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amativedame -> Insomnia (5/21/2006 11:04:38 PM)

Does anyone have any personal tips or tricks when dealing with insomnia?  Its always been a problem of mine but I've been fighting it like mad for the past week and a half and its starting to drive me batty.  I should have been in bed four hours ago....

Tips that don't involve prescription sleep aids would be greatly appreciated.  I am one of those people who can't tolerate it since it gives me horrible night terrors.



ElectraGlide -> RE: Insomnia (5/21/2006 11:09:34 PM)

I dont eat big meals at night, that food provides too much energy and just rolls in your stomach and makes it hard to sleep. I eat a lean quisine type microwave meal and it is easy on the stomach. I walk one to two miles a day and it makes me good and tired at my specified bed time.



BrutalAntipathy -> RE: Insomnia (5/21/2006 11:10:54 PM)

Avoid caffeine and other stimulants before bed. Warm bath or shower. Sex. Meditation or relaxation techniques. Try getting up and going to another room and reading or watching telievision for a while if you have been in bed for 15-20 minutes and have not fallen asleep. Position your clock so that you cannot see it.
 
If all else fails, a couple of benadryl and 3 fingers of scotch often do the trick.



talibahh -> RE: Insomnia (5/21/2006 11:17:22 PM)

well amativedame,  the best thing i find, is to relax before even going to bed. Like taking a nice warm bath with dimmed lighting or candles. Lie there relaxing and trying to empty your mind. Not doing things like reading the boards which (for me anyway), gets your mind ticking over and thinking too much.
Then have your bedroom all nice and dark and warm, (unless its summer where you are), snuggle under the blankets, clean sheets on the bed, soft music in the background, sip on a nice warm milo (hot chocolate) and relax... take some deep breathes in and out, let your mind empty... and drift off to sleep...
 
*tali yawns*... hey!  this sounds good... i'm off to bed... night all [:D]

 
of course there is another great way to relax that helps me drift off to sleep... that blissful state after... (well, you know)... always leaves me completely relaxed, or if youre lucky enough... a massage... aromatherapy... heaven!
 
then there are herbal options to help you sleep too... but these have never worked for me...
 
sweet dreams...
tali




ElectraGlide -> RE: Insomnia (5/21/2006 11:22:41 PM)

Do we have any eye doctors out there. This might not be good for the eyes but I read at night under a dim light or get online for awile and it gets my eyes tired enough to relax me to sleep.



LadyAlexa -> RE: Insomnia (5/22/2006 7:49:56 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: amativedame

Does anyone have any personal tips or tricks when dealing with insomnia?  Its always been a problem of mine but I've been fighting it like mad for the past week and a half and its starting to drive me batty.  I should have been in bed four hours ago....

Tips that don't involve prescription sleep aids would be greatly appreciated.  I am one of those people who can't tolerate it since it gives me horrible night terrors.



Some or all or combos of the ideas might help you.   I've had insomnia off and on for a few years.  With me it was based hormonal...menopause!   I tried OTC herbal stuff which helped.  For general insomnia as suggested:    take a brisk walk in the evening; read a dull book in bed; play a CD of slow soothing music; cup of hot milk; a massage; orgasm; getting into a routine.  OTC sleeping aids might be useful.  You mentioned no perscription drugs, but OTC ones have been recommended to me by my doctor.  I take half the prescribed dose and it works very well.    I also like my room cool so usually will have the window open.   Sometimes imagining yourself in a certain way helps: lying on a soft cloud and floating in the air; lying on soft grass, a sandy beach, riding in the back of a car.       I do know that not sleeping affects us in so many ways.   I wish you luck and a good nights sleep.



amativedame -> RE: Insomnia (5/22/2006 8:11:45 PM)

Thanks for the replies everybody.  I do avoid caffeine since the last thing I want is to make it harder by having a reason not to sleep.. lol

I already do the clock think actually.. used to be really bad about that and spent to much time obsessing about the fact that I still wasn't asleep.

