I have a really hard time sleeping, I dont know what to do

I've had insomnia issues since I was a wee one. I've tried every OTC sleep aid I can get my hands on and none of them help. Smoking pot helps me get a more restful sleep but it doesn't help me actually fall asleep, even strong indica strains. I used to drink a lot to pass out but that's a terrible idea for obvious reasons and I've given that up. I've tried sleepy time teas but they don't do anything.

I just can't stop my mind from racing around when I lay down. I've tried meditating but I just lay in bed with eyes closed for hours on end to no avail. Sometimes I just stay up all night, but then I feel like shit the next day and have to drink copious amounts of coffee and energy drinks to function.

I've heard melatonin helps, but OTC sleep aids don't work so I don't know why that will. I don't have insurance atm so I can't afford to go to the doc and get a prescription, and I dont want to rely on pharms to sleep.

I don't know what to do, this is starting to effect my life pretty badly.:banghead:

 

stop trying to ues the drugs to sleep.. Instead: eat things like warm bananas and warm milk before you lay down... make your room comfy first. refrain from caffeine during the day, try exercise, bust a nut..

this caffeine your using to combat the effect you have from not sleeping isnt helping you, possible causing the symptoms youre having..... Eat food for energy, if your tired and already awake you can use fruit juice and have the same amount of energy and awareness.
The mind does not keep the body going, the stomach does... Though you can put drugs in the stomach, your tricking your minds to believe its a better source of energy..
Eat rice..

 

Try Valerianium

 

I eat a ton of rice, and I eat pretty healthy. I really don't drink that much caffeine, only if I stay up all night. I run around a kitchen for 12+ hours a day so I get plenty exercise. And I stopped trying to use sleep aids over a year ago because they just weren't helping. Beating off does help a little. Warm milk does not. Im seriously leaning towards getting some Ambien, but I really don't want to.

 

dude, you just might be a night owl and not a day lark.

i have been down the same road you are on now and, nothing worked, until i gave up trying to live a day life, and started living a night life.
since then my waking time and sleep time, have gotten one hell of a lot better.

 

I would have no problem with that if I didn't have to work for a living. Maybe one day

 

have you also tried the warm bath, horlicks and reading routine?

 

Baths are nice and relaxing but don't make me sleepy. If anything reading makes it worse cause I just don't put the book down. I've never heard of Horlicks, I had to look it up. I'll give it a shot. Maybe that and some melatonin and Valerianium will do the trick. Thanks for the tips If these don't work Im going to seek out powerful pharmaceutical sedatives, shit's getting whack

 

i just got off work.
i work graveyard shift. about 08:00pm. to 05:00am.
there are one hell of a lot of graveyard shift jobs out in the world.

 

Ya that's true. But I have a great paying job right now that I really enjoy. There's no way I would give it up. That's a good suggestion, and I'll keep my eyes open but I just don't see it happening around here, maybe in a city but fuck that.

 

read your post, it made me drowsy.

 

Im having the same problem, I just posted a thread on that w/o looking!
My RM has some of those ^ and I take them to calm down, he takes them to help him sleep.. works for him, not for me. I cant really help you, I can suggest, find the best fucking pillow, keep everything dark, and focus on your breathing, count to 5 breath-in, 5 secs to breath out. This used to help me relax and sleep, worth a try - doesnt work for me now. Also if you eat before bed time, that seems to ruin your sleep.. Other than I cant help sorry, Im looking for answers too!

 

hahaha.. I read the post "Horlicks", and seen this sig and thought..

call a "whore" over and have here beat you all over, giving you "licks" with a whip til you pass out..

 

what is your routine before bed? things you should avoid before bed:
exercise
eating or drinking
weed actually interrupts your REM stage so be careful about using that for sleep

orison is right though. eat good food all day, but stop maybe a couple hours before bed.

 

I was like this at one stage untill i got a 2 week script for zopiclone which got me back in a good sleeping routine which i was able to maintain after the script ran out.

 

I too suffer from insomnia and am not a candidate for OTC medicine. Eating healthy throughout the day and giving up caffeine is excellent advice. What I have found that helps me is 15 minutes of yoga an hour before bed and a cup of chamomile tea with some kava root. Not the stuff they sell in the bottle, the actual root. If you are a candidate for MMJ, you need not smoke it to help insomnia. I found that a mix of honey oil and coconut oil taken in capsule form works wonders.

I hope you get some sleep and feel better.

 

I have the same problem and melatonin has done wonders for me, I've been taking it for insomnia/delayed sleep cycle for almost 15 years. It's not habit forming so it's not like I'll freak out if I miss a night, I just won't fall asleep til 9 or 10am (that is if I'm not working that day/night). It wouldn't hurt to give it a try, although I would recommend taking a higher dose than the bottle says. I take 10-20mg depending on my restlessness and it puts me out like a baby, most people only need 1-3. Valerian is good to combine it with, but I don't bother.

Also, what's your activity level like? Your daily schedule? I've been sleeping better than ever since I got an intensely physical job unloading trucks at 3am... I also have another job where I work 9pm-6am 2-3 nights a week which seem to be my naturally active hours anyway. Maybe you just aren't biologically programmed to be asleep at night, I know I'm not.

 

I've had similar problems on and off since I was a kid. These days a few tokes and a small glass of wine seem to help. I'm also doing some yoga and walking. Racing around at work is a lot of exercise but it's not sustained repetitive motion like walking or running. Try walking for 45 minutes at the beginning of your day.

The other thing I sometimes find helpful is either listening to music or listening to public radio public affairs programs with headphones, lights out, tucked into bed.

 

Stop drinking coffee and energy drinks, you'll feel like shit and probably get headaches for a few days, but you should really get those out of your system. You may even have an allergy to caffeine.

Try drinking fruit juice in the morning instead.