Insomnia--Suggestions?

[lastrailway]

Originally Posted by Usehername

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Originally Posted by ptgatsby

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I hope something of these works for you. I have DSPS (Delayed sleep phase syndrome) and have tried all kind of things (including sleeping pills, exercice, trying to change my sleeping circle by sleeping each day half an hour later, etc). Pills do the trick for me, but it is all about how willing are you to take sleeping pills practically every day?
I usually go to bed no earlier than 3:30-4 a.m., and thankfully I have a very flexible timetable at work, because before 8:30-9 a.m. I cannot open my eyes, I don't hear anything, etc. Some days I just stay sleeping up to 10 or even 11 a.m., and go to work really very late.
I am practically hyperactive at night (unlike the rest of the day), totally unable to sleep during day and no matter how tired am I, there is no way for me to go to bed in any reasonable time

[Schizm]

warm milk=tryptophan

melatonin

marijuana

valerian root

[Zergling]

You could also try not eating anything later in the day, at least with me, if I don't eat at certain times at a day, I'll get sleepy a few hours later.

[ygolo]

Originally Posted by lastrailway

I hope something of these works for you. I have DSPS (Delayed sleep phase syndrome) and have tried all kind of things (including sleeping pills, exercice, trying to change my sleeping circle by sleeping each day half an hour later, etc). Pills do the trick for me, but it is all about how willing are you to take sleeping pills practically every day?
I usually go to bed no earlier than 3:30-4 a.m., and thankfully I have a very flexible timetable at work, because before 8:30-9 a.m. I cannot open my eyes, I don't hear anything, etc. Some days I just stay sleeping up to 10 or even 11 a.m., and go to work really very late.
I am practically hyperactive at night (unlike the rest of the day), totally unable to sleep during day and no matter how tired am I, there is no way for me to go to bed in any reasonable time

Have you tried becoming bi-phasic (a long nap plus a shorted deep sleep split into different times)?

You could shift you nap-time, and you sleep time both (esp. if you split 5-slppe, 3-Nap), then flip which one is you nap, and which on is your sleep when you are about shift so that normal working day is gone.

It's good in theory, I think.

[runvardh]

Originally Posted by Schizm

marijuana

One of my roomies found an old clock in a cooler he picked up, we set it to 4:20 and it now hangs in the computer room,

[Natrushka]

Originally Posted by ptgatsby

1) Use your bed for sleep. Nothing else but sleeping. When you go to bed, if you can't fall asleep within x time (normally from 10-30min), you get up and do something tedious. You don't read or anything similar. Nothing that engages your mind. And to emphasise this one more time - do not do anything else in bed - no reading, no napping, no watching TV... maybe sex, but that's about it.

2) Excersize, but give time before you go to bed - more than 2 hours. This works because stress and an active mind are bad news for sleeping, but the excersize does cause your body to wind down - after the high. It shouldn't be intensive, a good 30 minute walk or anything similar can be enough.

3) Create a routine for going to bed. This works well with #1, so it should start with or after you have made your bed your sleep area. Always do the same things in the same order for 10-15 minutes before going to sleep. Try very very hard not to interrupt this.

There was other stuff that the sleep clinic suggested, but I remember these as the core ones.

Those are good sleep hygiene suggestions, pt.

Another you don't see mentioned much, but bears talking about, is when you go to sleep. If you can, get to bed by 10 pm. Normal circadiam rhythmes (something lastrailway doesn't have) dictate when you experience different kinds of sleep - it's not enough you get X hours of sleep, it's also important you get the right kind of sleep. And the right (read important) kind of sleep is deep slow wave sleep, which happens earlier in the night.

I can go to bed at midnight and sleep for 10 hours and wake up feeling like I'm hungover and exhausted. If I get to sleep by 10 PM I wake up feeling great after seven hours.

The sleep disorder channel has more information, for those interested.

Another supplement that can help is magensium, btw. Frequent nightly wakings has been linked to depleted magensium stores. Epsoms salt baths pre bedtime can do wonders (off topic but this can work really well for fibromyalgia sufferers).

[Schizm]

Originally Posted by runvardh

One of my roomies found an old clock in a cooler he picked up, we set it to 4:20 and it now hangs in the computer room,

how depressing.

[Mercurial]

Originally Posted by ygolo

It's good in theory, I think.

Oh, we're your experiment for something you read now. Neat.

[eleph ingratiate]

a bullet.

[ygolo]

Originally Posted by Naem

Oh, we're your experiment for something you read now. Neat.

Just a suggestion.