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I wasn't sure where to post this because I couldn't find a forum on sleeping in general. My problem is, I'm an insomniac.
I read a lot of people discuss issues with atonia, sub-conscious fears coming to life in their dreams, and attaining lucidity, but I haven't read anyone talk about insomnia.
I don't know how to go to sleep. I'm kind of embarrassed. I'm 22 years old, you'd think I would've figured it out by now. Should I go somewhere else for help?
Before i got into lucid dreaming i used to be not much of a sleeper myself, though i haven't had serious cases of insomnia, but now whenever i am for some reason can't fall asleep i either try to 'blank' my thoughts or just let the random thoughts fly, it works out most of times. :-?
*Moved to Sleep and health*
Have you spoken to doctors about this? as much as everyone here would like to help, i think this would require medication and more help then this forum can offer.
Ah ! Insomnia. Well, I used to have lots and lots of trouble falling asleep ... that' s some annoying stuff, huh ?
Alright so first off we gotta find the causes of the insomnia, it may not be obvious but most of the time there are causes to this : stress, sorrow ... bad things. Just solve all your problems, that may stop the insomnia by itself. If this doesn' t work, then it' s gotta get away bt\y itself; there are ways to stop it for one night, though :
-Get asleep earlier, wake up earlier.
-Don' t exercise before trying to sleep.
-this is really useful for me : when you try to sleep, choose your favorite number. For me, 6. Add three 0. 6000. Double it . 12 000. Now count down from 12 000 to zero, couting from 6 to 6. When you memorize the number it' ll ge too easy. Do 3 to 3 and add colors for each number.
I give you 10 minutes.
While I agree with all of the above, one additional thought: while it is good to not try to exercise right before sleep, but exercising more earlier during the day may help a lot. Also try to increase your awareness of yourself overall: what are issues in your life? Try to solve them. Are you eating stuff late at night that might be hard to digest? Try to improve nutrition and eat more earlier in the day and less late in the evening. An obvious one that many people overlook: reduce or eliminate caffeine and sweets. Drink warm milk before bed or a chamomile herbal tea. Try to meditate or somehow calm your mind before sleep. Try white noise or soothing music to fall asleep to. Think about changing your mattress and or pillow. Try reducing the temperature in the room you sleep in if it may be too hot. Try sleeping in another room on the couch and see whether that works better for you. Only after you have tried various things like that, and none of them work, and if you cannot figure out the cause, then go to a doctor for help just as NewZealand suggested - however, I suggest first trying ways that do not involve sleep medication, and only take medication if other methods fail. It would be best if you can figure out the cause of your insomnia: stress, discomfort, too much caffeine, thinking too much, poor diet or not enough exercise, ??? If you can figure out what is causing it and fix that, that would be a healthier solution than medicine. But if those other ways fail, medicine may be needed because lack of sleep has all kind of bad effects.Quote:
Originally Posted by Higat
Sometimes it helps not to try falling asleep. Just lay in any comfortable position and observe your breath, no thinking, just being there feeling how pleasant it is just to relax and follow the breath. If your mind strays go back to watching the breath. You might decide to also gently tap your finger or count fingers for every thought-free breath. This way you will be monitoring yourself with little effort at some point all thoughts will quiet down and you will be deeply asleep.:sleepmeditate2: