Does anyone deal with insomnia?

**frugalfriend** · 01-27-2010, 04:03 PM

I have no problem at all falling asleep, it's STAYING asleep! I wake up in the middle of the night and toss and turn for usually a couple hours before I can finally fall back asleep. Then when my alarm clock goes off in the morning I am exhausted!

I do not want to take any drugs to *keep* me asleep if I can help it . . . anyone found something that helps?

**2ndGenGranola** · 01-27-2010, 04:18 PM

Since we started trying to save on the gas bill, I've been sleeping better. I guess they are right when they say to keep the room cool. My blackout curtains are a bonus too.

**NikoSan999** · 01-27-2010, 04:38 PM

I sleep like the dead for the first 2 hours, then I'm awake every hour after that. Used to be every 2 hours but it's gotten shorter in the last year.
In another 3 years they can just prop me up against the wall.

Someone told me about melatonin. Can get it at any drug store. Didn't work for me but maybe it would for you.

Tried Sleepeze, Unisom, Tylenol PM, Excedrin PM, Nytol. None of them worked.

Only thing that works for me is Nyquil. And that's after the first wake up, not when I go to bed. I quit tho after one morning I got up and half the bottle was gone and I didn't remember taking it.

Now, about 4 or 4:30 if I can't go back to sleep I just get up and make coffee and enjoy the quiet. Tired of fighting it.

Maybe a decent size glass of wine before bed.

**Rebookie** · 01-27-2010, 05:14 PM

My sleeping disorder is trying to get to sleep.. Then once I fall asleep I am great! =/ It's just getting there is the problem!

**Jamielane** · 01-27-2010, 05:17 PM

I have the same trouble. I can go to sleep but I am usually up every couple of hours. If there is anything particularly stressful going on I am up for hours as well. I do use a prescription sleeping pill very occasionally. I dont like to use it because I worry I couldnt hear if one of the kids needed me in the middle of the night and they are older but my oldest has a heart condition and I feel like I need to be prepared for anything all the time. I do have good luck with melatonin and the dr. has said even the kids can use the lowest dose if they need it. My oldest has a hard time sleeping sometimes. Sometimes a tylenol pm helps me to but not always. I find that keeping the house cooler helps alot. Since I became a heat miser we are sleeping better.

**Palooka** · 01-27-2010, 05:21 PM

I've been able to fall asleep but once I wake up it's almost impossible to go back to sleep. Sometimes I start my days at 4am. gah. Then a nap later.

I'm going the vitamin route. 5-HTP helps me tons and also calcium/magnesium vits help you to relax.

I deal with anxiety so my mind is always racing.

**monkeywrangler71** · 01-27-2010, 05:27 PM

I have a lot of trouble falling asleep. It takes hours, and if I wake up during the night it's usually another hour to get back to sleep. I was waking constantly until we got the new mattress, but that was from pain, now it's just the kids waking me.

I can't get up in the morning, never could. If I had the choice I'd stay up all night and sleep all day. I have no trouble falling asleep in the day time.

**Palooka** · 01-27-2010, 08:14 PM

Originally Posted by monkeywrangler71

I can't get up in the morning, never could. If I had the choice I'd stay up all night and sleep all day. I have no trouble falling asleep in the day time.

I know what that is like for sure!

I think my life would be more fulfilled if I could hang with the raccoons.

**MaryCarney** · 01-27-2010, 09:20 PM

Which is why I LOVE the overnight shift!!! A couple things - if you're peri-menopausal, that messes up your sleep something ferocious!
A fan (white noise)
I take an OTC allergy medicine (doxylamine) which used to be marketed for sleep (WalMart and Walgreens both sell it in generic, cheap form) It's in the sleep aid section. Doesn't knock you out _ I still wake up to use the bathroom and such, but I do then fall back to sleep. It's totally not the usual cotton-mouth like Benadryl is, no hangover feeling, just sleep.
Another thing to consider is if you take any medications which might be contributing, and could you adjust the schedule of them.

Also, no fluids after 6pm - 'nuff said. I've suffered with this for years, and these things really do help. A friend who is similarly afflicted had her insomnia CURED by buying a Sleep Number bed!! It's on my list of things to save up for once we find a house to buy.

**Contrary Housewife** · 01-27-2010, 09:35 PM

Having a routine can help, even for waking up at 2 am. They say if you are awake for more than 15 minutes get out of bed and go do something until you feel sleepy again. For me I just need to go to the kitchen and get a drink and some carbs for my tummy.

There are a lot of websites out there with good advice on making your environment better to sleep in.

