Insomnia for half a year...

[sprite]

I’ve had insomnia for 6 months now. For 6 months I can’t sleep I can’t sleep I can’t sleep. There’s no reason for me to have it. I’m not stressed or doing anything at all that would cause insomnia. I’m 19 and out of high school working at dollar tree, the most stress free job out there and I’ve had insomnia since I graduated high school. I’ve tried exercising rigorously, it didn’t work. Sleeping pills DIDNT WORK. Melatonin doesn’t really work. HELP!!!???

[ginkgo]

I am a lot older than you and I sleep like a baby. But that makes me an abnormal American. You are a normal American. There are different causes and cures for it. See this site, Natural Cures ( under sleeping problems / insomnia). It has a super powerful cure for insomnia suggested by a psychiatrist. This cure was used by Jesus, Moses, Buddha, Pythagoras and many others.

[Hanselich]

Your insomnia problems are probably connected with traumatic or other unpleasant experiences in your past. Cronical insomnia could be controlled well with cognitive behavior therapy so try in this way.

[Rebecca800]

I've no idea what's causing your insomnia -- but whenever I cant sleep I listen to brainwave entrainment MP3s and it knocks me out like a light. Have you tried this before?

Here's one of my own articles about Hemi Sync which has a good Sleep Collection:
Hemi Sync Review: MetaMusic Meditation CDs

If like Hanselich says you are dealing with unresolved emotional issues, then seriously consider Greene's Release Technique:
Greene’s Release

If there is an issue at play, you could possibly resolve it in a couple of hours, no need for weeks of ongoing therapy.

Good luck

[Deergirl]

Turkey, turkey, turkey, turkey, turkey!

Eat turkey!

Well, not only turkey of course, but it's known that certain foods, like turkey, have a higher level of serotonin producing... stuff in it and serotonin is one of those... things that make you sleepy. It seemed to do the trick with me last year. I had insomnia for a couple of months (made me almost go insane) and tried several things, including changing my diet, which helped.

So maybe it's your diet.

Next to that you should try getting a going-to-bed-routine. I don't know if it's true, but apparently your body reacts in a certain way when you do certain actions in the same routine every single day. If you do a certain routine every night before you go to bed, for example: wash yourself, brush teeth, go to the toilet, read twenty pages in a book,... your body will know that it's bedtime.

There are so many "tricks" out there. I've read a lot of them, tried quite some of them and some things work for me, others had no effect what so ever. Try to read up on the subject and experiment. Try mediation to get rid of the stress, a change in diet, turning the lights down half an hour before you go to sleep, find a going-to-bed-routine,...

I do hope you find a way to have a better nights rest, because it's so very important. Good luck with it!

[angies]

I also had the same problem for years before I found what works for me. My problem is hormonal. But I am a bit older than you so lack of hormone should not be your problem. However you should still have your hormone checked out just to rule that out.

On top of that I found a combination of exercise, clean diet, meditation really help to unburden the body and mind.

I also do the following:
Don't eat heavy meals at dinner time,
When you can't sleep don't watch tv or play on computer or any activitivies that excite you too much, just read a book or meditate. Slowly your body will get the message and go to sleep.
Get rid of alarm clock and follow my natural rhymth
Avoid cafein stuff after 2pm

I hope you found your problem as sleeping is so vital. I think I age 10 years in the 6 months that I couldn't sleep.

[Andrew Brunelle]

Chew some valerian root. Take melatonin. Drink chamomile and other calming teas before bed. Benadryl is another alternative. It usually helps me to sleep if I have any trouble. Read before bed, but not something too exciting. Perhaps the Bible??? That should be plenty enough to put you to sleep.

[Guy665]

hi there,

I suffered from insomnia a few years ago and it really got me down. The best thing that I can advise is start an exercise routine as that really helped me. I would go for a run 5 days a week in the morning, after a while my insomnia cleared up.

