Strategies for deep sleep when you have insomnia

I have such difficulty sleeping at night

I have such difficulty sleeping at night. I’ve tried every possible technique. I’ve made my bedroom a quiet pleasurable place to relax prior to falling asleep, I took the television out of the room, I’ve followed the advice of so many people all to no avail.

So what do I do or plan on doing now? I refuse to take any medication as that didn’t seem to help or if it did made me completely useless the following day. I decided to use this “extra time” to my advantage.

When it’s a day that I couldn’t fit my workout in? Guess what? I get up, get dressed and go for a brisk walk. I force myself even though I ‘fee’ tired. If it’s a day that I didn’t clean something I wanted to, I get THAT done.

Laundry is no longer an issue as that the easiest thing to wake up and do in the middle of the night without disturbing anyone else in the house! Surprisingly, once I start doing any of these things I start to feel like I can really really fall asleep and not just “tired laying there” sleep…

So now I get things done and then get right back to sleep utilizing the time much better. If I sleep just 4 hours after a cleaning spree at least it’s a good 4 hours of solid sleep, PLUS got some things done! Otherwise it would be 4- 7 hours of simply tossing and turning!

I have sleep apnea but my insurance will not pay for a sleep study

I cannot tell you how hard it is on me that I do not get sufficient sleep on a daily basis. It makes my days hard and I feel tired all of the time and have to push myself through my days.

First of all, I have difficulty falling asleep even if I am bone tired. Then within one hour of falling asleep I wake up and have to go to the bathroom. It never fails. Sometimes I can fall back to sleep right away but that is rare and most times I toss and turn for at least an hour before falling back to sleep.

Things that help me sleep more soundly are going to bed with an empty stomach so that I do not experience reflux which will wake me up and keep me awake. When I really just cannot fall asleep I try a bunch of different things.

I will try to watch some TV or read a magazine for a bit until I feel I am getting groggy again. Sometimes I take a hot, relaxing shower even if it is the middle of the night. I am not one to take drugs and medications unless it is really necessary so I refuse to take sleeping pills.

I have spoken to my physician about this and we suspect that I have sleep apnea but my insurance will not pay for a sleep study so on it goes. It is frustrating but there is not much I can do about it except try to lose weight at this point.

I have recurring insomnia

I have recurring insomnia. At first, I merely attributed it to aging. While it is true that the quality of my sleep has is poorer as I grow older, I believe my insomnia is due to stress and the increased mental activity it produces.

When I go to bed, I often find it difficult to relax. I toss and turn; feeling tired but can’t drift off. If I can’t fall asleep in an hour or so, I tend to turn on the light and read for a while.

I usually have some kind of soothing history book beside my bed for this purpose. Because I have an aversion to taking prescription sleep medication, I have not consulted a doctor about this problem.

However, I do sometimes take natural sleep remedies, drink something soothing such as peppermint tea, or take a hot shower. These things tend to help. I think my insomnia is exacerbated by the work I do on the computer in the evening.

I tutor online because that is when students need help with their homework. I have to stay alert to help them and this mental activity translates into insomnia later. Other times, I have to tutor in the small hours of the morning and then it is difficult to get to sleep afterward.

Very occasionally, I wake up at dawn and have trouble getting back to sleep. I attribute this to the newspaper delivery. As I grow older, I am a lighter sleeper and noises tend to wake me up.

Despite the fact that he is delivering the paper at 4:20am, the newspaper man makes no effort to be quiet. When I talk with my friends, I find they have similar problems. The economy is on the minds of a lot of senior citizens and our worries are disturbing our sleep.

Sleep difficulty due to a lot life changes

I started experiencing sleep problems around the age of 20. I would start to notice that falling asleep wasn’t as quick or easy as before. To this day, I still have sleep problems. On average, it takes me about 45 minutes to an hour to fall asleep, and I am often up at least 3-4 times a night.

Around my 20th birthday I experienced a lot of changes in my life. My parents divorced after 33 years of marriage, my family home I loved so much was sold, my family moved to different parts of the state, and I wasn’t used to being so far from them.

At 21 I married my husband, we moved into our own home, and at 23, we had our first baby, a beautiful girl. So within those couple of years, I have gone through quite a bit of craziness. I remain happily married, and my daughter is a toddler now, and although things are starting to feel quiet and normal again, I still don’t notice a change in my sleep behavior.

I really do attribute my sleeping difficult to the stressors of my life. I also attribute it to the fact that I suffer from high anxiety and panic attacks. I do take medication, but there are times that I am on edge, and unable to relax, and it really is difficult for me to get into a “sleeping” state of mind.

I have talked to my doctor about my sleeping troubles, but have refused medication. I would rather approach the problem on my own, and use sleeping medication as a last resort. There are some things that DO help me get to sleep, I use white noise (a blowing fan, sound spa machine) in the background and leave it on all night.

