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Trouble falling asleep.
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I've (not always consistently) had trouble falling asleep since I can remember. It doesn't matter if I'm tired, sometimes I just lay in bed for hours, waiting to fall asleep. If I don't fall asleep within 15 minutes it can take up to two hours to finally get some shut-eye. I exercise every day, and I eat relatively well. I've tried counting sheep, focusing on my breathing, listening to relaxing music, and even downloaded a program (Pzizz) that somewhat hyponotizes you into sleep (it worked once, but hasn't since). The problem is I can't seem to relax my mind; the second I lay down, I get songs stuck in my head, and if I get one to stop, another shows up. Then I get frustrated that I'm not falling asleep, which keeps me up, which makes me more frustrated, etc.
What the hell?
What the hell?
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don't watch TV before bed or use a computer.
Don't use your bed for anything beside sleeping
if it comes to it, take a sleep-aid
"Sleep is like love, you'll never find it when you're looking for it" Stressing about it will only make it worse. I'm taking psychology as an elective right now and they mentioned the whole "milk-before-bed-old-wives-tale" is kind of true so try that shit out.
Also... don't exercise before bed.
the big thing that did help me was to never use my bed for anything other than sleep. and i would read a book that i only ever read in bed. like i was conditioning myself to sleep.
I can't even read a book in bed anymore w/o getting drowsy or even falling asleep.
As for the OP's problem, when you go to bed, what do you do? Do you lie there with your eyes open? Is your room bright? What do you do before you go to bed? One thing for going to sleep that seems obvious but is often neglected is to keep your eyes closed, no matter what. And while doing full exercises before bed is often bad as it gets your blood flowing, doing stretches can often be good as it pulls your muscles and tendons and makes being in bed more relaxing. And don't eat within 30 minutes of going to bed, and I'd advise to only drink water within the last hour of going to bed, and sparingly at that.
Try everything else first.
I'm gonna go ahead and tell you to try the opposite of what everyone else will tell you: the next time you have trouble falling asleep, turn on the TV. Find something you like (I typically catch Adult Swim or M*A*S*H reruns), set your sleep timer, and just leave it on that channel, even through commercials.
I'll stay in bed for an hour or two just thinking about shit without falling asleep if I don't do this, but I'm out in 15 minutes with the TV on. If you don't have a TV in your room, try getting some DVDs of TV shows to play on your computer.
Worst-case scenario, this doesn't work, and you can't get to sleep, anyhow, and can try something different the next night.
I also recommend the "rub one out" suggestion.
Soft, hymnal-style music is nice as well. Things with flutes and harps. Nothing with drums or guitars. VERY soft and soothing.
Make your room completely dark. If you're afraid of the dark, that's a whole other issue, but if you're not, make sure it is completely dark. Don't even allow moonlight. Get heavy drapes if you must.
Also, make a set routine. Always go to bed at close to the same time every night. Human beings are creatures of habit, and constantly going to sleep and different times confuses the bodies natural cycle. Find a good time (say 10 or 11) to go to bed, and a good time (between 7-9) to wake up, and STICK TO IT. Yes, even on weekends. It keeps your body even and your mind used to the time of day when each will happen. Before you know it, you won't even need an alarm clock to wake up. I mean, don't worry if you break it occasionally (like for parties or special occasions), but try to keep to the schedule as often as is possible.
Exercise as early as you feel you can. The best time to exercise is in the morning, because you have your largest stores of energy, and it will keep you energized through most of the day, and allow you to come down comfortably before bed.
Don't eat anything 1 hour before bed, and try to eat your hearty dinner atleast 2 full hours before sleep. A full stomach will keep you up.
Finally, there are many non-intense ways to induce sleep:
1) Drink a warm cup of tea about 45 minutes before bed. It will be calming, and the warmth will soothe you. Chamomile is very soothing, and can help induce sleepiness.
2) Watch something very calming before you go into your bedroom. Maybe a light comedy (not one where you will bust a gut laughing, but just a smile-inducing flick) or a good, non-intense show you enjoy. It will put you in the right mind-set to dose off.
3) If all else fails, try taking a supplemental dose of melatonin about 30 minutes before sleep. The body uses melatonin to induce sleep naturally, and supplying extra is a way of inducing this action. You can get it at most drug stores or grocery stores.
If ALL THIS FAILS, you can try taking a more intense sleep-aid, but I suggest going to a sleep clinic and doing a sleep study before doing that.
Watching KillBill vol1 every night, it got so boring it made me fall asleep.
