Got Insomnia?

I've managed to get by with a couple of adjustments: Setting a mental wind down time: Get into the habit of associating 9pm (or a time 2 hours prior to bed time) as a time to start mentally thinking, "time for bed", or other suggestion to cue your body to rest. Set Night Mode on all devices: The blue light from devices can keep you over-stimulated. I set my phone up to switch into night mode and reduce the amount of blue light exposure. For some devices this is not feasible, and I will alternately use computer glasses to address this. The start time for this mode is the same as wind down time to reinforce the first habit. Keep a fixed sleep schedule: I struggle with this one too, but keeping things consistent makes it easier to conk out when the time comes. If this isn't really feasible, I list some alternatives below. Add some white noise: I can't sleep if there's too much background noise, but some white noise (like a computer fan) is usually enough to keep me from focusing on my ear ringing. I've tried a few of those "rain" videos on YouTube, and sometimes they are too distracting. There's a bunch of different sound options as an alternative to white noise (including binaural beats). Take melatonin: You can take 3-6 mg of melatonin an hour before bed, or right before laying down. The effect is pretty mild, but will help ease you in to sleeping. Some studies suggest this can effect you blood sugar levels, so more is not better in this case. Eggs contain a small amount of melatonin, and a hard boiled egg can be eaten as an alternative to supplement. Cutting off caffine intake before 2pm: Caffine takes a few hours to metabolize, so drinking your last cup before midday can prevent it from keeping you up at night. Early day sun exposure, or supplementing vitamin D: You can try taking a 15 minute walk in the late morning to affect your circadian rhythm. You body will synthesize vitamin D from the exposure, and as your levels change over the day, this will signal your body on when to sleep. You can also supplement Vitamin D. I am not a doctor, so you may want to consult the label and a medical practitioner before starting any supplement regime. Don't worry too much if none of these work out immediately. Keep working on making bedtime the time to rest and put the days thoughts away, try some combination of the above, and stick with what works for you.

The sleep cocktail isn't working as well now. Seems to help me fall asleep but I don't stay asleep. I've been waking up after 3-4 hours and then I struggle to fall back to sleep. I remember my grandmother had insomnia. When I was little I used to sleep in her bed and if I woke up in the middle of the night to find she was gone I would find her sitting in the dark sometimes on a couch and I would lay down next to her so she wouldn't be alone. I definitely inherited this from her. Didn't know what insomnia was at that age, but looking back at an adult it makes so much sense. She also had restless leg syndrome which is something I have developed as an adult, which also contributes to the insomnia.

Those silly genes, why can't we get the good ones? Do your cats keep you company while you're awake? I don't like to give unsolicited suggestions but I have a few of you want. I had trouble with insomnia before mostly due to my anxiety/depression OCD background. I do a lot better with it now. My sleep schedule might get messed up at times but the sleep is consistent and it's not too bad shifting my sleep schedule back to a standard one. I usually like to be asleep for the early morning since the body releases adrenaline, cortisol, etc. Most of my panic attacks happen in the early morning.

@kuharido I welcome suggestions. Crislington has supplied me with a few. I know I should have a sleep study done but would like to avoid if possible. I don't have insomnia all the time but when I do, it sticks around for a while. And yes, my dog goes where ever I go and generally I end up with one or two cats on me lol.

I'd get a sleep study done for funsies, but I don't want to keep the doctors awake from my snoring, haha! Go in to find out why I am not sleeping and wake up to find the medical staff needing to check themselves in for insomnia!

I tried to do a sleep study when my insomnia was bad but the doctor turned me away. She didn't seem very good. I know a friend who did a sleep study and it helped them a lot. I do suggest getting one if you can stand it. For my suggestions if you're open to it acupuncture helped me a lot with insomnia. I was good in a few weeks of treatment. You can also try tai chi and qigong exercises. Lemme see if I can find a video to look at it. Then you can also try progressive muscle relaxation. It takes some practice but it's a good technique to know. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo3rfPcn-fU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w9YBZhPLI4 I haven't watched the videos myself since i don't have the condition but there's a lot on youtube and it's worth a shot. I do qigong and tai chi myself and I use to have a problem with my legs always feeling wobbly. That was after a traumatic event so it was anxiety related. They eventually felt more stable after I practiced for several months.

I need to do a sleep study, I'm fairly sure I have sleep apnea. I can not for the life of me sleep laying on my back without waking up gasping for air, only on the side and that tends to leave you with all kinds of body aches. Meh... Just got thru talking about life insurance policies with my fiance....for what it's worth.lol oh, and snoring is a indicator of potential sleep apnea. The more you know!!!!