Unfortunately talibahh it is spring!  Otherwise those blankets would be very very inviting.

I have done the herbal stuff (melatonin used to work for me but isn't right now.)  OTC stuff works sometimes when I'm not having such a problem.... doesn't do me any good at the moment which gets frustrating.



maybemaybenot -> RE: Insomnia (5/22/2006 8:33:15 PM)

Have you ever tried Valerian Root or Skullcap ?  I use Valerian in the pure extract form.
< 10 drops in juice >

I have uses Skullcap in the past and it also works fairly well. I found it more effective for menstrual cramps, however

Please Note: If you are going to use Valerian,  do not exceed the recc. dosing. It can cause paralysis, and/or a weakening of the heartbeat in extremely high doses. As a side note, this stuff smells horrible. Literally like dirty socks.

Also: Skullcap has been said to reduce sexual drive. I never found it to do so, but it may be something to watch out for. < Unless you like a low libido[;)]>
It is always best to use an herb in it's purest form, which is the raw herb. In the case of Valerian, it just smells and tastes too bad for me to make a tea. Skullcap makes a nice tea when you add a little chamomille or Lemon Balm. Both of these are also good for insomnia. After raw herbs form, the next purist is extracts.

                            mbmbn 

                             mbmbn



ADomDoc -> RE: Insomnia (5/23/2006 10:14:02 AM)

You've gotten a lot of good replies. 

Establishing a routine ... make sleep a Pavlovian response.   I used to take steaming 30 min showers in college & hit the sack ... pretty soon, a shower would make me sleepy.

Beware reading a book to get to sleep ... you can make reading the Pavlovian stimulus ... & make it really hard to read (which happened to me ... and reading dreary research ain't exactly an eye-opener anyway!)

Re: Melatonin ... it seems to work well BUT it's using a hormone in thousands of times it's natural body concentration.  And experience shows us that supplementing any hormone has long-term & pronounced effects (& I'm not speaking of good effects.)  I steer folks away from melatonin all the time.  If you've gotta use it ... save it for the big guns once in a blue moon.

Re: Valerian ... basically tastes horrid ... and is also basically taking Valium in the natural form.  The bad part of Valerian ... it can bounce on your stomach, esp after you lie down.  Nothing like indigestion & nausea added to insomnia!

As to alcohol ... in a light dose can be helpful ... but hammering down a couple of drinks will stimulate diuresis ... and pretty much guarantees you'll have to get up to pee within 1-2 hours ... just about the time you might have finally been asleep for good! 

One suggestion that folks seem to have missed is good ol' tryptophane.  And, though the supplements have been taken off the market after a single bad batch (they don't do that if a drug has a single bad batch!) ... it's still readily available in turkey meat.  Make yourself a snack of a THICK turkey sandwich ... or a chunk of smoked turkey drumstick, etc.  It won't knock you out ... but within 30-60 min, you should find your eyes drooping.  Don't fight it ... and make sure you are well tucked-in before it hits ... or you might miss the opportunity.  AND, it'll give you more vivid dreams :-)  If you use it more than once in a day, you may find it less blatantly effective the 2nd time BUT IF you allow yourself to lie down & close your eyes & rest (even if you think you aren't sleeping), you'll find it still works quite well.

Hmmm ... didn't notice any suggestions about white noise or pink noise either.  White noise = fan, air conditioner, washing machine, babbling brooks, rainfall.  Pink noise is low volume radio or TV (we've all gone to sleep to John Wayne or Football).  The GOLF CHANNEL is soooo boring, it helps lots of folks sleep.  Sometimes a TV or radio in another room as good enough.  Also ... a radio or TV that will turn itself off after 30-90 min might be a good trick though, if you once go to sleep by it, keeping it on will prevent you from hearing other noises that might otherwise wake you up.

