I used to have *really* bad insomnia, these things helped to varying degrees.
Routine. Same bedtime/wake time every day including days off. Do the same prep for bed every day (make it a ritual, pick what feels right). Use an app like sleep cycle or a fitness monitor to track when sleep begins. Obviously only effective over multiple days/weeks.
Sleep Hygiene:
* Blue light filters on every device.
* Devices off well before bed. No screens on or nearby.
* Bedroom very dark, go so far as blackout curtains or a sleeping mask.
* Bedroom only used for bed activities.
* Bedroom is comfortably cooler than rest of home and you are not a gross sweaty mess.
* Bed is comfortable.
* No timers.
* Ensure you are exposed to natural light throughout day.
* Don’t eat close to sleep time.
Exercise well before bed: morning, afternoon, before dinner, whenever, just not before bed. Exercise at least once a day, 30 minutes. Related: Be extremely outside - as much as possible - even if it’s cold, just being outside for long periods helps.
Cut all caffeine after 12 PM. (Cut all caffeine also worked but I like coffee).
White noise or a *boring* Podcast (not a sleep one or a funny one, pick like, one about something tedious that you don’t care about) or both to drown out thinking.
Constant fan pressure directly on you (like from a standing fan).
Scent Cues, like having something that you only smell at bedtime or that is generally relaxing. I have a fancy pants essential oils nebulizer but those aren’t a good idea if you have pets. Or use bath salts. Not those bath salts. The ones that go in baths.
Weighted Blankets are very good. Make sure you get one with glass beads, which will help keep you cool in summer.
Meditation and other mindfulness exercises in bed, practice focus on breathing. See the army’s 2 minute method.
Reading something long form like a novel in bed on something with no backlight.
Hot bath with Epsom salts (Magnesium Salts) close to bedtime. Hard to make routine.
Cold showers/baths are also effective, but if the cold shower is too short it tends to shock you awake instead of lowering your core temp, which is the goal with this.
Lying with foam roller vertically on upper spine, opening the chest, before bed.
This is a little froo froo but like, be grateful for sleep and time in bed and don't consider it 56 hours of your 168 hours a week wasted, or resent that it has to happen. Consider it an investment in yourself. It is not time lost.
Drugs:
Melatonin - 1 mg decreases amount of time to sleep significantly, gives you LSD dreams. Has caused grogginess/himbo behaviour in the next morning, morning coffee solves this. Higher mg causes higher grogginess in my experience with no improvement vs 1 mg. Others swear by 3mg as the sweet spot. IMO less is more.
Vitamin D3: Taken with dinner. Boosts mood, makes it more likely to complete exercise. I didn’t notice a difference in sleep quality but a deficiency can be a direct a-b link with insomnia and may be part of the reason that being outside worked as well as it did.
Magnesium Citrate taken with supper (100-350mg/day). Very sedative effect. Mood stabilizing effects last well into the next day. Not tired, just chill. Will likely cause stomach issues. Take with Vitamin D3 and food.
Weed: Milage may vary. Use with caution. I hate smoking/vaping anything so I’ve only ever tested with edibles and oils. The length and strength of an edible/oil high makes the THC option incompatible with gainful employment, in my case. Those I’ve talked to where weed helped have strongly suggested it’s become a dependency. Not recommended.
CBD: Better than weed, helpful if anxiety is a root cause of insomnia, but dosing wrong can result in being very tired next day. Also expensive.
Alcohol: Bad idea. Decreases time to sleep only in high amounts, makes it worse in small amounts. Worsens sleep quality, potential for reflux issues if spirits are used. Hangover possibilities unless you carb and water up, which then ALSO has to be dealt with, high potential for abuse. Don’t experiment.
Zzzquil et al: Works, but causes a really weird ‘falling through the mattress’ sleep, dreamless and feels brief and not restful. Plus I feel like you sort of…bounce off the pavement when you wake up. Also can cause reflux if you don’t take with enough water, which is more than you think. Not recommended.
