Natural insomnia fixes?

[luvs]

i have such insomnia. it takes ambien & klonopin together only to get me drowsy. that usually doesn't put me to sleep. i'm sick of meds & want a natural sleep med. advice? booze works great yet i'm sick of drinking it.

 

[SizzlininIN]

Hey Luvs! Actually booze isn't a very good remedy as it disturbs your REM sleep mode and you don't get a good nights sleep. You may want to google and read what it actually does.

I hope things are going ok for you. I was concerned when you posted that you were going back to the hospital. I hope things are ok?

 

[cara]

we had this some time ago...

I had something to say (as usual ), but I know I forgot something..:

don`t let anything disturbing get into the sleeping room.. no light, take care the curtains are tightly closed... and avoid any noise..
do you have electric things in the bedroom? Throw them out, radiation is a sleep killer... when you have an electric alarm clock, make sure its more than 1m away from your head.

scientific studies found out, that the way the bed is located also has influence.
people don`t like to sleep with the head towards the door, that is left from when we slept in caves and you never knew what came in...
in the eastern world people believe in the influence of chi on the body... probably the chi goes the wrong way or gets sacked in your bedroom, but for that check some feng shui websites...
some people (like my aunt) would check for underground watercourses, they are said to kill sleep, too..

but what to do right now?
Ever tried a cup of warm milk with honey? Or a quarter of good red wine?
valerian definitely lets you calm down and sleep, if you are not a cat? Ever tried valerian on a cat? Marvellous!!
let fresh air into the bedroom before you go to sleep...
avoid horror and action movies.. an forty years old romantic movie made 1Mio people sleep better ;o)

 

[Haggis]

Regular physical exercise focusing on cardio.

Milk, peanuts (and a few other things) will make the body up it's production of seratonin helping you go to sleep.

A dinner that has a high GI (glycemic index) rating is also meant to help you get off to sleep. as well.

 

[licia]

My problem isn't going to sleep - it is staying asleep. Sometimes I can go right back to sleep, but more often I am wide awake and nothing helps. I've been awake since 4:05 this morning and will get so sleepy in church that I think I can't stand it, but nothing seems to take care of that problem. I exercise 6 days a week and while that does seem to have helped some, it hasn't elminated the problem entirely. I settle for 2 or 3 nights sleeping all night and enjoy those immensely. The others, I get through.

 

[In the Kitchen]

sleep

I have heard that maletonion, stuff supposedly found in turkey, makes one sleep. Also, warm milk. What really works for me is taking calcium supplement before I want to go to sleep. Bendryl was another one. Counting sheep never works. If you can't relax and sleep you resort to trying anything. Not listening to radio I am sure doesn't help. Especially if you have station on that is talking about supernatural. Why don't they have them on during the day? Did this last night and kept hearing things in other room. Dumb.

Hope you are able to try some of these suggestions as my heart goes out to someone who has to struggle to rest.

 

[amber]

Try reading and drinking an herbal tea.

 

[jpmcgrew]

Melatonin works great I take it every night.I think the best is Source Naturals,peppermint flavored sublinguals.I have a bottle of 2.5 mgs you just put it under your tongue about 20 minutes before going to sleep.I now only take 1/2 to 1/4 of it now and it still puts me right to sleep.
It wont work if you got alot on your mind,so think about your dream vacation or something like that.
We naturally make melatonin I think in our pituitary gland.But as we get older our body makes less and less.
Alot of people use it to fight jet lag, it supposedly has alot of anti oxidents. Some people say it's a good anti aging supplement.Ive been taking it for about 12 years.The only down side might be vivid dreams and you could be a little groggy in the morning so you need to be able to get at least 8 hours of sleep.But Im telling you it puts me to sleep and lets me sleep thru the night.

 

[jpmcgrew]

In the kitchen what you are talking about in warm milk and turkey is call tryptophan. I think,I hope I spelled that right.

 

[mish]

i have such insomnia. it takes ambien & klonopin together only to get me drowsy. that usually doesn't put me to sleep. i'm sick of meds & want a natural sleep med. advice? booze works great yet i'm sick of drinking it.

Talk to your doctor. Tell him/her you are combining prescription meds - and if need be - go to an AA and/or NA meeting if you are truely sick of drinking.

Clonazipam is a controlled substance -- benzo - and the scrip is written in triplicate - one going to the DA as of 1/06. Combining it with Ambian, I would imagine, could have lethal results - particularly if you add alcohol - may lead to coma. Hope you're not drinking with the meds. The script says no alcohol, also read the contraindications that came with the meds.

I can't say enough about the horror of these addictive so called meds. IMO, there needs to be a darned good reason as to why one is taking them - and followed up very carefully. If anyone is hooked on this crap - sugggestion - get into a detox hospital.

Re an insomnia 'fix' - get up & go to sleep at the same time every day, take an exercise class, no caffeine or booze, keep your days full and active.

