Getting a Good Nights Sleep

[misombra]

i had the same problem recently and somebody told to take magnesium. i take 400mg of magnesium in the day and i sleep pretty good. i wake up but i'm able to go right back to sleep.

i had the exact problem you had. something would wake me up and i'd be up for hours and my mind wouldn't shut up.

laying off the caffeine should help too. or just drink it in the morning.

[irrelevant_89]

If I may suggest a nice camomile tea (but don't use too much water or you'll end up having to piss in the middle of the night xD) before you go to sleep... works for me.

[jessZ]

I've had insomnia on and off for a few years for the same reason (overactive mind) and I have found the following things VERY helpful -

*Meditation for at least 20mins every day (usually in the morning) - there are plenty of classes around, often free, and this is how i learned. It was hard to stick to at first, but now I can't go without it!
*Regular exercise, at least an hour a day.
*Eating a small snack before bedtime. Something gentle and non-stimulating like a banana and yoghurt or porridge.
*Cutting back to one coffee per day, and having no caffiene at all after 1pm. This made a HUGE difference. Try it.
*Not worrying. If I woke up halfway through the night, I just told myself this "its ok, lots of people wake up during the night. I'm just going to go back to sleep now". It sounds silly, but this actually worked! Also, if I can't get to sleep, I just say to myself "its ok, nothing bad will happen if I don't sleep so well tonight. I will be tired, but I will still carry on as normal"
*Don't go to bed until you're really sleepy, and get up at the same time every day. I tried this, and after 3 really late nights and early waking, I started to naturally get sleepy earlier (im a night owl as well) and I kind of re-set my body clock this way. It took about 3 weeks to get into a routine, and now I sleep soundly from around 11.30pm-7-8am.

Hope some of this helps :-)

[shheadz]

And here we are... Went to bed 3 hours ago, and now I'm up.

@misombra - Is that something you buy over the counter like a vitamin?

@irrelevant_89 - Had to google that! The thought of drinking tea before bed seems counter productive, but I guess it's not tea at all.

@jeeZ - Lots of good advice. I definately want to learn mediation, if only because it might be a natural aid for mild ADHD. I did manage to cut back to 2 cups of coffee a day for about 3 months. Not sure it helped me sleep better, but at the very least those cups of joe actually woke me up. I lost the tolerance I built up for caffeine. I usually do hold out on going to bed until I'm dead tired, but I don't have a scheduled wake up time. That would probably help. Might mean a few weeks of being tired, but would work well in the end.

Not worrying. If I woke up halfway through the night, I just told myself this "its ok, lots of people wake up during the night. I'm just going to go back to sleep now". It sounds silly, but this actually worked! Also, if I can't get to sleep, I just say to myself "its ok, nothing bad will happen if I don't sleep so well tonight. I will be tired, but I will still carry on as normal"

This will be tricky. I don't know about you, but what gets me up isn't an over active mind, it's a feeling of laziness sort of. When I wake up I think, "Well, since I'm awake, I might as well get up and do something constructive." I'm not sure I can kick that habit so quickly. But yeah, I do worry that if I get up, I'm going to end up being a zombie all day.

I also saw a commercial the other day for Iraq vets that are having trouble sleeping. I didn't take down the number, but I will the next time I see it. I wasn't like this before the service/Iraq.

[misombra]

magnesium is a mineral you can buy in over the counter. i take a supplement that is calcium with magnesium.

good for your bones too.

[jessZ]

@jeeZ - Lots of good advice. I definately want to learn mediation, if only because it might be a natural aid for mild ADHD. I did manage to cut back to 2 cups of coffee a day for about 3 months. Not sure it helped me sleep better, but at the very least those cups of joe actually woke me up. I lost the tolerance I built up for caffeine. I usually do hold out on going to bed until I'm dead tired, but I don't have a scheduled wake up time. That would probably help. Might mean a few weeks of being tired, but would work well in the end.



This will be tricky. I don't know about you, but what gets me up isn't an over active mind, it's a feeling of laziness sort of. When I wake up I think, "Well, since I'm awake, I might as well get up and do something constructive." I'm not sure I can kick that habit so quickly. But yeah, I do worry that if I get up, I'm going to end up being a zombie all day.

I also saw a commercial the other day for Iraq vets that are having trouble sleeping. I didn't take down the number, but I will the next time I see it. I wasn't like this before the service/Iraq.

I think you need to get into more of a routine, and yes - getting up at the same time every day will help. You will be tired at first, probably for 2 weeks or so, then you should start to feel better once your sleep settles.

It sounds as if you aren't really separating your work and sleep time. What do you do when you get up in the middle of the night (besides write on here!)? I actually think this is your biggest problem. You're getting up and doing things that stimulate your mind even further - no wonder its difficult to go back to sleep! I do understand the frustration of lying in bed not being able to sleep though. Don't tell yourself "oh no, I'm awake... oh well ill get up and do something", instead try "ok, I am awake. I'm just going to lie here and meditate for a little while and then ill probably go back to sleep. I can do everything that needs to get done tomorrow" or something like that. You really need to be patient if you want to change your sleeping habits - it takes time, but is worth it!

Also, don't worry about getting a full 8 hours. Most people don't actually need this much. I usually get 7, sometimes 6, and I have loads of energy. I do find that I need to be fairly routine though. If I get lazy or fall into bad habits, I can slip back into insomnia.

Hope this helps!

[sheenietee]

The best thing to do is get in the habit of going to bed and waking up at relatively the same times every night. Hormones are very powerful and if you build up a strong circadian rhythm, you won't have trouble sleeping.