Insomnia: how do you handle it?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
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. |