Insomnia? Please Help!?

Question

I work graveyard shifts, I enjoy my job I even enjoy the late hours. Lately I have found it hard to sleep. I just moved into a new apartment for the first few weeks sleep was fine but now I'm averaging maybe 3 hours every day. THis is not enough I have been highly fatigued, absent minded, my job performance has been affected, and I'm beginning to have early stages of hallucinations. I have spoken with a doctor he prescribed prescription sleeping pills, but I'm not sure if that's how I want to solve this. Is there anything else besides sleeping pills that could help me get rest?

Answer 1

I first got insomnia 4 years ago when i moved to china and doctors told me it was stress etc etc....then i saw a chinese doc who told me its usually a stomach problem though i wasnt aware of any problems though my digestion seemed a bit slow....
Over the next few months the insomnia ruled my life and i was hyper most of the time ...living off 3 hours sleep per night and working 10 hour days and totally crazed by what was going on around me ...felt like i lived inside a nightmare.
It took a long time to sort out as every doctor i saw had another idea. In the end i found that it was my stomach ....it was simply IBS and the trapped gases etc were stopping me from digesting properly, raising my blood sugar and making me insane in so many words.
Dont take sleeping pills ...find the hidden reason. Im not saying you've got the same problem as me but i am saying insomnia in itself is not an illness there is a reason for it inside your body.
Maybe your not getting enough vitamin B....try eating turkey and potatoes...look into foods u can eat to calm your mind...could it be PMT...
Whatever you do dont stress cos that what happened to me with all different people saying different things i was well freaked out.
My first suggestion is to make yourself a really nice meal and include foods that relax the mind...include loads of vitamin B and even have some melatonin too....it may simply be that the stress of your move has taken up all your supplies .. xx

.....those people who have mentioned sleeping in the day to make up on lost sleep are actually prolonging the problem ....its the worse thing u can do to get sleep patterns back. Sleep deprivation is a serious thing and should be sorted asap. If your living off stimulants cut them out until your sleep returns to normal.....half my problem with IBS was caused by overactivity of my digestive tract from caffeine.....Having spent years researching insomnia i believe every case can be solved as the human body has to run off something and if your not sleeping then quite often its the stimulants ...xx

Answer 2

From a fellow insomniacs point of view, I'll give you some advice. First of all, do not take the sleeping pills. They are highly addictive and definitely not worth it. It is much better to seek sleep in natural ways, without the use of chemicals. If you have a health food store in your area, look at the teas that they have there. There are usually ones that can be used as natural sleep aids, and they contain no chemicals or anything that you may become addicted upon. Some regular grocery stores carry them as well. I usually drink these, and they have helped me. Also, when you are trying to sleep, make sure that you are completely relaxed and not thinking or worrying about anything. Breathe deeply and relax all of your muscles. It may seem as though it won't work, but I have found that relaxing yourself gives your body a push in drifting off to sleep. Listening to soft, relaxing music also helps. I found that most of my cause for my insomnia was too much work needing to be done, and my brain was thinking about it constantly. Relaxation really does help with this.

Answer 3

Insomnia – Beat it with Sleep
http://www.askaquery.com/question/Insomnia-%96-Beat-it-with-Sleep.html

Insomnia - Treatment
http://www.askaquery.com/question/Insomnia--%28dash%29--Treatment.html

Answer 4

Well in my case I was diagnosed a severe manic depressant which contributed to insomnia and addiction. I finally asked for help and was prescribed Zoloft and Trazadone. The longest I ever stayed up without drugs or alcohol was 12 days straight. If your anything like me take prescribed drugs but I am a pretty severe case.

Answer 5

Insomnia (sleeplessness) is due to stress, dietary and medical
problems. By making small lifestyle changes like having a fixed
daily routine, relaxing and eating properly, insomnia can be
cured. I found the information at http://tinyurl.com/jfzpz useful
for getting sleep.

Answer 6

Being someone who is a night owl I have similar problems...

The biggest thing I did was to switch from caffeine products to caffeine free. That helps when I'm trying to go to sleep. I also wear a sleep mask since I sleep during daylight hours. And I use a white noise machine which deadens out other sounds.

Answer 7

I'm also an insomniac-chronic. I've tried a lot of prescription sleep pills. They work for a couple of nights and then stop. I've had hallucinations before too. THey are so scary! Have you had memory lapses too? I would probably take the pills until the hallucinations stop. You might be one of those that it works great for. Good Luck!

Answer 8

I have permanant solution for your problem. But it will work only if you know how to perform padmasana. If you sleep on your back with padmasana-a yoga asana, you will literally sleep that night for 10 hours.
Note:- perform the asana for at least 5 minutes.

Answer 9

Make yourself a steaming cup of coffee [with, or without milk or cream] - and add 2-3 tablespoons of cognac to it.
Drink it, as hot as you can, and lie down in bed : You'll be pleasantly surprised by your own sleepiness.
...Learned this technique from my Dad - who had learned it from his ! It sure works as a 'soporific' [sleep inducer] - in spite of the caffeine content.

Answer 10

thankyou for this question, cause i am also an insomniac..
I dont work but i sleep during the day as well.
So i enjoyed reading the replys to your question.
I will hope to sleep during the night and go back to be up during the day.. hOpefully one day soon!
Thanks!