Insomnia: how do you handle it?

[Anonymous]

PS I am not bipolar! The drug Seroquel is approved for that but I take it “off label” for sleep. For context, Ambien does nothing for me.

[Anonymous]

I keep a script for Lunesta, and my ‘rule’ is that I use it on the third night after 2 bad nights. This keeps my body/mind from getting stuck in a pattern of insomnia, and also helps with the mental anxiety that comes with multiple bad nights.
I also am very careful to practice good sleep hygiene, which I know you said you do, too. Sometimes I feel myself getting a little sloppy and have to go back to being anal about it.
Insomnia sucks.

[Anonymous]

I’ve had amazing success with a weighted blanket.

[Anonymous]

43 yo woman here. My 3-4 am wakings started in my 40s. When I wake too early it is sometimes due to either too much stress during the day, so my body doesn’t wind down and I wake up with racing heart. It also happens if I am too hot. Cranking the a/c really helps but my family doesn’t want me to do that. I also strongly suspect blood sugar is a contributor—I am a healthy weight but have a predisposition to insulin resistance. If I take a long walk after dinner and don’t eat anything afterward I sleep like a baby. My worst sleep is after a high carb dinner like pasta.

[Anonymous]

Op here…thank you all for the great ideas. I slept well last night and didn’t do anything different, it’s so interesting how the brain works. I will look into some of your suggestions. I don’t know why, but I’m nervous about new meds and things like gummies. I should probably talk to my doctor. All the sleep meds I’ve tried in the past have been over the counter.

[Anonymous]

Also try keeping a sleep journal. Spicy food, caffeine after 9 am, eating a late dinner, yoga, weight lifting all impact my sleep (obv some bad and some good)

[Anonymous]

OP sometimes just telling yourself calmly that it’s fine. When you wake up at 3 tell yourself laying here relaxing, focus on breath, is still giving my body a good rest. Also second trazodone.

[Anonymous]

In my experience, the best remedy for insomnia is to get more sleep.

[Anonymous]

I’m the op of this thread from two months ago. I was sleeping well for a few weeks and now I’m in a bad cycle again! I have to talk to my GP.

[Anonymous]

Drinking...a lot a lotta drinking...

[Anonymous]

same op same. I think about all my problems for two + hours wide awake. I'm thinking you must be in your 40's. This is a total thing.

[Anonymous]

I listen to audiobooks and set the timer for 15-30 minutes. My biggest problem was that my brain would start working at 3:00 in the morning, and focusing on the book turns it off.

[Anonymous]

I usually start w the melatonin. If I am still awake after an hour or more, I pop half of a Benadryl. That usually does the trick. Occasionally I will need to pop the 2nd half of the Benadryl but that is usually a result of being impatient after being awake.

There are still a night here or there that I am awake after the melatonin and a full Benadryl. That is when I move to the couch and the switch of my positioning seems to help.

[Anonymous]

50 mg of trazodone and one Costco "Sleep-Aid" pill. (Costco's version of Unisom)

[Anonymous]

Get a prescription for Sonata/Zapelon, it’s basically 4 hour Ambien and made for people who wake up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back asleep.
It’s a life saver for me.