Yeah I have insomnia every summer for some reason. I’ve talked to my doctor about it but he has been no help at all. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Chosen Answer:

To relieve insomnia, you should avoid substances that make it worse and have good bedtime habits that make it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep. Make sure your bedroom is a comfortable temperature, dark, and quiet enough for sleep.

Good bedtime habits include:

- Prepare yourself for sleep by, e.g. preparing a ‘to do’ list for tomorrow, so that such distractions are at their minimum when you actually hit the bed.

- Turn your alarm clock so that its glow doesn’t let you know of the time ticking away.

- Not exercising, eating heavy meals, or drinking a lot shortly before bedtime. One exception is yoga. A number of yoga postures are designed to calm your body and prepare you for sleep.

- Following a routine that helps you wind down and relax before bed, such as reading a book, listening to soothing music, or taking a hot bath.

- If you share a bed, buy a king size bed with two different mattresses so that you two don’t disturb each other while sleeping.

- Making your bedroom sleep-friendly. Avoid bright lighting and minimize possible sleep distractions, such as a TV, computer, or pet.

- Going to sleep around the same time each night and waking up around the same time each morning, even on weekends. If possible, avoid night shifts or alternating schedules at work and other causes of irregular sleep schedules.

Both herbal and homeopathic remedies are commonly used alternatives to sleeping tablets in reducing insomnia, and can be very effective in helping to assist an individual in the transition to peaceful slumber without strong sedatives or any concerning side effects.

Certain herbs such as Hypericum perforatum, Scuttelaria laterifolia, Passiflora incarnata can be used to maintain healthy sleep patterns and promote optimal balance of sleep-related hormones involved in the sleep cycle.

Homeopathic remedies such as Coffea C30 and Nux Vom. C30 are also used to reduce insomnia and maintain restful, satisfying, and healthy sleep. Other natural supplements that are widely used to address the underlying causes of chronic insomnia are calcium lactate, magnesium lactate and vitamin B6.

You may get more info here http://www.healthherbsandnutrition.com/remedies/i/insomnia.htm

Hope all this helps

Good Luck
by:
on: 20th January 11

I have been struggling with insomnia for a while. I just recently started taking benadryl every once in a while for my constant sleeping problem. Now it’s gotten to the point where I feel like if I don’t take it i won’t be able to sleep. I know its not a physical problem. I am just letting my mind play tricks on me. Any suggestions on how to fix this problem?

Chosen Answer:

Cool temperature in the room. As little light as possible. As little sound as possible. Avoid mental or emotional stimulation 2 hours prior to sleep. Last but not least, try Melatonin.
by: Mr. A. W. Wolfe
on: 4th February 09

My mom had not have a full night sleep for a very long time. Sometime she never get any sleep or she had 15 minutes of sleep, she tried so many meds that her doctor prescribe but nothing works. My mom Insomnia is way to strong. What can my mom do about it?

Chosen Answer:

Hello..I feel for your Mom..I’ve been on almost every sleeping pill and nothing worked.She might want to try ” Alteril ” .You can buy it at Walmart it is a all natural sleep aid.It really helped me.Good Luck to your Mom.
The price of Alteril is about 15 dollars and it has 60 tablets in it.
by:
on: 22nd June 10

I’m suffering from chronic insomnia and feel extremely tired during the day and a lack of energy. It has been like this for me for many years now and has taken a huge toll on my career and private life. I’m currently in a relationship I care very much about, but it seems to break apart as well. I have already tried all kinds of prescription medications for sleep, but do not want to take them anymore. Is there may be a herbal supplement or another method that could help?

Chosen Answer:

My mother suffered from chronic insomnia from ages 9-60. Two hours of sleep was a GOOD night. Many nights, no sleep. She ached of tiredness. Finally , at the age of 60 she found the right doctor through a sleep clinic. He taught her that she needed to train her brain with a “circadian rhythm.” You’ll have to figure out how many hours of sleep you require, and what hours you want to sleep, according to your work, etc. We’ll pretend that you want 8 hours of sleep from 11pm-7am. First you buy an alarm clock that has a loud alarm (they make those.) You set it across the room and set it for 7am. When it rings you jump out of bed, turn it off, and you don’t return to your bed until 11pm. The bed is only for sleep and sex. I don’t care how sleepy you are. Jump in the shower if that’s best , have a cup of coffee, just don’t get back in bed. That night go to sleep at 11pm. Get up when the alarm rings at 7. Your brain will get used to it. There’s more. The doctor put my mother on 200 mgs. of Elavil and .5mgs of Klonopin. You take those meds at 10:30pm. My mother is now a vibrant 79-year old happy woman. She didn’t realize how depressed she was. The Elavil is for Depression AND sleeping. She now sleeps 7 hours straight through. This is the closest thing to a miracle I’ve ever seen. Print this out and get this to a doctor ASAP. You don’t need any long , lonely dark nights any more. This is the answer you’ve been looking for. I only give this full answer to people that really sound like they are true insomniacs. You can start the schedule tonight. No napping during the day!! There are a few more tricks that I’ll teach you later, but this is quite enough to get you started. No caffeine after 6pm. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me. This is what I’m here for. I have your name so I’ll know who you are. Good luck.
by:
on: 3rd August 07

Sometimes, humans can be trouble falling asleep when we want to sleep. Whenever humans feel that we need to be asleep, sometimes we have trouble falling asleep.