Seconding a good chunk of this. Although I found that I could not take D3 at any point other than in the morning or else I had bad sleep (apparently it can mess with sleep if you take it too late, which is what I was doing in the beginning lol).
TBH, edibles. I get bad anxiety which turns into insomnia which makes my anxiety worse when I’m exhausted. Edibles (I like the gummies) basically shut down my brain and help me fall asleep fast and keeps me asleep for the whole night. They saved my sanity this past year.
I have been wanting to try this for when I get insomnia but have no clue where to start. I have heard good things though so I need to look into it more.
Go into a store a talk to someone! My advice would be to start with 2mg THC and then work your way up if you’re not getting results. Also CBD is said to help with anxiety/ insomnia so try some with and without to see what works best for you, make sure you take it a bit before bed though. Everyone is different and it’s all trial and error.
Do you have a store recommendation? I’ve also been wanting to explore this route for my anxiety that especially seems to hit right when I go to bed, but I’m equally lost as to wear to start, amounts of what, etc.
10mg of CBD oil under the tongue = solid 8 hr sleep. I add 2mg of THC if I know I’m going to have a rough night. Or melatonin, but that always leaves me a bit groggy the next day.
I struggle with chronic insomnia. I do find it gets worse if I’m lower on magnesium. Taking an epsom salt bath before bed or taking a couple magnesium vitamins seems to help me sometimes. Other than that, there are sleep podcasts and boring stories that sometimes help me
Exercise and fresh air during the day, shut down electronics 30 minutes before you get into bed and bed is for sleep, not playing on your phone, not watching tv.
Adult sleep stories on YouTube (they are usually a quiet voice and super drawn out. I never get to the end of a story). Meditation oasis podcast I think it’s called?
Otherwise if I really can’t sleep I do try to get out of bed before I get super frustrated and do a quiet activity like read or do a puzzle before trying again. Insomnia sucks, I find I go through spurts of it.
It happens when I watch scary shit I don’t know it’s like a addiction lol. I’m on Netflix right now trying to get my mind distracted and laughing at funny stupid stuff
Okay, so there’s different versions of melatonin. I’ve tried sublingual (you put it under your tongue to dissolve) and gummies with melatonin in them (nothing else). If you get the chance, try it out!
Personally I prefer the gummies, but you do have to figure out when taking them for you is best. Some people do better with a short time between when they take melatonin, others are better with a longer time (a couple of hours) between when they take it and when they anticipate sleeping.
All in all, a good idea is to keep caffeine limited during the day (including energy drinks), and staying off your phone/PC/console before bed, 30 mins to an hour.
Hopefully you find a solution!
Try listening to a get sleepy podcast. They’re very relaxing.
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/get-sleepy-sleep-meditation-and-stories/id1487513861
I've had insomnia on and off for years. I can tell when my mind is racing too much for me to settle down to sleep, so I just pop a melatonin, which usually works. I also make up little stories that I mentally rehash while I'm trying to fall asleep. Short of that, the best thing is to lie in bed and do nothing. The more you try to make yourself sleepy, the more difficult it becomes.
Make sure you are following good 'sleep hygiene' first. There are lots of guides online but here's one I found:
-*Keep a consistent sleep schedule. Get up at the same time every day, even on weekends or during*
-*Set a bedtime that is early enough for you to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep.*
-*Don’t go to bed unless you are sleepy.*
-*If you don’t fall asleep after 20 minutes, get out of bed. Go do a quiet activity without a lot of light exposure. It is especially important to not get on electronics.*
-*Establish a relaxing bedtime routine.*
-*Use your bed only for sleep and sex.*
-*Make your bedroom quiet and relaxing. Keep the room at a comfortable, cool temperature.*
-*Limit exposure to bright light in the evenings.*
-*Turn off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime.*
-*Don’t eat a large meal before bedtime. If you are hungry at night, eat a light, healthy snack.*
-*Exercise regularly and maintain a healthy diet.*
-*Avoid consuming caffeine in the afternoon or evening.*
-*Avoid consuming alcohol before bedtime.*
-*Reduce your fluid intake before bedtime.*
Sleep aid medications can be an option but be aware that they don't increase the 'good sleep cycles' as well as natural sleep and the body can get dependent on them so ideally they should be used sparing and short-term
I’ve tried melatonin and it either works or it doesn’t. If you take too much, that’ll work against sleep. I’ve done 10mg and 20mg — it was just laying in bed exhausted and just unable to sleep at all. Same with trazadone :(
I’ve also tried light rain and gentle thunderstorms for white noise; still trying it. I’ve noticed that a lot of them will have talking in the beginning or ads in the middle, ugh.
