Tips to fall asleep and sleep easier..?

Question

I notice that when I got to sleep, I fall asleep alot easier when someone else sleeps in the room. When I try to sleep on my own by myself, I have a much harder time falling asleep and I even stay in bed for hours trying to fall asleep. And when I do fall asleep, for some reason I always wake back up around 2:00 AM.

I've been drinking Sleepytime tea (with some honey) for awhile now, but it has no affect on me. But I still drink it because it helps me wind down from the day. But I don't want to take any kind addictive sleep medicine or want anything unnatural in my body.

This problem has been going on for a while. I used to share a room with my aunt for most of my life, but she moved out and I've never been able to fall asleep easily since then without someone else with me in the room. I guess it's because of that sense of security. But I really want get over it and just be able to sleep easily on my own.

Any tips or help on how to fall asleep fast and sleep good?

Answer 1

walk 45 minutes every day at a brisk pace...do this before it gets late...you'll sleep better.

Answer 2

Actually sleepy time tea has valerian in it which isn't good for you in daily amounts - not really - it does have side effects.

Extremely rare cases of liver damage have been associated with taking valerian, although the exact cause of the damage is unknown. Contaminants or substances other than valerian may have been involved. Liver damage can take years to develop. If you take valerian, inform your doctor so that your liver function can be monitored periodically. Notify your doctor immediately if you experience:
Excessive fatigue
Extreme widespread itchiness
Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea
Pain or swelling in the upper right part of the abdomen
Yellowing of the skin or the white parts of the eyes

The more common side effects of valerian:
Daytime drowsiness
Excitability
Headache
Insomnia

Now if you see up there it says insomnia and excitability - sometimes when we use any drug or herb for too long it winds up having the opposite effect on us so something that should calm you stimulates you instead. My recommendation would be to stop the tea and see what happens since it can have these side effects and even bad effects on the liver.

If that does not work, try taking a bath before bed with some lavendar body wash or bubble bath and light candles - use some scents that relax you. Buy a pillow spray (Bath and Body Work sells a great one with Lavendar & Acacia make by Le Couven de Minimes) - mist that on your pillow. You might want to try exercising at around 5 or 6 which should make you sleepy by 9 or so. If you do it too close to bed, it will keep you awake.

Also with needing another person there - try getting one of those body pillows and just put it behind you or a really big stuffed animal like a long dog - so maybe it will feel like someone is there - when my boyfriend isn't home, I need to put a nite light on or leave the TV on low to sleep - the best is an AM radio station talk show or news and weather cause they talk you to sleep - or maybe try some nature sounds CDs (rain, thunder, etc)

Melatonin is an OTC supplement that has also shown to help prevent cancer and spread of cancer - but it can decrease fertility so I don't know if that is a concern to you. Some reliable evidence suggests that melatonin supplementation can worsen symptoms for individuals with depression. People who have depression or bipolar disorder should use it only with the supervision of a health professional. It should only be used for short term relief of sleep problems but perhaps your body is too tolerant to the Valerian now - maybe Chamomille tea would be a good change and add some Melatonin for a while - new pillows - make your bedroom only for sleeping too - not for tv or anything else - that has been shown to work



Hope something helps.-

Answer 3

snort a colodopin, syraquil, xanex. They're all sleep aids. Can't get hold of any prescription medication? Don't have a friend to sell them to you, can't live with yourself stealing stuff so that you can slow down your sleep debt? go buy some benadryl or melatonin. Melatonin is a nonaddictive sleep aid that I used to take before I discovered all those other pills. You'll be real tired after about 20 minutes from taking it and you won't even be drowsy in the morning. It's a sleep aid, but after you take it for a week or two, your body goes into a natural sleeping schedule and you'll find yourself going to sleep with no problem without even having to pop any pills. If you still deny the little pill, no matter how natural it is to your body (melatonin is the chemical your brain produces naturally to induce sleep), just try chilling out to some easy music and laying down in a dark room. Sometimes I just decide not to open my eyes or move much until morning and I find that sleep comes easily. If you still need that sense of security, try sleeping with a dog, cat, or even a snake! Happy dreams (:

Answer 4

If you get up relatively early and remain active all day without any breaks you should be exhausted enough at night to fall asleep.
I had trouble as a child falling asleep.
Now there is so much to keep me occupied that I just keep working until I go under.
In the movie "All quiet on the Western Front" the soliders are sleeping while the artillery shells are being fired. If you are awake for more than 24 hours, you will notice that your legs might give in and black out while standing up.
My biggest challenge is staying awake.

