Turbohot

Just some advice needed really if anyone here has been thru that kinda thing.

Having serious probs sleeping.I know the stress n all reasons and I have already made some changes regarding that.But even when I try to sleep,I feel that I am fighting against the sleep.Its effecting my day time routine etc and I am very concerned about it.Have been to GP and he has given me sleeping pills.I dont wanna take them in case I start depending on them.Dont wanna start alcohol either-doesnt agree with me anyway.
Any help will be appreciated.

( I think there was another thread somewhere re. this prob? If any one can give me a link to it, it will be helpful)

Davie

Hello mate, i can sympathise with you. i also suffer from Insomnia an its a pain in the ar$e.

i tried the sleeping pill thing, but it didn't help me. my best advice is to have a good think about anything that's bothering you and simply sort them.

Avoid sleeping pills at all cost.

another thing i tried was kinda mental excersises, when i went to bed i told myself i was tired etc. there are loads of sites out there that have loads of techniques. but at the end of the day there is something stopping you sleeping, this has to be sorted.

other people reading this will probably just think i'm (we're) mental, but if they haven't suffered sleep deprivation then they have no idea.

do some reading mate, incidentally, all of my research was done in the early hours while not being able to sleep.

also for a while try and cut caffeine and anything that could act as a stimulant.

and, if you can - f\/ck like bunnies, this also helps you sleep ;-)!

take it easy man!

Jap2Scrap

Try not to worry about it, it'll only keep you awake at night.

Seriously though, the bunnies idea is spot on. Failing that a good ham shank will do the trick. It's certainly better than lying there thinking about sleeping.

Turbohot

Thanks Jap2scap man.
LOL@bunnies idea!:lol

yvette296

know exactly what you mean. Another thing is to make a list of eveything that you are worrying about (write it down) before bed and put it in fornt room/kitchen or somewhere then leave it & go to bed.

other than that - try NatraSleep or similar with Horlicks. Tastes pretty awful unless you like malt but it does work.

Other than that, the important thing is to get up if you can't sleep. Make a cup of (decaff) tea or something, read for 15 mins then go back to bed. But make sure that you keep warm or you won't sleep due to being quite cold after being under duvet!

Trumptton

A large **** off scotch sorts me right out

Turbohot

Humm........I will give that Natrasleep a go I think..........

Davie

If you want to take someting to go to sleep, nightol one a night is the answer. they are fantastic - just don't do what i done and forget you took it and take more - the other half thought i was dead. - LOL

alchohol can also keep you awake, it depends on how your system reacts to it.i know it never worked for me.

as previously said, try and write everything down, in a kind of mind mapping stylee.

write your thoughts down as you think them, it helps you process them a little easier.

Also, breathing techniques help (no i'm not pregnant ).

corradoboy

When I fancy a kip during my break at work (don't tell anyone , permanent 13hr nights ) I find it difficult to drop off unless I have something trivial to take my attention. If I just try and sleep my mind won't switch off and I sit there thinking about anything and everything, but if I pop a DVD on the Mac I find it very easy to drift off.

Agree with the bunnies too but then again, I am a bloke

Ubik

I have tried the nightol tablets. They didnt work for me, I felt really run down the following morning.

I have had this problem for years, this doesnt always work but it did last night!


I read somewhere that your body temperature cools when you are ready for bed, so I turn the heating off so its quite cold an hour or so before bed time. I go for a shower (nice and hot) and then sit around (reading / looking at scoobynet) for an hour or so and then goto bed.

I avoid caffiene, loud music, bright lights and any stimuli that tends to wake me up. No more late night phonecalls or work for me!

Like I said it works for me sometimes!

red_dog104

I've suffered insomnia and eventually I thought I was going mad!! Only thing that managed to sort me out in the end was diazepam from the doctor (last resort). I didn't get addicted and only took it for a couple of weeks just to sort out my sleep pattern. Thing that caused me to not sleep was coming off shifts and just working normal days!! I'm back on shifts and i find that I'm pretty much always asleep when I'm not working now!! Hope you manage to sort yourself out

Turbohot

Thanks every one.One thing is that I aint the only one with this 'orrible prob.and, there are some solutions.I shall try them.

ajm

I don't know how it effects other people, but I get bouts of insomnia maybe a few times a year that lasts maybe 2 or 3 weeks where my brain just goes into overdrive and it refuses to switch off. I lie in bed trying to clear my mind but whilst I am trying to consciously stop thinking about things I can feel the other part of my brain seeking solutions to problems at work, or figuring out various hobby/projects I have on the go at home. It's really frustrating.