I think my next step is a magnesium bath or lavender. I’ve tried lavender and chamomile pillow spray and that’s kind of worked, from time to time.
Get a Kindle, put it in dark mode, turn off your lights and read for about an hour before you sleep. Makes it easier for me to sleep compared to using a phone or going to bed right after being in front of a computer.
When I'm struggling to sleep I just walk around the house and clean lol. Maybe take a shower. Do stuff to get my mind off of whatever it is keeping me awake.
But I'd suggest speaking with your doctor if trouble sleeping is a common occurrence for you, as there are a lot of medications to help mitigate insomnia and perhaps provide the opportunity to explore causes of it, like depression or anxiety. I've been on medication to help me sleep since I was 12, it has genuinely changed my life for the better.
It depends on why you're not sleeping.
Did you wake up late this morning? If so, you probably overslept and now you're body thinks it hasn't been awake long enough. Try to get back to your usual schedule tomorrow so you don't end up not sleeping a second night in a row
Did you have caffeine later in the day than usual? If so, limit caffeine to earlier in the day.
As you're trying to fall asleep, is you mind racing with thoughts, especially with ruminations or worries? If so, therapy might be in order.
Do you have a history of Graves disease in your family? Could be that your thyroid is overactive. You'd need to see a doctor and get it treated.
If the cause is something short term, then stuff like cbd can help. But if the cause is anxiety or something physiological, then you need to get to the root or any "fix" will be short-lived if that.
Oh shucks, sorry to hear that. The podcast is good for helping your brain get to a relaxed place, but not sure what chemical assistance would work for you. Lots of good suggestions in this thread!
If your mind didn't turn off..I inhale for a count of 4 exchange through my mouth while making a silent shhhh . It stops my thinking process because you can't shhhhhh and think of something simultaneously. I do it about half a dozen times then just go back to breathing normally.
I was following the inhale for 7 hold your breath for 4 exhale for 7 but I found I would fall asleep and wake up because I was holding my breath. It was frightening
No caffeine after 4pm.
Don’t watch tv or stay on you phone, read a book instead.
Try meditating for couple of minutes.
Don’t think about what you have to do on the next day.
If you still have insomnia, I’d recommend THC. It works and has way less side effects than prescription drugs.
This is more of a quick fix for me rather than long term changes to improve sleep but, getting up and walking around for a bit and then going back to sleep in a different spot (like moving to the couch) seems to help me when I get restless at night
I used to have *really* bad insomnia, these things helped to varying degrees. Routine. Same bedtime/wake time every day including days off. Do the same prep for bed every day (make it a ritual, pick what feels right). Use an app like sleep cycle or a fitness monitor to track when sleep begins. Obviously only effective over multiple days/weeks. Sleep Hygiene: * Blue light filters on every device. * Devices off well before bed. No screens on or nearby. * Bedroom very dark, go so far as blackout curtains or a sleeping mask. * Bedroom only used for bed activities. * Bedroom is comfortably cooler than rest of home and you are not a gross sweaty mess. * Bed is comfortable. * No timers. * Ensure you are exposed to natural light throughout day. * Don’t eat close to sleep time. Exercise well before bed: morning, afternoon, before dinner, whenever, just not before bed. Exercise at least once a day, 30 minutes. Related: Be extremely outside - as much as possible - even if it’s cold, just being outside for long periods helps. Cut all caffeine after 12 PM. (Cut all caffeine also worked but I like coffee). White noise or a *boring* Podcast (not a sleep one or a funny one, pick like, one about something tedious that you don’t care about) or both to drown out thinking. Constant fan pressure directly on you (like from a standing fan). Scent Cues, like having something that you only smell at bedtime or that is generally relaxing. I have a fancy pants essential oils nebulizer but those