Anyone else suffer from insomnia? Any good remedies?

[Phillycat]

I am a life-long insomniac who suffers worse when she is under stress or in the midst of depression (I have both right now). I have tried counting sheep, meditation, reading, warm milk. I will not take sleeping pills no matter how mild.

Anyone have any good ways to beat insomnia? Thanks in advance!

[underpants]

1. Good stay away from the pills

I know someone who literally ruined their life getting hooked on a "sleep aid" that is widely advertised on TV.

Excercise? It invigorates you at first but it also requires the body to rest. Just a thought.

On a side note-Hey since you are up at that hour....you could pull in a few extra bucks.

:evilgrin:

[Phillycat]

3. Doing something like this?

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=309192

[underpants]

Good Grief

Way to go MOM!

[Phillycat]

9. Yeah.

:eyes:

[blue neen]

2. Have you tried any natural remedies?

Chamomile tea or valerian?

There is a sub-lingual lozenze you can use called Gaba-Calm made by Source Naturals. Gaba is an amino acid that helps to calm the nervous system. I have found that this stuff really works and it's not very expensive.

[Phillycat]

4. Health food store?

Is that where I would find that?

[Pacifist Patriot]

8. Valerian is widely available at any store that carries

vitamins and herbal supplements. I used to get mine at Walmart before I stopped shopping there.

[blue neen]

15. I order mine from the Vitamin Shoppe.

I get a catalog from them every month. 1-800-223-1216.
You can shop online at www.Vitamin Shoppe.com.
They're the cheapest around.

Good luck with your sleep! :hi:

[Phillycat]

20. Cool, thanks!

I love shopping online; it's so convenient. I'm going to check them out now!

[Phillycat]

28. This is really interesting.

I looked up GABA and it seems to have other beneficial properties in addition to being a sleep aid.

http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/supplements-reviews/gaba-information-effects.htm

[SarahB]

23. I occasionally do that.

Valerian tea does seem to help a lot.

[Pacifist Patriot]

5. Jerry Davidson Wheatley's book

Guaranteed to know you out cold in less than two paragraphs. I'm only half-kidding. I don't take sleeping pills, but on occasion I will resort to a valerian or two. No groggy feeling the next day. The worst thing to do is lay there and hope it goes away. Often it's best to get up and do something distracting for half an hour and then try again.

[Shoeempress]

6. Used to be an insomniac, till I found Melatonin. Must be taken sub lingual

as stomach acids destroy it. Naturally forming compound in the body, and for me it has totally solved my insomnia for about 7 years. I recommend it.

[Phillycat]

21. Can you explain sub lingual?

[mac56]

26. Dissolving it under your tongue

instead of swallowing it.

[Phillycat]

27. Ah, gotcha.

It's absorbed into the bloodstream that way, instead of passing through the digestive system, I suppose.

Every day, I learn something on DU. :)

[mac56]

29. When you say "no sleeping pills", what do you mean?

Over-the-counter Benadryl always works for me. Technically an antihistamine rather than a somnambulent.

[Phillycat]

32. I will not take anything like Tylenol PM, Ambien, and yes, Benadryl.

I am a recovering alcoholic/addict and I try not to take anything mood-altering. I understand that herbal supplements are also capable of being mood-altering, but I will do research before I put anything like that into my body, and I will ask my dr.

[mac56]

34. I understand.

I think you're on the right track then.

[Shoeempress]

59. You let the tablet dissolve under the tongue.

[Texasgal]

7. I too have the same problem

But... not anymore. I take a natural supplement called Valerian root. It works great on me. No hung over feeling, just a natural falling asleep and waking up. You should give it a try.

[Midlodemocrat]

10. I use a sound machine

...it masks the sound from the house/street. I turn it to ocean waves and imagine I am sitting by the ocean. It really helped me.

[Ravenseye]

11. Exercise

Get into a serious workout plan every day. Try doing it in the early morning, before work, as early as 6am, if you can manage it.

If you do an hour to an hour and a half workout each morning, 3 days of cardio, 3 days of weights, with Sunday off...you'll have a good chance of forcing your body to sleep in order to rest.

In addition to that I'd recomend trying 'alternate' therapy. I've heard that sometimes sleep disorders can be remedied by a decent deep tissue (ie non back cracking) chiropractor.

[Pacifist Patriot]

14. I definitely sleep better the nights I work out.

I can't bring myself to workout in the morning, it wouldn't work with my children's schedule anyway. I've found that an evening workout doesn't stir me up too much like it can some people. An exercise routine is an excellent suggestion.