Listening to radio softly
Wanking
Peeing right before going to bed
Reading (had problems with turing off the lights)
Using an electric blanket in winter and the fan in summer to regulate my body thermostat.
Showering before bed may have helped I'm still not sure
Going to bed earlier and not waiting till after 12 to get into bed
Not taking naps during the day if you can.
What there any negative side effects to smoking pot before bed, more specifically did you start doing worse at school?
If I smoke a recreational amount, sure I'll have trouble getting my shit together in the morning, but I just take a hit or two. Makes me high for about 15-20 minutes and that's enough to fall asleep. I'm not in school anymore though... I think I wouldn't recommend this if one were in school - too easy to let it interfere with studies. Well it shouldn't be recommended at all - I'm just saying what I do.
Its just that I like experimenting with new things, food, movies, music, clothes ect. and I was just wondering how badly would pot fuck me over if I tried it.
Then I got my Tempurpedic, and all is right with the world.
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You can try different music, and TV. It may or may not help as everyone is different. I personally can't sleep in complete pitchblack darkness and total silence. And seriously don't try so hard to force yourself to sleep so hard, it just makes it worse; think about something else.
One thing I really recommend trying is diphenhydramine. It's not addicting, it's cheap, and it doesn't really have much aftereffect for me. 50-75mg and you'll be pretty much out in 30minutes-1 hour. I don't necessarily recommend relying on sleep aids as there could be other underlying reasons you can't sleep, but I'd say give it a shot sometime.
My solution is any single or combination of the following remedies; Sigur Ros, great quite music on a low volume. If you are overactive like me it gives you something really simple to focus on and lead into sleep.
cup of green tea, a little bit of caffeine for those weird times when you are so tired it is hard to sleep (Am I the only one who has had this experience?)
A single shot of whisky and a bit of milk. Not that drinking before you go to bed is necessarily a good thing, but a single shot usually is enough to get my drowse on. No more than that though.
Make my room as dark as possible; shutting off monitors, televisions, shutting the blinds completely, the door, the bathroom door, all the lights.
Hope something in there helps.
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I don't want to take any sleep medication, since I hate having medication in my body, and I don't like having to rely on anything that doesn't occur naturally.
Here's to some hopefully good sleep tonight.
The other thing you can try is Melatonin. Can get it at CVS or Walgreens or whatever. It worked for me for a short period although I ended up taking more than the recommended dose.
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I highly recommend against fucking with melatonin without seeing a specialist. Yes, its OTC, but it's seriously not a good thing to take if you don't know what you're doing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melatonin
Take some of it (read the bottles for the recommended doses)
goto the sleep room and shut off lights.
Lay in bed.
After about 15 minutes they start and you get sleepy.
You go to sleep!
Sleep good.
also yeah jerking it
try waking up earlier, maybe?
Now that I think about it more, I used to have that same problem, like for years, most of my life until a few years ago. Basically I think I just needed to relax and learn how to keep my brain from going into overdrive. Mostly, though, I think I just learned how to go to sleep as I got older. It could just take time for the aging and/or experience.
My suggestions are:
try a different sleeping position, I used to have to sleep on the floor a lot at home so when that happened I'd sleep on my back, I fall asleep a lot faster in that position even though I don't regularly use it. It comes as a last resort.
when I have too much on my mind, I'll focus on the color black (really weird I know) and don't think about how it's called "black" or anything else, I mean, your eyes are closed it's what you see. Basically let it envelop you, that used to work with me too.
Listen to what they're telling you, music might help, but make sure it's at a low setting, if it's too loud it'll keep your brain active. No exercise or food prior to bed, it gets your metabolism/blood flowing. Television usually keeps me up. If you get a habit going though it essentially becomes a trigger...
All the other tips are great, and personally I read before sleep to help my brain wind down and stop worrying about things, but having a steady schedule is the most necessary step.
Ryan M Long Photography
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Then, I forgot where I read this, but it said something to the effect of "If you lay down and don't fall asleep in about 5 minutes, your body just isn't ready and trying to force it will only make it worse."
So, whenever I can't fall asleep, I grab my laptop and pop in a movie and I'm usually out in 20 minutes. Sometimes I'll actually get up and get things ready for the next day and just wait until I get tired. Anything to get my mind off the mental block of falling asleep.
I've done something similar to getting things ready for the next day. I wear a lot of button-down shirts and if its late and I'm not tired I'll start ironing my shirts. I might get one shirt mostly finished before I call it quits and pass out. Usually works like a charm for me.
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