Trouble Falling Asleep

[ilovefrootloopz]

Usually it takes me around 30 minutes to fall asleep. I don't mind it though, because it's constant and I guess it's not too long of a wait. But for the past 3 nights, I've had trouble falling asleep. I'm kept my sleep schedule completly the same, but for some reason its' been taking me 2 hours to fall asleep at 12 AM, and then 1 hour 30 minutes to fall asleep again when I wake up at 5 AM. I don't know why this is happening...... I can't think of a reason. The big problem with this is not only the fact that I'd sleep 6 and a half hours a day but I need to spend 10 hours to sleep that much, but also last night at 5 AM I took 100 mg of B6. I'm pretty sure it was almost totally worn off by the time I fell asleep 1 hour 30 miutes after. Does anyone have any suggestions to help fall asleep? Besides taking a hot bath

[Howie]

Have you been less physically active? Even if not a hard work out to kick your butt ( But not right before you go to sleep) is a good way to exhaust your body so it NEEDS sleep. Also stress can lead to this problem. Some varieties of herbs or vitamins can also help. Valerian root, Kava kava to name a couple. The Pharmacy has a lot of information on that. Meditative techniques can aid sleep, which to can be found in the tutorial Forum.

[BeautifulDreamer]

I can relate. One of my HUGE problems with LDing is that it takes me about an hour to go to sleep, since most of the time I'm not tired at all. I can hardly do WILD or MILD even, because it gets dull saying "You will know you are dreaming." Over and over again... Meditation is probaly the best bet. But don't take any sleeping pills (natural is ok, just don't use the crappy kind you get from walmart.) because they put you in delta sleep. Delta sleep= hardly any good dreams.

[Peregrinus]

I'm not sure whether you've been trying WILD or MILD while this quasi-insomnia has been occuring, but if you have, I'd avise you to lay off for a while and perhaps attempt another method of LD induction. I tend to take a while to fall asleep as well, and if I attempt either of those methods, it keeps my mind too active and awake. If this isn't the case, Howie's advice is very good - hard exercise an hour or two before you normally go to sleep should help put you under with ease - and if stress is the culprit, meditation or just taking an hour or so before bed to read, watch TV, do whatever you do to relax should help. If none of those potential solutions are possible for you, my old insomnia stand-by is two Benadryl and a shot of vodka 30 minutes before I want to fall asleep. The effects wear off within a few hours, so you shouldn't awaken tired and disoriented. It just helps put you over that initial falling-asleep barrier.

[dazed and confused]

[color=#006600]Have you been less physically active? Even if not a hard work out to kick your butt ( But not right before you go to sleep) is a good way to exhaust your body so it NEEDS sleep. [/b] +1 on this. I had trouble falling asleep from when I came back from my latest trip. My first workout since I got back was on yesterday and I dozed right off last night. I would avoid the benadryl, too much can lead to problems of various kinds, especially the one is good, 2 is better menatlity...

[Peregrinus]

I would avoid the benadryl, too much can lead to problems of various kinds, especially the one is good, 2 is better menatlity... [/b] 1-2 Benadryl every 4 hours is the FDA recommended dosage, so unless he's underweight to the point of being emaciated or is allergic to the chemical constituents of the medication, 2 in 24 hours is probably not going to cause problems. It is unwise to become dependent on any chemical substance to induce sleep, but as I said, the Benadryl has worked for me as a safe and effective stand-by.

[ilovefrootloopz]

Thanks guys. I haven't been trying WILD or MILD lately, I've just been trying to... well.. fall asleep and hope for the best. I'll try working out before bed. Whats a good workout that isn't going to stunt my growth or require any external objects (unless they're common household objects).

[DarthDallas]

I have similar problems, and one thing that works for me, i guess you could call it a form of meditation, is i close my eyes and somehow convince myself silently that I havent slept in a few days. Wierd? yes. does it work? pretty well. I usually fall asleep within 10 minutes of doing this.

[skybluelucid]

I will share with you the silver bullet...at least for me. It took me 10 years to discover and it has never failed to deliver. Keep in mind that my "silver bullet" is 50% placebo and 50% psychobabble. I guess you could call it "geographic anxiety." It's anxiety about where I slept. By changing where I slept, I remove the command "fall asleep" and change it to, "just relax and see what happens." In my case, I sleep over on my wife's side of the bed and she sleeps more in the middle. (It's a big bed...king size.) I fall asleep, wake up 20 minutes later, and go home (ie, that familiar comfort of my side of the bed). For me it's never failed to deliver. When I start getting insomnia, I do it a night or two and then I'm on track for several weeks at a time. Like I said, I'm sure it's about psyching myself out, or more appropriately, NOT psyching myself out. Hope this helps.

[ilovefrootloopz]

I just have a regular normal sized bed.... do you think this would work if I... reverse sides (like have my pillow/head where my feet usually are)?

[Pyrox]

It should give you a different feeling, but I wouldn't know if it would work for making you fall asleep.

[dazed and confused]

1-2 Benadryl every 4 hours is the FDA recommended dosage, so unless he's underweight to the point of being emaciated or is allergic to the chemical constituents of the medication, 2 in 24 hours is probably not going to cause problems. It is unwise to become dependent on any chemical substance to induce sleep, but as I said, the Benadryl has worked for me as a safe and effective stand-by. [/b] Don't take me the wrong way on this please. I have seen kids popping bottles of the stuff in search of a "downer" it ain't pretty, as well as mildly addictive. I do realize that this level of consumption is far above the recomended dosage and out of the range of acceptable behavior of a normal person, but i know more than one person who will take 2 or 3 times the prescribed dose of some drugs because the effect was not "imeadiate". I ment a quick word or caution, nothing more, nothing less.

[ilovefrootloopz]

Last night I didn't want to try any of the methods if I were able to succesfully get to sleep in the next hour. I managed to fall asleep in 45 minutes, 15 longer than normal... So I guess that was good. Tonight I'm going to work out before going to bed and reverse my sleep position in hopes of falling asleep in 30 again.

[skybluelucid]

Yeah. Just changing it up works. Like I said, I change my approach, too. Instead of "if I am asleep right now I'll have 7 hours of sleep", it's more like "this is pretty comfortable." When I need a different spot, I don't even think about going to sleep. I don't make it my goal and then the sandman comes for me. Good luck!

[TheFlamsGo20Feet]

I've been having trouble sleeping too. It's probably because I don't prefer sports to other things like books and Jet Force Gemini. I don't want to try changing positions, because I think moving your body would focus your mind on doing so, thus having to make your brain do some work. Should I try some exercising anyway? Oh, and I don't plan on taking medicine. I just don't feel like it, and it's going to cost me some money.

[Naturally Lucid]

see my post in http://www.dreamviews.com/forum/inde...howtopic=35894 it's a few paragraphs long....

[Stoat]

Why don't ya try HILD? I usually fall asleep before I can actually do the hypnotising part. BTW, I read Gothlark's tutorial