Post your complaints about having trouble falling or staying asleep here.

Also, post your tips for attaining a better nights sleep.

Alcohol is the best sleep aid I've found thus far, what helps you get to sleep?

5/27/2008 11:17:25 AM

i had trouble falling asleep last night...

i think it was because it was the first night in 3 weeks i had to sleep alone

alcohol usually helps, so does nyquil and tylenol pm, but i try not to take that very often... i usually wake up groggy after nyquil

oh yeah... plus the sleep apnea doesn't really help much either... arg.

[Edited on May 27, 2008 at 11:25 AM. Reason : .]

5/27/2008 11:23:56 AM

Quote :

"i think it was because it was the first night in 3 weeks i had to sleep alone "

I definitely sleep better when I'm not alone

5/27/2008 11:25:08 AM

do not drink to get to sleep. That is an extra easy way to be come dependent fast.

add some regiment to your schedule by getting used to doing certain things at certain times of day. give yourself a good hour "cushion" on either side of your sleeping hours.

5/27/2008 11:26:19 AM

but who has that kind of time?

5/27/2008 11:27:29 AM

people I guess

5/27/2008 11:28:05 AM

i'm here

5/27/2008 11:30:01 AM

i've been having trouble getting to sleep lately, then all of a sudden i'll crash during the day

last night i was tired as shit until i finally was able to fall asleep between 6 and 7, had to get up at 930

same thing happened night before last except that i went to bed at midnight and woke up at 3am just wide awake

5/27/2008 11:54:17 AM

signed!

I have trouble staying asleep and it always takes me at least 30 minutes to get to sleep
I took ambien but it made me too groggy in the morning
melatonin helps alot and so do benzodiazepines but i have to take those only in desperation because it's highly addictive. . . i found myself looking forward to going to bed

It's also extremely difficult for me to go to bed before at least midnight. I could get in bed for 2 weeks at 10:30 or 11 and will lay awake until at least 12 or later

I also have extremely bad dreams and anxiety issues so that doesn't help either.

[Edited on May 27, 2008 at 12:02 PM. Reason : .]

5/27/2008 12:01:23 PM

Here!

I did find that at one point reading a book before going to bed helped my mind stop racing a little. It hasn't helped me as much lately, but I used to sleep pretty well that way.

5/27/2008 12:02:00 PM

I had a lot of trouble falling asleep last night.


I think it was because it was the first night going to sleep sober since thursday and i layed around all day being lazy.

Usually i sleep like a rock and plan to return to that tonight.

5/27/2008 12:05:10 PM

checking in!

I can't remember the last time I didn't wake up at some shitty hour while sleeping. I have been going to bed around 2 and then wake up for awhile around 4 or 5, and then sleep until 9, even if I don't have anywhere to be that day.

I was up until 4:30 last night, and starting tomorrow I have to get up at 7am for my new job, these next few nights are going to be rough

5/27/2008 12:08:23 PM

check

5/27/2008 12:49:17 PM

Having a really cold room helps me fall/stay asleep.

But lately I've been waking up a ton and been having trouble staying asleep too

5/27/2008 12:53:10 PM

More like AA support group from the sound of these posts.

5/27/2008 1:05:44 PM

paging evan

5/27/2008 1:06:51 PM

Fuck going to bed

I sleep < 30 hours a week and I feel like a million bucks

5/27/2008 1:09:17 PM

falling asleep isn't a problem for me its the waking up at 3am thats the problem

someone mention the tylenol pm to me today, i may have to try that

5/27/2008 1:10:30 PM

Drinks and drugs are a big part of my life, but they don't negatively effect my sleep

I haven't woken up with a hangover since 2003

5/27/2008 1:11:45 PM

Yup, trouble falling asleep and waking up.

6mg melatonin and a screwdriver works nicely.

5/27/2008 1:21:26 PM

where do you put the screwdriver? I found putting a pillow over my head helped me get to sleep. Along with melatonin and not smoking/drinking an hour before bed

5/27/2008 1:37:01 PM

Quote :

"That is an extra easy way to be come dependent fast. "

figured this out recently, now I'm trying to become not dependent on it

5/27/2008 1:53:07 PM

I always used to catch up on sleep when I had class in Daniels 429.

Now I just force myself to stay in bed until I fall asleep.

5/27/2008 1:58:31 PM

what time should you take melatonin for optimal sleep? what brand of melatonin do you buy and how much is it?

5/27/2008 2:05:16 PM

I take GNC brand melatonin. I thinks its 3mg pills like $5 for 60 pills. I try to take them about an hour before i want to get in bed, i find that it doesnt really help me get to sleep, however it def. keeps in asleep and in a deep dreamy sleep

[Edited on May 27, 2008 at 2:20 PM. Reason : 1pill per night]

5/27/2008 2:19:26 PM

I've got some nature's bounty melatonin from tar-ghey. 3mg each, I take two. Combined with a little vodka, deepest sleep in a LONG time. I'll only do this once a weekend though, don't want to become dependent and anything more than one drink leaves me feeling messed up for days. Usually I just take the melatonin with sleepy time hot tea.

Oh, the melatonin is taken with the hot tea or alcohol, then I take a shower and go to bed. Maybe 40 mins before bed time.

5/27/2008 3:53:02 PM

Thanks for the suggestions. Do you think melatonin works better than ambien? I was on that for a while, but it didn't help too much.

5/27/2008 6:44:01 PM

Here!