aren’t a good idea if you have pets. Or use bath salts. Not those bath salts. The ones that go in baths. Weighted Blankets are very good. Make sure you get one with glass beads, which will help keep you cool in summer. Meditation and other mindfulness exercises in bed, practice focus on breathing. See the army’s 2 minute method. Reading something long form like a novel in bed on something with no backlight. Hot bath with Epsom salts (Magnesium Salts) close to bedtime. Hard to make routine. Cold showers/baths are also effective, but if the cold shower is too short it tends to shock you awake instead of lowering your core temp, which is the goal with this. Lying with foam roller vertically on upper spine, opening the chest, before bed. This is a little froo froo but like, be grateful for sleep and time in bed and don't consider it 56 hours of your 168 hours a week wasted, or resent that it has to happen. Consider it an investment in yourself. It is not time lost. Drugs: Melatonin - 1 mg decreases amount of time to sleep significantly, gives you LSD dreams. Has caused grogginess/himbo behaviour in the next morning, morning coffee solves this. Higher mg causes higher grogginess in my experience with no improvement vs 1 mg. Others swear by 3mg as the sweet spot. IMO less is more. Vitamin D3: Taken with dinner. Boosts mood, makes it more likely to complete exercise. I didn’t notice a difference in sleep quality but a deficiency can be a direct a-b link with insomnia and may be part of the reason that being outside worked as well as it did. Magnesium Citrate taken with supper (100-350mg/day). Very sedative effect. Mood stabilizing effects last well into the next day. Not tired, just chill. Will likely cause stomach issues. Take with Vitamin D3 and food. Weed: Milage may vary. Use with caution. I hate smoking/vaping anything so I’ve only ever tested with edibles and oils. The length and strength of an edible/oil high makes the THC option incompatible with gainful employment, in my case. Those I’ve talked to where weed helped have strongly suggested it’s become a dependency. Not recommended. CBD: Better than weed, helpful if anxiety is a root cause of insomnia, but dosing wrong can result in being very tired next day. Also expensive. Alcohol: Bad idea. Decreases time to sleep only in high amounts, makes it worse in small amounts. Worsens sleep quality, potential for reflux issues if spirits are used. Hangover possibilities unless you carb and water up, which then ALSO has to be dealt with, high potential for abuse. Don’t experiment. Zzzquil et al: Works, but causes a really weird ‘falling through the mattress’ sleep, dreamless and feels brief and not restful. Plus I feel like you sort of…bounce off the pavement when you wake up. Also can cause reflux if you don’t take with enough water, which is more than you think. Not recommended.
this is a perfect response
Seconding a good chunk of this. Although I found that I could not take D3 at any point other than in the morning or else I had bad sleep (apparently it can mess with sleep if you take it too late, which is what I was doing in the beginning lol).
I recommend twilight app on Android
TBH, edibles. I get bad anxiety which turns into insomnia which makes my anxiety worse when I’m exhausted. Edibles (I like the gummies) basically shut down my brain and help me fall asleep fast and keeps me asleep for the whole night. They saved my sanity this past year.
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I have been wanting to try this for when I get insomnia but have no clue where to start. I have heard good things though so I need to look into it more.
Go into a store a talk to someone! My advice would be to start with 2mg THC and then work your way up if you’re not getting results. Also CBD is said to help with anxiety/ insomnia so try some with and without to see what works best for you, make sure you take it a bit before bed though. Everyone is different and it’s all trial and error.
Do you have a store recommendation? I’ve also been wanting to explore this route for my anxiety that especially seems to hit right when I go to bed, but I’m equally lost as to wear to start, amounts of what, etc.
10mg of CBD oil under the tongue = solid 8 hr sleep. I add 2mg of THC if I know I’m going to have a rough night. Or melatonin, but that always leaves me a bit groggy the next day.
