For several weeks I had trouble sleeping because my anxiety was out of control. I was prescribed Trazodone and that knocks me out within 30 minutes, regardless of if I actually felt tired or not. Supposedly it's non-addictive but I don't know...
I've stopped taking Trazodone and what usually works for me is exercising before I eat dinner (typically a 2-3 mile walk/run with my dog), meditation (I use the Calm app), and reading something non-fiction.
Oh, I also like sleepy time tea/herbal tea sometimes. It's a nice way to wind down.
I use melatonin and THC oral sprays. I try not to use the melatonin too often and am terrified of sleeping pills. (for the melatonin, take it a couple hours before bed, so I take it around 9:30 or so and it just makes you sleepy. It's gentle and you can't really feel it)
Usually I will flip around in bed (so head where my feet usually are) and just run some imagination world thing till I pass out. I find concentrating on something (in my head) does the trick.
Strange, that's the whole reason I can't sleep. I could come up with stories and stuff for hours and keep myself entertained. Wouldn't ever sleep though.
Maybe I'm inherently boring and my ideas put me to sleep. Honestly I just find it helps focus my brain and it eventually leads me drifting off to sleep. I also try meditating.
I got into trying to lucid dream and training for that is essentially meditation and mind clearing. Don't get into the whole setting alarm shit, but doing the finger thing works for me and helps me settle my brain.
Hm, yeah. I like writing screenplays so I guess I become too obsessive over a story and a setting, rather than mindless idle thought exploring.
yeah pretty much. I have a couple from when I was a kid I still somewhat keep up. Mostly star wars EU lib shit honestly, but helps me pass the time. So for me it started as a cool dude in a pre-built universe and it turned into a philosophy and entire like political structure and all that. Kinda fun but I guess boring enough to make me pass out.
I generally use THC/CBD to get tired enough to fall asleep. In terms of mental techniques, there's a couple I use:
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Lay completely still and try to think of nothing for 30 seconds straight. Just focus on nothing but clearing your mind for an extended period. This becomes easier if you meditate during daylight hours.
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Free association. If you pay attention to how your brain gets while you're just about to fall asleep, you'll notice that it moves very rapidly between loosely connected concepts. You can sometimes intentionally induce this state by starting the process manually. Just move your thoughts smoothly and easily to different images and impressions in your mind until it becomes gradually more automatic, and then you'll sleep. This can take a while but it does work for me.
Also have you gotten a sleep study? My insomnia turned out to be sleep-disordered breathing.
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As a gangstalking victim, I experience incredible sleep deprivation. This has been going on since 2017. I've probably had 10 hours of sleep total since Sunday. I can literally feel my brain decaying. Luckily these fucking things only do this to me every so often. It's hell when they do it though
I manage this shit with CBD oil, Melatonin, and Caffeine.
Ha, I'm reading this because I tried to sleep, lay in bed thinking for 3 hours and came here because the cutoff point is approaching. I fucking hate my brain.
are your family weird sleepers? I think mine is genes plus working a night shift job for so long that my body switched time zones.
Do you go to school or have a day job? My sleep schedule was closer to being fine when I had those things because each day would knacker me out. Now I'm at uni and since it's all online I just skip the lectures and watch the recordings later.
What I've found when I manage to nap during the day, is that if I eat a shitload of stodge, my body has to sleep like a lion that ate a gazelle. Making bean burritos especially helps because the air gets filled with onion, which makes your eyes just want to be closed lol. I'm yet to try that before bed, but I think I will some time soon. The problem is that you gotta brush yer teeth before bed, and when I do that I just get woken up.
Also, exercise. Do some really fucking hard exercise. My normal workout doesnt cut it, but after a rugby match I can sleep for days.
Well, think about it. The advantage we have as non sleepers is our days are longer. Instead of lying awake for 3 hours, just exercise for 1, even if it's at midnight. That won't exhaust you unless you really go nuts I suppose, but hey, at least you'll be tired and ripped instead of tired and not ripped.
have had the same issue for a while.
ambien wont fix shit since no doctor I know of will give it for longer than 6 weeks. it's super addictive is why.
similar to you, putting a movie in the background that I've watched/heard hundreds times is just about the best easy solution I've found. but even that isn't a strong enough routine.
working out early in the morning has been the best solution for me but I know that's a difficult routine to get and stuck to.
all that is a big part of why I'm an alcoholic now :(
Usually for me it's because my thoughts are all over the place and I can't turn my brain off. When I notice it happening, I get up, stretch for a couple minutes, drink a glass of water, then take a marijuana edible or a couple hits off my vape. Then I lay back down and put a blindfold on, knocks me right out. I try to get my dosage right so it's either "relaxed" or "vibing" but not like, incredibly stoned or anything
I had years of sleeping issues, and my doctor prescribed me pills for it. But in addition he wanted me to expose my full face to sunlight every morning for 10 mins. Something about resetting biological clock or something. It works for me.
I have an alarm so I wake up at 8:00-8:30 am every morning and I keep the coffee consumption to a minimum. I have nowhere to go because of COVID and not being in school anymore has put my life in limbo and given me less to keep me up at night. Idk, wish I could help
Ive never tried it cuz im a side sleeper and get to bed fine, but ive heard if you lay on your back, in complete darkness, and just stare up without moving, youll fall asleep in like 20 minutes.
Mild insomnia on rare occasions. (I typically wake up throughout the night but normally fall back asleep pretty quick.)
If it feels like its in the middle of the night, I'll just get up, go to the bathroom and read for 30~60 minutes. Sometimes I'll do some light house work, hand wash some dishes, fold some clothes or start some laundry.
Occasionally I'll eat something like cereal or sandwich, I'd bet a small bowl of hot meal would probably work too.