Hope this helps,

ADomDoc
SanAntonio



MistressSassy66 -> RE: Insomnia (5/23/2006 3:17:26 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: amativedame

Does anyone have any personal tips or tricks when dealing with insomnia?  Its always been a problem of mine but I've been fighting it like mad for the past week and a half and its starting to drive me batty.  I should have been in bed four hours ago....

Tips that don't involve prescription sleep aids would be greatly appreciated.  I am one of those people who can't tolerate it since it gives me horrible night terrors.




Myself and bishop use a mixture of Melotonin and Valarian Root.
The valerian helps you to relax and the melontinin helps you fall asleep and stay asleep.
W/we also use a white noise machine that plays Tree Frogs O/our favorite...it also has rain,the ocean and a brook (for some reason the brook sound makes Me need to pee,lol).
You can find just plain melontonin or plain valarian root at your local drugstore.My pharmacist reccomended the combo and it works like a dream. Take 1 or 2 pills 1 hour before bed,the ideal time is around 8pm



candystripper -> RE: Insomnia (5/23/2006 4:13:44 PM)

To the Op: there is a practice known as "sleep hygiene" which is what mbmn described.  A search on dogpile might give you additional sleep hygiene ideas.
 
Personally, i have had a sleep study done, and have "parasomnia"; which is sleep talking; sleep walking, etc.  It means there is relatively little REM sleep and i never get rested.
 
i take lunestra; don't find it to be a "magic bullet" but it helps.
 
candystripper



maybemaybenot -> RE: Insomnia (5/23/2006 7:23:56 PM)

****** Looks up at ADomDoc and wonders.....
who is this mysterious man who shares my avatar ?  ******

LOL... not hijacking this thread, but when I came back to it to read the follow ups, I skimmed down quickly,, saw my avatar appear twice and thought I double posted.

Candy:
Glad to hear you had the sleep study done. Did you happen to catch the piece on Parasonia that was on CNN this past Sunday night. It was very, very interesting and informative. Some good work is being done on this subject, which I had little knowledge of until recently.

ADomDoc:

My information on Valerian lists it as... well tolerated with only occasional minor gastric distress.  I cannot provide a link as I am referenceing the Herbal PDR. A nice warm cup of peppermint tea will counteract any gastrointestinal disturbance and enhance the sedative effect of the Valerian.
I am not doubting your source, more curious as to where the info came from. I am pretty careful when it comes to herbs and have many reference books here at home as I have a medical condition that does not allow me to take some herbs. I am also careful to try and include the warning signs, side effects and possible interactiosn when I post.
I believe that saying Valerian is Valium in it's natural state is a misnomer. It has been compared to Valium, which is a Benzodiazapine, which Valerian is not. There chemical structure is completely different. Some say Valium got it's name from Valerian.. but : Valerian differs from Valium in that alcohol does not intesify it's effects, it does not cause birth defects, it is not addictive, nor does it promote dependancy and it does not have the   " hangover effect". All of which Valium does.

               mbmbn



texasbutterfly -> RE: Insomnia (5/23/2006 7:51:41 PM)

i suffer from the same sleep problems...sometimes watching skating's next big star will put me right out....lol

however, i have found that if i will turn the lights down low, and lay on the floor on my back, and slowly and methodically relax starting with my toes and work up.  concentrate on my breathing and feeling my pulse...i can relax enough after about 20 minutes to go to bed and if not sleep thru the night, at least get some quality sleep before i wake back up.

if nothing else, sleep deprivation makes life interesting...lol.



amativedame -> RE: Insomnia (5/23/2006 7:53:59 PM)

I tried valerian (first one recommended to me) and it did help... on top of the fact that the indigestion it gave me kept me from sleeping too! lol

I noticed later on that you mentioned that its "well tolerated with only occasional minor gastric distress."  Most things never go the main road for me.  Most often than not I'll get the odd ball side effect than the common one.



amativedame -> RE: Insomnia (5/23/2006 8:00:02 PM)