 

[luvs]

Talk to your doctor. Tell him/her you are combining prescription meds - and if need be - go to an AA and/or NA meeting if you are truely sick of drinking.

Clonazipam is a controlled substance -- benzo - and the scrip is written in triplicate - one going to the DA as of 1/06. Combining it with Ambian, I would imagine, could have lethal results - particularly if you add alcohol - may lead to coma. Hope you're not drinking with the meds. The script says no alcohol, also read the contraindications that came with the meds.

I can't say enough about the horror of these addictive so called meds. IMO, there needs to be a darned good reason as to why one is taking them - and followed up very carefully. If anyone is hooked on this crap - sugggestion - get into a detox hospital.

Re an insomnia 'fix' - get up & go to sleep at the same time every day, take an exercise class, no caffeine or booze, keep your days full and active.

i'm a grown-up & i'm quite aware of controlled substances. my doctor is who is having me combine my meds. thing is, i'm quite aware of proper intake of controlled substances. i'm 25. also, my doc is very aware of my drinking & prescribes around that. i avoid meds unless i really need sleep.i'm not hooked by any means- oh, my. i avoid those pills. uck. that was my point. i want a natural sleep method. thanks for your advice.

 

[auntdot]

Wish I could help Luvs.

Rarely sleep all night.

I wake up after a couple of hours of sleep and am awake.

Truly awake.

So I get up and get on the computer, or read.

Like I am doing now, except I thankfully don't have to go to work in the AM.

And then catch another two hours or so.

Sometimes am tired the next day, but most of the time am OK.

Just learned to deal with what my body tells me to do.

I suppose this is not great advice, but I guess I am just mean to say that at least I don't worry about my sleep habits anymore.

I just accept them.

Lousy advice I suppose, but that is all I have to offer.

 

[auntdot]

Hi Luvs,

My sleep habits, as dictated by my body, not my wishes, are terrible.

I will sleep for one to two hours, and them I am awake. No way am I about to go back to snoozing.

Finally have gotten to the point that I just get up and read or play on the computer. If you look at the time of this post you will realize this is one of those lapses.

Sometimes I am tired the next day, other times not at all.

I guess the point I am trying to make is that once I learned not to worry about the whole thing, I am much happier.

Lousy advice, I suppose, but it is all I have to offer.

Take care.

 

[luvs]

Wish I could help Luvs.

Rarely sleep all night.

I wake up after a couple of hours of sleep and am awake.

Truly awake.

So I get up and get on the computer, or read.

Like I am doing now, except I thankfully don't have to go to work in the AM.

And then catch another two hours or so.

Sometimes am tired the next day, but most of the time am OK.

Just learned to deal with what my body tells me to do.

I suppose this is not great advice, but I guess I am just mean to say that at least I don't worry about my sleep habits anymore.

I just accept them.

Lousy advice I suppose, but that is all I have to offer.

auntdot, that advice was actually very great. thank you.
luv, luvs

 

[luvs]

to mention, mish, i'm too thin to exercise. my dietician may get very upset if i did that.

 

[auntdot]

Thanks luvs,

Am erect again. Sorry about the double post but I was having problems getting anything to work here.

Computers are definitely not user friendly here.

Found that worrying about sleeping was not helping at all, so now I try not to.

Good luck and God bless.

 

[Barb33]

keeping active throughout the day is the best remedy to sleep at night!

 

[Angie]

I have major sleep problems as well, Melatonin does nothing for me. I was on Trazadone for a while to help but got off it.

In January I finally gave in to my Xanax (a benzo) addiction. I was on the highest dose (2 mg) and I would take a months worth (90 pills) in 3-7 days.

Ummm, yeah, bad, eh? I'm totally off it now but I had to hit the bottom to make that happen.

Now, for my anxiety AND sleep problems I rely on Benedryl. The problem is, I have to take 6 of them for sleep. I take 2 for an anxiety attack. I have an appointmen to see a new shrink in about 3 weeks, now that I have insurance again.

I can't shut my thinking off. That is my main problem.

I have been told that Yoga does WONDERS for sleep and anxiety. It's worth a shot!

Also, no eating 6 hrs before bed (yeah right), no drinking before bed if you are one to get up to potty in the middle of the night. Personally, I need "white noise" to sleep and use a fan everynight, so the electronic bye-bye doesn't work for me.

Good luck. I feel your pain. I wish you the best in finding something that works!

 

[Diane1415]

If I am awakened at night adn talk or am talked to I cannot get back to sleep for hours. I have instructed everyone in the house to not talk to me until I get up in the morning. It seems if I don't make my brain work than I can drop off to sleep easily.
besides Valarian Catnip tea also is a good sleep inducer. Never tried it after a midnight wakeup though.

 

[Trip]

I have probs off and on, my doctor said when I do to take gravol, the anti-nauseant (but don't know if avail in US). It works wonderfully for me.