Hope this helps

[Eric Roosevelt]

Originally Posted by sprite

I’ve had insomnia for 6 months now. For 6 months I can’t sleep I can’t sleep I can’t sleep. There’s no reason for me to have it. I’m not stressed or doing anything at all that would cause insomnia. I’m 19 and out of high school working at dollar tree, the most stress free job out there and I’ve had insomnia since I graduated high school. I’ve tried exercising rigorously, it didn’t work. Sleeping pills DIDNT WORK. Melatonin doesn’t really work. HELP!!!???

Hi Sprite. I'll try to deconstruct what you're saying here to the best of my ability, even though you would probably have to give some more information first.

So you've had insomnia since you graduated high school. My immediate reaction to that is that something about the change revolving around leaving high school is bothering you. I could be that up until now you've had very strict routines, but after leaving high school there were too many changes - a little bit too much freedom, if you will. Maybe you're subconsciously worrying about your future now. You're in a new phase.

Broadly speaking, the solution to this would be to get some routines, plan a few months or years ahead, and always create something for yourself to look forward to.

Keep your motivation up, whether it's by reading or looking at personal development material, or by some other method. Get up in the morning and tell yourself that you're going to have a good day. When you go to bed, it helps a lot that you're happy and satisfied with yourself (emotional state is important).

From a physiological point of view:

Your body needs to cool down at night for you to fall asleep, and sleep deeply. Don't use blankets that are too thick, and you can even try opening your window.

Your breathing may not be as good as it needs to be. Try breathing exercises during the day, and sleep either on your side or, even better, on your stomach. That improves breathing.

Some people in this thread have mentioned diet, which is also important. Try their advice, and remember not to eat heavy meals close to bedtime. The sleep quality can also improve if you eat carbohydrates in the evening (say, rice for dinner and just some cornflakes before bedtime).

Your problem could also be an "emotional fitness" problem, which is something I think I've suffered from in the past. Slowly but surely we can all build our fitness to the point where changes in our environment (or emotional events) don't have to affect our routines or our sleep in a negative way, but it takes time. Just keep challenging yourself, stay conscious and try to stay positive.

Get a game plan, try it out, and if it doesn't work, try something different.

[sprite]

Originally Posted by Guy665

hi there,

I suffered from insomnia a few years ago and it really got me down. The best thing that I can advise is start an exercise routine as that really helped me. I would go for a run 5 days a week in the morning, after a while my insomnia cleared up.

Hope this helps

How long were your runs? I'm thinking about cycling for an hour a day. Do you think that would be enough?

[dave marshall]

Hi,

if you think about it, insomnia starts the same for all, sleepless nights mostly because the brain is working too hard, then a habit forms and you cannot sleep.

The key to resolving is to retrain your thinking and creating a new habit, it really works,

dave

[TonyToneTone]

Originally Posted by ginkgo

I am a lot older than you and I sleep like a baby. But that makes me an abnormal American. You are a normal American. There are different causes and cures for it. See this site, Natural Cures ( under sleeping problems / insomnia). It has a super powerful cure for insomnia suggested by a psychiatrist. This cure was used by Jesus, Moses, Buddha, Pythagoras and many others.

What was the cure? I couldn't find it on that site.

[Jaiysun4]

As well as what people say here, heres a few ideas:

You might just have your body clock all messed up. The only, hard way to do it, is to stay awake all night and all day, then got to bed at the time you want to sleep normally. This will be a battle for a few days, but stick with it and eventually you will adjust.

Also, you may be introspecting, watching your own mind trying to get to sleep, for signs you are tired etc. If so, you need to completely forget about the insomnia aswell - your life may be too routine and perhaps a bit boring for you. You will need to take the focus off yourself, and try and keep occupied with things all day long. At bed time, you want to be thinking about that film you watched, your partner, your plans for tomorrow, what you will have for breakfeast...ANYTHING, and not about the fact you are trying to sleep.