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Anybody suffer from insomnia, restlessness, or waking frequently?

Any tips, tricks, hacks or advice that you have learned/acquired that helps you overcome any (or all) of those? Either consistently or inconsistently

Don't lie in in the morning. Set a time to get up each day regardless of how much sleep you've had. It'll help recalibrate your sleep patterns.

Cut down on your screen time as you get towards bedtime. Don't lie in bed looking at your phone. The light stimulates your brain into thinking it's day time and that you should be active.

Indeed, some things to consider:

- Reduce heavy activity when it's getting close to bedtime.
- Settle yourself. Intensive computer activity, posting on forums, engaging in debates or even certain types of music (fast, agressive, energetic) will lead to your brain not switching off. Try to stop about an hour before you go to bed
- No phone use or telly watching in bed! Bed is for sleep (most of the time), not for stimulation.
- It goes without saying that any tablets or phones need to be on absolute silence - no noise! No vibration alerts!
- Reduce the temperature of your bedroom - make sure it is slightly cooler than usual, but not cold. If your bedroom is warm, turn off appliances, open a window and cool it down a little (Edit note: this is because your core body temperature lowers slightly to help promote sleep. Having a slightly cooler bedroom helps somewhat)
- A fresh, clean bedroom and clean sheets will help. Make sure it is a room that makes you feel comfortable and relaxed. Clutter, cables, mess, and so on don't promote a nice "sleep here" feeling
- Make sure your Duvet is correct for the weather - light for the summer, heavier for the winter
- Avoid sugary or caffeine filled foods - these will act as short term stimulants. Also, avoid eating close to bed. A light snack, no more
- If you're having a drink, only drink a small amount of alcohol - the nightcap. Anymore and you'll have poor quality sleep
- I find a bit of gentle white noise helps - I run a fan on with an auto off timer on hot nights and it serves both to cool me down and to provide a gentle soothing hum
- Finally - routine is important! If you're erratic with your sleep patterns, you're sleep will suffer

Sweet dreams!

I think Zed covers most of it in the post above,

but I'll add if you really, really can't sleep don't lie there tossing an turning for hours (over time you're conditioning your self to keep doing it and subconsciously associate the bed and bedroom less with sleep and more with stress and frustration)

so get up, get out of the bedroom and do something else for an half an hour to an hour and try again

and speak to your gp or doctor as if you can fall asleep but have poor sleep quality and keep waking you may have sleep apnea (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_apnea) which can be improved

(weight loss will help if your overweight for example, right up to using a CPAP machine)

I suffer from acute insomnia and it's miserable. (Interestingly enough, my wife has narcolepsy... I can't sleep and she sleeps too much!) Luckily, I've had it under control for the last few months so it's not as bad.

Everything Zed wrote is excellent advice and short of pills it's the best way to manage insomnia.

Good advice! Will let my friend know all that.

 OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:
I think Zed covers most of it in the post above,

but I'll add if you really, really can't sleep don't lie there tossing an turning for hours (over time you're conditioning your self to keep doing it and subconsciously associate the bed and bedroom less with sleep and more with stress and frustration)

Interesting. I had heard that it was better to just lay there and let your body rest even if your mind wasn't. <shrug>

The only thing about caffeine is that I don't consider it a mild stimulant anymore, at least not near bed time. We have a great dessert and coffee culture here, but I have to have decaf, or a single filtered coffee will keep me up past 3 AM...

I'll only add that if you suffer from allergies and congestion is keeping you from sleeping, a single Benadryl (or generic Diphenhydramine HCl) will allow you to get a good 6 hours.

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:
I'll only add that if you suffer from allergies and congestion is keeping you from sleeping, a single Benadryl (or generic Diphenhydramine HCl) will allow you to get a good 6 hours.

It'll also make you drowsy too


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Easy E wrote:
Interesting. I had heard that it was better to just lay there and let your body rest even if your mind wasn't. <shrug>

God no! Get out and away from bed. Cool off (temperature wise), maybe a mild distraction, nothing too strenuous...

Don't practice lucid dreaming, it can cause sleep paralysis when you trying to wake up with very very scary like-real hallucinations.

One thing I've found, being in college for an extended period of time...

I spend a LOT of time reading during the school year. And regarding subjects in my major and interest area, reading those things gets the trained reactions in my brain going (thinking things through, how would it fit into a paper, how does it relate to other things I've read in that same subject, etc)

To combat the sleep issues that stem from my heavy class reading, at around 10pm or so, I will put down all school books, and read something entirely different. Be it Game of Thrones, or Wheel of Time, Deadpool... usually some "light" fiction.

That's strange, because I found my third-year Degree texts solved any problems I had with insomnia

I would try to stay away from pills. Night time is my most medicated portion of the day. I am hopelessly addicted to sleeping pills. Been on them for 6 years now(prescribed). When they do not work, I add 1 shot of everclear, or 2 shots of whiskey. I usually can sleep after that, but not always. The mental aspect is the worst part. Your mind tells you that you cannot sleep without them. When I get close to running out of sleep pills(a combination of crushed ambien, Mirtazapine, and prazosin) I get frustrated, angry, and anxious, preventing me from sleeping. Its a mess dude. I have failed many times over the years to quit the sleeping pills. Its amazing what someone does for good sleep.

1/2 pill of trazodone works wonders for me and my neighbor claims smoking a joint works for him. If work didn't drug test I would try the neighbors medicine

I actually started miniature painting to combat insomnia when I was younger.

Exercise regularly. My wife suffers from insomnia, and when she is on her exercise regimen it's not nearly as bad.

 Chute82 wrote:
my neighbor claims smoking a joint works for him

Yeah, that definitely helps with insomnia.



Or at least that's what I've heard...

 Easy E wrote:

 OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:
I think Zed covers most of it in the post above,

but I'll add if you really, really can't sleep don't lie there tossing an turning for hours (over time you're conditioning your self to keep doing it and subconsciously associate the bed and bedroom less with sleep and more with stress and frustration)

Interesting. I had heard that it was better to just lay there and let your body rest even if your mind wasn't. <shrug>

I think it's the difference between the way to deal with the occasional night you cant sleep: stay in bed, you will eventually drop off

and the way to deal with serious persistent insomnia (you really want the bedroom and especially the bed associated with nothing but sleep: so get up do something (not involving screens) for a bit then try again

 Dark Apostle 666 wrote:
That's strange, because I found my third-year Degree texts solved any problems I had with insomnia

Lol, I guess that unlike some people, I am really interested in the courses within my major and so the books I have to read in history classes fail to put me to sleep

I get bouts where sleeping gets difficult to impossible every once in a while. On top of that I am a super light sleeper, especially when I'm adjusting to different sleep patterns or schedules, which is great when my shift potentially changes every six months due to work. Whiskey or sheer physical exhaustion is the only thing that seems to help - sometimes.

Don't use your PC, television or anything else with a screen after dinner. Instead, go outdoors and do some sport or exercise (but not too active or demanding). Then take a warm shower and have a glass of warm milk before going to bed early.
It also really helps if you have been outdoors and active for the entire day, so try exercising and sporting a lot.
This always helps me when I have periods of having difficulty sleeping. It helps especially when I go sailing after dinner. For some reason that makes me extremely relaxed and sleepy. Maybe you can find an activity that does the same thing for you.