[redqueen]

30. An hour to an hour and a half?

Geez Louise do I feel like a slacker. I have to get up at 5 just to do 1/2 hour. Maybe 4:30's not so bad...

[Ravenseye]

60. Depends on what you do

Any exercise is good, even a half hour. Different trainers have different ideas as far as what you should do, or not do.

I, and I'm not a trainer, think that 6 days a week, running around an hour, more on weight days, is best.

3 days Aerobic. The key here is to get your heartrate up, Many of the newer machines tell you where you should be at depending on weight, height etc, and you can modify it from there. Figure out what you want to get your heart rate above, and then stick with it for at least a half hour. Nothing crushing, but get the body in gear, you dont' have to be psycho. You should be able to do it while comfortably watching the tv's in the gym, or reading, or even light conversation. If you can't do any of that then you're working too hard and might hurt yourself.

Weight lifting definately should be set up by a trainer initially depending on what you're going for. Alternating upper and lower body workouts (so one week you might work the lower body twice and upper body once, and the next week switch). Even using weights to just tone up and not add muscle tone will last you close to an hour, and probably more. The more you do it the quicker it will get, but there is plenty of standing around time between weights for rest where you're not doing anything.

Other alternatives are crosstraining at home, and riding bikes outside.

[StopTheMorans]

12. focus solely on your breathing

i find that it helps to calm me and eventually puts me to sleep if i've been lying there thinking for hours. focus on each breath coming in, and then going out, and try to slow them down a bit too. works for me :shrug:

[da_chimperor]

13. Jägermeister on the rocks. Always does the trick for me, and it's tasty!

:D

[Phillycat]

18. Don't drink. Thanks though!

[katinmn]

16. currently an insomniac myself

I've had this happen three or four times in my life during times of above-normal stress.

For me, the best way to beat it is frequent sex. Unfortunately, I have no loved one now to hold. :-(

[Phillycat]

19. You and me both.

:(

[wildeyed]

17. I do yoga before bed.

The quiet, meditative, seated type, not power yoga. It works better if you do it everyday, not just once in a while. This regime has worked better for me than anything and I have tried all the herbal remedies. Also, you will stay amazingly fit, considering how little effort you put forth to do it. Staying disciplined to do it daily is the hardest part.

[redqueen]

22. A very boring book. I suggest Battlefield Earth.

If it hadn't been for insomnia, I might never have finished it.

[johnnie]

24. I've had it since I was a child

A good 35 years of it. My parents would get pissed that I would be up all night. It goes in cycles with me and I just deal with it. It does suck when you have to get to work in the morning and it is 3 AM and you don't feel the least bit tired.
I have tried just about every remedy and I haven't found a true cure. I will take the over the counter sleep aids and those help for a little. None of the "natural" ones ever did it for me, although they can help relax you a bit. The main thing is to try to keep you life stress-free..lol. Yeah right..I know.
One thing that I do is to concentrate on one situation in your life that you can remember. Try to remember everything about it. The type of day it was, the clothes you were wearing, the weather, who was there, what they were wearing, ect... Obviously make it a situation that was a good one...not a funeral or anything. The point is to try to get your thoughts from scattering and to keep them in one frame of something. It has helped me a few times.
Good luck and I hope you find some sleep. I sympathize with you.

[NewJeffCT]

36. I'm similar

Even when I was a little child, I remember I had trouble sleeping at night... heck, back when I believed in God, I used to pray to him to simply let me fall asleep.

Now, I eventually fall asleep, but it's usually not without a lot of tossing & turning. And, if the baby wakes up & cries, forget it, I'll never fall back asleep. I think my limit is once per day.

I don't even take Nyquil at night, as it somehow makes me wired & unable to sleep at all.

[terrya]

25. I have the opposite problem with my depression.

I sleep a lot more.

I COULD give you my sure fire way to get to sleep...but I think I should PM it. No sex threads and all. :-)

T

[Modem Butterfly]

31. Don't write-off sleep aids

I've had difficulty sleeping my entire life, even when I do manage to sleep, it's not at all restful and I wake up feeling worse than if I hadn't gone to bed at all. Finally, I talked to a doctor who told me about the new generation of sleep aids, which are much less dangerous and addictive than the previous generation. We settled on one that gently goes into effect after about 30 minutes. Each night is the best sleep of my life. The only side-effect is that I can't take naps during the day anymore (I still get non-restorative sleep) and if I miss more than a couple of nights of meds, I get cranky and irritable (since I'm not sleeping). You should explore all your options.

[Phillycat]

33. I'm a recovering alcoholic/addict.

It's a very bad idea for me to take mood-altering chemicals on a regular basis. Thanks though!

