Insomnia

My last job was a little stressful [I brought it on myself by wanting to do things with foresight and avert problems]

And as part of doing that role, I developed insomnia.

In the past I slept like a cat

Anyway, it's a little challenging, I don't want it.

Does anyone have any experience with curing insomnia?

JL

[Shivani Devi]

Originally Posted by janielee

My last job was a little stressful [I brought it on myself by wanting to do things with foresight and avert problems]

And as part of doing that role, I developed insomnia.

In the past I slept like a cat

Anyway, it's a little challenging, I don't want it.

Does anyone have any experience with curing insomnia?

JL

Hi there, my friend...certainly!

There are quite a few ways to cure insomnia, take whichever resonates with you...you can also take away some of my hypersomnia, because when I go to sleep, waking up is difficult:

1. Don't drink coffee/tea/Coke after 4pm

If you drink caffenated beverages, even lightly caffeinated ones, it is best to leave 6 hours (at least) between your last caffeinated beverage and the time you retire. Drink filtered water, herbal teas or fresh juice instead.

2. Don't eat anything after your evening meal...no snacking before bedtime.

The digestive process needs rest and when it is still digesting food, it is enough to keep anyone awake.

3. No mobile phones/computers/TV after sunset.

The screens of electronic devices decreases our natural melatonin levels and produces harmful EMF radiation which can keep us awake at night. Try reading a good book, meditating or journaling instead. I find colouring in mandalas and mindfulness activities to have a very relaxing effect in the evenings and I will only go online if I wake up during the night and can't go back to sleep...but I try not to.

4. Have a bedtime ritual.

Training the brain to rewire itself also helps. Tell it you are "going to sleep now" by having a ritual...put the cat out, change into your jammies, brush your teeth, write in journal, say your prayers...whatever floats your boat, but be consistent at it.

5. Try Yoga Nidra

Before you sleep, try progressive muscle relaxation, starting at your toes and working your way up the body...tensing and relaxing each muscle group with full awareness from your toes to your face...breathing in deeply, holding the breath, tensing the muscles and then releasing with the outbreath...there are nights I will spend in Yoga Nidra (conscious sleep) without going to sleep at all and still awake alert and refreshed.

6. Adjust your environment.

Make sure you have plenty of cross-ventilation happening, like an open window or a fan, and the temperature is neither too hot nor too cold. I prefer a cooler temperature to sleep optimally, at about 10-15 degrees Celcius, but this may be different for you (my body is always hot due to kundalini).

7. Try some essential oils and crystals.

They say lavender and chamomile is great...you can even get a pillow made from hops (some people swear by it).

For me, I like Frankincense, violet or copaiba/copal oil and sleep with either amethyst, lapis lazuli or rose quartz. You will find what scent relaxes you.

8. Try a herbal supplement.

DISCLAIMER: Please check with your doctor or health care provider before taking a supplement and to make sure your insomnia has no organic cause.

I had to say that just to cover my own backside and to stop others from judging me and criticising me for giving advice online.

So, try Magnesium (in a spray or rub), Melatonin, Chamomile tea, Valerian, Kava Kava (pepper root), DHEA, Gentian, Passionflower, Tryptophan supplements...it is trial and error...whatever works for you will work and you'll know it.

9. Listen to some guided meditations on Youtube.

Some of these can go for 8-10 hours. You can also find sounds that make you "sleepy" and set them as background noise while you try to relax...it could be white/pink/brown noise, some ASMR sounds like a cat purring, the drone of a Tamboura in G, Tibetan singing bowls, dolphin/whale song, Buddhists chanting the Heart Sutra or Om Mani Padme Hum or the Avalokiteshwara Mantras...I have a collection of these I alternate between each night.

At the moment, I am really liking these healing affirmations (played at low volume):
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qF1ojok20W0

Also, this Avalokiteshwara chant:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6Pev6QXhmlk

There may be things that will work for you personally, just try it out until you find it.

I wish you all the best.

Originally Posted by Shivani Devi

There may be things that will work for you personally, just try it out until you find it.

I wish you all the best.

Thank you so much, very kindly, Shivani Devi. I really appreciate all that



Thank you for all the hidden gems you leave behind!

JL

[WildHairedWoman]

My experience with insomnia and relieving it is that you have to work at recognizing the circular mind games that keep you awake (monkey mind) and you also have to recognize the stress causing situations you get yourself into. Then you find a way to alleviate the stresses one by one, and find a jedi mind trick to get the monkey mind to quiet. It takes work but it is worth it. I very rarely have sleepless nights except when I stay up all night doing something I like.

Also, one thing my Aunt did was if she woke up and could not go back to sleep, she would get up and read or cook or work on a quilt until she was tired again and then would sleep well.

The hardest thing to learn it to never get upset about not getting enough sleep. We don't need as much as we think we do and getting upset keeps us from sleep. You have control over how you feel about something, find a way to be ok with being awake then you can relax and sleep will come.

[Shivani Devi]

Originally Posted by janielee

Thank you so much, very kindly, Shivani Devi. I really appreciate all that



Thank you for all the hidden gems you leave behind!

JL

Thank you also for the kind acknowledgment.

I forgot to mention something yesterday...

If you really need to work on your computer or mobile phone in the evenings, there is an application called "F.lux" which I have found to be quite useful:

https://justgetflux.com

I have made quite a few suggestions...try them out and see which ones help you. Good luck.

[blackraven]

Originally Posted by janielee

My last job was a little stressful [I brought it on myself by wanting to do things with foresight and avert problems]

And as part of doing that role, I developed insomnia.

In the past I slept like a cat

Anyway, it's a little challenging, I don't want it.

Does anyone have any experience with curing insomnia?

JL

Hi janielee. Have you tried using white noise and darkening the room to pitch black? I use an ocean wave-sounding machine and I also use room-darkening shades, use no night light and cover the digital light on the alarm clock. Just a few suggestions.

[Honza]

When I cannot sleep I often find it is because of too much energy passing through me. The cosmic will seems to surge within me. I find that taking measures to subdue my willpower helps me relax. We can often strive too hard to succeed and then we cannot back down. Finding ways of being passive and receptive can greatly reduce the stress.

[linen53]

I take supplements and do the routine thing, and no this or that before bedtime and still have 'bad' nights'. I try to keep it to a minimum so I don't develop a pattern of waking at the same time each night. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Likewise insomniac but it ties in with menses and creative energies that peak later in the evening, seasoned with low-level worries about admin. I've copped out and got myself prescribed sleeping pills so I can sleep to order. With nothing timed for the following day it doesn't matter when I sleep but there are following days when something happens early....

Thanks so much everyone - SD, Linen, Lorelyn, Honza, blackraven & WHW!

JL