Need Tips on Solving Insomnia

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JadeDoo

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I been up all night again. Couldn't sleep til 11am in the morning... despite being very tired. 36hrs away with 3hrs of sleep, it's gonna be another wasted day. Does anyone have any tips on helping me fix this. My mind just keeps on racing and can't stop thinking of random things.
 
I bet you "natural is better" has an idea...LOL. All joking aside, I have had similar problems for awhile. I often purposefully stay up late so that I am very tired and sleepy, but by the time I get to bed I am wide awake again. I have tried to take Tylenol or Ibuprofen with a sleep aid to help, but I find myself subconsciously fighting it for a couple of hours before I can succumb to its effects. By the time I do get to sleep I would have been better off to have done without the meds. I think most of my sleep difficulties has become anxiety related. I am starting to become anxious about going to bed because I anticipate problems and dread the long night tossing and turning to find a comfortable position only to have to wake up at 5:00 in the morning to get ready for work and the kids for school. By the end of the week, I am exhausted. Very warm baths help me. I have been using calgon with lavender in the water to relax and listen to soft music. I even turn the lights off but one soft light and try to relax for at least 30 minutes. I only have time to do this one night a week, but it has become my time and I do sleep better those nights.
I will have to keep an eye out to see what others suggest. This is a topic I am interested in too.
Good luck with the results!
 
I hate those nights/ endless days! I had one up for 3 days straight with maybe 2 hours of sleep..... Sleeping pills from my Dr didn't even work!
My body just gave up when it had enough.... I tried everything I could think of and it seemed like the anticipation of it working caused it not to work....
I'm sorry you're not getting any sleep! :(
Maybe we can sing you a lullaby? Lol jkjk if only it was that easy, right?
 
I think the fact that I know I have trouble sleeping is making it worst. At times, I am simply worry because I am not yet asleep. Like I look at the clock and see that it's 5am and I am thinking; I am screw must sleep now!
 
I had the very same issue for a while, I tried everything, even melatonin, but that dang pill never worked for me. It wasn't until I started taking a B complex pill everyday that I could finally get some rest. Have you tried taking a B complex? I advice you not to think too much about you having sleeping issues, because you'd not believe how powerful your mind is! For real! I studied NLP, so I know mind can be very powerful. I advice you to take a B complex pill every night with a very open mind.
 
I used to fight terrible insomnia like you're describing, but I did figure out what works for me. My naturopath explained to me that my adrenal glands have been overactive due to having no real energy to work with (chronic fatigue.) My adrenal glands hadn't been able to calm down enough to let me sleep. This created or increased my anxiety, which was yet another thing keeping me awake. I had tried to calm my anxiety, but since the anxiety was only a symptom and not the root cause, nothing was working.

Now the trick is to actually calm the adrenal glands, which takes a lot of effort. For me, it involves calming all of my health issues so I can increase energy and let the adrenals rest. I'm not there yet, but I AM sleeping - and often sleeping well! My naturopath has me taking a lot to fall asleep with: 3 each of two different herb based pills, melatonin, and 2 Kavinace. 9 pills total, at minimum. I can take two more of both of the herbal pills if I need extra help. The point is that the brain needs to be overpowered by the pills so that it can't win in a fight to stay awake. Melatonin usually isn't enough for people with insomnia because it isn't strong enough. During the day, I take all sorts of vitamins, including a couple B Complexes. I also am required to do 45 minutes of cardio a day (which I can't do, I end up doing about 15 minutes, lol,) in order to not only wear out my body so it rest, but also for healing purposes. The won't heal if it isn't being used. I can't have any starch or sugar (no fruit or honey, even,) and my caffeine intake must stay as minimal as I can. I'm allowed to indulge with a very small cup of coffee or 85% dark chocolate every once in a while.

But I do as much as I can for sleep. I take hot relaxing baths before bed. My favorite is a detox bath: ground ginger and kelp mixed with Epsom salt and raw organic apple cider vinegar. I'll add lavender essential oil, as it is a very calming scent. You can keep it simple and just do Epsom salt with a calming essential oil too, but I like the benefits of the other ingredients.

I recently bought an aromatherapy diffuser/ humidifier that I keep next to my bed. I need the humidity anyway, but the aromatherapy helps A LOT. I add "tranquility" or "sleep aid" oil blends and let it run all night.

How much time do you spend in front of a screen at night, including ebooks? The blue light from screens actually suppresses melatonin production and stimulates you. Have you heard of "computer glasses?" They have special lenses that filter out blue light. I wear them whenever I look at any screen after 5 pm, and they're helping a lot. My pair was about $20, but there is a high quality brand that sells for around $80 if you need better quality.