5/27/2008 6:47:35 PM

i'm trying this stuff called just sleep

hopefully it'll get me to sleep earlier that 6am

5/27/2008 6:52:25 PM

Quote :

"Thanks for the suggestions. Do you think melatonin works better than ambien? I was on that for a while, but it didn't help too much. "

Haven't tried ambien, haven't needed to after the melatonin/hot tea combo.

Avoiding caffeine completely has helped as well. Otherwise if I drink it I crash and nap mid-day.

5/27/2008 6:59:47 PM

melatonin is not addictive, it's a natural compound your body makes.
take it right before bed and give it a few days of taking it regularly for it to work
don't watch tv going to sleep or right before you go to bed because of the blue light it emits
try and get your room as dark as possible
they say not to read but it always helps me relax and think about something else

5/27/2008 8:53:17 PM

getting sick will help you sleep really well. Best sleep I've had in a long time

5/27/2008 8:55:28 PM

I have serious sleep issues, most often falling asleep and then waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to sleep.

Ambien sometimes works for me, and I usually take a little xanax/alprazoam with it to help keep my heart from racing like mad when i lay down

i know this is a bad combo, but it's the only thing that seems to work for me now.

5/27/2008 8:57:01 PM

Quote :

"I definitely sleep better when I'm not alone"

cuddle buddy!

5/27/2008 9:07:18 PM

damn kitten sleeps on my mouth/nose so i can't breathe. it's hard to sleep with it walking all over my face too.

5/27/2008 9:07:55 PM

my legs have been getting cramps in them in the middle of the night for about the past 2 months, so bad that it wakes me up and i have to stand up to get them out of my legs. ive taken amiben and that makes my mouth taste funny for a while before i go to sleep and for a few hours after i wake up.

5/27/2008 9:08:13 PM

Hi, my name is Erica, and I am an insomniac. I even had trouble sleeping as an infant, but my first major bout with insomnia was when I was 12 years old and I have had it repeated troubles with sleep over the past 14 years.

Medications prescribed for anxiety and sleeplessness:

Buspar - supposely helps with anxiety. is poop.
Xanax - we all know about it
Ativan - helps with anxiety. makes me a little tired, but if it's a bad night, it's not going to work.
Trazodone - ZONKS ME. but dry mouth is unbearable.
Sonata - hallucinations.
Ambien - works well if I get settled and can sleep. otherwise hallucinations.
Doxylamine - recommended by my OB as safe while pregnant. Worked great for just another OTC.
Benadryl - pooey.

Other:
Alcohol - not a great sleep aid because of the side effects.
Reading - *two thumbs up* Helps me get settled.
Television - Really helps when my mind is racing.

Keeping a regular sleep schedule is my gold standard. If something starts to throw off my routine, it usually snow balls.

5/27/2008 9:11:33 PM

Takes me at least 90 minutes to fall asleep each night. I have taken up to 5 Tylenol PM with absolutely no result. A nice mixed drink before bed = nothing. I have a 3 year old son, so I can't take a knockout drug.

Don't know what to do.

5/27/2008 9:12:53 PM

i have always had trouble sleeping... a good night for me is 6 hrs

avg is 4... yeah, im prob going to die of something induced by sleep-deprivation soon

i am so jealous of ppl who can sleep for like 12 hrs

5/27/2008 9:13:46 PM

for those real bad nights, temazepam works miracles.

5/27/2008 9:16:00 PM

I'm giving Unisom sleep gels a try tonight

5/27/2008 9:17:39 PM

I haven't read this whole thread...but I use Simply Sleep. It's made by the same company as Tylenol PM. So it's basically the Tylenol PM without the Tylenol, just the PM. It works well for me. The meds I'm on right now are very similar to speed so taking just half a dose will make me wake up early in the morning and not let me go back to sleep. So nights that I take the Simple Sleep I sleep all night long and even wake up without hitting the snooze button more than once.

5/27/2008 9:34:18 PM

alcohol

problem solved

5/27/2008 9:41:15 PM

i just got a pillowtop mattress this weekend for my new place


problem semi-solved

5/27/2008 10:04:23 PM

You shouldn't be self-medicating with alcohol.

5/27/2008 10:07:25 PM

Is there anything OTC you can take if you wake up in the middle of the night and can't sleep to get back to sleep more easily without having to be conked out for 8 hours? Because I don't want to start taking something every night, but if I wake up at 3 a.m. it's too late to really take anything to deal with it.

[Edited on May 27, 2008 at 10:24 PM. Reason : I don't want to have to get a prescription ]

5/27/2008 10:23:56 PM

i'm actually about to fall asleep and its a magical feeling

i'm out

5/28/2008 1:10:58 AM

^ Thanks for the advice, but simply sleep is not helpful to me at all

5/28/2008 1:16:44 AM

i went to bed at 2 last night because the weekends festivities got me in that cycle. then, at 5:30 this morning, my neighbor's dog barked continuously (he was outside, and i had my windows open). i heard them yelling at the dog to shut up, but he didn't really listen and then after they went to work, the dog went on it's normal bark-because-they-left-me tirade.

so i got a few hours of good sleep, then a few more of broken shitty sleep, and that led to a nap this afternoon, and here i am.

also, that fucking dog came into my yard today and pissed on my crepe myrtle! and then growled at me!

5/28/2008 1:21:44 AM

i tired to go to bed around 12:30 but i guess i was just in bed for an hour and nothing happened.

wii it is

5/28/2008 1:29:55 AM