That Old Nighttime Beast, Insomnia

[larknm]

I had lifelong unmanageable insomnia since 9 years old until I did the following things together. Eat at least 8 oz good protein for lunch and dinner. Eat lots of green and orange veggies at dinner. Take 2 calms forte (homeopathic) and 1 3- mg time-release melatonin when I turn in. Eat no sugar or much salt. I fail on that too often, but when it does I am reminded I can sleep if I don't eat them. Take dogs on at least one-hour hike per day. When I turn in I think of 3 things I'm glad happened today, then say a Lakota prayer that involves addressing Father Sky, Mother Earth and all my relatives (which is every living thing). Then I address each of the 4 directions, west (bison), north (elk), east (black-tail deer), south (owl) and west again (bison). At each of those, I say, all my relatives. Or when the idea of relatives bothers me more than usual, I say, all that is. I picture the people and animals and trees etc. I love in each of those directions and those I know need help. I end by saying Father Sky, Mother Earth, Godfather (in between those two) and all my relatives. When I wake up in the middle of the night, I do those things again or listen to a tape a friend made hypnotizing me. If those don't calm me down I sometimes read something I like.

An essential thing for me is to keep my pH alkaline. If it's acid I can't go to sleep for hours.

[Zoe Girl]

thank you guys, even though this is Siouxq' topic. i looked up some of the info you shared, i have low blood sugar, not diabetes, and it has been dangerously low other times in my life. i know how to manage it now but often forget the nighttime protein snack. i went to sprouts and made eggs for lunch with squash, peppers, and spinach plus got cheese snacks for dinner. Plus some blueberries because they are tasty.

[SiouzQ.]

Okay folks, wish me luck. It is time for me to wind down from a very awesome and productive day (because I got nine hours of sleep last night). Tomorrow at 5am I start a six day-in-a-row work stint. Trouble is, I am not the least bit tired right now but I need to go to bed so I can get up at 5am.

I am going to try the breathing thing tonight that a previous poster told me about. One thing good is that the house mate is not around this weekend so I don't have to worry about him coming in later and I can leave the bedroom door open so the cat can come and go as she pleases. Sweet dreams to me (please Universe?)

[Zoe Girl]

super good sleepy vibes !!

[Glo]

I've had sleep issues since my early 50s. Now I'm 68 and it's impossible. Most times I don't get to sleep until 6 a.m. Then get up at 9. No naps during the day as I don't feel tired. Once, maybe twice a week I smoke pot. Puts me to sleep every time for at least 8 hours. There are no side effects or hangovers. Works for me!

[Initable]

If you're interested in herbal remedies hare are 2 which I found very effective in sleeping problems.
Herbal Help for Insomnia:

Kava root is primarily used as a natural sedative and sleep enhancement. Herbalists have traditionally used it as a remedy for nervousness and insomnia. Kava kava is an effective relaxant able to induce a feeling of relaxation, peace and contentment, along with a sharpening of the senses. As a sleep aid it promotes deep and restful sleep. It is also a muscle relaxant that can help relieve cramping due to spasms.
NOTE: Do not use if pregnant, nursing, or being treated for depression.


Valerian • Passionflower Compound is a gentle but effective herbal sedative, nervine and sleep tonic. This compound is soothing and quieting to the nervous system without any narcotic effect. It is ideal in excited nervous states, agitation, nervous headache and insomnia. It’s usefulness in sleep extends to shortening the time to fall asleep, curbing restless sleep and waking feeling well rested. This compound carries the structure function statement: "Promotes Relaxation & Restful Sleep."

Now here are some general tips, remedies and practices that I leaned during my sleep therapy, hopefully these will be helpful for you.

