Sleeping tips.

[Rukentuts]

Work out moderately. It helps.

[Noomz]

Not really sure that's a real thing... But, seriously, I think listening to an lecturer drone on and on about some stupid topic in a monotonous voice helps a lot when it comes to sleeping


But... I walk my dog at 3 A.M...

It is a real thing, because I can feel it and so do others. It's like goosebumps for the brain, that's almost literally how it feels.


To the OP:

And for me, having a lot of stress and anxiety related problems that have been pretty severe, I take meds to cool down and help me relax. Hopefully I won't need them for that much longer. There's a medicine called Atarax (the active agent in it is called Hydroxizin, so maybe you could ask a doc about what pills there are that are similar), it's used for helping people with allergies but doubles as a medicine that works on anxiety. I'm a bit used to it now so I'm not as drowsy as the first weeks. But it's literally the weakest possible medication you can get and it does it's job without any risk of addiction or serious side-effects.

[Deleted]

It is a real thing, because I can feel it and so do others. It's like goosebumps for the brain, that's almost literally how it feels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=eFuKX63aC3E

When he says "good to see you again", oh my god

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRebkWHsHC0

as for topic: Try to not do anything that requires you brain to activate much before you go to sleep. Like listening to music(Though some of it can be relaxing, which can be good, just not anything like death metal or something like that ) or playing games. Taking a warm bath before going to bed is a good way(for me atleast) to get relaxed.

But sometimes I'm just unable to sleep anyways and then I have to resort to zolpidem.

[Deleted]

Rain. Lissten to a recording of rain or something.

[Deleted]

Rain. Lissten to a recording of rain or something.

http://www.rainymood.com/

OT: Doing 30mins of cardio each day' helps me.

[Tokru]

Stay awake until you fall asleep.

Desperately trying to sleep while your body isn't tired won't work.

[Afrospinach]

But... I walk my dog at 3 A.M...

Pffft with street lamps and such that hardly counts.

Rain. Lissten to a recording of rain or something.

For me it is frogs! I love the sound of frogs after rain and no matter how loud they are never intrusive to me, it is one of the things I miss most when I am not in Africa. I used to listen to Aqueous Transmission by incubus just for the 2 minutes at the end before I went to sleep at uni. For now though it is rainy season and I get serenaded at least 5 nights of the week

[Dragonix80]

Avoid nap. You want your body to be exhausted by the time day's over.

You could be having some kind of stressful day or work or something. Resolve those issues so your mind will be at peace.

[Noomz]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=eFuKX63aC3E

When he says "good to see you again", oh my god

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRebkWHsHC0

as for topic: Try to not do anything that requires you brain to activate much before you go to sleep. Like listening to music(Though some of it can be relaxing, which can be good, just not anything like death metal or something like that ) or playing games. Taking a warm bath before going to bed is a good way(for me atleast) to get relaxed.

But sometimes I'm just unable to sleep anyways and then I have to resort to zolpidem.

It needs to be unintentional to work on me. If people are intentionally trying, it just doesn't trigger for me for some reason.

Like this, this is entirely unintentional.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4l4khCUnIM

Sorry for being a bit off-topic Hopefully though, someone might find that they get the reactions we speak of it. It can be really relaxing.

---------- Post added 2013-01-21 at 09:44 AM ----------

http://www.rainymood.com/

OT: Doing 30mins of cardio each day' helps me.

You should play that Rainy Mood with an endlessly looped fireplace. Yes, I mean that, it's really cozy to listen to.

[MickoLis]

i now sleep very well though there are times i just cant drift off. i found the main cause was dehydration and if i eat before bed. i now keep a half frozen bottle of water besides me to save getting up out of bed.
my suggestion is water before bed and reading gl

let us know what works for you

[Deleted]

How old are you? Because at a certain age (13-21) you might develop sleep problems, usually it stops after a few months. Don't be to quick to use sleeping pills tough, because if you use them to often, you might not be able to sleep without them.

---------- Post added 2013-01-21 at 10:10 AM ----------

I tried keeping a small light on. It helped me a bit.

I also have absolutely no idea why.

It obviously keeps the monsters away (So does a 12-gauche shotgun, but a light is cheaper)

[Fitzgerald77]

Exercise during the day, preferably shortly after you wake up, you will have LOADS of energy during the day and you will feel more relaxed when you go to bed. Don't eat large meals and have caffeine a few hours before you go to bed, even not playing video games an hour before you go to bed can help you unwind. If you have a TV in your room GET RID OF IT. Your bedroom should be dark and quiet when you are trying to sleep. I did this a few years back and my sleep got a lot better due to there being no noise. Getting better pillows and making sure that you aren't took cold or too hot in the middle of the night as well. Reading also helps a lot as well.

If all of that fails then perhaps you need to reduce the amount of stress in your life if you have any.

[Deleted]

I set myself some rules and boundaries for certain things that could keep me awake.
For example, I am a heavy coffee drinker, I like it black and strong but I refuse to drink a cup after 4pm.
I work out about an hour after dinner so I can still keep shape regardless of my 8-4 job, but also still get a few hours before sleep so I can relax.

