I can't sleep :(

[mJay]

Every single day, throughout the whole day, I am tired, sometimes I take a nap, Sometimes I don't because I think: 'hey, I will be extra tired tonight so I will definitely fall asleep' - But this never happens.

I think I know the reason behind my lack of sleep.

Although my body is exhausted, my mind will not rest, I am constantly over-thinking everything.

what I will do the next day, events I have in my calendar, Friends and family, Work issues, you name it, I'm thinking about it.

basically I just need some advice on what to do about this problem. I don't think it's healthy for me to be missing out on that much sleep, or thinking that much in general.

Any Advice on how to finally rest? I'll try anything! I just need sleep

thanks,
mj x

[Andrew Brunelle]

Sundown makes a supplement called Super Snooze Melatonin. That is why I'm able to sleep during the day and work at night. It works wonders for me, and has tons of calming and sleep-inducing herbs/hormone precursors.

[stanmrak]

Try Earthing - the process of grounding yourself (as in electricity). Grounding your body changes its nature from one of stress to one of relaxation, reduces cortisol and increases production of melatonin.

Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever?

Also see 33 Sleep Aid Secrets

[williamkwan]

Do you move around a lot when you're in bed? If you do, try staying completely still. When you don't move, your body just naturally starts to shut down.

Another thing you could do is read a novel for an hour or so before sleeping. Beats any kind of medication when it comes to taking your mind of the day.

I actually just wrote a blog post on sleeping tips, you can check it out over here --> 5 Easy Tips for Good Sleep | Will Kwan

[firenexx]

Do you consume caffeine? Too much caffeine, especially after 9am-ish, can screw with your circadian rhythms.

Don't watch TV, go on facebook, etc, too close to bedtime. The screen messes with your eyes.
Stop eating at least 2 hours before you are going to bed. Digestion delays REM sleep.
Caffeine, alcohol, sugar, etc. all delay REM sleep.

About an hour before bedtime, turn your lights down, get into your PJs, etc. Basically do everything possible to "trick" your body into getting ready for sleep.
Make your room as dark as possible at night-time.

Melatonin supplements: They work, but beware dependency! If you take them every night for more than a couple weeks, your brain will learn to stop producing its own melatonin, and you will have even more serious problems falling asleep.

If you try to fix this problem by just addressing the over-thinking part, you will miss the reasons you are over-thinking in the first place, so I suggest trying to calm down before bedtime and do relaxing things. Drink a cup of herbal tea - but not too much, or else you will be peeing all night long.

[Frusciante]

Some advice for you would be....

take magnesium/calcium supplement an hour or 2 before bed

use a 'noise machine' with different settings (like white noise or ocean waves)

eli bay has a great sleep cd - I had so many doubts about it and when I started using it, I never heard the end of the cd. It's about 20 minutes and I would fall asleep. I need to find mine again.

I know they say to not read in bed, but it's far better than being on the computer or tv before bed.

melatonin never works for me, in fact it does the opposite. You can try some tryptophan and may get good results.

good luck.

[FreedomJoyAdventure]

I've started eating some protein just before bed, usually 1-3 hard-boiled eggs, and I sleep much better. I take melatonin at night.

I also use a sound machine and an MP3 player with speakers loaded with hypnotic sleepy stuff.

[firenexx]

Not to repeat myself or anything, but I like to warn of dependency issues on Melatonin and its ability to negatively affect future sleep if taken for long periods of time. Short-term it's a great way to adjust your body clock if you've been sleeping weirdly and need to get back to normal, or give a needed boost on occasion.
(I have a tendency to mention this whenever I hear melatonin mentioned, only because people can mess up their brain chemistry with the notion that it is over-the-counter and therefore not worthy of caution.)

Oh, also, 5-HTP can help.

[Frusciante]

Originally Posted by FreedomJoyAdventure

I've started eating some protein just before bed, usually 1-3 hard-boiled eggs, and I sleep much better. I take melatonin at night.

I also use a sound machine and an MP3 player with speakers loaded with hypnotic sleepy stuff.

Interesting- I've always heard to eat a light carb snack like oatmeal or something similar and not protein. Maybe I should switch it up.

Originally Posted by firenexx

Oh, also, 5-HTP can help.

I agree. There is a good combo that has 5 HTP and L-Theanine which can be somewhat helpful, depending on how severe your sleep issues are.

[Carri C]

are you getting some exercise during the day? i'm like a toddler. my body just needs physically tiring out sometimes.

i also read recently, though it sounds counterintuitive, that if you're tossing and turning for more than half an hour, get up, read or do other low key stuff (journaling for me is fantastically therapeutic for releasing my head-noise onto paper) then try again. and she suggested that no matter what time of night.