While insomnia is extremely common in humans, there isn’t much news about dogs, cats or other mammals with trouble falling asleep.

Chosen Answer:

Humans abuse themselves so much more. Look at the crap we eat, look at the lack of exercise we get, look at all of the unhealthy levels of stress we undergo. Animals have a very simple mission: Eat, reproduce, run away from predators, and sleep. If life were that easy for us, we’d all be getting our 8 hours just fine.
by:
on: 17th December 11

I don’t want links to websites about insomnia or suggestions for different types of meds. I just want to know how other insomniacs like myself deal with it. How do you deal with your day at work/school? At the end of the day what do you do to help your body fall asleep?

Chosen Answer:

If you have real insomnia you either don’t go to sleep at all or you go to sleep for only a few hours.

I went through a period of about three months where I didn’t and couldn’t sleep at all. I am a single mom of three kids, full time college student, and could barely function. I had a difficult time concentrating on anything.
A friend of mine gave me sleeping pills to try but that only put me to sleep for about 3 hours.

Then a nurse friend gave me B-12 and calcium to take.
Once I got started on that I was able to get more sleep.
Some other friends helped take care of my kids while I could sleep some. After about two weeks my life starting getting back to normal.
by: Jenn B
on: 8th September 08

I notice that I have insomnia which is something that I have never dealt with before and it is making it hard for me to go to sleep. I have heard that Sleeping pills are bad because they make the body dependent on them later on but I feel like I have a hard time going to sleep.

Chosen Answer:

benadryl (diphenhydramine) is a great drug to help you sleep. It is sold over the counter (OTC) in most pharmacies. The best part is that it is non-habit forming, so your body will not get dependent on it.

Another drug to try is melatonin. Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone in the body. Taking it medicinally can help with insomnia. Do not take melatonin if you have high blood pressure (can raise BP), diabetes (can raise blood sugar), depression (can make symptoms worse), or a seizure disorder (can potentiate seizures)

One more option could be Valerian root extract. This has been shown to help treat insomnia. Do not drink alcohol with this drug, or other CNS depressants because they could increase each others effect in the body
by:
on: 24th October 11

I have already taken all the sleep medications there is. Im thinking of a sleep clinic but I heard if you have insomnia they just give you a sleep aid.

Chosen Answer:

You should try brainwave entrainment. I had long-term, crushing insomnia for years and tried all the pills and herbs but they just didn’t fix it. Brainwave entrainment uses ambient music tracks to lull your brain into producing the right brainwaves for sleep. People are right when they say you should change your lifestyle and this is part of that, because using it for a while ‘re-trains’ your brain. At this point your brain is probably conditioned not to fall asleep, so you’ll have to recondition it.

There are reviews for several options for this-one of them free-at the blog listed below.
by: James D
on: 31st March 08

What is insomnia? Is it like sleeplessness, or is it worse? Where can I find information about insomnia and sleeplessness?

Chosen Answer:

Insomnia

is a symptom of a sleeping disorder characterized by persistent difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep despite the opportunity. Insomnia is a symptom, not a stand-alone diagnosis or a disease. By definition, insomnia is “difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, or both” and it may be due to inadequate quality or quantity of sleep. It is typically followed by functional impairment while awake. Insomniacs have been known to complain about being unable to close their eyes or “rest their mind” for more than a few minutes at a time. Both organic and non-organic insomnia constitute a sleep disorder.

more facts:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insomnia

by: remrem
on: 4th March 09

I have insomnia and i really can’t fall asleep at all i’ve tried since 11pm until now. I’ve tossed and turned many times and i don’t know the real reason why i can’t fall asleep. I think it could be because of my insomnia but I’m not sure. It’s like 2:15 am in the morning on the east coast right now and i can’t fall asleep and i feel sleep deprived. What could i do so i could fall asleep ? I feel so crappy right now because i can’t fall asleep.

Chosen Answer:

Check your current heart-rate. Do anything you can to get it to slow down. Get up and dance like crazy or work out if you’re stressed out. If that isn’t your cup of tea, try meditating. I try reading a boring book. Something to get my mind out of the spiral of thoughts.
I know you’re crazy tired though. Basically, what you can do is get up, walk around, take a deep breath and do something that relaxes you, whether it be reading/listening to music/drawing/singing/etc. Whatever it is, get out of bed and do that. Then do some deep breathing exercises, and try and clear your head of all thought. But only do that after you can get your body to relax. Don’t drink coffee, or anything caffeinated.
But don’t worry too hard. It’ll be okay.
by: Hailey
on: 20th October 09