Insomniac Who Needs Help Falling Asleep!

[dogbolter 0]

Hey guys and gals, i have a pretty serious problem these days, I can not fall asleep at a decent hour anymore... This has been going on for quite some time now, I was prescribed ambiens for a few months but stopped taking them, well i stopped going back to dr for refills... I was wondering if anybody had any GOOD alternative medicine way to help people fall asleep... I have tried melatonin, over the counter stuff like unisom, i think valerian, chamoline, melatonin mixed in a capsule... I have tried some little spray onto my tongue... No of this stuff works for me, i am like an elephant when it comes to knocking me out... I used to take 20 mgs of ambien and it did work, but i didn't like the idea of taking that all the time especially after reading a lot of stories in the news about the side effects... I really would love to fall asleep again, it's tough living this way.... However, if i do fall asleep i can sleep like a baby... But thats a problem, cause on the weekends i can sleep until 4pm, 6pm, i could really stay in bed for a long time... I am 30 years old, currently unemployed (got laid off 2 months ago) and my brain doe not stop thinking when i first lay down... if i were to lay down at 11pm, i would just sit there thinking about everything going on in my life... its quite disturbing, i think i may go see the dr tomorrow just to get some ambiens so i can get back on a normal schedule, but again, i defintley would like to figure out a better way to fall asleep, but again, keep in mind that it takes a lot for me to fall asleep.. I can take a whole box of nyquil and still not fall asleep... Thanks in advance...

[Archangel_Baw 0]

I suffer from insomnia whenever I'm stressed out so I concocted a herbal tea that knocks me out gently. Here's the recipe:In a teapot, steep the following herbs for 10 minutes minimum in bolied water: -(3 pinches of each herb below)-Catnip leaves, (Active inghredient to cause sleepiness).-Chamomile flowers, (Active ingredient to calm nerves).-Peppermint/spearmint leaves, (Inactive ingredient For better flavor).-Sweeten with sugar or honey to taste.It takes about 30 minutes to work, but you will get great rest and wake up feeling much better. Make sure to drink this while in bed, it works faster on some people.Let me know how it works for you. If it isn't strong enough, just add 1 pinch more of the above ingredients.

[velma 6]

Hi,Is there some thing that is effecting you sub consciously? I had insomnia for 3 years of my life, it is said to be caused by a lot of reasons. Mine was due to depression. It happened after I shifted to my new place and it happened again after 2 years.I used to sleep at 4 or 5 in the morning and then get up again at 9 and go to college. I used to read a book before I slept. I would read something that did not remind me of my day example an encyclopedia or Shakespeare or something. A handy tip I can give you is try emptying your mind before sleeping. Fix a time as bed time every day and at bed time lie down, close your eyes and focus on NOTHING. Start clearing your mind without concentrating on anything. I mean to say you will have to stop thinking when you close your eyes.That usually works but that takes a bit of time, patience and discipline. I never did it :XD:Hope you get a cure though, I had a rough patch where I could not sleep for days and ended up screwing up in my studies

[sheepdog 10]

My guess is your not sleeping because of stress. Worry about being unemployed, etc. Since you don't have a job, you probably aren't on any kind of a schedule. And quite possibly, you are sitting around too much to make yourself physically tired. Try to put yourself on a regular schedule. Set that old alarm clock for 6 am and get up and get busy when it goes off. Don't eat anything late in the evening, and after dinner, take a nice long walk OUTSIDE, I find that any time I have spent more time indoors than out sleeping takes a bit longer to begin. Hit the sack about 10, lay down, take some deep breaths, relax, and try to not think about anything. (tough, I know.) If your mind wants to work, make it think about your breathing, and if your mucles are actually relaxed. You will be surprized at how many muscles tense back up after you think you have relaxed them. Of course, getting a job would probably be a big help too. :XD:

[ArtOfAmy 0]