Answer 5

Have you tried the dietary supplement "Melatonin 3mg"...? You can buy it at any pharmacy and it helps you get your natural sleep rhythm back. I have health issues and I can't take any addictive sleeping medicines, so I went for something natural and it has been a godsend to me. I hope you will give it a try. If you take it about an hour before bedtime, you will get a VERY good nights' rest without feeling washed out in the morning. Good luck and sweet dreams. :)

Answer 6

Don’t watch TV or even so much as look at a computer screen atleast 30 minutes before you lie down. The light from both a television as well as a computer monitor mimic the same intensity of light as sunlight. This fools your body and brain into thinking it’s nowhere near time for sleep.

Drink milk. Milk has an amino acid in it called Tryptophan that increase the levels of serotonin and/or melatonin in the brain which slow down brain activity. It’s science folks.

Go to bed when you are tired. Different strokes for different folks here. Just because your wife goes to bed at 9PM doesn’t mean you are ready. You might only require seven and half hours of sleep while she might require ten. If you aren’t tired, do something low-key until you are, like read a book, play solitaire (NOT on your computer), or play with some legos.

Reserve the bed for bed things (ie sleep and sex). I for one don’t strictly follow this rule as I’ll read some before I go to sleep, but for some people this is a must.

Meditate. No, don’t cross your legs and hum, but focus on relaxing…if that makes sense. Take deep, long breaths. Tense each muscle one at a time from head to toe. Focusing on doing this takes your mind off of other things and you’ll be in lala land in no time.

Excercise during the day. I emphasize during the day. Excercising at night just gets everything going instead of shutting down for sleep. But excercising during the day tires the muscles out and makes for a solid nights sleep.

Eat only a light snack before bed. Eating a large, heavy meal can interfere with your normal sleep cycle. Try to make sure you eat dinner at least 2-3 hours before your bedtime.

Jot down all of your concerns and worries. Think about your worries and possible solutions before you go to bed, so you don't need to ruminate in the middle of the night. A journal or "to do" list may be very helpful in letting you put away these concerns until the next day when you are fresh.

try a sleep aid or some nyquil or maybe a shot of liquor

do not nap during the day

limit caffeine hours before bedtime

Make sure your bed is large enough and comfortable. If you are disturbed by a restless bedmate, switch to a queen- or king-size bed. Test different types of mattresses. Try therapeutic shaped foam pillows that cradle your neck or extra pillows that help you sleep on your side. Get comfortable cotton sheets.

Keep your bedroom peaceful and comfortable. Make sure your room is well ventilated and the temperature consistent. And try to keep it quiet. You could use a fan or a "white noise" machine to help block outside noises. (This helps me sleep better all the time).

with all of this you should be able to sleep better. If not try going to see if you have a sleeping disorder. Good luck.

Answer 7

Don't drink any caffine frinks after 5:00, and don't eat to much before bed. Never watch T.V in bed, because that makes you awake. Try not to do so much in bed, like Homework..It makes your body think that your bed is for working. Don't listen to music bfore bed, and try to read with a dim light. And maybe try a nightlight, and if you have one, try sleeping without. Try some blinds, so you cannot see anything while sleeping. Also try to listen to SOFT and QUIET music for a little while, keep the volume down though.

Answer 8

I take short songs and count how many vowels and consonants are in the song. I also do a word count and estimate how many letters per word there are. Believe me, if you get to the end of all of this in one night, you have a sleep issue. When I first started sleeping alone, I found the low murmer from the TV helped lull me to sleep. Hugging a pillow also helps. I have also done multiplication tables to get myself to sleep. The key is to focus on something really tedious.

Answer 9

YeaH Nyquill, I take it sometimes but then you don't want to depend on anything.

My only advice is eat to fill you up (indulge on carbs like bread, cake) to slow you down and feel sleepy. When you wake up in the middle of the night like I usually do, I just head to the fridge and eat something heavy and I fall right back to sleep.

Avoid caffeine after 12 noon.

And try falling sleeping watching TV (something like a light comedy, and if can stay up for Jay Leno), that will help.

Answer 10

Valerian root is a natural herb that is often used in the treatment of insomnia. It doesn't typically cause dependance. It is a mild hypnotic -- which doesn't mean you'll be more succeptable to some wacko's suggestions -- rather that you'll be more . . . calm. You can order valerian root online at http://www.puritanspride.com or www.swansonsvitamins.com If the valerian root doesn't smell like rotting feet and dirty tooshy, then it's not the right stuff . . . if it is the right stuff, it'll help.

Answer 11

exercise helps a lot. I'm an insomniac but when I exercise, I want to go to sleep around 10 at night at the latest (I never do for some reason though). Try lots of exercise!
If all else fails, count sheep... there's one over there... see.. look!