Insomnia, ugh

[snoop]

Okay, so I was prescribed something for insomnia for a very brief amount of time (got some samples from my doctor) just before I had to get up and move to a new city just to find out my insurance doesn't cover it and I'm not approved (too young to prescribe a long-term sleeping pill like that), and it wasn't perfect by any means. I don't really want a pill. I'm chock-full of bio-feedback mechanisms but none seem to do it for me. How do some of you guys get to sleep dammit???

[FryingMan]

Melatonin is great if you must have a pill. It creates a quiet drowsiness to sink into. Other than that, relaxation breathing is great. Backwards counting where you relax more and more with each exhale. Relax totally, physically and mentally. Do not stress. Stress and anxiety about not sleeping lead inevitably to a vicious cycle of insomnia. Just be happy to relax more and more and just keep floating. If you have an active mind, then do some mild activity like the backwards counting to give your mind a *quiet* focus away from thoughts, then just try stopping the count and do the breathing, if your attention comes back to strongly, return to the count. Just keep repeating this until you sleep. Find your physical tension, it can be in surprising places, especially in the head: cheeks, eyes, in addition to the traditional jaw and forehead. Get regular exercise, avoid junk food, eat a nutritious diet, and keep a regular sleep schedule so your body knows when it's time to sleep.

[snoop]

Even heavy sleeping pills don't usually work right for me, melatonin just makes my mind a bit quieter and 5-htp makes me more awake and feel strange. I'm guessing my diet (or lack thereof) probably plays a pretty big role in this. I know how to use breathing relaxation techniques too, but I just can't get my mind to shut off, even if there aren't any words coming or going. It's just stuck being on, I can't let "go". edit: Well, anyway, here's to another sleepless night. At least for the most part I'm not dragging ass the next day and I just feel normal.

[Voldmer]

I recently started with a fairly strong dose of korean ginseng in the morning (for the added energy). Interestingly, it has made my sleep much better. Here are some further suggestions for herbal supplements for sleep: california poppy (works sort of like an off-button, and makes dreaming impossible for me), licorice (very nice), lemon balm (against worrying and endless thinking), skullcap, oat straw (good for lucid dreaming!), bacopa monnieri (very heavy tranquilizer for me, improves memory as a side effect!), L-theanine (amino acid, calming), linden flowers. Otherwise, 250 mg of phenibut works well for me (also great for lucid dreaming), but it can only be used once (or maybe twice) per week to avoid tolerance building up. Of course, all of this is probably useless, if the general diet is unhealthy. The human body doesn't work well, if it is not fed well. Also, avoid intense mental activity in the last few hours before bedtime - allow the mind time to wind down!

[kadie]

HAVE YOU TRIED CALCIUM AND MAGNESIUM? Ohh sorry didn't know caps were on. Let me see if I can find a link about it. Magnesium Deficiency Symptoms and Diagnosis | GreenMedInfo | Blog Entry 12 Common Magnesium Deficiency Symptoms actually, just google magnesium deficiency. As a matter of fact, I'm going to hunt some down right now as I realize Im having signs of it being low again. Hope it works for you.

[FryingMan]

Voldmer you've given me a whole new list of stuff to try! Never heard of some of them. Oat straw? bacopa monnieri? Sounds interesting! Do you have a preferred source of information about the things you've listed?

[EamonWill]

I suffered from insomnia for years. Then I started eating right and exercising and I forced myself to keep a regular sleep schedule and I no longer had any regular insomnia symptoms. For those occasional bad nights or just to get myself to go to sleep early, I also drink Sleepytime Extra herbal tea, do 30 min of stretches, and meditate. The stretches are as follows: *Roll every joint in your body - Roll head around each side 10 times, roll shoulders each direction 10 times, elbows, wrists, stretch fingers, chest rolls, hips (while squatting slightly), knees, ankles, stretch toes *Reach arms forward and stretch for 20 sec, then backwards 20 sec *Touch toes 20 sec; repeat *Massage jaw at joint by the ear for 30 sec to a min Meditation (Self-hypnosis) as follows: Lie on your back and breath in for a 5 count and out for a 5 count 3-5 times; tell yourself you are getting sleepy; focus on your body and tell yourself your body is getting heavy; focus on each individual body part and tell yourself that it is heavy with sleep (Ex. - My feet are heavy with sleep, my calves are heavy with sleep...) and work your way from your feet to your head; then get in whatever position you sleep best in and think of your "happy place" or whatever thoughts work best to put you to sleep

[Voldmer]

Voldmer you've given me a whole new list of stuff to try! Never heard of some of them. Oat straw? bacopa monnieri? Sounds interesting! Do you have a preferred source of information about the things you've listed? There are many websites dealing with herbs, and other supplements. I tend to use Herbs To Herbs , www.herbwisdom.com , and www.examine.com quite a bit. Also, I recently found this quite extensive list of nootropics: www.nootriment.com/nootropics-list Oat straw is actually wonderful; it really helps me sleep well, and WBTB-efforts on oat straw-nights have rather high probability of lucidity for me. Bacopa is a traditional ayurvedic herb for the mind (improves memory, counteracts aging, and lessens anxiety).

[FryingMan]

Voldmer, what is your regimen (when and how much do you take) for the Oat Straw and the Bacopa, for dreaming? thanks!

[Voldmer]

Voldmer, what is your regimen (when and how much do you take) for the Oat Straw and the Bacopa, for dreaming? thanks! I would take 1 tsp. oat straw to make an infusion (steep for at least 10 minutes), and consume before bedtime. As for the bacopa, I use Planetary Herbals Bacopa Extract, of which I take one tablet containing 225 mg bacopa extract about 90 minutes prior to bedtime. As a general (but of course somewhat arbitrary) rule, I never use anything more than once every five days.

[Neo Neo]

Other than what others have recommended (such as melatonin and meditation), I think its noteworthy that valerian root is a herbal sleep aid as well. Although I personally have found melatonin to be amazing for falling asleep, you could give valerian root a try. Several years ago it was available at GNC stores, so I'm sure it still is, or a health-food store equivalent. My other advice would be to do like 15-60 minutes of reading, and that is reading out of a physical book. Just something casual, fiction or poems or something. I've found that doing a little bit of reading before bed helps to calm myself down and balance myself out before sleep.

[FryingMan]

Valerian is indeed helpful for sleep, I took some just last night. It's very effective, but I think it tends to suppress dreaming. I recalled dreams (I woke directly from one so it was a very vivid memory) but only from my final waking at about 7 hours, before that it's all a blank