Sleep Aids- Need more ideas...

sleep is more about a routine then anything. watch caffeine intake (how much and how late in the day), your sleep environment, time to unwind, finding time to exercise during the day, getting some fresh air, clean sheets, etc... all those hints that seem too simple are it.

if you have done all of this, then please see a doctor to ask about meds.

sleep is also not a 1-to-1 thing. if your sleep is messed up one night, it will take many more than one to make up for it.

Melatonin can be helpful if you have trouble falling asleep early enough, but fall asleep fairly easily later. Take the melatonin 3 hours before you want to be sleeping.

The main things for insomnia are to stick to a regular time to get up and get out of bed, do a regular night time routine each night when getting ready to go to sleep, but wait until you are actually sleepy to go to bed, remind yourself to trust your body to get enough sleep if you give it the opportunity through routines.

Sleep medicines can be helpful for a short course to get on track, but are a bad idea for long-term. The best thing especially if you want to go the all-natural route would probably be to find a therapist who does CBT-I (cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia).

How much melatonin do you take? I need to take 9mg in order for it to work for me (and I'm a diagnosed insomniac).

Routine is everything. You MUST go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day.

I really struggle with this, and have a few tried and true tricks. First, I use a program called flux for my computer to adjust the light in my computer to more yellow tones, and less blue tones. Blue light tells your brain that the sun is still up, so if you can't just put the computer away (like I cannot seem to do), this helps. Then I take a supplement called naturecalm that is basically just magnesium, which works! It's for stress, too, but I can't take it any other time of day because I'll conk out. I got that at whole foods and I think you can buy smaller packets to try before you get the bigger container. Lastly, I listen to meditation tapes or apps. Not being able to relax is my biggest obstacle, I find it hard to get my brain to stop reeling at the end of the day. As an above poster mentioned, repetition is key, so try to find what works and make it a habit. Good luck!

I take two Benadryl every night for a goods night sleep. I also removed the tv from the bedroom.

I take Melatonin almost every night now that I'm a grad student. I'm a night person by nature & could easily stay up all night & sleep all day, but I have to force myself to have a more normal sleep pattern during the school year. Fairly low doses work for me. I used to take the Midnite chewable pills & I think they're only like 1.5mg, but nowadays I take 3mg pills. I like Melatonin because it's natural. Normal sleeping pills scare me a little bit. I'm sure you could take larger amounts without it being harmful, but I would do some research on it first.

I second the advice to take it a few hours before bed and to get on a good schedule. Melatonin works pretty fast for me, but my mom has to take it like 3 hours before she goes to bed or it doesn't work at all.

I also really like ambient noise. I downloaded the SimplyNoise app and my favorite is the brown noise. I think the app was $.99, but I thought it was worth buying because it has a sleep timer, so you can set it to play for an hour or so instead of all night. I don't use it as much anymore, but it really helped when I was living in an apartment that had annoyingly loud exposed pipes & was located in a noisy part of town.

sleep is more about a routine then anything. watch caffeine intake (how much and how late in the day), your sleep environment, time to unwind, finding time to exercise during the day, getting some fresh air, clean sheets, etc... all those hints that seem too simple are it.

if you have done all of this, then please see a doctor to ask about meds.

+1

I see others have mentioned this...but removing the TV and computer from your bedroom is very important (in my opinion) as well. If you use a smartphone (and I think everyone but me does lol) try to //seriously// limit the time spent on it in bed or even in your bedroom. If your bed is a place where you hang out, read, etc...try to change that habit...maybe make a new spot outside the bedroom your go to for those activities.

I've had good results with a Magnesium supplement called Natural Calm and I also do low dose (1.5mg) melatonin if I need it, even in the middle of the night. It's the only thing I have found that cuts through the repetitive thoughts that keep me up. Melatonin is well known for causing vivid dreams though.

Doxylamine is an OTC sleep aid (Unisom in the orange box) that is incredibly sedating, though you will eventually develop a tolerance to it. It's basically Benadryl's big brother.

Mid Nite tablets helped me, but i believe they are melatonin..

I agree with Melatonin, good sleep habits, limit caffiene intake, turn off the tv and make your bedroom a peaceful place.

Try Magnesium Citrate powder (its called "calm") It sounds like a scary weird supplement but its literally just magnesium, a mineral we all need. Look at the amazon reviews it has helped a lot of people with sleep, anxiety, headaches, leg cramps, etc. It could simply be a magnesium deficiency.

I have suffered with sleeping problems for the past 17 years, with it getting progressively worse over the last 3 or 4 years to the point where I was barely getting 2 or 3 hours sleep a night. I tried absolutely everything suggested in this thread, and more, and nothing worked for me.

After gaining some extra weight on holiday I cut back on eating sugary foods (cake, sweets, chocolate, biscuits, etc) to lose the pounds, and after a week or so I started to sleep much better. I didn't really take much notice, because in the past I would have the odd week of really good sleep and then end up back to 2 or 3 hours a night the next week. But after a few weeks of consistantly sleeping well I began to wonder if it was the reduction in my sugar intake that had helped. I've now been sleeping like a 'normal' person (with the exception of a couple of bad nights due to drinking too much caffeine!) for 14 weeks, and literally the only thing that I have changed is the sugar intake. Whether its just coincidence I honestly have no idea, but I just thought I'd mention it incase it helps! Good luck!

My sleep issues involve me waking every few hours. I've tried various things - doesn't help that I work 7P-7A three nights a week - and have had some luck with lemon balm aka Melissa. I take it in capsule form, it's also able to be a tea, which I don't drink. It's helpful for stress and anxiety so I take it at bedtime. I also sometimes take it before work, it doesn't make you sleepy so you can function.

There's also Somnapure, a combo of several sleep aids rolled into one. That works well too