I need to address my pain before going to sleep, because pain is stimulating. All my sleeping pills help calm pain because they're nerve suppressants, and the baths help a lot because they draw out toxins that cause pain and replenish my body with essential nutrients, but when I need more help, I use an acupressure mat. It's a soft mat with hundreds of non-sharp spikes that you lay on, and it should come with a neck pillow with the spikes too. I lay on it for 10-20 minutes before bed and it helps decrease my back pain substantially. It works by greatly improving circulation and helping the chi to flow in your body (which is what acupuncture is for.) I bought my acupressure mat for about $30.

Another thing that helps is drinking organic (but more importantly, non-bleached) chamomile with lavender tea an hour or two before bed. I drink it early enough that I can pee before going to sleep, ha! It is very calming, and the heat is relaxing anyway. Also, don't go to bed hungry. A little bit of protein in the evening can help you sleep, because it's the slowest nutrient to break down, so it doesn't give you quick energy. I will eat a few spoonfuls of raw almond butter within an hour of going to bed.

I hope all this helps you! I'll get which herbs are in my pills in another post shortly.
 
My herbal sleeping pills are harder to explain than I thought. (I can't give you a brand name because my naturopath makes them himself.) The one is made from: Calcium, magnesium, passionflower, valerian, hops, and lemon balm. The other is a special patented formula from a special bark and seed, can't really tell you what it is other than "Ziziphus."

I did use a combination of valerian root and skullcap before I found my naturopath. I took 1-2 of each. It did help a lot with sleep, but was never quite enough. It might be great starting point for you as they're both easy to find.
 
You should stay away from the sleeping pills. They might be effective but you will become addicted to them and you definitely do not want that!
 
You should stay away from the sleeping pills. They might be effective but you will become addicted to them and you definitely do not want that!
Prescription ones, yes I agree. They are addictive. I've had no addiction whatsoever to any of the herbs I've taken. I've been on and off herbs (trying many different ones) for several years. There was no withdrawal from any of the ones I abandoned.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I think I will take a look into Vitamin B Complex and decide if that's something I want to try. I am already drinking organic Chamomile Tea with some valerian roots and hicabus and it definitely helps calms you down a bit; however sometimes that's not enough when your mind is racy. Plus it makes you have to get up and go to the washroom when you drink tea so it can be a double-edged sword. I do find it overall pretty useful though. I think I am going to make an effort to exercise during the day from now on too, burn off some energy I guess or whatever it is; because I do find when I do some labour work during the day I tend to sleep a bit better.

I think I might have some symptoms of adrenal fatigue, my own speculation so I'm really interested in hearing your experience Siderea. Thanks for taking the time to write such a long post btw.
 
Prescription ones, yes I agree. They are addictive. I've had no addiction whatsoever to any of the herbs I've taken. I've been on and off herbs (trying many different ones) for several years. There was no withdrawal from any of the ones I abandoned.

So are the herbs really that good?
 
So are the herbs really that good?

I don't know about herbs in general, but I've tried Melatonin and it works as well as OTC sleeping aids. Well, sometimes... and sometimes nothing at all helps.

When it comes to not sleeping well, I've had a problem with that for about 2 years now. The one thing that's consistent no matter what I try is that if I turn a light on or get up at all, I'm doomed. :-(
 
I don't know about herbs in general, but I've tried Melatonin and it works as well as OTC sleeping aids. Well, sometimes... and sometimes nothing at all helps.

When it comes to not sleeping well, I've had a problem with that for about 2 years now. The one thing that's consistent no matter what I try is that if I turn a light on or get up at all, I'm doomed. :-(

I know what you mean. And when you know your doomed or think your doomed it makes it way worst. Likewise, my fear of thinking I have to go to the washroom after drinking this in an hour, makes me have to go to the washroom much more frequently.
 
Can you exercise?

I listen to doctors talk on the radio while I try and fall asleep. One night, they were talking about insomnia and suggested that you do cardio 2 hours before going to bed. Apparently, the first hour after you exercise you'll be wide awake; however, they said that if you go to bed at the 2 hour mark you will fall asleep better.

I haven't tried it yet, as I can seem to find any excuse not to exercise, but I intend to when the insomnia hits again. I also find that if I nap in the afternoon I will be up all night. I take Trazadone for my sleep issues. It does nothing to help me fall asleep initially but, allows me to fall back asleep right away when I wake up.

Some people (like me) can't handle the hangover from taking sleep aids. If I take Benadryl, Tylendol PM or any prescription medicine I'm useless the next day. I simply can't get past the brain fog.
 
You should eat dinner earlier, exercise before sleep, go outside more often and drink less coffee. Try those tricks. If they don't work for you, you should go to a doctor.
 
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