Ok I have to add I am a huge insomniac and the whole nyquil thing i take 6 tablets a night and that still don't help. I have tried other things such as the Valerian Root and other stuff and that has not worked. Therefore I am going to try the tea suggestion and see if it works. Do you know where I can buy these ingredients for the tea. so if you can direct me where to get them it would be helpful or if not I am gonna be known as the artist that Drinks a ton of Vodka just to sleep at night.Amy :XD:

[Mich 0]

I take a 10mg Benadryl tablet when I can't get to sleep. It is an Over-The-Counter strength so you don't need a prescription. My doctor recommended it as a sleeping pill substitute. It helps you to fall asleep without the hangover that some sleeping pill medications cause. Give it a try and see if it works for you. Good Luck!

[technobot 0]

Hi, Quick question I had the same problems a few months ago but figured out what was going on. It was really ho that month and could not fall asleep till 1 or 2 am. Anyways I bought a fan and found out that I was not falling asleep till the temperature dropped. Also a long time ago I my dad bought me some Malatonine as it supposedly removed plaque from the brain and stuff. Anyways Malatonine is also a herbal insomnia remedy and must say it seemed to do a good job of putting me to sleep and also I found I had incredibly good sleeps. Hope this helps.

[Mistikpso 0]

hmmm.....although i don't know what insomniac is i think i can provide some info on a simple herb to help you fall asleep. i find the plant lavender to have sedative effects. just simply rub the plant leaves between your fingers and smell your fingers it has a nice aroma and can be added to popurri (did i spell that right?) the smell of this plant can help you fall asleep when you want to sleep and help you awake when you want to awake, its a very usefull plant. you can find lavender at a local plant nursery.hopes this helps! Mistikpso

[DeM0nFiRe 0]

Well, I also have insomnia, and melatonin can help you get to sleep, but not necessarily stay asleep. Personally I have to do something to relieve stress in addition to taking melatonin to get to sleep at any reasonable time.

[Lyon2 0]

I am sorry dogbolter, not sleeping can make your head to explode, and i can say it because i had that problem a few days ago, i did not sleep for over 2 weeks, i just closed my eyes but nothing, i toke medicines but nothing, so i waited before anything else, and now i have not any more sleeping problems, it was a period, a bad one, but if you still can not sleep normaly, forget about the drugs, use natural things/products/food, go search the net for someone that knows about it and consult him/her, drugs will not do the job without doing something bad to your health but natural things can and they do the job too, most of the times even faster and without destroying.Good luck!

[Misanthrope 0]

I'm the nervous, jittery, high strung sort who can certainly relate to sleep deprivation and it's related maladies. But since I don't know the topic starter's situation in it's entirety, I can only relate what works for the Enlightened Misanthrope. Generally speaking, I become off-kilter (I mean, more so than usual) when schedule changes or interruptions to my normal routine disrupt my insanely fragile sensibilities. My personal philosophy is this: Man thrives when he adheres to the Great Architect's preordained laws and withers under random chaos. The heavens, and the entities which guide them, follow a preset course, schedule, or "natural law," if you will. The sun and moon wax and wane with such certainty that should they falter, life as we know it would cease to be. Is man so vain to think he can buck nature's tide and not suffer the consequences? So, gentle topic starter - get thee a schedule and stick to it! Make a point of waking around the same time every morning and eating meals on some semblance of a schedule. And while you're at it, work in a nightly routine to help yourself wind down in the evening. Avoid physical activity several hours before sleep and take up calming, introspective pursuits. Turn off the idiot tube and ditch the pharmaceuticals. When ready to retire, lounge in bed with a book on a spiritual or otherwise lofty topic to rid yourself of the day's mundane concerns, and enjoy a glass (or two) of red wine. Before you know it, sleep will welcome you with open arms. Heck, I get tired just thinking about it.

[Archangel_Baw 0]

The ingredients can be bought at bulk barn (its a store that specializes in herbs & spices etc) you can also grow the plants yourself & take the leaves off as needed.

