Health cure to lack of sleeping? (nothing explicit please)

[Mitchell Madness]

ok, i used to sleep well, past 2 weeks i have struggled, seen a doctor who has done tests and cant see a reason to why, i cannot go on sleeping medication due to "possible" reaction with other medication im on.

Ive tried the cold/warm milk, glass of water, exercising etc.... nothing works... any help?

 

[BigBadCam]

Problems sleeping can be a sign of other problems. I've been on and off depression medication for the best part of four years. I don't like being on it, because although I'm happy, I feel that I allow people to walk all over me. Anyway, best sleep patterns I've had since I was 8 years old have been whilst on depression medication.

 

[beez]

Count sheep, in all seriousness it has worked for me in the past.

 

[krisholio14]

ok, i used to sleep well, past 2 weeks i have struggled, seen a doctor who has done tests and cant see a reason to why, i cannot go on sleeping medication due to "possible" reaction with other medication im on.

Ive tried the cold/warm milk, glass of water, exercising etc.... nothing works... any help?

The heat doesn't help for starters if you don't have AC. If you don't you need to get a fan going while you're sleeping. Not only will it cool you down, the white noise from the fan actually helps.

But as a long time graveyard shift worker who goes through sleep disruptions every so often, here are my tips.

- Make sure you go to bed at the same time every night. Do not attempt to change it up any more than once or twice a week, and even then no more than an hour or two either way.

- Drink no more than two caffeinated beverages a day, and make sure the last one is at least 3 to 4 hours before you want to sleep.

- Never go to bed on an empty stomach.

- Stay off the piss for a couple of weeks if you're a drinker. You can go back to it once you've got everything back in line.

- Do not go to bed stressed or wound up about anything. Make sure you've cleared your head of absolutely everything else and focus solely on getting some sleep. Your worries can wait till the morning.

 

[GPW1]

i know you said you tried it but exercise is great. just lift weights/run/whatever until you are so stuffed all you can do is sleep.

works for me at least.

 

[krisholio14]

i know you said you tried it but exercise is great. just lift weights/run/whatever until you are so stuffed all you can do is sleep.

works for me at least.

Exercise actually works the other way for me.

I find if I do any kind of physical activity near bed time I won't sleep.

 

[BigBadCam]

Whatever you do, don't nap. The more you nap, the more you train your body for short, shallow sleep. You'll end up waking up after a couple of hours sleep and not being able to get back to sleep.

 

[krisholio14]

Whatever you do, don't nap. The more you nap, the more you train your body for short, shallow sleep. You'll end up waking up after a couple of hours sleep and not being able to get back to sleep.

As you get older you end up waking up after 4 or 5 hours to go for a leak anyway

That's when I start to have the problems, when I wake up to take a slash and can't get back to sleep.

 

[Smoooothy]

camomile tea always worked well for me

 

[MF]

Plenty of exercise, early in the day, if possible and relaxation techniques at bedtime - Focus on your body and your breathing instead of what's running through the back of your mind. Get a book on it if you're not sure what to do.

 

[GPW1]

Exercise actually works the other way for me.

I find if I do any kind of physical activity near bed time I won't sleep.

yeah sorry, i shouldve mentioned, do the exercise during the day or a few hours before bedtime.

although, there is one type of exercise that is a sure fire way to put me to sleep as soon as finished, but the thread title asks for nothing explicit

 

[bigange]

I'd bet it is stress related. This is tricky to overcome, whether you see a professional about it or not.

Try and relax as best you can before getting into bed, tricky but it will work. If you have the discipline to meditate it will work for sure.

 

[Wahooti Fandango]

Read, read and read. I read every night in bed. Novels are good, but also try some non-fiction that really gets your brain going. It works for me.

 

[MarcMaverick]

Yes exercise is good so long as it is the one where you run a fair bit, football etcetera etcetera. But eat right and have glass of water alongside you. Also take a shower, that helps.

 

[MarcMaverick]

Or you could read a book rather than going on the internet, because then your eyes will tire out and drift to sleep due to constant movement off the retina rather than staring at the screen which will be detrimental to not only your sleeping pattern but your eyes will redden significantley due to the radiation off the computer screen. Reading the book also relaxes the mind aswell.

 

[krusden]

what works for me is like a total body relaxation:
start with each of your toes (individually)
tense then relax
then repeat with your feet and work upwards to calves etc
etc.

for some reason this works for me.

 

[Ziebonlahor]

ok, i used to sleep well, past 2 weeks i have struggled, seen a doctor who has done tests and cant see a reason to why, i cannot go on sleeping medication due to "possible" reaction with other medication im on.

