How do you get to sleep without medication?

Question

I have such a hard time getting to sleep (hence I am here in the middle of the night!) My ideal environment for sleeping is dark, absolutely silent. This is not realistic at my home, lol.
I hate taking sleeping pills. What is a tried and true bedtime ritual/routine/habit that helps? I am tired of being tired!
I have tried...
TV, radio, reading. All of these keep me up.

Answer 1

Try going to bed at the same time every night and getting up in the morning at the same time. Avoid taking naps. Try having non-caffeinated tea or milk. And last you might want to consider getting ear plugs and an eye patch.

I also try and do crosswords at night

Answer 2

You may feel that some things like a small amount of white noise is not helpful simply because you are having difficulty falling asleep for other reasons. (For example, although I do not ordinarily let a t.v. or radio play while I sleep, I do sometimes fall asleep listening to either as long as I have not done other things that cause me not to sleep: things such as having eaten, for supper, foods with MSG, sodium phosphates, caffeine, soy protiens or soy lecithan, all of which make me too hyper for sleep.) (If I could invent a disease to kill every soy bean plant on the planet I would!)
Use non-addictive sleep aids such as melatonin or valerian root extract. (I put about 5-6 drops of valerian root extract into a small glass of Sprite or into a cup of chamomile tea, the latter of which also promotes sleepiness.)
Also, soap can affect you transdermally, just like the bad things I listed that are ingested. So you might consider showering at an earlier time during the day than evening.

Answer 3

Since I lived at home (with 9 younger siblings) and worked the night shift I had to get used to sleeping through just about anything, unfortunately I am a light sleeper. Here are a few things that helped me. I got good earplugs, used a fan for "white noise", and when I lay down I would start tensing and relaxing every muscle/muscle group in my body starting at my toes and working my way up to my neck. I would also concentrate on one thing (sometimes a word, sometimes a sound) until it lulled me to sleep. I also got blackout curtains (available at most discount/department stores) to block out the sun since it was usually bright when I was trying to sleep. I can't say it was a perfect routine, but it helped most of the time.

Answer 4

a doctor told me(whom doesn't like prescribing potentially habit-forming medications) that you should make your bedroom a place for only sleep. Go to bed when your tired. This means no TV, no homework, no comuter, etc. This is impossible for me as I am a roommate of three and am a college student who usually does his homework(a lot of it on the computer) in his room with the TV on in the backround. He suggested just getting into a routine and if necessarry take benedril which he says isn't habit forming and doesn't have any of the hangover effects

Answer 5

Tips to Sleep Well
http://tips-to-sleep.blogspot.com/2006/09/tips-to-sleep-well.html

Answer 6

I feel so badly for you. Not being able to sleep is hell. I generally don't have a problem with it because I am so zonked after chasing four young kids around all day. All I can say is maybe start getting used to some white noise; if you make yourself "need" white noise instead of "quiet", you can find some white noise almost anywhere you go when you are away from home. Don't drink coffee or anything stimulating after like 3pm, either.

Answer 7

To get a proper sleep, you need to eat food and satisfy your hunger and then stop taking tea, cofee or softdrinks and stop thinking about anything, as thoughts dosent let you sleep.

And regarding Darkness, if you cant have dark enviornment then cover your eyes with some black cloth and keep some things in your ears so you dont listen any sounds..

Hope you get a Good Sleep........

Answer 8

one thing that always helps me is - when i first lay in bed, i try to focus on one constant sound or thought. i focus on my heart beating, focus on my breathing, or the clock ticking. all the other noise just kind of fades away. having a fan on at night helps me too, because the fan blocks a lot of the other noises, but isn't so loud that it keeps you awake (and it helps keep me cool b/c i can't sleep if it's too hot). you should try one of those sleeping masks too, if you cant get the room dark enough.

also, praying really helps. if you're religious or not, i think it just helps to be able to sort out your thoughts and give up things that you are angry or upset about - just think in your mind, "i'm just going to put off thinking about that angry thing until tomorrow..".

also, one more thing helps me as well. i only lie or sit in my bed if i'm going to go to sleep. so that way, your brain associates lying in bed with sleep and sleep only!

hope this helps you as much as it did for me.

i've also heard that you shouldn't take a nap after 3pm if you want to go to sleep well that night, but i dont know if that actually works.

Answer 9

If booze doesn't count as medication that's a good way. Tylenol Pm works great for me and it's safe and non-habit forming, unless sleeping soundly though the night is a habit.

Answer 10

Turn on a radio to a space between stations, and turn it on softly to create 'white noise.' Also, reevaluate your bedroom temperature. Try clean sheets. Spray a bit of cologne around. Try warm milk with a dash of nutmeg. And, try antihistamines, or at least aspirin.