1. Let's start with naps. NO naps except one, and that is ONLY to be for a maximum of 20-30 minutes! That's ALL you need for refreshment, and that's ALL you should ever take. Any longer, or any more than that disrupts your nightly sleep pattern.
2. Watch the caffeine intake, you would be surprised just how much you are getting every day. Coffee, tea, sodas energy drinks especially. Trim the caffeine intake back. NO caffeine four hours before bedtime! Also, excess caffeine can contribute to anxiety.
3. Nothing exciting, or strenuous before bedtime, like exercise, games, playing, no discussion that will stir emotion, etc., no video games, computer, or TV ,no telephone. Really, the only thing you should do before bedtime, is light reading in a quiet, comfortable spot with a good reading light.
4. No heavy eating before bed. You may have a light snack. There's something that you can take, that's natural, it's produced by your body, and will help you get to sleep, and stay asleep. It's melatonin. You get it in the vitamins section. I recommend Walgreens, Kroger, or Walmart, as they're least in cost, have a good selection, and are pretty much everywhere. The store, or less expensive brands work just as well as the expensive stuff. 3 to 5 mg is a good starting point. 10 mg is maximum dose. These are taken once per night 20-30 minutes before bedtime. Don't start with the maximum dose! It will take a few nights for the melatonin to start fully working. After a week, or so, if you're not falling asleep faster, then, up your dose to the next dosage, like from 3 to 5 mg. This is one of the best home remedies for insomnia that you can try.
5. It's important that You get a full nights sleep according to what YOU NEED. NOT what's average, or what someone else needs, but what you need to function well, feel rested, and not get sleepy, and drowsy during the day. So, figure out how many hours of sleep per night that YOU need, and set your alarm to wake you up at the time you have to get up by for work, or school. Get up at this time EVERY DAY including weekends, holidays, etc. Then count back the number of required hours of sleep, and you have you're bedtime. You must be in bed at this time EVERY NIGHT, including weekends, holidays, etc.
6. Start getting ready for bed about 30 minutes before your set bedtime. Washing up, brushing your teeth, going to the toilet, taking your melatonin, setting your alarm, and such. Get in bed with EVERYTHING off, like lights, television, radio. Door shut. Get comfortable. Do the breathing exercises for a few minutes. You should fall fast asleep rather quickly. Follow a rigid sleep schedule. You'll find that it becomes habit fairly quickly. Remember one more thing, bed is for the three S's. Sleep, sex sickness. That's ALL! NO TV, computer, phone, reading, homework, work, play, anything but those three things! If you continue to have sleep problems, you should see a Sleep Specialist Doctor, and get some sleep therapy. That's where I learned these things that I told you. Good luck, and God bless!

[kally]

I have just spent the whole summer working with a sleep specialist and did sleep reduction therapy. It has made a huge difference to my sleeping. Please message me if you want to know more. I have had sleep issues pretty much all my life and now I can sleep fairly well for me, not every night, but most nights.

But the biggest issue is that my fear of not being able to sleep is diminishing.

[kib]

Hope you got a good night.

This won't help racing thoughts, hot flashes or chemical issues, but I do find that wearing foam ear plugs keeps me from waking up at every little sound, so at least when my body's cooperating I'm not being disturbed by the cats or the traffic.

And contrary to some advice I've read, I find that getting up, turning on the light, having a drink of water and using the bathroom, reapplying some scented lip balm I always use at bedtime, rebrushing my teeth etc. can be like a "reset" button. It's frustrating to have to really wake up and then fall asleep all over again, but sometimes, at least for me, it's easier to do that than be in the "twilight zone" all night long.

[catherine]

My cure-alls for insomnia are a) go with the flow and b) meditate

a) go with the flow: I just accept my body's lead. I admit that with a work-at-home job I can do that, but the more I fight sleep with thoughts of "I SHOULD be asleep now" the worse off I am. So I just get up and read or watch TV, or mess around on the computer, and enjoy the quiet time.

b) if I really want to get to sleep I meditate, and more specifically I say the rosary. The rosary is so structured and rote that it really helps me to empty my mind and eliminate pesky thoughts--and replace them with peaceful, serene thoughts. I keep a rosary in my nightstand, and if I do pull them out, I'm usually asleep before I finish it. I actually now say the rosary at bedtime, as part of my evening prayer routine, but again, I save it for last, because I barely make it through one decade (the there are 5 decades of 10 prayers each). The secular version of this would be "counting sheep"--so any tool you can use along these lines will help. Find a mantra, practice deep breathing, get trained in mindfulness meditation during the day, so you can do it at night.

[SiouzQ.]

As soon as I started back to work last week (just part time for now, day time shift) AND got a new house mate, my sleeping problems have come back. This after being off work all summer and enjoying unfettered sleep and wake times. Two months of sleep bliss but now my real life is foisted upon me, once again, and my daily schedule is kind of weird right now, not bad, but way different than not working all summer.

There are a lot of things I do wrong that I need to take responsibility for, such as: coffee intake ( a lot), watching Netflix in bed before I go to sleep, having a crappy old futon mattress that is literally in the torture stage. I finally sucked it up and spent the money on Sunday to purchase a new mattress that I will sleep on tomorrow night when it gets delivered. I really, really hope it helps alleviate that all-over achy body pain I wake up with EVERY morning. It literally takes several hours to feel "warmed-up" enough to go about my day.

The new housemate is very quiet, but it still the fact of getting used to having another presence in the house. Coffee, however, is something I just CANNOT fathom giving up, not going to happen. At least what I make at home is half decaf, half regular, and I quit drinking it by noon.