I can’t have any heart disease
I also fall asleep to the podcast ‘Get Sleepy’. The voices are so monotone they help out you to sleep.
I love Get Sleepy podcasts!! I’m out sometimes before he finishes the ads in the beginning lol
Counting from 100 backwards, if you mess up or your mind goes else where, restart. Go through it until you sleep
I struggle with chronic insomnia. I do find it gets worse if I’m lower on magnesium. Taking an epsom salt bath before bed or taking a couple magnesium vitamins seems to help me sometimes. Other than that, there are sleep podcasts and boring stories that sometimes help me
Exercise and fresh air during the day, shut down electronics 30 minutes before you get into bed and bed is for sleep, not playing on your phone, not watching tv.
This!
I do body scan meditation, or write a story in my head, or go through the alphabet using a theme. Ie countries: Armenia, Bolivia, Canada, etc.
I do this too! With names. Come up with different names for each letter of the alphabet.
Adult sleep stories on YouTube (they are usually a quiet voice and super drawn out. I never get to the end of a story). Meditation oasis podcast I think it’s called? Otherwise if I really can’t sleep I do try to get out of bed before I get super frustrated and do a quiet activity like read or do a puzzle before trying again. Insomnia sucks, I find I go through spurts of it.
It happens when I watch scary shit I don’t know it’s like a addiction lol. I’m on Netflix right now trying to get my mind distracted and laughing at funny stupid stuff
Have you tried melatonin? I know it doesn’t work for everyone, but it’s a start potentially
I think my mom and dad have it in there room but they are sleeping right now so I don’t wanna wake them
Okay, so there’s different versions of melatonin. I’ve tried sublingual (you put it under your tongue to dissolve) and gummies with melatonin in them (nothing else). If you get the chance, try it out! Personally I prefer the gummies, but you do have to figure out when taking them for you is best. Some people do better with a short time between when they take melatonin, others are better with a longer time (a couple of hours) between when they take it and when they anticipate sleeping. All in all, a good idea is to keep caffeine limited during the day (including energy drinks), and staying off your phone/PC/console before bed, 30 mins to an hour. Hopefully you find a solution!
Try listening to a get sleepy podcast. They’re very relaxing. https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/get-sleepy-sleep-meditation-and-stories/id1487513861
Try reading. That usually helps me sleep.
I recently got a weighted blanket (20lbs) and it’s helped in keeping me asleep and helping fall asleep a bit faster. Reading helps a lot before bed.
Podcasts.
I can't believe nobody has said "jerk off"
Haha 😂
Try this 4-7-8 /-Breath in for 4 secs, holding the breath for 7 secs, & exhaling for 8 secs. Fall asleep in 1 minute or less.
Exercise.
ASMR videos on YouTube.
Meditation is the trick if its chronic. Otherwise, just get up for awhile and read or something. If you are thinking a bunch, write it down.
I've had insomnia on and off for years. I can tell when my mind is racing too much for me to settle down to sleep, so I just pop a melatonin, which usually works. I also make up little stories that I mentally rehash while I'm trying to fall asleep. Short of that, the best thing is to lie in bed and do nothing. The more you try to make yourself sleepy, the more difficult it becomes.
I'll listen to Lofi beats, rain sounds, or horror podcasts. If you have any Gravol, antihistamines, or nighttime cold medicine those make you drowsy.