[Modem Butterfly]

37. Most sleep aids don't alter your mood...

..anymore than the natural remedies (i.e., Valerian Root, Melatonin, etc). The only reason I get cranky after missing a few nights is because I don't sleep. Most of the modern sleep aids are no different than taking aspirin.

[Phillycat]

41. I can't take Melatonin because it fucks me up badly.

When you take all the chemicals out of your body, you'd be amazed how strong "mild" things feel. Even caffeine affects me in a remarkably strong way.

I understand what you're saying and I do appreciate the advice, but I will abuse any drug that I take into my body regularly. That's the way I am. I abuse caffeine and nicotine and I even think I take Aleve too often. That's why I have to be so strict with myself.

Thanks again.

[Modem Butterfly]

52. Okay

And clearly, my grasp on clean living may not be the best. For evidence, just see the syrup threads...

[johnnie]

40. Is your recovery recent?

I stopped drinking for about 6 years, and those years were better for me. It took a while after I stopped drinking that it became better but it eventually did.

[Phillycat]

42. Not too recent.

I am past the newcomer stage when the insomnia goes away. Plus, like you, I've been an insomniac since well before I took my first drink. It's a lifelong thing for me too.

[Misunderestimator]

35. Switch careers...

I had insomnia my entire life until I switched careers. The stress of wondering where my next job was coming from when I was a singer, not to mention all the other stresses of performing and auditioning, caused me the worst insomnia. Once I switched careers, like a miracle, I never had insomnia again (that was almost 10 years ago).

I know... it probably doesn't help in your case :)

[MsAnthropy]

38. Hot tub soak and a humorous book

I have to read something funny every night before I fall asleep, it relieves all the stress of the day.

[leftofthedial]

39. chronic insomniac here

try reading all the posts in the General Discussion: Politics forum.

[Phillycat]

43. I think my blood pressure would go through the roof!

I don't think that would put me to sleep. :)

[leftofthedial]

48. good point.

good luck.

Avoid all caffeine, alcohol, drugs, sugar, etc.

Take herbal relaxation aids, like the teas that have been suggested. Read at night rather than staying online or watching TV. (Not trying to get rid of you on DU, just trying to help you sleep.) :-)

edit: oh yeah, and exercise.

[mtnsnake]

44. Stop TRYING to fall asleep.....and don't go to bed. Go to couch!

I can't say I suffer with insomnia like you do, but the times I've had trouble falling asleep are the times when I've felt the most pressured to get some sleep. It's then that I have trouble.

Maybe stop trying so hard to sleep. Something that always causes me to sleep is lying on the couch late at night with lights on and the TV on, not really watching the tube, and I pick up a good book and start to read. It never fails; before I get through four or five pages, I find myself just about dozing. Now here's the key...don't get up and go to bed. Don't even put the book back on the coffee table. Simply hold the book on your abdomen and drift off without even trying. Give it a try, but don't start reading too early and don't be thinking about falling asleep when you pick up the book. Just let it all happen.

[jdots]

45. do what millions of us do don't sleep

how i cured it was reading physics books about quantum physics ,technical manuals and sociology.Not kidding it worked for me because they calmed me down.It is so frustrating to feel you have to sleep or you will mess up at work or school,kind of an panic about being out of control.
Just a method of changing your input i guess to take some edge off the stress,sleeping pills make you feel like a zombie
if your stress and depression are bad enough.Books are great escapes,safe and the only side effects are good for you.

[mairceridwen]

46. treat the depression

if not with meds and psychotherapy, then with a regimine of food, excercise, yoga, and so forth.

excercise is key, but it can be difficult to start when you haven't had enough sleep to walk down the stairs without feeling like poop

that helped me. I also take wellbutrin and prozac for depression and anxiety and see a wonderful therapist.

when i get the bad, up for 72 hours, starting to hallucinate insomnia i have to take ambien, but I can understand why people would want to avoid those.


what helps me maintain a good sleep pattern is having some kind of before bedtime ritual that is mroe than just washing my face and brushing my teeth. i sit on the couch, with the lights dimmed,drink some tea and listen to relaxing music. i used to drink an excellent tea that was not recommended for people with depressive disorders and the effect felt like the lethargy associated with depression, but it worked. i can't remember the name though.

[Phillycat]

47. Maybe chamomile?

I am not a chronic depressive, thank god. I just got dumped last week and that's why I'm currently depressed. It will pass. I'm more manic than anything--which I think is why I'm an insomniac.

