I cannot get to sleep. For some reason my body does not like to rest between the hours of 10 and 4. Instead I can only seem to get rest bewteen 3 and and 12. This is of course not good for any normal person who has a job. I am going insane from the lack of sleep. I just counted 700 sheep. What can just downright knock me out for 8 hours? And please dont say ZMA, this does nothing for putting me to sleep.
Melatonin works for sure. The problem is, is that I think it’s like steroids in the sense that when you take it your body stops producing it. I say this because I was taking it for like 3 months and now if I don’t take it my eye twitches. Usually my eye twitches when I get bad sleep. So my theory is that maybe it’s better to use it only once in a while or every day for the rest of your life.
Also, smoking pot makes your body release melatonin. That’s why it makes you so tired.
oxy continen, viccoden, zanex, weed, heroin, opium, diloded, weed
I highly recommend lunesta. I’m in the same boat as you when it comes to sleep. I work 3-11 and typically dont get home to after midnight. It akes me forver to go to sleep. I end up sleeping all morning and then its time to back up and go to work. Thank God for Lunesta I sleep 8hrs and then wake up.
Try wacking off two or three times.
Melatonin is good, but if the sleep issues are combined with stress, I had some irritating side-effects (bad mood).
Kava-kava works just as good, while as a side-effect it elevates the mood slightly. You can find it pretty much any place that has over the counter stuff.
If you can find a real acupuncture specialist that might also help. Beware of the fakes though.
I have heard of the likelihood that using Melatonin for too long will cause the body to cease it’s natural production, so I stayed away from that. Valerian root is pretty potent; I used that a few years back with good results. Not sure about the long-term effects, however. I stopped taking it after a pretty short period of time.
I was having a lot of trouble sleeping recently and found the combination of minerals and vitamins found in ZMA (zinc, magnesium aspartate, vit. B6 [increases absorption]) to be just what I needed. Been sleeping like a baby ever since.
pre bedtime supps: zma, childrens aspirin to lower blood pressure by thinning the blood, 3mg melatonin when needed. Consuming some chamomile tea is suposedly said to help also. Try praying, it’s funny how easilly you can get distracted while in the process of prayer by getting tired and sleepy. Instead of counting sheep do the Lord’s prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me, a sinner” This is the unceasing prayer that is mentioned in the scriptures. laters pk
I use Restoril, works great. Falling asleep in only 20 minutes gets addicting though, so it’s hard not to take it every night. 
[quote]bikemike wrote:
Try wacking off two or three times.[/quote]
Have done it believe me.
Last night my wife gave me something to sleep. I’ll find out what it is. I slept my ass off. I’m usually a tough sleeper as well. Normally I’ll read a book. Pass right out! Steve Halpern makes some good relaxing CDs that work to a point.
Still you should see a doctor. Sounds like you have a lot of shit going on in life and a medicine may be necessary for a short while. Do you have C-Span? That shit will bore you into a coma.
lmao!
[quote]bikemike wrote:
Try wacking off two or three times.[/quote]
25 to 50 mg of benadryl (diphenhydramine). Its the active ingredient in tylenol pm, and all other otc sleep aids. Trust me, if you dont take it often youll be drooling on yourself within 45 minutes of taking it.
Everybody is giving medication advice. How about you tell us your daily routine and your routine before you go to bed then people can give you advice. Rather than lets get you all medicated up so you get dependent rather than identifying the issue first. It could be a simple fix.
As someone who was an insommniac for about 12 years but who didn’t want to depend on medications can I recommend reading?
Not just any old thing but something quite taxing. Starting on all the classics I felt I should have read (from Homer’s Ilyiad onwards) I would find that after an hour or two my eyes would glaze over and the next thing I’ve woken up with a book over my face.
I am currently reading the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Seems to help with the sleep no-end. Loving the Bhudda.
My friend, I hear you on this. I have posted a number of times here about my own sleep problems.