Ive tried the cold/warm milk, glass of water, exercising etc.... nothing works... any help?

Do you play sports? run? or even walk?

If so, exercise for 40 mins before you go to bed will do the trick.

 

[ben_cats_fan]

Do you play sports? run? or even walk?

If so, exercise for 40 mins before you go to bed will do the trick.

Yeah exactly. I've a mate who is awake at night and asleep at day, his body clock is all wrong. But it started because he never did anything and couldn't sleep at night. We're convinced that he just needs to get out there and do some sort of physical activity.

Not only will your sleeping improve, but also you'll notice that you're feeling better overall too!

 

[we57st]

I find exercise has the opposite affect. It gets my adrenaline flowing, so even though I may be physically tired, mentally my mind is racing. This happens even if I've done exercise has long ago as 3 hours before bed.

 

[sprockets]

The heat doesn't help for starters if you don't have AC. If you don't you need to get a fan going while you're sleeping. Not only will it cool you down, the white noise from the fan actually helps.

But as a long time graveyard shift worker who goes through sleep disruptions every so often, here are my tips.

- Make sure you go to bed at the same time every night. Do not attempt to change it up any more than once or twice a week, and even then no more than an hour or two either way.

- Drink no more than two caffeinated beverages a day, and make sure the last one is at least 3 to 4 hours before you want to sleep.

- Never go to bed on an empty stomach.

- Stay off the piss for a couple of weeks if you're a drinker. You can go back to it once you've got everything back in line.

- Do not go to bed stressed or wound up about anything. Make sure you've cleared your head of absolutely everything else and focus solely on getting some sleep. Your worries can wait till the morning.

I've been an insomniac all my life. Most of the above are good tips, although coffee has no effect on my sleeping.

Above all else, you need to get your mind off your lack of sleep. Relaxation and mind exercises help as does the droning (and cooling) of a fan. Maybe try to think of it as a short term problem that'll go away soon, therefore, nothing to worry about.

If you're lying awake in bed don't look at the clock. If it has a dimmer dim it to off - you don't need to see the clock if you're trying to sleep.

 

[TheStinger]

The heat doesn't help for starters if you don't have AC. If you don't you need to get a fan going while you're sleeping. Not only will it cool you down, the white noise from the fan actually helps.

I agree with this. During a hot night I will have a floor fan on with my back turned to it. I always sleep like a log. The dog likes it too.

 

[BigBadCam]

I agree with this. During a hot night I will have a floor fan on with my back turned to it. I always sleep like a log. The dog likes it too.

Don't say that about your girlfriend.

 

[blue gunslinger]

The heat doesn't help for starters if you don't have AC. If you don't you need to get a fan going while you're sleeping. Not only will it cool you down, the white noise from the fan actually helps.

But as a long time graveyard shift worker who goes through sleep disruptions every so often, here are my tips.

- Make sure you go to bed at the same time every night. Do not attempt to change it up any more than once or twice a week, and even then no more than an hour or two either way.

- Drink no more than two caffeinated beverages a day, and make sure the last one is at least 3 to 4 hours before you want to sleep.

- Never go to bed on an empty stomach.

- Stay off the piss for a couple of weeks if you're a drinker. You can go back to it once you've got everything back in line.

- Do not go to bed stressed or wound up about anything. Make sure you've cleared your head of absolutely everything else and focus solely on getting some sleep. Your worries can wait till the morning.

Cut out caffeine 100% but do so gradually (replace with Ganoderma)
Cut out alcohol 100% or just 1 day per week. Short half life means rebound effect from sleepiness 4 hours later
Relaxation techniques work
Routine sets you free - don't read in bed, nor watch TV (excites the brain)
Exercise is vital to blow calories: swim every morning run every 2nd arvo
Diet - small frequent meals full of lots of good food. Low sugar. Don't eat within 2 hours of bed. Biggest meal of day is brekki. You don't need lots of energy laden food like carbs and proteins right before resting.
If you have an underlying cause like stress/anxiety back troubles etc treat the cause of your insomnia
Cut your body mass by 10% if you have snoring issues
Get up early - exercise go to bed earlier
could go on for ever

 

[jabbathehut]

if you drink a bit then give it up for a month. replace the booze with peppermint tea about a half hour before you go to bed. and as weird as this may sound, only use your bedroom for sleeping and nothing else

 

[crownie]

i had problems for a few years now, some tips which i have heard are

- dont exercise after dinner cause it releases adreniline and your body wont want to sleep

- dont eat just before bed time

- if you cant sleep after 30 minutes do something lazy like read a book, never listen to music

- spend as little time as possible of the day in your bedroom