Sleep Suggestions

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  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    I have no trouble sleeping, I'm tired most nights and take 2 mg of melatonin before bed--always.

    However, I went home to the States for 3 weeks recently and met with many friends and family. One of my best friends was talking about sleep problems. She said that she hadn't been sleeping well for years and it got so bad she was exhausted all day. She said she went to a sleep doctor. Apparently, the causes of sleeplessness are many. They sent her to an overnite clinic. She had electrodes stuck all over her. The next morning she had her results--twitchiness. The sleep doctor prescribed a small pill to take everynight, and she says she sleeps great now. My friend was a nurse and her husband is a retired doctor.

  • SkipperScott50
    SkipperScott50 Posts: 15 Member
    I never could sleep. Like ...ever...because I worked nights for so many years. I literally tried everything under the sun.
    Cannabis is legal here, so I started making my own gummies with an organic THC tincture I make myself and organic liquid melatonin. Worked like a charm and still does. Sweet dreams!
  • zebasschick
    zebasschick Posts: 1,067 Member
    i listen to an audiobook. usually once i really get into the story so i disconnect from my worries, frustrations or worrying about things i have to do, i fall asleep without trying if i'm tired. if not, i rest and enjoy the book.
  • Kurstyna
    Kurstyna Posts: 6 Member
    I do a weighted beanbag across my eyes/temples with orange or lilac scent (not too much)
    I listen to a music c/d - even several times if I have to - so my mind slows down
    I add lots of fluffy pillows, blankets, duvets etc. I remove all external distractions from sleep env't.
    sometimes I leave a task light on in the far corner
    I drink 1 -2 large glasses of water before setting the alarm; really helps!
    I envision I am on holiday and floating in the deep blue ocean with no cares in the world
    I count sheep jumping over a fence
    I envision horses, lots of horses, running in a corral, running in a field, on a road, over a fence
    I think happy thoughts and of my family
    I hold my pillow tight
    I remember that every day will come to pass and with it, good things too. AMEN. If I am not asleep
    at this point I have a cookie or some candy and leave the light on for a while.
  • Antiopelle
    Antiopelle Posts: 1,184 Member
    I've had a bad sleep cycle for a few months during serious life events. My GP wouldn't prescribe sleeping aids and I had tried every otc available.
    I tried Difenhydramine on a Friday night, an antihistamine, and I slept for 12 hours straight. I took half a pill on Saturday and slept like a log again, but felt a bit drowsy on Sunday morning. As from that Monday, no more pills but the cycle was broken. I have been sleeping very well since.
    Difenhydramine is OTC here, I don't know where you live, you might try it or talk to your GP about it.
  • Maigret52
    Maigret52 Posts: 1 Member
    I was having trouble getting to sleep and then waking up a couple of hours after I did fall to sleep and unable to get back to it. I have started doing some meditation - just 20 minutes before going to bed and, as with some others, stopped eating anything at least 4 hours before going to bed. I don’t drink tea or coffee but have concentrated on trying to drink 2 litres of water during the day. No alcohol in the evening definitely helps! After a week of doing this, my sleep is certainly improving. Got 4 hours consecutively two night ago! Unheard of previously!
  • chris_in_cal
    chris_in_cal Posts: 2,520 Member
    brandondanieley wrote: »
    Open for discussion and suggestions!

    The 2017 book "Why We Sleep: Unlock the Power of Sleep and Dreams." by Dr. Matt Walker was very influential. I love hearing that guy speak.

    He has a podcast, where he is in the middle of a series on insomnia:
    https://www.sleepdiplomat.com/podcast

    Full disclosure: I don't have bad insomnia, just an allies.
  • Sand_TIger
    Sand_TIger Posts: 1,099 Member
    edited October 26
    brandondanieley wrote: »
    Does anyone take anything not usually known about to help them sleep or do anything specific that isn’t widely talked about to help them get good rest?

    I have good results if I stretch very thoroughly before bed, and I'll also often have a small (1 ounce or less) piece of cheese. I do use melatonin at times but always 1 mg or less and at least a half hour before bed. If I do more than that I get sleepy before it's time.

    Journaling can be nice if racing thoughts are the problem, and sometimes if I really need to knock myself out I'll fill my lungs up as much as possible, hold for a few seconds, let out slowly, and repeat, focusing on getting more and more air every time. For whatever reason that puts me out within 5 minutes or less.

    Another suggestion I haven't seen yet is morning sunlight. I like to go out and water my garden, but I get up early enough it's around sunrise. I find that just getting that natural light first thing helps me wake up and helps my sleep cycle as well.

    Other things I have used but aren't all that new - magnesium, chamomile tea, oatstraw tea, skullcap and valerian. Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer is good, so is Sleepytime under the same brand.

    Then there's the typical tips like keep your bedroom cool and dark, turn off the screens before bed, the usual. I don't sleep in more than about a half hour on the weekends either, it helps me keep to my sleep routine.

    The most important thing is to figure out what's causing your sleeplessness and tackle those problems as a priority.
  • Lady_Magenta
    Lady_Magenta Posts: 39 Member
    I am older and when you hit menopause, somehow your good night's sleep flies out of the window and nobody warns you about it :).

    I had restless nights. Woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep for at least 2 hours. In the morning when I had to get up, I felt exhausted.

    I have researched it all over the world because I cannot take Melatonin (I have an autoimmune disorder) but I can take magnesium. I don't want to make an advertisement for a product but I went to the online grocery store we all hate so much -but buy from anyway- and I ordered a Magnesium powder that CALMs me down. Every evening I have a fizzy magnesium drink. It doesn't make me sleepy but it helps me to relax and unwind. Every night I eat a Kiwi, for potassium and because it helps you sleep better (it works for me).
    I sleep like a baby without vivid dreams and I wake up well rested.
    When I don't take the magnesium (because I forgot to order it) then I feel it right away.
    I hope this might help!

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