[ike]

If you can't sleep especially if your stressed try writing a to do list for the morning and the next day befOre you go to bed. This really helps to get the stress out before sleeping. Try combing this with the other suggestions. Good luck!

[mikeLAC]

Dr. Oz mentioned to used melatonin which does help, but longterm it will not work. He got patient taking 60mg a days and still can't fall asleep.

SO before I recommend what to take, do you have HBP (how high without medication) which drugs? A bitter taste in the morning, Do you have difficult going to sleep, wake up middle of the night?
Drink soda? Energy drink? Spicy & Fried food? Cheese/dairy often?



Mike

[mikeLAC]

Take GOTU KOLA to relax the mind -no it is not a suppressant like valeria..this actually cool the mind to prevent burnout. It will not make you drowsy It is actually a soft drink -smoothie in Asia(south) , only side effect is too much dosage will cause a little direutic. Once you sleep well, then energy will recover.
Mix with Reishi mushroom this will restore the heart balance with the mind,,,your heart will palpate often if you don;t sleep well.

sleep well

[ChrisGinsburg]

Originally Posted by mJay

Any Advice on how to finally rest? I'll try anything! I just need sleep

Yes, stop trying to control everything and acknowledge that everything will be fine without you over-thinking it. It's usually helpful to admit that this isn't the result of some rogue condition afflicting you like a virus. It's the product of your own interest in these thoughts and as soon as you stop being so interested, the over thinking will fall away.

[Marvel]

Take a bath before sleep

You may have hidden stress. Try to find something that made you stress and solve it.

You can also consume green tea to relief your anxiety.

[lifetimelearner]

Originally Posted by Andrew Brunelle

Sundown makes a supplement called Super Snooze Melatonin. That is why I'm able to sleep during the day and work at night. It works wonders for me, and has tons of calming and sleep-inducing herbs/hormone precursors.

how much do you take ?

[lifetimelearner]

melatonin occurs naturally in our bodies -if you take too much it will alter the melatonin production in your body

but a small amount such as .5mg is okay to take

[stanmrak]

Originally Posted by firenexx

Not to repeat myself or anything, but I like to warn of dependency issues on Melatonin and its ability to negatively affect future sleep if taken for long periods of time. Short-term it's a great way to adjust your body clock if you've been sleeping weirdly and need to get back to normal, or give a needed boost on occasion.

Grounding yourself (Earthing) resets your body clock to the Earth's natural rhythms, which are designed to do this for all living things. Earthing improves sleep patterns and also eliminates jet lag if done after arriving in your new time zone.

[Andrew Brunelle]

Originally Posted by lifetimelearner

how much do you take ?

I take 2 capsules in the morning before I go to sleep. But I wouldn't say I was suffering from insomnia before, just a lack of deep sleep. Seeing how I had a tumor on the pineal gland, which produces melatonin, I think that supplementing it really helped me specifically, and I'm sure it helps others as well. It has tons of calming herbs in it as well. And you will not build up a tolerance, although you may not sleep as deep without it, as I've experienced. But again, that may be due to my pineal gland issues. It truly is great stuff in my experience.

[WilliWibald]

another thing, that you can try is getting enough bright sunlight (by just being outside a lot). That usually helps me. The problem is only that one sometimes thinks to have no time for being outdoors... then you can use one of these daylight lamps (for seasonal affective disorder). I have tried one and it makes me sleep better.

[kenya]

You can listen to some light music in bed and drink some yoghourt which will help you a lot. The most important is to deal with you mental anxiety, which can only be solved by yourself.

[Awsten]

It's weird I just found this topic. I use to have this exact problem until a few days ago...

Almost every night in the past few months I would go to bed and just toss and turn thinking about my life, job, and various relationships. Recently I began to get frustrated with it. The lack of sleep was having an extremely negative effect on my productivity and motivation during the daytime. Then about 5 days ago I decided to try something new, and it worked! It's really simple.

Every night I lay down to go to sleep. My mind does the usual wandering and I toss and turn a bit. If I find I am unable to just simply drift off within a few minutes I force myself to focus on nothing. Every time I start thinking about a girl or a conversation from the day or anything I just stop and think about nothing instead. I clear my mind completely.

So far it's worked. Every time I do this I wake up in the morning having no idea when I fell asleep. I remember clearing my mind once or twice then... boom!... here I am waking up.

[Altan]

Hi MJ,
Some tips for you for better sleep:
Create a sleep schedule,
Exercise early,
Don't eat late,
Avoid alcohol and other stimulants,
Avoid oversleep,
Avoid taking naps in day timings.

[Razia]

I have face these few days back when i was in more tension i have tried something to get a relax sleep & it also moved me out of tension,i don't know you belive in it or not but let me tell you there is one thing that can make anyone relax if you have trust on "god". Prayers, blessings, trust towards god will help you to get rid of any problem in life.