This helps me to relax. Before bed, I like to take a warm shower, and I use bath products with chamomile and lavender, which are said to aid in relaxation. Sometimes my husband will give me a back massage to wind me down, and I often like my bedroom temperature to be on the cooler side when I sleep.

If I notice, while lying in bed, that my mind is racing with thoughts about my busy schedule, family life, stressors, etc, I rechannel my thoughts and try to focus on soothing things, such as cascading ocean waves, or the breeze whispering through the trees.

I hate not being able to fall asleep, especially because I know that I won’t feel physically good in the morning. Without sleep I will have baggy eyes, feel groggy and less motivated than I would on a full night’s rest.

There are nights that I am lucky and get enough sleep to get me through a day, and there are nights that I am unable to sleep at all. Perhaps someday I will need to use medication, but for now, I am content in continually trying my own methods to get myself some zzzzz’s.

Lack of sleep is frustrating, almost panic inducing

I’ve suffered from insomnia for as long as I can remember. One of my earliest memories is of being five years old and still awake at midnight. High school was terrible for me - I got by on three hours a night most nights, sometimes even less than that.

I still did really well in school, but I wonder how well I could’ve done if I were receiving a full night’s sleep. Lack of sleep is frustrating, almost panic-inducing. I look at the clock and think, “Five more hours till I have to get up…Four more hours…Two more hours…”

And as each hour creeps by, I get more and more panicky about having to face the day with no sleep. Sometimes listening to talk radio helps me fall asleep, or putting the TV on CNN. I’ve recently discovered audio books - if the voices reading the novels don’t put me to sleep, at least I’m learning something!

I do take medication for my insomnia. I’ve tried Klonopin, Lunesta, Trazodone, and I am now on a low dose of Xanax, which seems to help the best (although it’s not helping tonight, it’s 1:01 am!).

These meds are prescribed to me by a psychiatrist. What causes my insomnia? We’re not sure. It’s probably linked to the depression that I’ve suffered from most of my life (also on Paxil for that), and honestly, I think it’s just the way my brain is- it fights against sleep when it’s supposed to be sleeping.

I get up and play on the computer when I can’t sleep. If I’m REALLY wide awake, I read. I’ve read over 170 books so far this year, so you can probably tell how much I’ve slept…

There is a condition known as delayed sleep phase disorder

I have trouble falling asleep at bedtime. I work a 9-5 type job, so I have to wake up in the morning at around 6:30 am. In order to get the recommended eight hours, I would have to go to sleep around 10:30 pm the previous night. No matter what time I get into my bed, whether it’s 9 pm or 1 am, I can not fall asleep until about 1:30 am.

I have tried all the tricks recommended to people like me. I’ve installed light-blocking curtains so the light from our porch or any passing cars does not get in to my room. I have eaten dinner at an earlier time. I have given up caffeine altogether. I don’t watch television or use my laptop computer after about 9 pm. My mattress is new and very comfortable.

My bedroom looks like a sleep wonderland. My walls are a dark chocolate-y brown, with accents in rich reds and purples. When I actually get into bed before midnight, I usually read a book or magazine. Sometimes I read the Entertainment Book coupons or my 401(k) newsletter, just in case boring reading material might help. If I am lying in bed for over an hour and can’t sleep, I might get up and go to the bathroom.

I may decide to watch television or a DVD of one of my favorite movies. Sometimes I just have too much energy, so I put my clean laundry away or tidy up my room or lay out my clothes for the next day. Once I fall asleep, I have no trouble remaining asleep. I love sleep. In fact, once I actually fall asleep, I could stay asleep for over twelve hours.

I love to take naps, and I do that every chance I get. I thought this was just my lot in life and that I was just one of those people who doesn’t have the same body schedule as “normal” people. I even thought I was meant to live in another part of the world where the clock is three hours later.

I’ve recently seen my doctor about my sleeping problem. I was spurred into action because I fell asleep at the wheel while driving and hit a curb. Luckily, no one was injured and I managed to avoid hitting anything. But it was a scary experience and a real eye-opener for me.

We have not found anything that has helped me yet. I’ve tried several sleep medications, but none have been effective. This is an ongoing process, but I hope to find a solution soon. A friend of mine found some information on Wikipedia that seems to be related. There is a condition known as delayed sleep phase disorder, and it seems to be similar to what I am experiencing.

Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done to change it permanently. The best thing to do is to work with it. I can get a job that doesn’t require me to have such early hours or I can work for myself. I’m still trying to figure out what solution works best for me.

I suffer from insomnia my entire life

I’ve suffered from insomnia my entire life. It’s been a great handicap for me trying to fit into the standard time of the education/business world. It seems that my body wants to go to bed at 4am and sleep until 2pm or so and nothing I can do can change that schedule. I started taking Tylenol PM years ago and I have to take it every single night or I can’t get to sleep.

