Insomnia and ways to fight it.

Hello, fellow DV Members and guests. Over the years, i have suffered from insomnia alot. I got better at getting rid of it through time, but it always came back at some point. Especially with the thought of lucid dreaming going through my head. So, I decided to help you people, since my insomnia is decently gone.
Here goes. Feel free to discuss some of these ideas, or post your own. Good luck to all of you.

+Drink warm, or hot milk. You know how they say you do more growing while sleeping than you do during the day? it's apparently because of something in warm milk.
i don't necassarily know why this works, but i know it does. Not to mention, it's warm. That helps.

+Breathe through your chest during the day, and stomach when going to bed. The chest is your natural breathing spot during the day, and breathing through your stomach relaxes you more.You may not realize it, but you do breathe through your stomach automatically. So just change that.

++Don't toss and turn. Most of the time, Insomnia is caused by, what i like to call the rollover syndrome. It's (Obviously), when you can't stop tossing and turning at night. If you just STOP tossing and turning, and begin to resist the urge to, you will eventually be decent. If you are too hot, well, take off your blanket. still hot? well it's probably because you've exhausted yourself from all the tossing and turning you did. Try not to have it happen again.

+Get your energy out. Exercise, Go swimming, Walk instead of drive if you can. Or bike. Sometimes you get insomnia because you still got some energy in you. You can still fall asleep, but it's more difficult because you may not actually be ready to go to sleep.

+Take melatonin. Melatonin is a chemical naturally produced to help you fall asleep. There are melatonin pills that come in 3mg and 5mg. Dissolve a pill
under your tongue, and within 20 minutes or so, you will feel quite tired. You will become immune to it within a few nights of taking it, so take weekly breaks.

+Don't eat unhealthy at night time. Simple. the sugar keeps you up. I could get technical, but it's all pretty obvious i think. It's okay to eat a bit unhealthy during the day, (i mean, not very many people have much of a choice.) but at night it keeps you up. i think eating in general does, actually.

+Try to prevent, or supress stress. Stress can not only keep you awake, but it can be hurtful toward your dream recall. Meditation, or some sort of medication can help reduce stress.
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Alternatively, you should know that there is a signal that your brain gives off to test whether you are ready to go to sleep. It's when you itch and, like i said earlier, want to toss and turn. If you let the signals pass, (Not itching and tossing and turning) Then you will fall asleep easier.

Well, good luck everybody. hope this helps.
-Tradl3s

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Originally Posted by Tradl3s

+Drink warm, or hot milk. You know how they say you do more growing while sleeping than you do during the day? it's because of something in warm milk.
i don't necassarily know why this works, but i know it does. Not to mention, it's warm. That helps.

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There's apparently tryptophan in milk. It's supposed to cause drowsiness, but it doesn't seem to affect me.

And I've never heard that saying. If it's true, it's probably because we use less energy for activity when sleeping, allowing more energy to be contributed to growth.

All very helpful. Thanks :)

These all have benefits, but what about for issues such as too much mental stimulation/uncontrollable awareness as the mind is falling asleep? This has been the biggest issue over anything else with regards to my insomnia, and the only thing that seems to eliminate the problem is something that starts to numb out this sort of awareness, like antidepressants, and other things that can make you feel labotomized. There are certain types of meditation which work to some degree, but only if channeling this awareness to something else. Usually this is hard because there's always something related to being awake or feeling awake with most types of awareness, whether its following breath, trying to focus on the "void", and other things of the sort.

Anyhow this has been a most difficult problem for me. Eventually sleep DOES come on it's own but after sitting motionless for hours, and usually does not evolve out of hypnogogia for some hours more, and deep sleep is rarely there for long. After I fall asleep, however, I find it usually pretty easy to get back into it, unless I stay awake for too long after a dream has finished.

Sorry if this sounds confusing, I'm sleepy :D

EDIT: I should mention that this problem is something that manifests itself regardless of what traditional sedatives are used, other than Mirtazapine, or something with antidepressant effects. Z-class sedatives (zopiclone, ambien, etc), OTC ones like diphenhydramine, doxylamine, dimenhydrinate, work well for physical sedation but the same problem remains mentally stimulating.

If you have actual insomnia that negatively affects your daytime and nighttime routines for more than two days in a row I recommend a low dosage of Zyprexa. Under no circumstance would I take it more than occasionally - but for occasional mania/sleeplessness I have relied on it for years.

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Originally Posted by imautoparts

If you have actual insomnia that negatively affects your daytime and nighttime routines for more than two days in a row I recommend a low dosage of Zyprexa. Under no circumstance would I take it more than occasionally - but for occasional mania/sleeplessness I have relied on it for years.

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Please, before anybody takes any advise on the internet from a stranger about taking a prescription drug for something that you didn't have prescribed by you doctor, do some research and under no circumstances take it from your parents/friends medicine cabinet without seeing a doctor.

One drug may work for some, but it may kill others.

Zyprexa (olanzapine) is an atypical antipsychotic medication. Exactly how it works is not known. It is thought to work by changing the actions of certain chemicals in the brain.

Zyprexa is used to treat the symptoms of psychotic conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (manic depression) in adults and children who are at least 13 years old.

Zyprexa may cause heart failure, sudden death, or pneumonia in older adults with dementia-related conditions.

-Don't try to fall asleep, or make it a goal. Remember that it's called "falling asleep", you have to let go and fall into it.

-Don't think of Insomnia as something you are attached to, kind of like depression - people think since they are diagnosed means they will never escape depression, just think of it as something that comes and goes.

Just some ideas ;)