I also recently started meditating, it basically feels like sleeping while sitting. Lucid dreaming, almost. It really helps me relax and get into the notion of "hey brain, it's time to relax - tell the rest of my body to relax."
I also do brainlogs if I think about too much. If there's anything you want to remind yourself of, write it down instead of thinking about it in bed. Any pointless song you just can't get out of your head? Write the title or a line of the lyrics down and let the paper think about it for you.

[Deleted]

avoid computer screens for some time before you go to bed, the light from them tricks your brain into thinking it should be awake - same with fluorescent lights. Read a book by candle light before you try to sleep!

[Deleted]

I set myself some rules and boundaries for certain things that could keep me awake.
For example, I am a heavy coffee drinker, I like it black and strong but I refuse to drink a cup after 4pm.
I work out about an hour after dinner so I can still keep shape regardless of my 8-4 job, but also still get a few hours before sleep so I can relax.

I also recently started meditating, it basically feels like sleeping while sitting. Lucid dreaming, almost. It really helps me relax and get into the notion of "hey brain, it's time to relax - tell the rest of my body to relax."
I also do brainlogs if I think about too much. If there's anything you want to remind yourself of, write it down instead of thinking about it in bed. Any pointless song you just can't get out of your head? Write the title or a line of the lyrics down and let the paper think about it for you.

I love that idea of letting the paper think instead of me. Maybe I'm little stressed and think too much about things I need to do next day. I try this rain sounds and this put it on the paper tonight. I hope it helps.

Thanks everyone for giving your help.

[Raldazzar]

I am a fellow sleep problem haver. I was signed off from work around 6 months ago due to stress and ive had sleeping issues ever since. currently I have pills for when i absolutely have to sleep. but Ive been encouraged not to use them regularly as you said, they will become a crutch I cant do without.

my doctors advice was to keep a sleep diary. take a couple of nights. and stay up till you DO drop. work out how much sleep your body is giving you etc, and then you can kind of plan/expand on that? if that makes sense?

also, never exercise, no caffeine/sugary bits after 8 pm. exercise will not tire you out at night, itll simply get your blood going! try and get away from the pc, do something mundane, I reccomend something such as the audio books of harry potter as read by stephen fry. try not to look at a screen, be it TV/PC/phone. stare at the ceiling with a tv show/audio book on, or simply read a book yourself.

It's a struggle and its not an easy fix for everyone, for me, Im finding my own way by adjusting TO 5/6 hours a night of sleep, it seems to work for me. that combined with audio either from the telly or an audio book is helping me alot, and getting me back on track.

Best of luck to you!

[Paladin885]

I have now been having sleeping issues for 2 months now. Before I used to sleep 8-9h/night but now I'm only sleeping 4-6h/night and it's becoming an issue now. I'm tired all the time. I went to doctor and he gave me recipe for some sleeping pills but I refused. My mom uses those and she can't sleep anymore without them and I don't want that. Now I have tried many different things to sleep better. Cooling my room to about 17-18°C as someone said this would work but no. Warm milk before sleeping, nope. I have tried walking before sleeping, nope. Any good tips here. I'm willing to try many things as long as there are no pills included in it.


Thanks!

sounds like you're walking down the same road I did a few years back... depression.

I know, don't sound like much now but wait and see. I spent 2 months like you did deprived of sleep I should have been getting but it soon developed into a mild case insomnia.

Though that might now be the case.

Sometimes when I have that issue what I will do is something extreme or something that increases the likelihood that I will sleep longer and go to sleep earlier. Usually that is setting my alarm to wake up earlier that usual (so in your case thats probably 3-4hr of sleep instead of ~6hr) so I am tired the next night. Then there is the extreme case, that I have used before which is to not go to sleep at all. That way once the next night comes I am knocked out.

[Cuppy]

Tips that work for me:

Imagine that you are going to get unconscious. I pinch myself to my arm, and imagine that it's a anesthesia or something. I try to keep my eyes open as long as I can. Suddenly I wake up in the morning.

Another one what works for me is to try to fall asleep, while not being asleep. Like you know.. Lucid dreaming. It's a known tip to be as relaxed as possible and not moving one muscle. You should try to keep your eyes even in the same place. Also try to think black, like nothingness. This way your brain should think that you are asleep, while your mind is not. You might start to feel itchy, but I heard that it's your own body checking out if you really are asleep or not! :>
Never got into lucid dreaming, but goddamn fell asleep haha.

[Deleted]

sleeping with radio on? A lot of people prefer their quiet around bedtime! But i don't like total silence so i have the radio on
Otherwise its harder for me to fall asleep somehow.

[Foosha]

Take a hot shower/bath before, that gets your body to cool down and go to sleep.

As for sleeping longer and having a better sleep...No drugs of any sort (so don't smoke that weed) or drink a glass of wine or two (decreases REM sleep). Melatonin is fine, as someone mentioned above, dont overdo it though. Eat more brain food. Potassium is a good start. Try chowing down on a few bananas during the day.

After that, new bed?