I do have a "Pavlovian response"... but when I get like this that doesn't help.  Really really really wish it did!  I"m not the kind to read a book before bed so there's no worry about that.  I'm a big reader and it stimulates me... so bed and that will never mix.

lol.. if they still had tryptophane I'd try it.. but there isn't much that I hate more than turkey! [:'(]

edited to fix spelling mistake: insomnia and a keyboard on the fritz make for interesting posts!



maybemaybenot -> RE: Insomnia (5/23/2006 8:07:15 PM)

I'm sorry to hear it gave you stomach issues. You could try it with Peppermint tea.... or try the skullcap. I am hoping ADomDoc comes back and gives me his info source, as I was unaware of any severe stomach issue. Again, sorry you had a bad belly night.

                                   mbmbn

edited to add.... after hunting thru websites, I found a commercial preparation of Valerian Root and Lemon Balm. The addition of Lemon Balm is to offset any gastric side effects that may occur.
As I posted in my first post, I have used lemon balm as an enhancer with Skullcap.



merrymasochist -> RE: Insomnia (5/24/2006 12:28:14 PM)

I'm a lifelong insomniac who is not compatible with any ingested sleep-aid drugs, be they pharmaceutical, natural or otherwise. There's lots of good advice above that may work well for you. Here are some of my ways for combating it.

The biggest way for me to handle my insomnia was to change my job and switch to working nights. I found circadian rhythm is geared to being awake at night and by stopping the fight against my natural tendency my insomnia eased a lot. I still get bouts with day-time insomnia but they aren't as severe and don't last quite so long.

Some other ways I've used to combat my insomnia are -

1. Staring at a plasma ball. It's kind of like meditation with a light show. I empty out all my thoughts and concentrate on the electrical patterns. It helps me calm my mind.

2. Tell myself stories in my head. Be they original or take-offs from something I'm reading at the time, it helps soothe me for sleep.

3. Sometimes I'll self-tie down with ace bandages (with the caveat that yes I can get out of them easily if needful) and blindfold myself. By doing this, it forces me to be quiet and still.

4. When nothing is working, I simply get up and do something else. I've learned a lot of crafts this way. ~wry smile~ I've found concentrative and repetitive crafts i.e. cross-stitch, crochet, string art, leatherworking, etc. to be the most calming and soothing with the added bonus of having something to show and keep for my sleeplessness.

5. And when all else fails, I just don't sleep and just wear myself out to the point my body and mind give up the fight and I collapse into sleep. Not the prettiest way to do it but sometimes there's no alternative for me.

I hope these suggestions help. Good luck and hopefully sleep will find you soon.

Sincerely,
merry



SmokeyM -> RE: Insomnia (5/28/2006 7:46:06 AM)

I've done some reading on insomnia because I too lack sleep. One thing I remember reading is to leave the bed for sleeping and sex. Don't read in bed or watch tv in bed. If you lay in bed for 20 minutes and have not fallen asleep yet its said you should get out of bed and try again in awhile.
My favorite way of trying to put myself in that sleep mode is laying on the couch, listening to soft soothing music. Or perhaps a movie I have seen and can say line for line. Nothing action packed though.
Then once I feel sleep coming on I try to go back to bed. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't.
~ Smokey



mistoferin -> RE: Insomnia (5/28/2006 7:56:26 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: ADomDoc
One suggestion that folks seem to have missed is good ol' tryptophane.  And, though the supplements have been taken off the market after a single bad batch (they don't do that if a drug has a single bad batch!) ... it's still readily available in turkey meat. 


You can now buy L-tryptophan supplements again. If you do a search you will find many places to order it on the internet. It works great and I have used it for years. The problem with it was, as you said, linked to one overseas supplier. I also believe that the people who had problems with it were taking HUGE quantities if I remember correctly.



cuddleheart50 -> RE: Insomnia (5/28/2006 8:26:22 AM)

A nice warm bath and some tea usually puts me right to sleep.



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