Insomnia: how do you handle it?

[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.

[Anonymous]

Yup the same issue is my peri menopause struggle.
HRT has helped a little.
Magnesium Glycinate helped a lot, until after 5 months of taking it nightly I began to feel seriously lethargic and flat all day.
So now I’m looking for a different nighttime cocktail that helps me sleep all night, yet not feel groggy the next day. Melatonin also makes me groggy.

[Anonymous]

Op here..yes, mid 40s. I don’t even stress when I am awake, I’m just…awake. I will find an audiobook I won’t care about missing if I do fall asleep and I’ll look into the meds some of you have recommended. Thank you all so much

[Anonymous]

You do not need meds. cBT-I is non invasive behavioral and works most of the time. You can try it online or go to someone to help you and it’s only 4-8 sessions. Honestly it works. There’s a group in Cabin John who does it. Sleep hygiene is fake. Drugs are messing with your sleep system.

[Anonymous]

PP, what do you mean sleep hygiene is fake?

[Anonymous]

Magnesium glycinate is supposed to help with this (waking up in the middle of the night, whereas melatonin is better if you have a hard time falling asleep).