insomnia advice

Has anyone here ever suffered from insomnia? I have had a few bouts of it in my life and I know it to be stress related. But they have never lasted this long. And I don't know what to do. I refuse to take drugs but I am open to pretty much anything else. I just can't turn my mind off. And once I wake up I am up. I feel like a puddle of my former self. I am more irritable and flakey and my memory is mush. I just want to function as a human being again.

I've personally dealt with insomnia a few times and dealing with it depends on the circumstances. The only two things which have happened to me to cause insomnia have been severe emotional distress and my lifestyle choices. The first cause, emotional distress, I had to resort to drugs. Nothing serious, just a simple decongestant containing the drug diphenhydramine which clears your sinus' as well as makes you sleepy. Don't take too much though, it will incapacitate you with a high enough dosage and may stop breathing, but only if you take like, 12 times the recommended dose. The second cause, life style choice, requires a bit more of an explanation. I am an avid online game played and in my High School years I stayed up until early hours on school nights only getting 2-5 hours of sleep during the school week. Each weekend I would make up for and attempt to correct for my sleep deprivation by sleeping more on the weekends. This worked but it caused issues the following summer with insomnia. After some time I found the solution which was to stay up for one sleep cycle then return to my normal routine. So, trying to stay up for one night may reset your bodily clock to fix your sleep problem. Best of luck and I hope this helps!

i used to have insomnia and i found some things to help - moving the tv set away from me and to the other side of the room. i think some of the radiation was keeping me awake. can't prove it though. doing a relaxing yoga at night might help, along with not drinking caffiene after 3 PM. i use a lavender spray on my sheets, that is calming. as is taking a shower at night, it raises your core temperature just enough to put you to sleep. these things have helped me.

First, watch your diet. Don't have anything with caffeine in it at all... no coffee, tea, cola drinks etc. Even a little caffeine ruin your sleep.

Alcohol can also disrupt sleep patterns, as can eating spicy foods or a big meal before trying to so to sleep. I also find that running a fan or other 'white' noise in the room can help you sleep. Or get a relaxation DVD or put something on your iPod with the sounds of ocean waves or rain and clear your mind and listen to that.

Try having some calcium before bed like a glass of milk.

You're right, it's stress related.

Listen to lavenderdove - those tricks will *help*.

However, the main reason for your insomnia is psychological.

Did you know that the *main* reason people have a hard time sleeping is because they didn't do something they were supposed to do & were capable of doing?

I gotta ask how productive you are in life right now.

If you're slacking, your body is telling you to buck the **** up & get **** done.

Are you not bothering with house-work & then angry that you can't find a clean dish?

Are you feeling insecure, but have been too lazy to get to the gym?

Did you not return that movie?

Little things add up, so just do them.

It's a little mind **** we play on ourselves, but sleep is a matter of dessert.

If you didn't do what you needed to do, in your head you're telling yourself you don't deserve to sleep (even if it's 2 AM) because you have stuff to do.

The other reason for insomnia is that you're in the middle of accomplishing something & you're go, go, go.

Re think about what you're doing in your day-to-day life & you should get a better idea of why you can't sleep.

Personally, I miss my insomnia.

I got a lot of **** done in those wee hours of the night.