Help sleeping

[Theco]

OK people, I need some help here.

For the past few years, I've had trouble getting to sleep. Lately it has gotten to the point of absurdity. For the past few weeks, I've only been able to sleep every other night. I get tired as hell, but when I lay down to sleep I just lie there for hours, and this schedule of 35-40 hours awake and then 5-10 hours of sleep is killing me. I'm pretty sure I bombed a test I took the other morning after a sleepless night, and that may screw my chances of passing the class. I've tried a bunch of suggestions from my friends and none of them have worked. Anyone have any ideas or home remedies?

P.S. - Don't say alcohol...it works, but at this rate it'd make me a full blown alcoholic by the time I'm 25. :)

[boss]

i would suggest seeing your doctor,they have meds for this,my mom is the same and she takes something cant remember the name but it works,its precription med,so you cant get in trouble,and not habit forming :)

[AladdinSane]

MELATONIN... I take it every night for the same thing and it works miracles, Corey

[Crazy Ivan]

Melatonin works for some people but it isn't very effective for most. A good non-prescription solution is benadryl. If that doesn't work the best prescription solution is Rozerem it is approved for Long-Term use and is not habbit forming. Lunesta and Ambein are habbit forming and should not be used more than 3-4 days in a row.

Trust me I know, I've battled sleep dreprivation for years and my Doc and I have tried everything short of going to a sleep study lab.

Rozerem works for me but it isn't cheap and most Insurance companies need a note from your MD stating it is the only thing that works for you to pay for it.


Good luck those ZZZZZZZZZs are really important,

IVAN aka Dan

[JVS (BE)]

Had some problems as well with sleep deprevation during university, but since I have been working and live by the seem dayschedule everyday the problems have gone away. But for your problem I suggest seeing a doctor their are lots of medications but be sure to use the right ones.

[raydoger]

i drink a beer or two it helps me:3some:

[Theco]

Thanks for the advice all, but I've tried Melatonin and Benadryl to no avail. Anything over the counter either knocks me out to the point of not being able to wake up the next day or has no effect. As for prescription pills, since I'm only part time faculty I don't have any insurance, so that's out. I just ordered one of those memory foam bed pads, so hopefully that will make a difference.

[boss]

that bed is wonderful :)

[Karving]

Hello TheCo,
in your profile you say you work at Berkley. I don't know whether it will help you but I do know that Berkley uni has a good sleeplab. I think their email was sleeplab_@_berkeley.edu (without the two "_").

I'd think that they might know some good ppl who might be able to find and solve your problem.

Let me know if this works out for you.
Lars

[Canoedude]

Sleep is as much a physical process as well and a mental one. What I'm saying is, your mind and body have to be in a mental state to actually sleep. Do you have a "sleep routine"? You may want to start by having non-stimulating, calming routine that starts 45 mins to an hour before you plan on going to sleep. Do not lie in or use your bed any time other than when you actually plan on sleeping. Once you train your body to associate sleep with a certain time of day as well as with a certain room, you will sleep much easier.

I for one, had to stop playing regular "Death Match" games in COD before bed b/c I would be wired and wouod twitch and get rotten sleep.

Also, I would consult a DR if its gone on too long. St Johns Wort is an OTC natural supplement that raisies seratonin and relives mental stress. it works wonders.

[Your_Boss's_Daughter]

oh man i have a memory foam bed too, when i was in the hospital i got absolutly no sleep lol. the bed does make a huge difference.

[AladdinSane]

Temperpedic rulez! Worth every cent.

[Yourself]

Sorry to hear that, Corey!

I've been through something VERY similar.

Still fighting it, though.

Have you tried something like Tylenol PM?

That works OCCASIONALLY for me, but not always. When it does work, I usually wake up a little groggy, but the feeling is gone by the time I shower (I usually sleep for about 6 hours when they work).

One thing I find that helps is to lay in front of the TV and watch things I'm comfortable with - not things that stimulate my brain.

For that reason, I had to give up reading technical and computer journals before bed - I would start thinking about them, and wouldn't sleep.

For awhile there, when I would get very tired, I would put in a copy of Blazing Saddles - I would usually be asleep before the jail scene - strange, I know....but it worked wonders for me when I had bad trouble sleeping (mine is mostly stress related, though). The Sting and Midnight Run also worked for me - they are three of my favorites.

Have you tried eliminating caffeine? How about sweets?

Do you workout before bed?

Do you do anything interesting before bed?

What's your heart rate and BP? I would assume it's in the normal range.

When you get really tired, do you feel anxious?

Yourself (Dave)

[Higgins]

Now I post this reluctantly because I don't want to get banned or whatever, but one thing that has helped me in the past is to, um, "rough up the suspect".

[ColKing]

I don't know if this applies to you Corey!

But how much caffine and sugar do you drink in a day?

To much coffee and sodas can effect you sleeping big time. If you drink alot of sodas, especially diet drinks, it can dissrupt your sleeping and brain cells.

30 minutes of exercise and a hot bath and shower befor e bedtime helps too.

Take a Calcuim supplement 1 hour before bed also!

Hope you get some sleep soon! :icon_wink:

[Theco]

Thanks for all the good advice everyone! The problem seems to be getting a bit better lately, but that may be just because I'm still worn out from being in the woods all weekend (it was a blast, by the way). Caffeine and sugar are pretty much absent from my diet. I have worked out before bedtime, but that just seems to get me pumped up, and actually made the problem worse when I tried it.

As for any other bedtime routine, I've tried them all really. TV or no TV, boring movies, boring books, dark room, lighted room, eating or not eating, bath, shower, etc. One thing I haven't tried is the calcium pills, will give that a shot.

Other than that, I'm waiting eagerly for the memory foam mattress and pillow I ordered. My bed is fairly old and the mattress is getting sprung, so hopefully that will help a bit. I'd by a whole new mattress if I could afford it, but as of right now that's not in the cards.

[ColKing]

Here is a good site for supplments for sleep!

http://www.abundantnutrition.com/sleep.html