What do you consider a "drug"? There are a couple herbal remedies for sleeplessness or restless sleep. Also melatonin, which others have mentioned. I go through periods of horrible sleeplessness but I have found that Sleepytime Extra tea helps with restful sleep, and melatonin (I use lowest dose) is good for knocking me out if my mind is racing. I have also used straight valerian root tea (that's what's in the Sleepytime Extra) but it is pretty vile. The valerian capsules seem to work, but they are vile as well.

I don't use these every night, just when my "regular" sleep pattern gets wacky. One of them might work for you.

**frugalfoster** · 01-27-2010, 10:50 PM

I've been taking tylenol pm for over 15 years....don't start using that....it's hard to get off of it.... insomnia has plagued me since I was a child....when my parents got sick and then passed, I was so stressed i had to use it to stay asleep....I've tried to stop it for years, but i just can't seem to sleep without it

**MTS04** · 01-27-2010, 10:53 PM

Well, I have the "going to sleep" issue, but:

1. keep your room cool
2. bed is for sleeping
3. if you wake, give yourself 15 minutes. if you don't fall back to sleep, then get up (do not stay in bed) and engage in a quiet activity. I choose reading a magazine (less engaging than a book) - do not eat or drink
4. After 20 minutes, try sleeping again. 15 minute rule applies.
5. If you decide for meds, remember, they are a temporary fix and should not be used long term.

things that work for me from time to time:
setting a metronome. I set it at a slow swing, and concentrate on the "tocks" and even if I don't fall asleep, the meditation from it really helps.
exercise during the day. After vigorous exercise, I sleep better that night.
Avoid caffeine 8-12 hours before bedtime.

hope this helps.

**AnW819** · 01-27-2010, 11:20 PM

Originally Posted by NikoSan999

I sleep like the dead for the first 2 hours, then I'm awake every hour after that. Used to be every 2 hours but it's gotten shorter in the last year.
In another 3 years they can just prop me up against the wall.

Someone told me about melatonin. Can get it at any drug store. Didn't work for me but maybe it would for you.

Tried Sleepeze, Unisom, Tylenol PM, Excedrin PM, Nytol. None of them worked.

Only thing that works for me is Nyquil. And that's after the first wake up, not when I go to bed. I quit tho after one morning I got up and half the bottle was gone and I didn't remember taking it.

Now, about 4 or 4:30 if I can't go back to sleep I just get up and make coffee and enjoy the quiet. Tired of fighting it.

Maybe a decent size glass of wine before bed.

This is EXACTLY how I am. Nothing works for me. I can fall asleep no problem, but I wake up like every hour and lay awake for like 45 minutes til I fall back asleep. Nyquil was the only thing that worked for me but I was going through to many bottles!

Originally Posted by MaryCarney

Which is why I LOVE the overnight shift!!! A couple things - if you're peri-menopausal, that messes up your sleep something ferocious!
A fan (white noise)
I take an OTC allergy medicine (doxylamine) which used to be marketed for sleep (WalMart and Walgreens both sell it in generic, cheap form) It's in the sleep aid section. Doesn't knock you out _ I still wake up to use the bathroom and such, but I do then fall back to sleep. It's totally not the usual cotton-mouth like Benadryl is, no hangover feeling, just sleep.
Another thing to consider is if you take any medications which might be contributing, and could you adjust the schedule of them.

Also, no fluids after 6pm - 'nuff said. I've suffered with this for years, and these things really do help. A friend who is similarly afflicted had her insomnia CURED by buying a Sleep Number bed!! It's on my list of things to save up for once we find a house to buy.

I so want a sleep number bed!!!

**monkeywrangler71** · 01-27-2010, 11:31 PM

We didn't get a sleep number, but we bought a rather expensive memory foam bed and it did make a huge difference. The first week or so I just crawled in and slept like the dead, catching up on years of poor sleep I think. I never wake in the night now unless someone wakes me but it doesn't do anything for the falling asleep though, that's an anxiety problem.

**frugalfriend** · 01-28-2010, 10:59 AM

Thanks so much for all the replies and tips everyone! I just heard of using melatonin and may try that. I really don't want to get hooked on anything like Tylenol PM or something similar. I don't take any medications so that's not it. I like it cool too when I sleep, which is never a problem since we don't use our heater at night. Makes it more pleasant to sleep and saves money! I have tried cutting off caffeine much earlier in the day because I thought that was it, but it happens whether I have caffeine or not. I've always been one who can have a lot of caffeine and go right to sleep anyway! lol I have been wondering and am now really starting to think it is a peri-menopausal thing like MaryCarney said. Which is a total bummer! I'm 43 so this could go on for years!

A friend recommended a muscle relaxant called Flexeril which she uses for sleep, but when I googled it I decided against it. Says only to use for 3 weeks at a time, and too many side effects.