Here is what I have learned:
-First, tell us what your daily schedule is like. One of the front line treatments for insomnia is good sleep hygene. This includes maintaining a regular sleeping schedule(which is the bulk of my problem as I work swing shifts), making sure your room is dark and comfortable if not a little cool. Also minimize any physical distractions and make sure your bed is not causing you discomfort. Also try using a fan or some type of white noise.
-Supplement wise, most of the major ones have been mentioned. ZMA doesnt do anything to put you to sleep, although I have often read that zinc and magnesium have some sedative-like properties. Try valerian root. There is a product out now that looks pretty good called liquid sleep, but it is pricey. Do a search if interested.
-Watch using the medications. Use them as a last resort. I have used both Ambien and Lunesta. They tend to make you feel a little foggy the next day. There is also a dirty little secret about these medications that nobody told me about when they were prescribed. I found this out through a ton of research, but these medicines can disrupt your sleep schedule for quite a whilelike weeks), even after you have stopped using them. They can also cause bad rebound insomnia in some people. Use them with caution. With that said, sometimes you need a little help to get sleep to make it to work.
-Sleep issues are most frequently caused by stress. Stress can take many forms, dont just assume its the usual stuff like money or girl problems. Very common among ionsomniacs is sleep anxiety, where sleep itself becomes a major stressor. It doesnt help to think about not sleeping all day, but this is exactly what happens. Reducing your overall level of stress/anxiety is hugely important. Look into relaxation techniques and maybe more importantly, cognitive behavioral therapy, which involves restructuring your thinking that is causing stress.
-In my limited opinion, it seems to me that you simply have an out-of-whack circadian rythym. Everyone is different. We all need different amounts of sleep. Also, while most people do best sleeping at night(say sometime between 10 PM and 8 AM), not everyone is like this…hence night owls, morning people etc. You can restructure your rythym(light therapy, sleep restriction and so on) with time and some effort, but you would probably be best served by seeing a sleep specialist to help with this.
Good luck.
[quote]1-packlondoner wrote:
As someone who was an insommniac for about 12 years but who didn’t want to depend on medications can I recommend reading?
Not just any old thing but something quite taxing. Starting on all the classics I felt I should have read (from Homer’s Ilyiad onwards) I would find that after an hour or two my eyes would glaze over and the next thing I’ve woken up with a book over my face.
I am currently reading the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Seems to help with the sleep no-end. Loving the Bhudda. [/quote]
Wow, that idea had never occurred to me. I had always heard the reading suggestion, but I never really thought to apply it to certain books. I would just pick up whatever I was reading at the moment and then get so interested that I couldn’t fall asleep.
Maybe I’ll separate “pleasure reading” and “night reading” from now on, lol. Looks like I need to pull out all those books I never took the time to read and just got the Cliff Notes for in high school. A Tale of Two Cities, here I come…
[quote]CC wrote:
1-packlondoner wrote:
As someone who was an insommniac for about 12 years but who didn’t want to depend on medications can I recommend reading?
Not just any old thing but something quite taxing. Starting on all the classics I felt I should have read (from Homer’s Ilyiad onwards) I would find that after an hour or two my eyes would glaze over and the next thing I’ve woken up with a book over my face.
I am currently reading the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Seems to help with the sleep no-end. Loving the Bhudda.
Wow, that idea had never occurred to me. I had always heard the reading suggestion, but I never really thought to apply it to certain books. I would just pick up whatever I was reading at the moment and then get so interested that I couldn’t fall asleep.
Maybe I’ll separate “pleasure reading” and “night reading” from now on, lol. Looks like I need to pull out all those books I never took the time to read and just got the Cliff Notes for in high school. A Tale of Two Cities, here I come…[/quote]
Worked for me. ALways had two books by the bed. One was always supposed to tax me more than the other.
if you gonna read you better have a timer on the light. if you’re that streesed that you need to read then having to clap or turn to shut the light off will disrupt your shutdown. that’s my opinion. laters pk