Insomnia - How do I make my mind SHUT UP?

Question

Ok, I've tried all the common sense stuff. Excercise (but not within 6 hours of bedtime), no caffine, meditation, reading a book, chamomile tea, melatonin, etc... I've also been on Lunesta, Ambien, Seroquel (bad side effects), Trazodone, Nortryptaline...

The problem is that I am PHYSICALLY tired, but my MIND will NOT SHUT UP!!!!!!

I try repeatedly to "clear my mind", but I feel like I have a tiny motor running in my brain that I can't turn off. My whole life I've always had difficulty getting to sleep, but for the past few months, I've been operating on only about 4-6 hours per night, and I'm tired and "zoned out" during the day.

I've also done a sleep study at the sleep clinic. They found mild sleep apnea and I've tried a CPAP machine, but it only adds to the aggravation of trying to fall asleep.

I have moderate restless leg syndrome as well, but Requip and Mirapex do NOTHING, neither did the Lunesta or Ambien.

It's like I'm immune to medication.

Any other ideas?

Answer 1

The first thing you need to do is start using the c-pap again. Then ask for a referal to a psychologist or psych doc to get help for your problem. My daughter and I both suffer from this and yes it is annoying. What works best for me is a soak in a warm tub with the lights out and just a nightlight on or a candle in the bathroom. I sit and soak with my eyes closed until my brain slows down enough to allow me to crawl into bed. SInce you have a diagnosis of sleep apnea even mild you need to use the machine. If you were using a mask and didn't like that try the nasal pillows and see if that works better for you. Also for the restless leg syndrome be sure you are getting enough calcium and consider trying some quinine for it. Good Luck.

Answer 2

What I did when I could not sleep is to meditate. Although our mind have millions of thoughts in a minute. It actually can only have one thought at a time. So when I meditate, I only concentrate on inhale and exhale breathing. Count 10 equal breaths and restart. When your mind wonder, restart from 1. Do not celebrate when you finish 10 could, nor should you blame yourself if your mind drifted off. Just start counting from 1 again. Increase the length of meditation gradually. Hope this help for it sure helped me.

Good luck.

Answer 3

I found that keeping a journal and pen next to the bed helped me turn off my thoughts. Keep a small lamp or some kind of soft light that will let you see what you're doing but not too bright to wake you up more. Use this journal to write down the thoughts that run through your mind. You can start before the time you plan to go to bed and continue if/when you need to.

Answer 4

I have the same problem. It drives my husband nuts, but what I do is put in a movie that I've seen a thousand times and let it lull me to sleep. The Princess Bride is good. You might also try putting on some soothing music, just loud enough to hear. On those times when these don't work, I've found that Tylenol PM is pretty good, too.

Answer 5

For restless legs: shake the hell out of them while sitting down, and i mean shake them until they feel okay. For sleep, take a couple Benadryl used for allergies.
Eat some protein. Get white noise machine. Get sleep mask for your eyes.
If more serious stuff, maybe Lexapro.
Good luck, this is a son-of-a bachelor for you, i know.

Answer 6

Perhaps you should be evaluated by a psychiatrist...You may have bipolar syndrome.
This will cause you sleepless nights.
You cant take anti depressants if you are bipolar they will keep you awake and agitate the symptoms.
Sleeping pills wont help either.
I am thinking perhaps you are bipolar.
There is a questionnaire on the net that you can fill out to see if you are....Medication can help if you are...

Answer 7

You need to go see a doctor he will provide you with some good sleeping pills, that will help ease your problem.