go to sleep 3 hours early if we know we need to catch a 5 AM flight - your hormones have not been released to allow muscles/organs to relax).

    DO NOT WATCH T.V. OR GO ON THE COMPUTER FOR AT LEAST 30 MINUTES BEFORE BED - research as proven that "back-lighting" activates parts of our brains that fight our sleep hormones and makes us more alert.

    Lastly - set the alarm - but do NOT look at the clock when you wake, even if you think the alarm might go off in 10 minutes. If you do look and you do see that the alarm is going to go off soon - unless you feel happily alert, at least stay in bed and relax - you will be teaching your body/brain that it is rest time until a certain time each day.

    Hope this helps!

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