For me personally I find it helps to get up and actually complete or part complete the things I was thinking about, or if that isn't possible then write down what it was I had worked out. This seems to give my mind the sense of completion it needs and then I can get to sleep. Failing that I will go out for a drive or try watching some tv for an hour or so.

The world is a rather lonely yet strangely peaceful place at night though. Look at it this way: the normal sleepers are missing out on a hidden world!

gossythevaleter

Ok i have suffered from this for yrs

I find reading a book helps a lot i also find counting backwards from a thousand works wonders Cause all you find yourself doing is concentrating on getting it right cause if you get it wrong you start again never made it to 900 LOL

Turbohot

Bunny thingie is out of the plan at the mo.Split up with partner.One of the reasons for stress I reckon.
Will try other options

asagi

I suffer from this 2 or 3 times per month.

I cannot get on top of it. I'm lucky though if I'm not asleep by 04:00, I get up and drive to work (open 24 hours), and leave early that day. If I am going to suffer imsomnia I try to do on company time not mine!

David Lock

Since people are not yet taking the pi$$ on the thread I will pass on my own trick for getting to sleep. If I start to think about day-to-day problems then I deliberately switch off the thought and go into a "pipe dream" mode. I can only explain by an example. Say you like soccer and your team are playing the final. They are down to 10 men and 2 goals down. OK your just a supporter but somehow or other you manage to get on the pitch and guess what you score a hat trick and are the hero. Now you can do this for anything - you're at a party and Eric Clapton is playing. He asks you if you want to play for a bit and you just blow them away. Wimbledon final and some real bast,ard is in the final and you come on with your one racket and long shorts and put him in his place... etc etc. OK this sounds crazy but I hope you get the drift. I find that sleep comes quickly then. DL

Turbohot

andypugh2000

Can you shoot cats effectively at night then??

andy

minor_threat

I've had sleep problems ever since I can remember. My brain doesn't switch off at all, it fires away constantly. I even went to a sleep disorder clinic and spent 5 nights wired up having my brain patterns measured!

Needless to say not a lot works for me Turbohot. Sleeping pills taken over a course of 3 or 4 weeks (usually the maximum course prescribed) do return your body clock to normal but can make you feel groggy the next day. They are addictive but you won't become dependent on them from a course of 4 weeks.

I've read tonnes of books on sleep disorders to try and understand myself, although my problem seems more related to having a brain that simply doesn't like taking a break from thinking than stress or depression! Many people emphasise the importance of changing your behavioural patterns before bedtime (like avoiding bright lights and not watching telly) but in my case my sleep problems are chemically driven so going for a slow walk before bed will not make me sleep.

Levels of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, noradrenaline, norapinaphrine, melatonin and dopamine are vital for a healthy sleep cycle. Short of taking prescribed drugs to maintain levels of these neurotransmitters, like antidepressants and sleeping pills, there are a few things you can do to help. Some activities and natural substances trigger your brain to produce these chemicals. Sex, chocolate, vigorous exercise (although this will keep you awake if done in the evening), chamomile tea, valerian root and foods rich in carbohydrates work well, particularly bananas (eat one an hour before bed!).

Pills such as Nitol can work for some, the main ingredients are valerian and hops. Aromatherapy can also work - lavendar essential oil splashed on a pillow should never be underestimated! It's tricky, avoid caffeine (coffee, tea, coke, pepsi et. al.) after 2pm in the afternoon, drink de-caf after that. Malt drinks such as Horlicks are good, malt and hops trigger the production of sleep-friendly neurotransmitters and are rich in carbohydrates. Other alternative therapies such as acupuncture and hypnotherapy can also help some people with chronic insomnia.

What works for one person will not necessarily work for another, and you must try to find your own equilibrium and sleep-triggers. If you have any questions Turbohot send me a PM, I've spent the last 12 years searching for my own personal cure! Good luck with it.

andypugh2000

I get this sometimes but usually after a drink, I find staying sober and drinking fruit juice helps no end

andy