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Question

I'm hoping somebody out there may have some suggestions for me. For quite some time I have experienced difficulty getting to sleep at night. I've tried lots of things; increased exercise, avoided working with laptop etc. before bed, herbal teas etc. Nothing has worked. I'm pretty certain that I need more sleep than I get as I struggle to wake in the morning and often feel miserable during the day following a particularly bad night. I have spoken to my doctor but he has just prescribed sleeping bills which I would prefer to avoid. Can anybody help? All suggestions welcome.

Isabella

In my experience, there are two groups of people. Those who worry constantly and those who don't because they have found someone to do all the worrying. In which category do you fall? The first group suffers from sleepless nights, the second snores. Nothing wrong with taking a little pill at night to sleep. A good night's sleep is the key to happy days. Another trick is to pick your dreams ;-) We all remember when and with whom we were the happiest. Good luck

Aug 20, 2013 17:41
ap

i have experienced the same issues, there are many elements that can trigger sleep deprivation such as dieting, i.e. if your eating late this doesnt help.

for what its worth have you considered yoga or meditation? This could help significantly.

Aug 20, 2013 19:10
Era

Hello MM,
It is difficult to give advice from the very few information we have but before taking those pills it would be worth trying other tips to overcome the problem.
When did you sleep disorder start? how long has it been lasting? Is it related to some particular event or change in your emotional or physical state? has it occurred in the past? All these I questions that it is worth investigating before starting to take drugs. Maybe seeing some professional would help better. If your sleep troubles have just come out of nothing, perhaps there is nothing to worry about, and by simply letting it be, the troubles might disappear alone. Making a clear sleeping schedule helps. Waking up early even if you didn't sleep until late might put a regular cycle in place. I hope this help! Good luck! Era

Aug 20, 2013 20:33
Georgiana

I have had this too. I agree that the solution should be non medication in the long term, but I find it is ok to use medication sparingly and my doctor also recommends this approach. There are two options, tablets that can be habit forming, or herbal tablets which are non habit forming. I have taken both types successfully and occasionally.

If you need to be rested on a particular day, half a sleeping pill will do the trick and it may actually help you relax enough to sleep without it the next night. But not every night. Obviously its best to avoid regular use of habit forming medication.

Aug 20, 2013 22:44
Georgiana

I have had this too. I agree that the solution should be non medication in the long term, but I find it is ok to use medication sparingly and my doctor also recommends this approach. There are two options, tablets that can be habit forming, or herbal tablets which are non habit forming. I have taken both types successfully and occasionally.

If you need to be rested on a particular day, half a sleeping pill will do the trick and it may actually help you relax enough to sleep without it the next night. But not every night. Obviously its best to avoid regular use of habit forming medication.

Aug 20, 2013 22:45
jbmac

Years ago I went through a similar phase. I couldn't sleep and by the time I could finally sleep, it was time to go to work.

Like you, I tried different methods to get myself to sleep, but none worked. I did also try the sleeping pill my doctor prescribed, but even though I physically went to sleep, I woke up very tired and I had to wean myself from the sleeping pills as i didn't like how they made me fee.

Talking to a work friend about it, he made the remark that maybe I couldn't sleep because I hated my job. That really got me thinking and at the time, I was in a nice job, but really hated the job but I was too comfortable in the job to look for another one. I finally got the never to look for another job and found a better one, and during that transitioning period, my sleep came back to normal.

Thus, only advice I can offer is to look at your life and maybe identify a possible situation that could be "keeping you awake" during the night.

Obviously, this is not the case for all of us, but maybe something to consider. But specifically for me, it was quite telling that I would only start feeling sleepy by the time I had to get ready for work. I just didn't connect the dots back then until my friend made the comment.

I had another colleague that went through a similar problem, but he found relief through hypnosis with a therapist. That reminds me...have you tried maybe massage therapy possibly with some reiki? Best of luck to you.

Aug 21, 2013 04:10
sparkles

do not exercise too close to bed time. Look at your diet--is it full of carbs and sugars. Cut them down or out. Alcohol will also interfere with sleep. Take a warm bath before bed. get into a routine where you go to bed the same time--and have some unwind time before actually getting into bed--warm bath, read a bit then off go the lights. If you stick to a routine you will train yourself to go to sleep. Do you need some white noise in the background to help clear your mind of the days worry?

Aug 21, 2013 13:48
zoe100

I have experienced problems for decades often not knowing why. My sleep is always very fragmented : waking 3 or 4 times a night or often I cant drop off!

I did CBT and it did help to a certain degree with sleep restriction therapy. I was told I have "hyper éveil" : too alert.

I agree with the poster who says you can resort to pills occasionally : I do that just for a few nights and then stop which always works with no addiction. I cant sleep either with someone or in a strange place which must seem neurotic but...!!!

I would be interested in knowing which hypnotist heped the poster who spoke about one. Most hynotherapists dont deal in insomnia specifically.

Thanks so much in advance although at the moment I'm doing pretty well but it is a curse!

Aug 21, 2013 13:56
MM

Thanks a million for all your helpful comments.

Aug 21, 2013 15:28
jbmac

The hypnotherapist was in the usa, and this was about 10 years ago, and unfortunately it was while I lived in the usa. So indeed, maybe the concept doesn't exist here in europe.

Aug 21, 2013 20:27

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