I have insomnia and i am so tired of taking pills to sleep at night. is there anything i can do to cure it?
Friday, March 26th, 2010 at
9:28 am
i use to be able to sleep on my own years ago until i started taking seroquel now i cant sleep without it. its like its my sleeping brain pill to help me sleep and if i dont take it i cant sleep. i been to hospitals and nobody can help me because some doctors say that i dont have sleep apnea
Tagged with: anything • Cure • Insomnia • Night • pills • Sleep • taking • There • tired.
Filed under: Sleep Apnea Cures
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I JUST went through the same problem you’re going through right now (and not being a doctor), I can only tell you what worked for me.
I stopped taking sleep-aid pills (over the counter and prescription). (BEFORE you do this, you should tell your doctor. It’s important.) Next, I drew up a sleep log. I wrote down (everyday for a couple weeks) exactly what I did/drank/ate/watched on television within four hours of bedtime. I know this sounds ridiculous, but it REALLY helped me understand things I was doing to sabotage my sleep. Next, I took the sleep log and took out things that were keeping me awake. For example, my log went from this:
8pm – have a few drinks
9pm – go for a jog
10pm – play video games and eat popcorn
11pm – go to bed
… to this:
6pm – go for a jog
7pm – dinner/drinks
8pm – play video games
9pm – take a bath
10pm – read a book
11pm – go to bed
I’ve spoken with about a half dozen doctors about my insomnia (which was very severe), and they all say the same things:
- Don’t eat or drink alcohol within 3 hours of bedtime. Also, cut way back on soda or anything that has caffeine. Try to not have anything like that after noon.
- Daily exercise HELPS make you sleepy (so definitely do it!), but do NOT do it within 4 hours of bedtime (otherwise, it will give you an energy BOOST).
- Do something that is calming starting two hours before bed. These activities could include reading, writing, watching a calming movie/show, knitting, taking a shower/bath…
- When you’re doing these pre-bedtime activities, turn the lights down a little.
- Drink tea with lavender and/or chamomile.
- Make sure your room is slightly cool, NOT HOT.
- Make sure your room is dark and quiet. Cover up windows and remove ticking clocks. Most important of all, turn your alarm clock away from you. Watching the time go by does NOT help sleep-seekers. Neither does the bright, neon light coming from the clock.
- Make sure your uncomfortable mattress isn’t the problem.
- Have the SAME routine EVERY DAY. Your body will get used to the routine so that every time you take a bath, for instance, it knows it’s time for bed.
- Don’t watch TV at bedtime. The light from the TV disrupts your sleeping.
- Have a partner? Orgasms help. Don’t have a partner? Orgasms still help.
If you do all these things and are not seeing results (give it a few weeks), take the sleep log to a doctor. Tell them what you’ve done. They might suggest more/different medication, or they might send you to someone who specializes in cognitive behavior therapy. (CBT is psychological in nature and will touch on these “sleep hygiene” techniques like I’ve mentioned along with many, many other things I haven’t delved into like unrealistic sleep expectations and misconceptions about insomnia.)
I’m sorry this turned into such a book of an answer, but I hope it helps! Best wishes for good dreams!
I’ve never had insomnia problems, so I do not know what is recommended, but this is what I do if I have a night where I cannot sleep.
First, take a nice warm bath by candlelight. Then, go watch a movie or something on tv. Next, lay in your bed, making yourself as comfortable as possible, and read a good book by lamplight. This always helps me fall asleep right away!