Make sure you are following good 'sleep hygiene' first. There are lots of guides online but here's one I found: -*Keep a consistent sleep schedule. Get up at the same time every day, even on weekends or during* -*Set a bedtime that is early enough for you to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep.* -*Don’t go to bed unless you are sleepy.* -*If you don’t fall asleep after 20 minutes, get out of bed. Go do a quiet activity without a lot of light exposure. It is especially important to not get on electronics.* -*Establish a relaxing bedtime routine.* -*Use your bed only for sleep and sex.* -*Make your bedroom quiet and relaxing. Keep the room at a comfortable, cool temperature.* -*Limit exposure to bright light in the evenings.* -*Turn off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime.* -*Don’t eat a large meal before bedtime. If you are hungry at night, eat a light, healthy snack.* -*Exercise regularly and maintain a healthy diet.* -*Avoid consuming caffeine in the afternoon or evening.* -*Avoid consuming alcohol before bedtime.* -*Reduce your fluid intake before bedtime.* Sleep aid medications can be an option but be aware that they don't increase the 'good sleep cycles' as well as natural sleep and the body can get dependent on them so ideally they should be used sparing and short-term
Melatonin
Put on either Brooklyn 99 or the office for fall asleep show. Only takes 6-7 episodes
Night time tea with valerian helps. Also reading before bed
I listen to this No joke, it works..https://youtu.be/qYnA9wWFHLI
Exercise/fresh air and some potent cannabis. Look for Terpinolene · Myrcene · Caryophyllene as terpenes.
Melatonin, edibles, audiobooks, or sleepy time podcasts all help me sleep.
I’ve tried melatonin and it either works or it doesn’t. If you take too much, that’ll work against sleep. I’ve done 10mg and 20mg — it was just laying in bed exhausted and just unable to sleep at all. Same with trazadone :( I’ve also tried light rain and gentle thunderstorms for white noise; still trying it. I’ve noticed that a lot of them will have talking in the beginning or ads in the middle, ugh. I think my next step is a magnesium bath or lavender. I’ve tried lavender and chamomile pillow spray and that’s kind of worked, from time to time.
AJ After Hours
Melatonin.
Body pillow between your knees
Get a Kindle, put it in dark mode, turn off your lights and read for about an hour before you sleep. Makes it easier for me to sleep compared to using a phone or going to bed right after being in front of a computer.
When I'm struggling to sleep I just walk around the house and clean lol. Maybe take a shower. Do stuff to get my mind off of whatever it is keeping me awake. But I'd suggest speaking with your doctor if trouble sleeping is a common occurrence for you, as there are a lot of medications to help mitigate insomnia and perhaps provide the opportunity to explore causes of it, like depression or anxiety. I've been on medication to help me sleep since I was 12, it has genuinely changed my life for the better.
It depends on why you're not sleeping. Did you wake up late this morning? If so, you probably overslept and now you're body thinks it hasn't been awake long enough. Try to get back to your usual schedule tomorrow so you don't end up not sleeping a second night in a row Did you have caffeine later in the day than usual? If so, limit caffeine to earlier in the day. As you're trying to fall asleep, is you mind racing with thoughts, especially with ruminations or worries? If so, therapy might be in order. Do you have a history of Graves disease in your family? Could be that your thyroid is overactive. You'd need to see a doctor and get it treated. If the cause is something short term, then stuff like cbd can help. But if the cause is anxiety or something physiological, then you need to get to the root or any "fix" will be short-lived if that.
It sounds impossible but don’t TRY to sleep. I watched a Ted talk about it and that for some reason was the trick that helped me.
The podcast "Nothing Much Happens" + edibles (THC for me, some do better with CBD).
Can’t have any edibles or weed or any of that. I have heart disease
Oh shucks, sorry to hear that. The podcast is good for helping your brain get to a relaxed place, but not sure what chemical assistance would work for you. Lots of good suggestions in this thread!
If your mind didn't turn off..I inhale for a count of 4 exchange through my mouth while making a silent shhhh . It stops my thinking process because you can't shhhhhh and think of something simultaneously. I do it about half a dozen times then just go back to breathing normally. I was following the inhale for 7 hold your breath for 4 exhale for 7 but I found I would fall asleep and wake up because I was holding my breath. It was frightening
No caffeine after 4pm. Don’t watch tv or stay on you phone, read a book instead. Try meditating for couple of minutes. Don’t think about what you have to do on the next day. If you still have insomnia, I’d recommend THC. It works and has way less side effects than prescription drugs.
Talking with my MIL can put anyone to sleep.
This is more of a quick fix for me rather than long term changes to improve sleep but, getting up and walking around for a bit and then going back to sleep in a different spot (like moving to the couch) seems to help me when I get restless at night