how I overcome my insomnia
 

I, for some time, sleep at 6 AM,
I can't sleep at 9 or 10 PM

I tried these 2 method before and success,

1. The convenient way
I sleep late, 1 hour every day.
From 6 AM, I sleep at 7 AM, after that, I sleep at 8 AM, then 11 AM, then after accustomed I sleep at 1, 2, 3, 4 PM until 9 PM.
The process can take several weeks.
but then, I not stop at 9, slowly I sleep in the morning again

2. The hard way
I focus on the time I want to wake up. If I want to wake up at 5 AM, I always wake at 5 AM whether I sleep the whole night or not, and how sleepy I am, I will not sleep a bit until 9 PM.

After 9 PM, I will sleep. It doesn't matter whether I can sleep or not. I will lie in my bed until 5 AM, and set an alarm at 5. With determination, I will wake up at 5 AM, and stay awake till 9 PM.

Between 9 PM - 5 AM is the time I allow myself to sleep. If can't sleep, it doesn't matter. After several days, my sleeping time back to normal.

I use to suffer with insomnia, nothing helped and even being a herbalist I tried some valerian root tea, which worked but the sedative effect cause me so much drowsiness in the mornings, to a point I slept in longer into the afternoons, after talking with my gp about trying this herbal method, they prescribed me some serotonin medication, which balances the serotoninin in the active brain, it helps me and I hate prescribed medication, but its the only thing that worked, now I sleep like a baby, so maybe have a chat with your gp, sleep is vital for your health and you really need to re energise your body. Usually they take notice when you say you are having palpitations, these are signs of not enough rest.

holistic approach
 

I had insomnia a lot in my earlier years. Financial worries, relationship problems, frustration with my job etc all kept me mind racing or anxious.

For me there was no magic bullet. I thought about a better suited job & worked my way into it. Left a bad marriage & found a healthy relationship. Spent more time on my spiritual development. Now its very rare I have any sleep issues thank goodness.

Knowing how important it is to have proper rest & sleep I've gone on to create a health retreat where I help people determine issues impeding their optimal health as well as cultivate nourishing behaviours too.

Hope you find answers & peace of mind.

I have a very hard time sleeping...... Not really a good mattress to lay on is one thing I think.......

Using sunglasses that filter blue light and also calming down before bedtime through reading are maybe some helpful tips. I would also recommend to not watch movies, especially horror movies before going to sleep.

Try eating 2 kiwis one hour before bed. :wink:

I was having trouble sleeping too for a while, and what helped me was this military relaxation technique or whatever it's called. Basically, you focus on relaxing your body. Breathe in and out slow and imagine calm colors and scenes in your mind (birds, water, clouds etc.) Weirdly enough, that visualization thing really did the trick for me at the time.

Does that help? I wish I knew that earlier.
Now, I'm just not eating. It's helped some, my sleep is a little heaver, but I still wake up like every hour. Too much aircraft and car noise...all the machinery is a...

I was on heavy sleep meds for a decade. Recently lost my long time general practitioner and would have to undergo new tests and appointments to get those particular prescriptions renewed. Decided to try to live without them. I slept really badly for a number of months and tried various alternates like camomile tea, soothing music and meditation to no avail. Then a friend suggested I try melatonin. It doesn't have that instant sledgehammer effect of the old drugs, but I sleep oh so much better than I did in the time between them and the new stuff. I have no need to return to the old heavy drugs now.

That works for you? I would have thought the digestive system would be actively still breaking the fruit down.

If there are no issues with surrounding gadgets in the bedroom, you have a decent mattress and pillow, then (ruling out prevailing health reasons) it could well be a case of mind over matter. Obviously it helps to wind down a bit before bedtime (i.e. not to eat too late, no caffeine for 6 - 8 hours seems to be the case) - no mental stimulations (e.g. via the media).

That taken care of then this is what works for me....

Try not to toss and turn too much in bed (which can occur with an active mind). There's no need to try and find the perfect position because the body will naturally do that anyway during sleep. Don't let your body rule your mind. Focus on resting/relaxing the body and facial tension e.g. frowning and relax jaw if clenched! THEN - the crucial bit - STAY in that position (despite maybe wanting to move around still!) This gives the brain a chance to register you are ready to sleep!