Insomnia

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I been having insomnia for many months now. When people here can’t sleep, what do you do to help you sleep?

I had sleep problems for years. I don't go to bed until I'm sleepy, otherwise I will spend time in bed and not sleep. Warming my feet by running hot water on them makes me both sleepy and will help me fall asleep. I also keep the bedroom cool as I find I sleep and rest better with cool air around and breathe better.

https://www.google.com/search?q=benefits+of+sleeping+cool

Kitty, firstly are you getting exercise? If so, are you getting cardio, where your heart rate is raised for an extended period of time? Try to get a minimum of 20-mins. Secondly, are you going outside? Sunlight is vital to your circadian rhythm cycle. Also, try not to use sleep-aids for an extended period of time, things like melatonin, while do occur naturally in the body, their synthesized forms can cause depression.

Also, try reading a real book, that made with paper, NOT ELECTRONIC MEDIA! Choose your subject matter so that it isn't going to cause you to think too much: your eye movement will help slow your brain down

Things that will also help: limit your caffeine, one cup a day, if at all, and nothing more after lunch. No alcohol or cannibus before bed, stop usage after dinner: while they may make you feel relaxed, they will have an opposite effect many hours later...

Good luck, I know how crappy it is when you can't sleep,

DIVAIR

Limit intake of stimulants including caffeine.
I believe that is likely the most common problem with some people on this forum.
In the rare occasions I can not sleep, it is usually because i have had a few cups of coffee too much.

But, but, but people in the UK are only allowed to drink tea, aren't they? Sorry mate, I just couldn't resist that one

DIVAIR

EDIT: I don't use any sort of caffeine, yet I still get insomnia: mine is spinal and pain related--SIGH!

I used to drink two cups of coffee. I drink one cup now,small & less coffee beans.

If I so much as have a cup of tea any time of the day, I'll usually have at least a little bit of trouble falling asleep at night.

I watch/listen to ASMR videos as part of my sleep routine. If I don't feel like sleeping yet, then it doesn't do much, but if I am already feeling like going to sleep and I'm just having trouble actually falling asleep (because of sensory issues or incessant thoughts), then it helps a lot.

I also try to keep all ceiling lights off and avoid any "intense" games in the last three or four hours before bedtime. During those hours, I mostly watch Youtube videos from my recliner, a few meters away from the screen, with the screen on very low brightness and with a blue-light filter on (I think the built-in feature is called "night light" on Windows). If I do need to keep my ceiling light on for whatever reason, then it's a yellow-tone bulb (I just checked my current one, it's 3000K). I also try not to eat anything during those hours. If I get hungry, I drink a glass of milk instead.

None of these things actually get to the bottom of why I have insomnia sometimes, but all these factors can make a big difference anyway. Also, I try to avoid as much as possible taking any medication as a sleep aid. I've been taking a small daily dose of alprazolam (aka xanax) for a few years (which I'm trying to get rid of right now), but I take it in the morning instead. Except in extreme cases, it's just a really bad idea to take it at night. It doesn't lead to good-quality sleep, and it creates all sorts of vicious cycles, starting at the chemical level.

Oh, yeah, and regular physical activity does make a big difference too. Just don't overdo it, or else it can have the opposite effect.

yes, tea is very common among English.
I personally hate the taste of Tea. Not the stereotypical English man I guess.

I love coffee though, ideally served Americano style, black (Columbian) super sweet
I used to be more sensitive to coffee when i was on different meds.
Some meds increase your noradrenaline / stress hormones.

You can get decaf coffee, and these days, capsules coffee tastes pretty good

Epsom salts on my skin to detox food acids that reduces anxiety & insomnia. (Absorb minerals, urinate out excess acids, feel and sleep better.) And sometimes I mix a half teaspoon of epsom salts with water and drink it.

Earplugs to deal with hypersensitive hearing. My hearing isn't even 10% as sensitive as it was 8 years ago at it's worst.. back then even with earplugs in the sound of my own heart beating kept me awake at night. But I still sleep with earplugs in almost every night just do muffle traffic noise from the main road beside our house.

Advil pm , tyrytophan 2000mg 1 hour before bedtime , melatonin chewables 3 mg too start up to 60 mgs.
Theanine 100-300 mgs before bed , best with milk . These are amino acids , if no success , there are herbs that can be quite effective. None of the above should interact unfavorable with any other. Sleep aides you might try .

As always always consult your medical provider before trying new things ( required Disclaimer). These are all available over the counter, might have to source some at health food store or online . If you can avoid prolonged use , of these you may get better results if you need to use them again .

I used to buy tea, they have tea for sleep, things can stop working for me.

I started sleeping with a weighted blanket when my insomnia got really bad and that helped some
Also:
- no screens before bed
- no caffeine
- read a real physical book
- make sure the room isn't too warm
- listen to one of those sleep playlists or audio books
- meditate (my brother swears by this)
- sleep tea, melatonin gummies, other things
- (.....give up and go back to binge watching my favorite show.... )

“Ted talks “ on the internet can be quite soothing somethings ....

I've had one for more than a year now & it's rather nice. Definitely helps. I gifted one to my 13yo Godson for Christmas this year, too - a bigger, heavier, one than I have! (Lucky kid!)

I also use a weighted blanket.Running a fan on low helps, the noise is soothing.There are herbal supplements that can help.Chamomile, hops , passionflower, catnip and valerian root work well.Also lavender essential oil on the wrists and a few drops on the pillow.
Listening to Gregorian chant helps me quite a bit.

A while back I got a white-noise generator, that was good, until I found a second one at a thrift store. I've found that if I have both going the sounds are so much more dynamic. Surf and rain, rain and rain, wind and surf, birds and brook: you don't notice the repeat/loop so readily.

DIVAIR