Insomnia? I'm really suffering at the moment - any tips?

Question

I can't manage to sleep for more that about 3 - 4 hours at the moment, no matter what time I go to bed. Falling asleep isn't the problem - it's staying asleep. I tend to wake up in the small hours and that's it for the rest of the night - and then I spend the rest of the day completely exhausted.

By the way, I really, really don't want to resort to sleeping pills, so does anyone have any practical tips?

Answer 1

Cutting all caffeine from your diet could really help.

Another thing that helps is to position your clock AWAY from you so you won't look to see what time it is, etc.

It sounds as if you're really stressed out about something. You may want to talk with a counselor or someone to try to find a way to manage such stress.

Also, research shows that having a TV in your bedroom will mess up your sleep patterns, too. We moved our TV out of our bedroom about a year ago, and now we both sleep a lot better. Apparently, if you're using your bedroom for activities other than sleep (or ..you know) such as: watching TV, playing a guitar, studying for classes, etc., you will mentally attach your bedroom to a place you're supposed to be AWAKE.

Best of everything!

Answer 2

I would see a doctor to make sure there is no physical reason for your sleep problems (ie. sleep apnea, etc.) Then, if there are no physical reasons I'd enroll in mediative Yoga or Tai Chi classes to learn how to control your breathing which might help you relax and sleep deeper. There are several moves in both Yoga and Tai Chi which involve an easy spinal twist which releases a chemical that helps with sleep.

You may also want to journal what you are eating in the evening and how late you are eating. Perhaps eat things that are stimulates and watch that you are not eating too close to bedtime. What is your caffeine consumption throughout the day? Remember that caffeine lurks in colas, teas, etc. not just coffee.

Check out these sites:

http://www.sleepfoundation.org/
http://www.shuteye.com/

Good luck and hope you can get some zzzzzzzz's

Answer 3

You should see your Dr, he will talk about a concept called "sleep hygiene" which means you have to take a serious look at all the things you might be doing to aid the insomnia without being aware. Things like your Tea and Coffee consumption, food and drug products which contain caffiene, your bedding, your pre-bed routine etc. Also you need to seriously look at the stressors in your life, difficult events, jobs or people and think of ways of managing them that are not going to keep you awake at night.
Not all sleeping tablets are bad news and habit forming. Don't have benzodiazipines, bad, bad news! These are the likes of Diazepam or Temazepam.
Drugs like Propranolol to aid anxiety or Zopiclone to aid sleep may help say every other night. They are prescription only however but not habit forming. Some non-herbal nytol from over the counter may help every other night. The more you get worried about not sleeping well the more it continues, I know how awful it is trust me! Do not lie in bed getting frustrated, get up and do something boring like ironing, reading something really, really boring.
A good exercise routine every night which get's you breathless may help, as does a bit of slap and tickle on a fun note! Good Luck.

Answer 4

Greetings Insomnia:

A few things:

1) r you stressed--either situationally or long-standing? Stress is about hormones such as cortisol and nor-epinephrine. When these hormones seep into blood and tissues they can linger and disrupt your body's housekeeping chores--including sleep. If u r stressed then u can learn methods for unstressing and for flushing hormones out of your system

2) r u drinking caffeine big time? If so limit it to at least 8 hours before u go to bed.

3) don't take prescription sleep aids. you can try a good calcium/magnesium supplement. this relaxes your autonomic nervous system so sleep is better preserved. u can take it even when you wake up after 3 hrs--it will help u get back to sleep and stay there

4) r u in the midst of a life transition? sometimes what's going on in our lives needs to be tended to properly and trouble sleeping can result if we don't do that.

Best of luck to you...Dr. Jim M. Mesics Fitness

Answer 5

That's horrible, I've just been through a stage like that. I kept waking up in the wee small hours and just couldn't "switch off", I had loads of stuff going round and round in my head. This sounds really silly (but it worked for me), I pictured a cold, dirty, empty house and then pictured myself lighting a fire, cleaning etc. until it was warm and bright and clean. I never completely finished the job because generally I'd fallen asleep, I guess it's like meditation! Conciously trying to slow your breathing can help if you think you're waking from anxiety. If you have lists going round in your head write stuff down before bed, you can't sort anything out at 3am!. I've just re-read my answer and I sound crazy! Anyway, I hope it helps - Good Luck, hope you have a decent nights sleep tonite!

Answer 6

My husband had the same problem. Bought a book about the subject (sorry, can´t remember the author or title) but the "treatment" recommended worked really well:

The trick is to go to bed (really) late. Easier said than done, because you are so exhausted! Prolongue your bedtime every night by 15 minutes untill you manage to stay up until quite late (after midnight did the trick for my husband). I helped him by (inventing) things that had to be done, for example to help me fix something, to call someone or to look something up for me. Anything that keeps you busy and active and gets you to bed later. It´s tempting to watch a film or tv, laying on the sofa or in bed, but then you will probably doze off and that makes matters worse.

Anyway, when you manage to stay up later and later, you will find that you suddenly will sleep more hours and eventually will sleep through.
When you start noticing the effect, you will also notice that it will not bother you that much any more when you do wake up in the middle of the night: you realise that it is not a permanent feature anymore and it's easier to accept that occasionally you will have a shorter night.

Needless to say that short sleeps during the daytime or early evening are an absolute no-no and that drinking coffee or tea doesn´t help either.

We recommended the same trick to friends who had the problem, and it worked for them as well!

Hope it will work for you too!!

Answer 7

I am a sleep tech. When people can't stay asleep, it's is usually because of an underlying problem. You should talk to you family doctor about having a sleep study done. It's when you have your sleep stages and breathing patterns monitored to see if there's something going on that causes you to wake up. Many people have sleep disorders and don't know it until they have a sleep study done. If it is determined that you do indeed have a sleep disorder, there are different forms of treatment to help you get back to receiving your full night of quality sleep. Email me if you have any more specific questions. [e-mail]

Answer 8

I take over the conter sleeping pills that help but if you want to sleep on you own the steps you can try is downing more during the day to make you tired and keep you tired through the night. Also before bed try some breathing excerises to calm and relax yourself. Don't drink any caffine or sugar before bed. And lay down 30-45 mins before you would usally go to bed.

Hope that helps

Answer 9

Cannabis works and so does listening to Beethtovens piano concerto's. Also get rid of any electrical equipment in your room as the magnetic fields they create can disturb brainwaves especially the electirc alarm clocks with the bright red lights.

If this fails try going for a long exhausting job at night to tire yourself out.

Answer 10

No alcohol.
Take a warm shower.
Make the room comfortably dark, not pitch black.
Eat carbohydrates before, and plain yoghurt. Both make you sleepy.
Clear your mind of any problems or worries - you'll have to think about them in the morning anyway.
Have a light duvet, and a comfortable pillow.
Try not to take pills-they will only upset your sleep pattern.

Hope this helps - works on me