I'm glad you've found something that works for you. :)

[flamingyouth]

51. I'm a huge believer in yoga

And I'm always pushing it here, I know, so I sound like a broken record.

Here is the Yoga Journal page on insomnia and some poses that can help:
http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/search_poses.cfm?TherapeuticApplications=I03

I totally understand why you don't want to take pills, and I commend you for that. I'd love to get to that point someday. Maybe soon. Good luck! :hi:

[mairceridwen]

54. chamomile works for my bed time ritual

I especially like Celestial Seasonings Honey Vanilla Chamomile


This one that isn't recommended for depressive people is a more wacked out combination of herbs and whatnot


I'm sorry you got dumped. That sucks. Feel better. The last time I got dumped I spent a lot of time walking around my neighborhood playing the same song over and over in my headphones, it was "Let Down" by Radiohead

[Phillycat]

55. I've been listening to AC/DC a lot.

Which just goes to show that I couldn't be a depressive for too long even if I tried. ;-)

[derby378]

49. If you're willing to reconsider pills...

...talk with your doctor. Ambien sometimes works wonders with people who also have problems with depression.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

50. The Silmarilion

[Phillycat]

53. HA!

Good one! :thumbsup:

[BamaGirl]

56. Lifelong insomniac

The best thing for me is exercise. I sleep much better on the days I run. I take Elavil when I get desperate.

[Phillycat]

57. So far, exercise is a popular option.

I may have to try it, though I really hate exercising. x(

[skygazer]

58. Never had much luck beating it

I've suffered from insomnia off and on for many years (currently off, which is delightful).

I've tried the exercise, I've tried Valerian (I feel the same way as you about taking sleep aids - won't do it) - nothing has really worked for me with the exception of music.

Pink Floyd for me but whatever music soothes you may help. I used to put a Pink Floyd music video in the VCR at the foot of my bed, or I'd put a CD in the machine on repeat and then I'd do my thing - fool around on the computer, do work, write, read, whatever - but I found the music relaxed me and soothed me so that I eventually dozed off. It still works, as a matter of fact. When I play Floyd CD's I almost always end up napping.

I swear, if I ever went to a Pink Floyd concert, I'd probably fall asleep in my seat.

But I stopped TRYING to go to sleep because that just made me more awake than ever.

[IcyPeas]

61. "Cal-Mac" supplement?

It's a calcium-magnesium powder (it's tasteless) that you can mix with herbal tea or juice at night-time. It helps muscles to relax and has a calmative effect. Try it. Most health food stores have it (Whole Foods). I suffer insomnia sometimes and then am totally irritable and then EVERY little thing gets to me and then I can't sleep again and it's just a vicious cycle for me .....(grumble grumble). Hope something helps.

I loved the idea above to read everything in the general discussion: politics threads. ha ha...

[SmokingJacket]

62. I'm awake for hours about half of my nights.

I've given up trying to do anything about it.

It does get better with exercise.

I like to give myself interesting things to think about when I'm lying there: I plot mystery novels, compose essays on political subjects. When I was learning music, I practiced scales mentally.

If you can't beat it, use it!

[Phillycat]

63. Huh! That's a good idea.

I think I'd be less frustrated if I just used the time.

[katinmn]

64. So how was it last night? Just remembered something else that

has worked in the past:

a half a Tylenol PM tablet.

No more, or you won't hear the fire alarms.

Need to remember to do that myself.

Went to bed dead tired but woke up three times last night.

[midnight armadillo]

65. "Say Goodnight to Insomnia"

It's a book by a Harvard Med School researcher that I bought for my insomniac wife. It seems quite good. It never helped my wife because she refused to follow its program. Why? Who knows. Her insomnia is related to anxiety, which I have been struggling to get her to find help for, to no avail...but that's a topic for another thread ;-)

Rooibos tea is good stuff too, I find it very relaxing. Also known as red bush or sometimes red tea. The best tea you can find is for sale at Upton Tea in Hopkinton, MA- google will point you towards the web site.

I second the exercise recommendation. Quit caffeine too if you use that. Regular exercise - weights & aerobics 4x weekly, 40 min at lunch - makes me sleep like a log.

[doc03]

66. Working out/Melatonin

Since I started working out about 5 years ago I rarely have any problem sleeping. When I do a Melatonin tablet usually works for me.

[XNASA]

67. I agree that avoiding narcotics is wise, but.......

Melatonin helps a lot. And it's a naturally occuring chemical in your body.

I used to have a problem with waking in the night and not being about to go back to sleep.......

Now I take Elavil every night, which is not a narcotic. It's a mild anti-depressive. I sleep like a baby and feel much better with absolutely no side effect.