Even so it takes from 2 to 4 hours to really work. And sometimes even that doesn’t work. I’ve never been able to be a good breadwinner since most employers want you to work when they want. And that usually means early in the morning.

I find the best thing to do is to try to stay on one steady schedule as much as possible. I try to take the TPM at the same time every night. However after a few weeks I’ll hit a night where it doesn’t work, then I have to try to function the next day on little or no sleep.

After that the lack of sleep builds up until I have to take a day off to “catch-up”. It sometimes takes two or three days to get caught up on my sleep. The whole thing is very frustrating and sometimes it makes me angry, but I have long since learned to come to terms with it.

I have talked to doctors but nothing they could ever do was any more helpful than what I was already doing. I know there are new medications for this condition but I haven’t tried them yet. One of the best things I’ve done is to invest in an expensive “memory-foam” bed that helps me relax and sleep better, once I do fall asleep.

Funny thing though I can’t fall asleep in my bed. I have to fall completely asleep in my recliner in front of the television first. Then I can get up (without waking all the way up) and go to bed. Then I can sleep. With the help of the TPM I can fall asleep by about 2-3 am most nights.

Insomnia after head injury

I began having trouble falling asleep after an accident that caused head injuries. It was a serious accident which involved a lot of pain. Therefore, for the first few years the sleep pattern was not noticed because of pain medications.

However, after the pain medication was removed then the sleeping patterns changed and sleep deprivation set in. In the beginning, maybe because I was in my twenties missing sleep was not a problem. I utilized the time by studying my college work or writing.

However, once work began and I got older the sleeping patterns started affecting my work and my family life. I was prescribed medications such as to treat bi polar disorders. Trazadone and depakote and zoloft. These medications which are non narcotic made my sleeping patterns more normal and regular.

Difficulty falling asleep and sleeping habits

M.K. from New York

My sleep habits: I usually get between 6-7 hours of sleep per night. I usually need less sleep when I’m happy and energetic, or when I’ve just come back from vacation.

I have insomnia, so I have great difficulty falling asleep. I have to take a prescription sleep aid to help. Stress keeps me awake, as well.

I hate those nights when your mind just won’t turn off. It would be best if I could get 8 hours per night. I feel much rested after 8 hours. However, I have two small children, and they like to climb in bed with me early each morning. I love this, but it interrupts me sleep, and affects how I feel for the rest of the day.

I can’t seem to get to sleep any earlier than midnight. Some things that keep me awake are lights, noise, or the awareness of some activity going on. Again, stress keeps me up as well.

Along with my sleeping pill, I fall asleep faster if the TV is off, the lights are off, and if my room isn’t cluttered. Keeping a neat and peaceful environment is very calming for me. Cuddling with my husband certainly helps, too!

Although this isn’t the safest approach, having a candle burning is very calming and conducive to sleep. Just-laundered sheets are great, too.

My bed is very comfortable, and comforting. I love to snuggle into clean sheets under my down comforter. I have a great mattress, too.

I have a bizarre sleepwalking story: When I was a teenager, I had my best friend over to spend the night. It was extremely hot out, and I remember complaining about it. We each wore a T-shirt and underwear - as little as we could to stay cool. The next morning, I woke up in a heavy winter bathrobe. My friend and I were crackin up over it: I must have gotten up in the middle of the night, put on the robe, and gone back to bed, despite the heat. It was bizarre…and hilarious!

Sleep deprivations after having kids

I have suffered from sleep deprivation. My first experience with it was after having my first child. Two years later, my second child arrived, and I experienced it again. I now take prescription medication to help me sleep.

I feel incredibly frustrated when I can’t fall asleep. I keep thinking about the day I have in front of me, and how much energy I’m going to need. This, of course, makes it worse. When I’m feeling stressed, my mind goes into overdrive and won’t stop humming. This makes it very difficult to fall asleep.

Extreme sleep deprivation can make me feel psychotic and out of it. I can’t think straight. The sleep medications help me to fall asleep. However, there have been times when I’ve stayed awake for hours after taking the pills. What helps is having complete quiet; keeping the TV off, no noise coming from outside, etc.

Of course, I have the lights off. I try to ease my mind by focusing on breathing in, out, in, out. If I’m truly able to focus on that, I can fall asleep pretty quickly. If this doesn’t work, I may turn the TV on for a while or read a book for a few minutes. This helps sometimes. I tend to sleep better if I’ve had strenuous exercise sometime during the day.

I went to my general practitioner to discuss my sleep problems. He originally prescribed Ambien, which worked well.

I eventually switched to Lunesta, which I use now. It feels gentler to me. I explained to my doctor that I couldn’t sleep, I had two small kids and a job, and I was desperate for sleep. He said that I had a lot going on and that stress could be a big factor.

He also said not to eat too late at night. I took his advice, and it worked. I’d prefer not to stay on sleeping medication forever, but I’m staying put for now. I love to sleep!