[silly_goose500 0]

I am sorry dogbolter, not sleeping can make your head to explode, and i can say it because i had that problem a few days ago, i did not sleep for over 2 weeks, i just closed my eyes but nothing, i toke medicines but nothing, so i waited before anything else, and now i have not any more sleeping problems, it was a period, a bad one, but if you still can not sleep normaly, forget about the drugs, use natural things/products/food, go search the net for someone that knows about it and consult him/her, drugs will not do the job without doing something bad to your health but natural things can and they do the job too, most of the times even faster and without destroying.
Good luck!

I would have to agree with Lyon2, everyone is pushing the drugs. Maybe it's the drugs that we take that causes these ailments in the first place....how can we possibly know? I'm not a doctor, so I wouldn't tell you to stop taking something for cancer or a serious illness or anything like that, but sleeping is another matter. I must go with the natural or holistic approach with this one. Teas work well, they are meant to calm you down, not to knock you out. If you start drinking a cup of tea about an hour before you go to bed everynight, in no time your body will start reacting to more than just the tea. This will result in falling asleep quicker.
When starting a bedtime ritual, like drinking tea or a warm glass of milk, your body remembers that you do this before sleeping and it begins to calm itself down. So, pretty much, it's not really the tea that is helping you out, it's the ritual. A lot of people don't keep sleeping rituals anymore....and look at how many of them have problems sleeping. When we wire ourselves to be alert and stressed out all of the time, which happens with a lot of people due to the fast pace of life, our bodies have a great way of doing what we tell it to, so when you want to go to sleep your body is just doing what you trained it to...staying alert and stressed out.
Please, whatever you do, don't take sleeping pills.....they may seem like they are helping, but tell me that when you can't sleep at all without them.

[Vixen_Poetic 0]

I have a friend with a similar problem and nothing has helped, but his insomnia is a life long problem. Sometimes I have problems sleeping too, usually because of stress. When my mind just refuses to settle down and no amount of emptying my mind is helping I go the other direction and set it a problem or task, like calculating prime numbers or imagining every detail of a three dimensional object of my choice (such as a glass sculpture, an apple tree or a rock face). At some point, when the effort of holding all those details in perfect focus becomes too tiring, I slip into sleep without noticing.

[Dagoth Nereviar 0]

OK here's a few freestlye tips I use when it comes to trying to get a good night sleep. They work trust me : DDon't drink alcohol, under any circumstances. After you get drunk you pass out for a few hours but then when you wake up youll be wide awake for ages. This is not what we want XDAs Mr Hanky says in south park. Wear socks to bed. Feet have bad circulation seen as they're the furthest appendige from the heart they get very cold. Insulate them or youll be able to feel it in your sleep. This doesn't help you get off really but it's the best strategy.Don't watch TV before bed. If you can help it try to watch it as little as possible. TV makes your brain go at like 100000 miles a second. This is not what you want.If your feeling really whacky record some white noise and play it on your iPod or something. Actually it's probably better to have it on a CD and have it playing. I started playing it on my iPod but then I started getting incomfortable with them in my ear and m head on my pillow. Just very quiet on a CD can be immensely relaxing.Even if you closed your eyes you can still get some kind of light seen kinda. Make the room as dark as is physically possible. Get some black out blinds and shut out the harsh sun. It is not your friend.Get a job. I am convinced the root of you problem is the psychological aspect of not having a job. With your head racing with all these thoughts no wonder you can't get off.If this still doesn't work here's some more things.Caffeine is VERY bad. I find if i have a cup of coffee in the afternoon it will affect my sleeping at night. It's THAT bad.Go to the loo before you go to sleep to minimize probablility of needing the loo. If you lie in bed thinking "..... I need the loo but can't be bothered getting up" that's not gonna go down well at all. Try not to drink too much before bed for the same reason.Get into a routine. Bathe before bed =D nice hot bathe is a great way to get wound down before bed and have a set bed time and wake up time.If these don't help I'm sorry I'm useless xD