Insomnia

[Sarian]

I have had to deal with this for as long as I can remember. If I get one night a month with almost no uninterrupted sleep, that would be amazing. It's been like this for as long as i can remember. Even as a child, there would be nights that i might sleep for 15, wake..then doze and it would go on like this all night. It's like brief dozing off, mini naps. A good night for me is to sleep for a two hour stretch before waking.

Even now, it's 2:25. I went to sleep at 11 p.m. I was really tired, but I woke at 1, tossed and turned and had a couple nightmares which I gratefully woke from. they didn't linger, although they made an impression. I finally gave up trying to sleep and got on my computer.

Natural remedies? Anything would be appreciated. I hate dragging throughout the day due to exhaustion.

[Stillness_Speaks]

I think the best approach would be to look at your daily life, get an overview and start from there. Or it would be guessing or pulling the top of the weed. Many factors can be involved more or less. Some general suggestions is hard body work in some form in the evening but not less than 3-4 hours before bedtime. No mental activities (like computer) 1-2 hours before bedtime. Ramp up the day in the morning and slow it down in the evening. Try to be "done" with your day at some point in the evening.

[iScorpio]

Have you tried turning to crystals? You can cleanse, charge, and program an Amethyst crystal which is useful for Insomnia. :)

[Xan]

Sarian... When I had insomnia some years ago I got some CD's designed for aiding sleep, and some ambient music as well.

The ones that worked best for me were "Deep Sleep 101" that comes with a little book of helpful suggestions as well as the music; and "Liquid Mind - Serenity"

There are also herbal combinations - capsules or drops - that work well.


Xan

[Gracey]

my brother suffered from this and he went to his doctor, he prescribed him melatonin. a hormone produced in our bodies (the pineal gland). it worked for him. have you gone to your doctor for this?

[Xan]

I think you can actually buy sleep formulas with melatonin, or herbs that stimulate its production, at a health food store.


Xan

[DebbyM]

Get melatonin in the vitamin section of the supermarket. If you have Jamieson brand there, they make it. Tablets or chewable. Works great for me and I had the same problem.

[blackraven]

I have had to deal with this for as long as I can remember. If I get one night a month with almost no uninterrupted sleep, that would be amazing. It's been like this for as long as i can remember. Even as a child, there would be nights that i might sleep for 15, wake..then doze and it would go on like this all night. It's like brief dozing off, mini naps. A good night for me is to sleep for a two hour stretch before waking.

Even now, it's 2:25. I went to sleep at 11 p.m. I was really tired, but I woke at 1, tossed and turned and had a couple nightmares which I gratefully woke from. they didn't linger, although they made an impression. I finally gave up trying to sleep and got on my computer.

Natural remedies? Anything would be appreciated. I hate dragging throughout the day due to exhaustion.

Hi Sarian. You just described me. I have been an insomniac for as long as I can remember as well, most notable bad in the last 10 years. I too am up every 2-3 hours. It is frustration to sit up wide awake at 2:30 and stare at the paintings I've done on the wall, picking them apart and wanting to repaint portions of them for improvement. Or thinking of things to write about so jotting down ideas. I'm so tired during the day I fall asleep for a nap mid day, which only complicates the problem making me less tired at night. :( But you might want to use melatonin (non prescription) as Debby M suggested to help you get drowsy and sleep at night. I'm such a bad sleeper that I actually combine melatonin with sleeping pills. I'm lucky I haven't killed myself. LOL Just wanted to let you know I can really relate to your post.

Blackraven

[Sarian]

Thanks everyone. I will give melatonin a shot...I'm trying to remember if I ever did before, as it seems familiar...at one point my doctor put me on a sleeping pill...forget the name. It didn't work, after the second day, so I upped the dose to two. I know, not good. I had some pretty wild hallucinations...and then I would finally fall asleep, but then that stopped working. I gave up.
\
SS, thanks for your advice. it's 12:12, i'm wide awake...not slept at all. I did sleep relatively good last night. I think it all caught up with me and I was so exhausted that I just dropped. Usually when I'm that exhausted, it feels like I don't even know how to sleep, but last night I was dead to the world, for at least 4 hours, and that's a big deal...and I went back to sleep relatively quick after waking.

Iscorpio, I'm not familiar with crystals/stones or anything like that at all. Sometimes I think I would try something just for the heck of it to see if they work...maybe the next time I'm near a store that specializes in crystals, I'll check it out. Thanks.

Thanks Xan for the music recommendations. For a time I used to listen to some music and it was helpful, but other times I'd actually awaken to sounds or music I liked. lol Reminds me of a time I woke up during a procedure in the hospital and started talking, and telling them it hurt lol. Then went back out.

Yeah, Gracey, I told my doctor about it, and was put on a sleeping pill.

Thanks Debby, I will look for that brand.

Blackraven, so sorry to hear you have experienced it this way as well. It stinks. Yeah, there's been so many times I'm so exhausted and I'm at work and my eyes are rolling around and I'll start to nod off as I'm working. Not good.

oh no...combining melatonin with sleeping pills!! I'd have probably done the same too. Be careful!

Thanks all for sharing.

[blackraven]

Sarian - Yes, my sleeping pills no longer worked either and that's why I added the melatonin to them under a doctor's direction. I would not have done it on my own. I did have another suggestion for you and that is to pick up a wave machine. Actually machines can come in a variety of sounds with birds singing and heart beats, storms, etc. Mine has several different sounds, but I always put it on the wave setting because the waves are the most relaxing. When I do sleep it's because the lull of the waves put me to sleep.

Blackraven

[DebbyM]

Just for the record, melatonin is relatively safe as a supplement because we produce melatonin in our bodies naturally, but apparently sometimes, the mechanism to do so fails which results in bad sleep patterns. I guess we produce enough to get us to sleep initially, but then the supply is depleted (usually after only a couple hours of sleep) and then we're awake. I think it is a light sensitive hormone, i.e. when the light levels decline as in the evening, your pineal gland begins to produce it to get you ready for sleep.

I take it every night and while I still wake up usually once per night, because I have a blood level of melatonin present, I find it pretty easy to fall back to sleep.